Well howdy y'all! This week was AMAZING!!! Last Monday, as y'all know,
we went to the Houston Zoo. That was super cool to see the animals in
all their varieties, shapes, sizes, and colors. Honestly, it's a lot
cooler than the Zoo in Utah...
On Wednesday,
we had our interviews with President Hall. We as well had our District
Council at the Beechnut Building instead of the Bering, like we normally
have. Interviews went great! There will always be things I need to
improve on in my missionary work, and I am so grateful for it.
Especially for President Hall and his kindly correction. That is
definitely something I am really trying to work on as a leader.
Thursday
was basically P-day pt. 2. We went with the YSA Elders to Herman Park
to help move some trees around. They were having a fundraiser, and
needed some more oomph to it. And let me tell you, we sure have it to
them. Haha, after we helped out, we got a tour of the Japanese Gardens
that were right next to it. That was super cool! I highly reccomend if
you haven't been.
Friday
was another awesome day of service at the Beacon. We were the only 2
Elders yet again. But, it was so much fun! We literally got to chop up
meat for a solid 2.5 hours. I love it now! We then biked to our boy Rob
who will be getting baptized soon! He is so ready to get dunked, it's
ridiculous!
As you all know, Saturday
we had Tommy's baptism!! Man, that was such a spiritual experience!
When Tommy came out of the water, his face was priceless! He was
grinning ear to ear. When we were talking with him after the matter, he
said "I wouldn't miss the confirmation for the world. I would break down
door to get there!" That was really cool to hear come out of the mouth
of an investigator.
Yesterday, or Sunday
was also a really spiritual experience. We confirmed him a member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When he sat back down
with Elder Gilleland, he asked "...so when can we go to the temple?"
Like... WHAT?!? AWESOME SAUCE!!! Now we are planning on working with him
to get some family names to take.
Now that I have blown the length of this email up, let's keep going shall we? :)
I
want to talk to all those who have returned from their missions, wishes
they would've gone on missions, or are preparing to serve. I will help
you increase your missionary efforts where you are today. Work, school,
etc.
Some might of heard
of a Family Mission Plan, and some might not. But, a FMP(for short) is
our way we can contribute to the full time missionaries as well to the
Lord. It is really simple and can even be performed with just one
person. Here are the steps to creating a FMP.
Step 1: Recognize the blessings! Here are some of the blessings...
1. Stronger families centered more firmly on Christ (greater peace in the home).
2. An increase of joy as we invite others and lead by example.
3. A greater understanding of Christ, and His mission for us.
4.
In the words of President Thomas S. Monson: "When performance is
measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and
reported, the rate of improvement accelerates."
Step 2: Realize that the "Three-Fold Mission of the Church" is...
1. Preach the Gospel (our future families)
2. Perfect the Saints (our current fanilies)
3. Redeem the Dead (our former families)
What
a blessing it is to know how simple missionary work really is! As a
fulltime and set apart missionary, I only need to worry about "Preaching
the Gospel", and for the rest of you... There lies a little more
weight. But, have no fear!!
Step 3: Pray and seek for inspiration.
- Ask the Lord specifically for guidance in helping your family to bring others unto Christ (especially ourselves)
Step 4: Review progress.
-
Where are we in our discipleship? If we haven't made goals, what
progress have we made? Why have we? Or why haven't we? What changes must
we make to accomplish these goals?
Step 5: Set goals.
- Make year goals, monthly, weekly, and daily goals to accomplish the Lord's purpose for you and your families.
-
Set goals that make you stretch, but also set goals that are within
your power to accomplish, such as inviting several friends to receive
the Gospel as opposed to baptizing three friends. And have family
scripture study and prayer as opposed to "making sure all of my children
serve missions". We must always respect the agency of others.
Step 6: Make plans.
- Make plans to accomplish these goals; If we've set a goal to share online messages, how, what, when? Etc...
Step 7: Pray again.
-
Seek confirmation from the Lord, and ask Him for His blessing and aid
in accomplishing the righteous goals you have set. :) 3 Nephi 27:28
Step 8: Go out and do it!!
I
am excited to see how this is applied to our homes and families. I
promise in the name of Jesus Christ that as you apply this planning to
your daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly life, that you will come
closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I love all of you and hope to hear feedback on how this went for you. :)
-Elder J.T.Yates
The Memorial District posted up after District Council.
The Japanese Garden in Herman Park ↕
Elder Gilleland and I in front of one of the coolest murals in Houston
Just your average homie in Downton Houston
Captain Panda-Head Man!!
"Dwight" Transmission on "Dumble" Street!
My favorite picture I have taken my entire mission!
The view from one of our investigators apartments