Week 53 - Up the Mountain

With this week making my "year-mark", I've looked back on the things that have happened since I started this journey of becoming. I can think of many times where both the positive and negative experiences I've had have shaped me into the person I am now. The lessons I've learned about who I am, what my relationship to Jesus Christ and others is, and what true happiness is have helped me see what is most important in life. Many would say that I am now "over the hill" of my full-time missionary service, but I'd like to say that I'm only half way up the mountain I started climbing last year.

 

During our companionship inventory last week, Elder Clemente set a goal to give a blessing to someone that week. He's usually pretty shy about giving blessings, so this was a pretty big goal for him. I wasn't sure how we were going to accomplish this goal, but of course, before the end of the week, such an opportunity presented itself. On Friday, we went to visit a sister who lives in our ward boundaries and attends the Chinese ward in Ashfield. Last week, she had an operation and asked us to come to the hospital to see her. When we got there, she asked us to give her a blessing as she recovers and prepares for another operation. This wasn't an unexpected request, given her situation, but it showed me that when we set righteous goals and plan to reach them, the Lord will provide a way for us to do so. After the blessing, she told us about how  warm and peaceful she had felt and how much more ready she was for the coming weeks. That strengthened my testimony about the power of the priesthood to comfort those in need.

 

This week, I learned a lesson on the Atonement from chapter 58 of Alma. As Helaman and the other commanders of the Nephite army continue their war, they begin to run low of both men and supplies. The cause of their not receiving further support is unknown, but they pray for the continued protection and guidance from the Lord that they so desperately need. The Lord visits them with the assurance that He would deliver them. With this assurance, as well as the faith and hope they recieved from the Lord, the Nephites take courage to conquer their enemies and maintain the freedoms their God had given them, even though their numbers were small. To apply that to missionary work, each missionary has times where they are running low on the things that they need to continue as a servant of the Lord. They may feel abandoned and left without support, but when they turn to their Father in Heaven, submitting their will to His and keeping his commandments, they have the assurance that the Lord is with them. With this knowledge, a missionary may take courage and know who is really in control. Even if our "forces" are small and struggling, the Atonement gives us the hope and happiness we need to conquer our own personal "enemies" and "defend" the good things we've already been given.

Next week, We'll read Alma 61-63. Now we'll see the end of this war that we've been reading about and see what happens to the people afterwards. There's a lot of good things in these chapters, so look out!

 

Love,

Elder Clark