This week has been one full of miracles and bunches of fun! We've been out far west and had some good fun in the beautiful city of Plymouth again! I hope everyone has been able to enjoy your own week and that everything is going well for you all! Here are the adventures of this week! Nearly closing off January already... weird huh?
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| Mission Accomplished farewell for Elder Stile (Temple Missionary) |
Thursday: January 19th, 2017
We had the Western Zone Conference down in Poole today with the remaining 4 western zones and it was very different compared to the one in the east. Revelation just changes things here and there so we adjusted to what needed to be a tad bit different with role plays and added presentations and practice. Following the conference, we took the journey out to the far west in Plymouth for exchanges with the zone leaders and I also got to roam with the other Plymouth elders. Plymouth is always quite the road trip... we were all starving but we didn't stop for food for some reason haha. We actually made it a fun ride as we shared our own personal conversion stories.(funny how 3 elders(including myself) have almost an identical story of how we got introduced to the church and how we later ended up joining and coming on a mission. God works in patterns though right?
Friday: January 20th, 2017
We had a pretty sweet day! We started off by banner contacting in town with the rest of the district in the freezing cold Plymouth weather...(we tend to choose the best times to face windy and cold days haha. The life of a missionary though, you work rain or shine, cold or hot. Elder Watkins had a doctors appointment in the afternoon so we had to head to the hospital for a bit while he gathered some stuff from there and then we went knocking for a bit around a potential friend they've been working with and along the way... we saw a house that had a USA flag on it and I was intrigued to knock on it cause who doesn't love talking about America? Little did I know that a man was about to pull up into the driveway in a 59 Ford Thunderbird..! It was one of the nicest sights of my mission haha. He imported it along with a Chevy Nova from Cali. Such beautiful old cars... Dad you would've loved seeing them! It was like hitting the car shows again for sure...
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| '59 Thunderbird |
We headed back home last night from Plymouth and stopped off in Poole and then finished our journey back to the land of Crawley in the morning. All 3 of us needed to finish some scholarship essays before the deadlines and so we received permission to pound those out and get them submitted... it took forever. It really made me evaluate what I actually wanted to do with my future when I return home. Time is quickly passing by and I almost feel like Jacob where he says, "our lives passed away like as it were unto us a dream." But rather in the context of my mission. Day by day... all I want to do is continue to grow and learn more and prepare myself for whatever the Lord is going to bring my way come May.
Sunday: January 22nd, 2017
What...a....day...! So our friends Jack and Maureen both came to church today and they LOVED IT! Again. Maureen was well taken care of by the members of the ward and we tagged along with Jack since it was his first time there. Throughout the meetings, Jack was intrigued and just very interested on a lot of what was going on and in Elder's Quorum, I had the chance to share an experience with him about an answer I received from prayer back on November 16th, 2014. It was such a powerful and sacred experience that I rarely share it with anyone but I felt impressed to as we were discussing the difference between what is real and what is imaginary. It helped me remind me of just how amazing God is and how He works which each of us. After church, we had lunch with the Hunt's and Maureen and that was great! We had a pretty powerful lesson after as well about the Plan of Salvation and needless to say, there were tears and all sorts of emotions going around as we talked about the blessings of the Plan of Salvation for our families, both lived and passed on. It was amazing to be able to see just how she connected with the family so well and we were all just so open to discussion and insights and the Spirit was tangible in the lesson among all of us. We finished off the night with Jack and Arcadia and oh my goodness, they have changed so much! They just told us how much they want to make changes and get ready for baptism and just how they want to do it together as a team and they just really really want to do it!
