Finding new investigators

Well this week wasn’t as fabulous as I would have liked, but sometimes that happens. So this week was very fast and had its ups and downs. We had exchanges with the District Leader and they went well. His name is Elder Rodriguez and he is from Columbia. He trained my companion from the MTC. After exchanges we then had a tough time because were trying to increase the number of investigators we have and it half of them we didn’t find. The good news is though that the members have begun to work with us and they are great for lessons. Really the work of salvation doesn’t just stay alive with the missionaries, but the members as well. The absolute best part this week though was on Sunday. On Sunday my companion and I gave talks and in the middle of my talk our investigator Claudia came with all of her family!! We were so happy to see her and to be able to show her the branch and what church is like. Other than that though the main focus right now is working with Claudia for her baptismal date and finding new investigators, which means lots of contacting. Oh I almost forgot, so this morning my companion and I learned that in May Elder David A. Bednar will be coming to our mission!! How exciting right?!

Well here is my favorite part of writing you all at home the spiritual thought. Today i was reading in the book of Alma in chapter 46. In this chapter Captain Moroni creates the Standard of Liberty which declares, "In memory of our God, our Religion and Freedom, and our peace and our wives and our children". I love his desire to be obedient, but most importantly is when he calls on the people of Nephi to enter into a covenant with God to protect these freedoms and to remember God always. The part that I would like to highlight is when the men throw down there garments or clothing in a pile at his feet declaring to enter into this covenant. The men later say why they entered in and the promises they have made to God to keep them. After they talk of the blessing and the consequences for not completing with this covenant. When we make a covenant with God we are promising from that point and onward to be obedient to God and to always put him first. He then gives us blessing according to obedience. We must keep these covenants though to receive the full blessing and show our obedience. As a missionary my goal is to help people make covenants with God so that they can receive a fullness of blessings. How important it is though for those of us who have made covenants to keep them. Even more though how important is it for us to remember how sacred a promise we have made with God and that we can be truly blessed as we keep and guard our covenants with him. The blessing will come to us, but by making covenants with the Lord we show forth with a greater demonstration our willingness to be like our savior. I know that by making covenants with God we will be blessed and as we keep them we will feel closer to him as well. Therefore I invite all of you have made covenants to continue to guard them and remember the importance of them, and for those who haven’t to pray to God and ask him if it be right to enter into the first covenant of baptism and receive these blessing which his gospel has. Of this I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.