Monday, 26 February 2018 ~ Week #31

Hey folks! How goes things?

I look at the work I have done this past week, and I could infer that I was struggling. But, honestly, I feel great! We are helping everyone we know here to come to know Christ a little bit more. How could I not be happy because of that?

Recently a read a lovely article which touched me. It is about a man who lived what he taught. He was well-known, but nonetheless was simply a good neighbor, a good friend, and an excellent missionary. His name is George Albert Smith (1870-1951). He was known for his constant acts of compassion for others and his fervent effort to preach the Gospel to everyone. He had a personal creed of 11 principles which guided his conduct every day of his life after the day he wrote them (age 34). 

And upon learning about him, I thought to myself, Do I live what I teach? Do I preach the Gospel with my acts of service towards others? My brothers and sisters, religion is not just doctrine, beliefs, ceremonies, meetings, and leaders. The pure essence of religion is living that which you believe and which you teach. Apostle James, in the early days of the Church which Christ Himself established, said something along these lines.

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,

To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27).

It is my goal to be friendly with anyone whom I decide to speak with. I am inspired by the example of Brother George Albert Smith to not have feelings of enmity toward any living being, but rather seek to be friends with everyone. We are all children of God, therefore we are all literally brothers and sisters. And this is a family of which we have been a part since before the foundation of this world, and of which we will always be a part for the rest of eternity. Let us enjoy the company of another, those who we already know, and strive to enlarge our friend circles a little more as time goes by. Let us strive to be loving to another, and love them in the way that Christ loves us. I know that Christ loves me, because I can receive forgiveness and comfort and encouragement in place of guilt, stress and defeatedness, when I humbly ask Him for help. And I am striving to help those around me to feel the same way.

Moreover, if we can have joy in the happiness of our friends and those around us, why not we be the cause of that? We can be happy because of our own welfare, but why not we be happy for the welfare of those around us and strive to be the cause of it? How great would be our joy in our effort to make others happy by serving them and lending them a constant hand. For this is the love of Jesus Christ, who said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:34-35). Again, I know that Jesus Christ loves me, and that He lives. He is my constant helper, and because of His love I know I can help others too. His is a type of love the transforms, a miraculous and wonderful and divine type of love which we call charity. I know that if we pray to our Heavenly Father fervently, that we might receive this wonderful gift, the pure love of Christ, we will receive it. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

References:

https://www.lds.org/liahona/2012/01/george-albert-smith-he-lived-as-he-taught?lang=eng&media=audio

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2013-05-1150-george-albert-smith-documentary?lang=eng

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Nutritious meal - fruit, vegetables, homemade tortilla and ... hot dogs (hidden)! :)

Monday, 19 February 2018 ~ Week #30

Hey folks!

It turns out, for these next six weeks I will be with Elder Martinez and in Las Ilusiones again. This will quite possibly be my hardest transfer in the mission up to this point, since the progress did not change very much since early January. So my companion and I will be praying harder, studying harder, and working harder.

And for now, I just want to share a thought. I figure I should keep my updates shorter and more to the point. We only have so much time to write so I want to make sure that the little I write can be more dense with the word of God.

A scripture that has been helping me a lot is found in Alma 27:16-19. It is about the joyful reunion of a few missionaries found in the Book of Mormon, one of which is Ammon. Mormon made a note about him, explaining why he was so happy upon meeting with ihs brethren, that he even fell to the ground unconscious. Mormon explained the following.

Alma 27:18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness.

Now, let us ask ourselves, who is the "truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness"? This is the type of person that recognizes that they are imperfect, but tries their best every day. This is a person who strives for perfection but is not a perfectionist. This is a person who does their best but at the same time lets themselves make mistakes. And this is a type of person who makes mistakes so that they may learn wisdom from their mistakes. Along with this, this is a person who counts his blessings, who sees the positive in every situation and in every other person, who wants others to be happy as well. This is a person who is always smiling because, even though they struggle with sickness and discouragement and lack of success and support time from time, they have no reason to not smile.

And this is a type of person who understands the role of Jesus Christ in the wonderful plan of salvation. Because of His sacrifice for us, we can make mistakes, so that we can learn from them, and partake of Christ's love upon asking for forgiveness and the things we do wrong. And we can feel happiness in the instant. Though perfection is eventual, we can experience joy right now. We can rejoice in our being human, because we can always improve. We can feel exceeding satisfaction in everything that we do as we strive to do what is right and fix what we do wrong in the process. And we can be happy in knowing that our Heavenly Father knows us personally and perfectly, and with this can provide us with jsut the right experiences and resources that we need to be able to return with Him after this life is over. As long as we strive to do what is right and follow His Son Jesus Christ, we will have no need to fear, but rather be able to feel the peace after the manner of Christ. We can always be happy. We can rejoice in the many blessings we have wrought by the hand of God. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us, and that our Savior loves us too. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Dredge

P.S. Among the pictures I have is one of Elder Martinez and I at a nice view we have in our area in a nice and elevated neighborhood. Along with that, some food I'm cookin'.