Monday: January 23rd, 2017
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| Bowling Alley Teaches in Hollywood! |
Tuesday: January 24th, 2017
One of the best exchanges I've had in such a long time... Elder Jensen and I had the chance to work together for the first time in 4 transfers and we didn't hesitate to get the job done! In the early morning we saw Jack and Arcadia and taught them the Word of Wisdom and after, she threw her coffee away without question haha, it was amazing to see that. Instant results! We headed back and did some study and lunch before we headed off to visit a member and his non-member fiancé. Sadly, they flogged us and we talked to a guy named Graham which was fun. He was 76 and an ex detective which was fun to talk about but then he said he loved watching American football and that he went to a couple of super bowls in the past... EASY! I took a picture out of the Lombardi Trophy in London that I found and I used it to talk to him for a bit about football and then we shared a bit of a what we believe and he has met hundreds of Mormon's before but just isn't at the point of learning yet but we had a super good conversation in town. we decided to leave and head off to some referrals we received from some other missionaries from a few weeks back and although she wasn't interested... we found 2 new people and also set a return appointment with a former we ran into. Funny enough, My companions called Elliot earlier that morning and tried to set a time but he said he was to busy but then we bumped into him and set a time. God just gives people more than one chance in a day to set a time I guess hah. This message must really be important. To finish off the night, we saw Maureen again with Brother Mann and the lesson went SUPER well. We talked about the organization of the church and the importance of Prophets and Apostles in these last days.(Amos 3:7; Eph. 4:5, Eph. 2:19-20; Matt. 16:18-19) 'God is the same yesterday, today, and forever' so would he not work the same way he once did? Of course... we talked about how God will always work this way and to pay close attention to what churches actually have living prophets and apostles in the organization that the Lord Jesus Christ established himself when he was on the earth. He called 12 Apostles and also Seventy others to go out and preach the word of God to all places that they may go, covering the globe. She sat there and you could see all of the light bulbs just clicking for her... she then said towards the end, "It all makes sense... and it helps remove so much confusion that I've had as I've searched in other churches. It just makes sense." I then asked her what she understands about the things we've taught recently and also previously and why they make sense and she just immediately said. "That it's true..!" She is such an amazing woman and is truly a seeker of truth and God is granting her answers to some of the deepest questions no other church was able to offer her about life and also the fullness of the understanding of Christ's doctrine. "Upon this rock" means the rock of divine revelation... which means that the rock upon which Peter was being built was divine revelation and the receiving of the priesthood the keys to the kingdom to bind on earth and in heaven all things and would receive living revelation through the Holy Ghost. It's amazing how although you go to teach others, you're the one who still learns a ton too from the Holy Ghost throughout the lesson.
Wednesday: January 25th, 2017
We picked up a few more new people today was we waited for Elder Wright to return from his exchange down in Weston. Elder Cloward and I decided to have lunch at Toby Carvery because it'd be quicker than trying to cook food ourselves at the flat...(go figure haha) Then we had a few flogged appointments, five actually... and then we saw Arcadia and boy! She hadn't smoked in 16 hours! crazy miracle! She mentioned how on edge she was and how she wanted to bunch us all at one point but we were super okay with that haha. We finished the night by watching the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast which was a repeat of the last one for the missionaries that weren't in last years and also a few new things that came from our leaders. What better way to finish off the day then by diving into McDonald's for dinner?(best missionary diet ever...not haha) but he had fun with the Crawley Leadership for dinner and then headed home to finally relax and gather a well needed rest.
Thursday: January 26th, 2017
We sadly can't play basketball today cause they are re-waxing the gym(which is okay) so we will probably just relax a lot today! Which is what I need as I slept pretty crooked the other day and my back has been pretty sore because of it haha. I literally feel old... no offence to anyone out there but the mission takes a toll on the body for sure.
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| Jack wanted to be a missionary for the day! |
Book of Mormon:
Mosiah 24:14
"And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders , that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions."
Doctrine & Covenants:
D&C 32:10-14
"Yea, open your mouths and they shall be filled, saying: Repent, repent, and prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;
"Yea, repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.
"Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
"And upon this rock I will build my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall not prevail against you."
Quote of the Week:
"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. my past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed vision, worlds talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear."
-Unnamed
Have a great week!
Love,
-Elder Rivera
