Hey y'all!
The passage of time is super weird, I have to say. There was a point where I was super happy, and then a point where I was super frustrated with my inability to understand the people, and then a point where I felt like I was really progressing as a missionary, and then I find all my whites clothes with a yellow tint because I left a post it note in the washer. And these things are all only days or hours apart. So much happens, but at the same time it is one day at a time here. Lots of walking, lots of feces, lots of Buenos y Buenas y chilero.
Currently I am definitely struggling to do all that a missionary does. I have had a hard enough time trying to have conversations on the phone in English at home, and eventually I am going to need to do so in Guatemalan spanish, which is not the most clear, but thankfully the passage of ideas is the same speed as English... the words go faster but they are longer words and phrases so it is definitely the same speed haha.
Lately I have been weighted with something however. I have been struggling to feel fully confident in my ability to teach and to just get to know the people. There are many great examples of missionaries in the scriptures, and I am inspired to be like them because of their examples, and I want to be the cause through which many of God's children are baptized. But I realized that it is super super important to have the heart of a missionary, and not just do what a missionary does. When a missionary has the heart of a missionary, they know their purpose, and they know when they are successful, and they know how they can improve, and they have the Spirit to guide them all the time. I realize that I am surrounded my God's children, and that the love of Christ is upon all of them. Because of my weakness however, I cannot speak with all of them, let alone understand them. Often we are heading to visits only saying our Holas and taking a little too much time.
Thankfully, Guatemalans are never on time, and we are doing our work for these people in these visits... not to mention, my companion can easily relate with these people and explain the concepts of the Gospel with love, he having prepared much for his mission, and he being Nica.
But ever so slowly I am being challenged by the promptings of the Spirit to change, and to focus on these people first. And I know that I have passed many people on the street who do not just need this Gospel, but are prepared by the Lord to have it. I know that through the Atonement of our Savior and the plan of redemption of our Lord, these people will be reached.
I have seen that many people who are prepared for the Gospel are friends of those who have been converted. There is a family of whom the father, the mother, and a son we are teaching, and we are feeling really good about the prophets. Really interestingly, the father has been Catholic, the mother is Protestant, and the son is Adventist, and yet all of them were touched by the message of the Restoration.
Truly, this is the restored church, under the direction of our Savior Jesus Christ. Joseph Smith, as all of us should with our own difficulties to understand an important truth, followed Saint James invitation in James 1:5, to ask God, that it shall be given unto him. And Joseph Smith's question was which church he should join, after having attended many. The response was that there was many close by their mouths, but none which had authority. As it says in Ephesians 4:5, One Lord, one faith, one baptism. And surely our Heavenly Father is God of order, and not of disorder.
I have felt and experienced the blessings of the priesthood in my life, and perhaps every day. I know that this Priesthood, this authority and power to act in the name of God, has been restored. Furthermore, I know that this is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that all should have faith in our Savior and His Atonement, repent and be cleansed of our sins through said atoning sacrifice, baptize in His name, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. We can all feel the love of our Savior in our lives, we just need to act upon our faith in Him. And truly, to the measure of our faith, it is enough to simply believe that Jesus Christ is our Savior. But it is upon the belief that we act, and strive to come closer to Him.
I have many weaknesses, many of which service helps me to understand clearly. But I know that the constant battle everyday to strive to follow His example yields eternal blessings. The Atonement was a one-time, universal sacrifice, that we should apply in our lives every day. Because Jesus Christ, through his suffering, knows all of our trials, and our sufferings, and our weaknesses. He voluntarily fulfilled this atoning sacrifice that we might come unto Him, so that we might return to our Heavenly Father, and also that He might know, with a perfect knowledge, how to succor us (Alma 7:11-12). But though I have weaknesses, I know I can turn to my Savior and ask for His help in prayer. Moroni 7:33 reads, And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.
So it is my invitation to all, to come unto Christ, and not just believe that he is our Savior, but ask Him for help and for rest in our lives, according to our faith in His Atonement. I know that Christ knows perfectly our burdens, because of His suffering. He knows where we fall short, because for this too, He suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he wants us to be free of all source of burden. We were meant to face adversity in this life, and He took it upon himself to suffer it all. Why then should we not repent and take upon ourselves the covenant of baptism, to enjoy the fruits of the Gospel every day of our lives? Let us strive to become converted, from whatever point we are in this conversion to Christ, right now. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Until next week!
Elder Braden K. Dredge
Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission
