Pressing forward with Faith! 05/09/2011

This week was a very good week. It feels like I'm so settled into the
mission, I was able to meet up with people that I knew before my
mission who are serving here, I met Elder Webb, who was in my EFY
group and also Elder Brooks who was from the reading ward. They are
fantastic missionaries and I know that we will be amazing friends even
after our missions. On Thursday we had to wake up extra early at 5:30
to travel to Preston for a Church History Tour, it was amazing. I even
found out that Bryan Miranda (from the Kingston Ward?) is coming to
serve here in the EMM next transfer. Two Elders from the Staines Stake
serving in blessed Manchester.
 
During that Church Tour I was even invited to play on an organ over
1000 years old, It was the first non- electrical organ I've played, it
sounded magnificent. I love speaking to people on trains in the
morning, although some of them do not listen, it is a great learning
experince for a new missionary to deal with opposition, I am so glad
that Rochdale is my first area, we face many challanges and much
opposition for which I am grateful for because I am able to grow and
grow from these experinces. If my first area was somewhere without
opposition like Chorley (the area where the Temple is Located) I
wouldn't have had all the hardships I face, but because of these
challenges I become stronger.
 
Being a missionary who plays piano has its blessings, let me tell you
of some. We have a member (I won't name him) he hasn't had the
missionaries around for dinner in a long time, he is fairly musical
and loves to talk music, and gets very excited on that subject. So in
the first time for possibly years he invited us around for dinner, it
was splendid and he loved to talk music, we did and he even
volunteered himself to come out and visit some people with us. I
really was called here by Heavenly Father because of personality. I
seen many blessings (with a side of dinner appointments), many members
have greater trust for me as I serve them by playing piano. He even
offred us a lift to our next appointment after dinner.
 
This week I've really learn't a lessons of Exact Obedience. In this
mission Exact Obedience is something that really stands out as a
deciding factor of how good you are of a missionary. From Section 130
v.21 we learn that "when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by
obedience to that law upon which it is predicated." I know this to be
true, I've just seen many example of being obedient on my mission thus
far. I will always remember the times where it is 8:55pm we are very,
very far away and by walking we will not make it to our Flat by 9:00pm
so we run, we run to our flat even when it is cold, dark and very wet
outside, we run because we are Exactly Obedient, I can testify of the
blessings in our lives as me and my companion are Obedient. We are on
our knees praying at Exactly 6:30am in the morning and Exactly 10:30pm
at night without even a 1 second measurement apart.
 
During this fast Sunday I fasted for the purpose of getting our ward
excited for missionary work. To no surprise I saw that our ward, even
Rochdale ward was so ready for much member- missionary work. You
wouldn't believe the amount of times I even heard the missionaries
being referenced by members this week. What was so exciting about this
Sunday was I saw Jordan Forbes (he served as Elder Forbes in Hounslow,
he was from the Lancs. area but I didn't know he was in this ward,
although he is moving to London soon to attend Kingston University) I
also found out that he trained Richard Hillary (who served as Elder
Hillary as a Zone Leader in Staines) the world just seems like a small
place.
 
I just finished reading the Book of Mormon cover to cover, I started
it in the MTC, I managed to finish Preach My Gospel in the MTC. I
would extort you (aimed at readers of this e-mail) to read it, and to
gain a testimony of it (if you haven't already) but within the verses
of Moroni 10:3-5 we are asked to read and ponder and pray about it, I
would like to focus a little of this portion on what we should be
pondering. When you ask anyone: "In these Verses (Moroni 10:3-5) what
should we ponder about?" the answer would be "the Book of Mormon"
 
In Mormon 10:3 we learn that "when ye shall read these things, if it
be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how
merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the
creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall recieve these
things, and ponder it in your hearts", what should we ponder? "It"
what is "it"? "It" is "how merciful the Lord hath been unto the
children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time
that ye shall recieve these things"
 
I know that as we ponder about the Book of Mormon, aswell as our
blessings we will receive a confirmation of the truthfulness of the
Book of Mormon, and ultimately this whole Gospel.
 
Elder Sapaden