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Monday, 12 February 2018 - Week #29

¡Hola mis amigos! How's your week been?

This week was a cool one, I must admit. Elder Martinez and I are continuing to "wrestles against principalities and powers" and we are very much beginning to see some progress where we are. We are getting a lot of help from the members of our ward to seek those who have fallen from the faith in one way or another and trying to bring them back to the fold along with the rest of their families.

And overall, we are much happier where we are. The headaches are going away, the depression is vanishing, the sky is clearing up, the enthusiasm to work where we are is real, our prayers are being answered, and we are becoming more converted. We are sharing our testimony more, feeling more of the Spirit, and we are smiling much more.

And I just want to say a word about being happy. If you are reading this, smile. Give me a nice grin, at least. C'mon, not a fake one. I hope you're smiling right now, because now I must ask, why are you smiling? If you're thinking, just because, and it's a nice and real smile, well, stay that way! And if you don't know, well, begin to count your blessings. Think about your life. Think about a buddy of yours that always checks up on you. Think about your family, and think about how each member individually has blessed your life.

My dad gave me a blessing one time, entering third grade I believe, and in his blessing for me, reminded me to always smile, and remember the reason for why I am smiling. And I think upon this today with much gratitude. I just want to share with you why I am happy. (If you ceased to smile, smile for me just one more minute).

I am happy because I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, and knows me perfectly. He has known me even before the 18, almost 19, years that I have lived in this beautiful world. I am happy to know that He has given me a family with whom I could live for all eternity. I am happy to know that Jesus loves me, and that He is patient for me. I am so grateful for the hope that I have in knowing that He is the literal Master of the elements, that no matter how crazy this life gets, how difficult the challenges are, how unable or inadequate I feel in the situation in which I find myself, He will provide if I remember to rely on Him. I am happy to know that I can always pray to my literal Father of my Spirit, and express the deepest feelings of my heart, freely and sincerely. I am happy to be on this Earth with hundreds, thousands of my dear brothers and sisters from the life before, and to be able to share my testimony with them, and with you. I feel peace in my soul to know that Christ is in control, and that I can rely on Him. I am happy to know that I can see the hand of God in my life, that I can see things that otherwise would not happen if it weren't for His grace. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and all of its wonderful teachings and examples of fine men who were disciples of Christ as well, and I am thankful for their testimonies, which help to build mine own. I am happy to be serving a mission at this time in my life, and I am thankful for everything that has happened before, and I am thankful that I still have plenty of time left to enjoy the blessings of this wonderful life.

I hope that as you read these things, that you were able to keep on smiling. And I hope that when you discontinue reading these short message, that you can continue to think on these things, and continue to smile. We have too many blessings to not be smiling. We are all children of God, indeed, every single one of us. Even remembering this is powerful. I would exhort you all to remember these things, and continue to smile. And when someone asks you why you smile so much, and why you are so happy, just as my Dad prayed for me, tell them, "I am happy, because I am a child of God, and He loves me dearly."

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Zone Conference -- CCM reunion

Hair cut from a member

Monday, 5 February 2018 ~ Week #28

Hey folks!

I hope you have all had a splendid week this past week.

This past one was probably one of the hardest in my mission up to this point, mostly due to lots of appointments falling through, and some depression as to not relating the best with the people. I was so depressed one night I wrote a nice long list of my struggles and cried myself to sleep. It was pretty sad, this whole night. But the next morning, I received a call from the mental health counselor. She reminded me to stay engaged in the conversation, be humble and ask questions, and change the SHOULD's in my mind to COULD's. Though I have still struggled somewhat after the call with relating with the people and expressing my testimony, I felt less burdened.

This week my sister reminded me about HONK!, the presentation that Newberg High School did in November 2016. It is basically the musical retelling of the Ugly Duckling story. I actually had to cry a bit upon thinking about it because it was a reminder that no matter how little you could relate with the rest of the people around you, you will find your personal identity as you see yourself in the struggles of life, and be tested and tested and tested, at the same time blessed by the presence of people who reach out and who have experienced the same thing and remind you that it won't be the same forever. And after all these trials, you become the best friend of everyone. If you are reading this email and have either watched the show or have been a part of it, I would exhort you to remember the message of the show and remember to look upon it as a message of hope for the hopeless, that we are born with the image of God, that we are not designed to fail, that we are given the perfect assortment and order and intensity and nature of experiences, guided by the wise and omnipotent hand of our Heavenly Father, to progress and to become more like Him.

