Hello!
Another week has just come and gone, it has flown by so quickly that it just seems I had e-mailed you all last wednesday, and then I closed my eyes to find myself at a computer again. This week has been a marvellous week, Teresa is still dated for baptism and we taught a whopping 18 lessons in 5 days. Something that I've come to understand on my mission is this important principle: Success is a gift, Success is a lifestyle. During the early days of my mission I would often think, there was an almost perfect correlation between: amount of baptisms = success of a missionary.
It really isn't the case, I've seen great missionaries, who haven't baptised on there mission, I've seen not so great missionaries baptise many on their missionaries, I've seen the most obedient missionaries baptise a few, and the perhaps not so faithful missionaries baptise by the tens. Success is a gift, Success comes from looking for what you can do more, it comes from a divine hand carrying you to the right people at the right times at the right places. Success is the spirit. I would say for myself I've had a successful mission so far, the baptisms aren't falling off of the trees but God has granted unto me so much success. 18 lessons in 5 days is so great!
We are teaching a Young chinese man aswell and he is just so excited to come to Church, we are teaching a town drunk who wants to change and obviously Teresa and many others.
There was a Concert at Liverpool celebrating the arrival of missionaries to the British Isles 175 years ago which we were able to attend on Saturday, the ironic and very symbolic thing was that we had caught a Ferry to those same docks where the early missionaries had landed earlier in the day from the Isle of Man, we are staying till Thursday, the original plan was to keep us in Liverpool, but St. Helens being close enough and not far at all I told them I needed to go to St. Helens so that is where I am at right now, the best ward in the World! I love the St. Helens members they really are a rare class of members who would do anything for you. I love them and they are just so great! We had the opportunity to go to Church with them yesterday and they all remembered me and it was just like catching up with old friends, I love them so much! Infact it very much felt like I was catching up with friends I had met before my mission. I was almost lulled into a sense that I wasn't a missionary and I was just visiting the ward, in my mind I was going to hug them all, but once I remembered that I had a companion I returned to missionary mode.
I had met some St. Helens members at the Concert I had met Sister Marshall the Liverpool Stake Presidents wife and as soon as she met me she invited us for dinner on the Sunday, I love St. Helens all of them arranged Dinner appointments different to the St. Helens missionaries for me and my companion and we have one for everyday that we are here! Best ward ever!
Heres a funny experience that was had after Church yesterday, Elder Kerr of the Seventy came to the St. Helens ward, I had remembered him coming to a Staines Stake youth convention and talking to us, here's how the conversation went:
"Hi Elder Kerr, do you remember when you went to a staines stake youth convention?"
"I do, we talked about the Law of Chastity that night"
"do you remember how we got onto that topic?"
"I can't remember"
"you asked us what we wanted to learn about that night and all of the youth were very shy and didn't utter a word, I whisphered to my friends "girls" to make them laugh, you asked "who said that? and I stood up and we talked about the Law of Chastity"
"I remember that, well, well, now you're on a mission and just doing great!"
It was a funny experience that I'll never forget, a immature young man who just wanted to talk about girls, just happened to clean up a little bit, study his scriptures harder and became a missionary had talked to the same seventy about 3 years later and he remembered that great experience we had together.
Well, it would be amiss if I didn't share something of spiritual worth and so this weeks little thought is just a small one. Joshua 24:15: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua instructing the Children of Israel commanded them to act, to choose for themselves, just to do. He knew as we did, in Matthew "No man can serve two masters" and he knew that they needed to choose, the ability to choose the the greatest gift that God has given to us except for life itself. However, the deeper meaning and the higher law comes from the words "this day" Joshua was wise, in Alma we learn that this life is the time to prepare to meet God, and consequently we shouldn't procrastinate the day of our repentance. Think of how it would change is Joshua said "Choose tommorow, it's not that important" or "Perhaps, maybe next week go Choose so one to follow" or "try serving both, that might work" he said effectively "today" choose today. So my invitation for this week is exactly that "Choose today", who will you serve? what will you do to serve him?
I love you all!
Elder Sapaden
"Quocunque Jeceris Stabit"
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