England London Mission

England London Mission

Monday, October 7, 2013

Three months, Loving it, and a Trainer

I hate stupid technology!   We were just at the library and my computer froze.  So I was like whatever, and logged back on.  The whole email was gone-so whatever!  Here goes again…..

Conference was great.  A lot about missionary work.  I loved the quote by Elder Nelson.  The work will not move forward without members getting involved.  And Elder Bednar- if you are not paying tithing- repent.  They talked a lot about how there is this work to be done with missionaries and how we need to be converted ourselves unto this work.  If anyone is wondering what the church is concerned about, from the talks it is- missionary work, becoming converted, staying converted and marriages. We were able to see all of conference except the Sunday afternoon session, so I am hoping to listen to those talks some time.

I miss the farm.  I can just close my eyes and see the layout of the fields, see the equipment and have memories of all the last two weeks before my mission when nothing was going right.  But I would go through it all again, cause I love it.  Love it and miss it.

This week we got to the train station to switch companions.  It was weird I thought I was getting an “old” Elder that had been out for awhile.  But this Elder has only been out for 6 weeks.  I’m his follow up trainer.  I’ve only been out for 3 months, and I am doing follow up training.  Normally the President calls you when you are becoming a trainer or District leader or any leadership position. But he forgot to call us.  Elder Bell is a follow up trainer and becoming district leader. Since the President forgot to call us, we were both in big shock when we got there.  But it’s been good.  This week went by so fast, it seems like just yesterday that  I emailed you last week.  I hope it continues to go that fast, cause I miss home. But the mission is going great I love it.

The mission is hard, times are hard, but it’s so worth it.  I have learned so much about myself and become so much more spiritually strong.   More fully converted unto the Lord and I love it.  Two years is a long time, but 3 months have gone by and now I am starting to truly love this work.   Conference was a humbling experience for me.  All of the prayers that were said for missionaries.  And the talk of time hasting the work of the Lord, and I am in the middle of it.  The second coming is so near, I know its coming sooner than we all expect it to happen.  Joseph Smith said that this time would happen.  Hasting the work of the Lord would happen before the coming of the Messiah.  The work is being hastened now- 80,333 missionaries are in the world.  And many more who have their calls right now. The time to work is now, the hour of this mission has come.   Missionary work is far from easy, there is rejection, hatred, and judgments.  But all of this-  the missionaries are going through.  Why?  Because they love the Lord and love serving Him.  They know it is the right thing to do.  Jesus Christ was rejected, hated and judged before any of us were born.  The things that are going on the world today as missionaries, are not new.  It’s the same things that people have faced for centuries.

You can only convert someone as far as your own conversion!  For all the people considering if they should go on a mission or not- do it!  It has been so amazing to serve the Lord. It has been so amazing to see the gospel help others around us.  It is not easy, but it is worth it.  I would recommend that those going on a mission read the book “Our Search for Happiness” by M Russell Ballard.   Actually a good book for everyone to read.

This week I was asked to give a training on faith in District Meeting.  I didn’t think I had great enough faith to be teaching about it.  But when I started looking back, I realized my faith has grown a lot already.

We set a goal to have one baptism this transfer.  I know that as we do all that we can, as we work as hard as we can, be obedient and diligent then we put it up to the Lord.  We set a goal and work as hard as we can to achieve it and if we are doing all that we can, the Lord will bless us with the things that he sees fit for us in His own time and in His own way.

Three months have gone by, and I love the mission. It has been tough at times, but I love it now.  I cannot believe how far I have come in the last 3 months spiritually.  I love it.  The mission is going great.  The area is starting to see things happen, and I am having a great time serving the Lord.

Thank you everyone for the prayers and thoughts going out to me- they are felt!

Love, Elder Stevenson




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