If you haven't seen the show, you can either find a link if there exists one, read the story, or otherwise hear what I desire to say inspired by this wonderful story. I know that in this life we are not put here to fail. And I know that even if we do fail, we have a Savior who has overcome all failure. He suffered our afflictions in the Garden of Gethsemane, every single one. And even from what we can learn from His mortal ministry, we know that He was rejected even by His own. But I promise you that every experience that we have is supposed to work to our good. Never feel inadequate to accept a new challenge in your life. Always do what you know is right, and the Lord will strengthen you in your trials. Look to Christ in the trials of your life, pray in His name to your Father in Heaven in supplication for every trial you suffer, and thank Him for every blessing you could think of, including the trials you have, with the knowledge that they are at least in some way or form for your good. I have seen the hand of the Lord in my life. I know that He is worked in yours. I am simply here to direct your attention for this moment. I testify of the perfection and the glory and the wonderfulness of the great plan of Salvation which the Lord has for us, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Isaiah 41:10 ¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Have a wonderful week! And every day, be of good cheer!

Elder Dredge

P.S. Attached are pictures at the Museum of the Bank of Guatemala, along with some new equipment bought today: a Swiss army knife, an ab wheel, and an elastic band. A missionary can at least try to get swole.

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission

Monday, 29 Januay 2018 ~ Week #27

Hey folks! Your buddy from south of the border just reached his ''bump day'' this past week, January 25 (beginning in July 25 of last year)---six months in the mission, woo!!!

But I must admit, this is quite the bump. It has been a hard week. Elder Martinez and I have been struggling with enduring to the end. I have been experiencing a little more depression. Elder Martinez admits that the area in which we are working is his Gethsemane. Our spirits have been low many times during the week.

However, we have seen some blessings this week. I had a phone call visit from a very helpful lady, Sis. George, with whom my mission president arranged for me to talk. President saw my need for some mental counseling, so she called this past Friday, and she reminded me to breathe and to not stress so much about what I am not doing, and accept my work as it is. She was so caring, I couldn't help but tear up as I called. I was urged by the Spirit to give a long prayer to my loving Heavenly Father after this.

We also saw some a miracle, witnessing the complete reactivation of a man with whom we met a month ago, who has been busy with work, was burdened with the near death of a family friend, and teared up upon hearing our Christmas message. He is now an amazing example of a converted disciple to Christ. It truly was a spiritual experience for me to see him come back to the faith. In the same meeting we saw a whole family experience something similar, coming back to the Church for the first time in years, including older brothers who have received tattoos and been addicted to smoking, coming with their children. I couldn't help but smile. I was amazed to be able to see the hand of the Lord in this instance.

So, I just want to share a word on prayer. I think it is very easy to fall into a routine with prayer. You, my friend, may be the type of Christian that blesses every meal. You may say a prayer every morning and night. You might be praying for some special blessings every now and then in certain difficult circumstances. I know you know how often you pray.

However often you pray, I would exhort you to, whenever you can lay aside a good 20 minutes or more, just have a conversation with your loving Heavenly Father. Kneel at your bedside, in your home, in your quiet place during the day, and tell Him about how you are doing. Tell Him about what is occupying you, what you are looking for, what you are stressed about, what you need help with. Be open and sincere with Him, because after all He is your literal spiritual Father. You may find that as you talk to Him, you find things to be thankful for. You might realize what it important in your life. You might be asking for help, but at the same time He might be speaking to your mind that which you are capable to do. You might feel like it is a conversation you will need more time to finish.

I was at my bedside this afternoon with a little notepad, a pencil, and a copy of the Book of Mormon. As I offered my prayer, I looked in the scripture guide at the back of the book under the topic of Thought, and 2 Nephi 32:8-9 came to my interest. It reads as follows.

8 And now, my beloved brethren, I perceive that ye ponder still in your hearts; and it grieveth me that I must speak concerning this thing. For if ye would hearken unto the Spirit which teacheth a man to pray, ye would know that ye must pray; for the evil spirit teacheth not a man to pray, but teacheth him that he must not pray.

9 But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.

The Lord grieves as well when we continue to ponder in our hearts, pondering the things that we can really turn to Him for help. Another scripture came to mind, which reads as follows.

36 Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.

37 Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.

We can receive counsel and support for literally anything we do throughout the day. We simply just need to pray. We can pray at any time, and any where. We can keep in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. Though a little ''appointment'' with Him would always be lovely and resolve many of our problems, which we can still do if we set apart the time, we can always say a little prayer in the heart for every thing that we do. The moment of prayer is any moment before, after, or during a moment in which we need His help or simply want to talk with Him.

I testify that our Heavenly Father loves us and is always listening. I can also testify that He answers our prayers, whether it is months after the prayer or upon utterance of the words spoken. He is our spiritual Father, always willing to listen to us. He is willing to help us. He will guide us and protect us and aid us if we simply ask His help. We can gain a close and personal relationship with Him. We can see His hand in our lives. He has a plan for us, each and every one of us. He knows us personally and knows what experiences we need to improve. And these things are made possible by the marvelous expiatory sacrifice voluntarily and willingly fulfilled by our loving and divine Savior Jesus Christ. I say these things in His sacred name, amen.

I love you, I pray for you, and I hope you have a wonderful week!

Elder Dredge

Elder Braden K. Dredge

Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission