July 25th

Hello Family and Friends,

 

It has been a good week. Lots of good things are happening, and so much work is being done. We're having a hard time keeping track of all the people we are meeting!

We had Tiyah Amusa's baptism on Saturday and it was wonderful. Elder Johnston (the ZL, and the missionary that baptised Tiyah's family) baptised her, and another RM confirmed her, but Elder Glancy and I got to stand in. We had dinner with them last night. Such an awesome family. :) Martin and Geoff were also able to come to the baptism. Martin said that when we laid our hands on Tiyah's head to confirm her and give her the Holy Ghost, he said his heart got so warm- like heartburn but without the pain. Thats what its all about. :) He is so solid, and I'm excited for him to progress towards baptism. His life has really changed a lot lately, and he is such a great guy.

Stanley is also doing great! He is so excited to be learning more about Christ's Gospel and his enthusiasm is contagious! But, he lives in a share home with a bunch of other guys going to uni, and they are all hard core Christian. So apparently Saturday night, they got super mad at Stanley for having us over and there was a big fight. But we haven't gotten a hold of Stanley in a while and we are kind of worried. It has become so apparent that the harder people try to change their lives and come unto Christ, the harder Satan tries to confound their efforts. I just hope Stanley can keep progressing. He's so good.

We've also found that people who are prepared to receive the Gospel, are PREPARED! It has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with Him. We are only the ones to be His hands as you might say. There are people who are ready, and the Spirit will lead them. It is so apparent those who are ready and those who are not. We just have to find them, or hunt them. Ha, Danielle often says to us as we leave, "Happy Hunting!".

But just because the Lord does everything, that does not diminish our personal responsibility as missionaries. The Lord can only work through us as we are obedient, diligent, and worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. While the work has nothing to do with me, it has everything to do with how I prepare myself, how I obey the commanments and mission rules, how I keep my covenants, and how I give my all to my Heavenly Father. Only then will I be an effective instrument (a Heckel) in his hands.

One important thing is to not get too comfortable. Yes, it is extremely important to get into the routine of things and accustomed to the missionary life, which has happened, but I can never become complacent with my finding, teaching, and baptising. That can never happen. The Lord requires not only that we keep His commandments, but that we come perfected through Him. And perfection takes a very long time. Line upon Line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little. That is how we progress as people, as the Lord's servants, and as disciples of Christ.

There are many things on the mission that are quite humerous. Sometimes the reasons people give for why they can't stop are hilarious.Oh, and this one old guy said he was going to call the police on us. He didn't, but it would have been funny. People are so different. We meet all kinds of personalities and characters, and many crazy people. Tis great.

I'm going to send some pictures as well, some are from the MTC and some are from the field, but I hope you enjoy them.

I love you all and hope you are doing well. Please pray for all of the missionaries around the world. :) We need all the help we can get.

 

Love,

Elder Flores

 

ps. my Italian name is Elder Fiore