Hey Everyone!
So how's life? I'm doing especially good today.. Not really sure why today is any better than any other day but I feel great! I think it all started with church yesterday. Like the sacrament was especially refreshing! Which sounds like super weird to say I just realized but hopefully you guys get what I mean... And if you dont.... ask someone that does... hahaha But I felt like 100% after sacrament meeting yesterday it was awesome!
How did this Sunday go?
My parents were asking how'd this sunday go cuz of how good last sunday was. And like I just said spiritually it was super refreshing. And I even had a interesting spiritual experience there too. So what happened my companion was asked to speak and he had totally forgotten... So he goes up there to speak and before that he was like I have no idea what I'm going to say...we'll see how this goes.. haha So as he started talking I remembered what it says in Preach My Gospel in chapter 10 that when you're not talking you should pray for your companion. And so I was like well... we're not exactly teaching a lesson here... buuuut I'll try it anyways! haha So I started praying for him and I felt the Spirit powerfully it was pretty cool. And his talk ended up going pretty good! My companion is a beast so I don't think he needed my prayers but he had them just in case.. haha. Also we had about the same turn out as last week. But this was the fourth Sunday in a row for the Francisco family so now we can finally count them as returning! WOO! It's like baptizing a family! Except the temple is even closer than the year wait of a normal convert. =D
How did you interview with the Pres go? Did he give you any ideas about what would happen from this point forward transfer-wise?
Interviews were awesome! He asked us for three goals that we had for 2013, and he also gave us the opportunity to share our testimony of the Savior with him. So it was really cool. Just so you know so you guys can hold me accountable for my goals as well...My first goal is to study and apply the principles of revelation so that I can be better at receiving revelation for myself and anyone else that may be under my stewardship. Second, in relation to my ever nearing return home, I've made a goal to read the Book of Mormon everyday. And third, I want to continue to really come to know Christ personally and experience His Atonement. I also came to him with a concerns of mine. Probably the one that he helped me the most with is I asked him how do you make long prayers more effective? He told me that actually our prayers don't really have to be long. I was like well I wanna pray for my investigators, my less-actives, members here in Binan, everyone in my zone, my family, my friends like everyone! And then in PMG it counsels us to give an accounting for our day's activities and also our next day's plans in our prayers.... So I was like how do I do that?? I told him what I kinda have tried to start doing is before praying I think about the day and things that we need and blessing I saw and what not and then I pray. President Stucki said that thats what he would tell me to do because there was one time when Joseph Smith called someone on a mission and the only counsel he gave him was to "keep your prayers short." So he told me that often he remembers that Heavenly Father knows all things and the needs of all so he ponders out in his mind that things that are most important and approaches him full of thanks and with a few questions or special blessings that he feels are the most pertinent. So I'm super grateful for an awesome mission president! He told me and Elder Orth that we would be together for one more but he didn't say like just one more or anything. So I don't have any hints. What we figure is if I don't transfer here at the end of february then I'm going to die here but we'll see!
BTW, how many missionaries are in your zone?
We have 7 companionships which is about average. But as more missionaries come we're looking to add another set of missionaries in 2 or 3 different areas in our zone. So we're going to become a pretty large zone hopefully. We have 2 sets of sisters and the rest elders. We've got 6 americans, 1 guamanian from texas, 1 canadian, 2 filipinos, 1 sri lankan, 1 poly, 1 american from the India mission that's waiting for his visa to get renewed, and 1 from the middle east that I haven't actually met yet so I don't know for sure. We rock. haha
Here's my new gospel insight for the week! I was like somewhat blown away when I received this inspiration. So I hope you guys have seen Elder Bednar's videos called Patterns of Light. If you havent.... you should really watch them. It's a three part short video series that is like life changing. So anyways Elder Bednar in the third part of the series teaches that generally there's about three types of revelation. First revelation like light coming because of a flip of a light switch where it kinda just hits you and its clear. Second, there's revelation like light from a sunrise. Where it's not really clear when the light gets there but it kinda just comes gradually but you know that there's light. And third, and most common he says, is like a foggy day in which you never see the whole picture real clearly but you have just enough light to make the next step into the fog and then you can see far enough ahead to take the next step or two and so on and so forth until you get to your destination. So in district meeting Elder Young taught about receiving revelation and we used three examples from the scriptures in 1 Nephi 11:1, D&C 76:19, and D&C 138:1-11. And as we looked those over.. I realized that those were the three ways that Elder Bednar said! Nephi's is the light switch kind because he was sitting there pondering and then BOOM. Swept up into a mountain. haha And then D&C 76:19 is the sunrise because it says that their eyes of their understanding was touched and the vision opened up. So opening our eyes sometimes, especially in the dark, sometimes takes some adjustment like the slow light received in a sunrise. Because it said that they were translating and then they stopped and "marveled" so for me at least that's the second kind. Then the third kind is in D&C138 because it came after days and days of pondering and then he went to the scriptures and pondered some more and then was inspired to read in 1 peter and then he thought some more and then the revelation came. To me thats a good example of step by step and then coming to a final destination. So yeah!
In less spiritual news, we had a member take us out to eat and he actually doesn't speak Tagalog cuz he's from Indonesia. So he's teaching me Indonesian! Buuuutt.. Saya idak visa bahasa Indonesian. ha! haha He says I could learn it in a month... ummm not too sure on that one.. haha In other other news... every time I go into a public bathroom here I'm reminded of the St. Louis Zoo because it smells just like the monkey house. always. hahaha
In more other news... I now understand why I was ALWAYS late for church and seminary. It served a purpose! So that way I could tell Sister Celorico on Thursday that it's alright if you're late cuz it's more important that you're there! And I could personally relate to her and testify that even though we should try our best to be on time it's more important to be late a little than to not be there at all... So I now feel justified in my being late always... hahaha =D Just kidding. You guys should not follow my example of lateness =)
Well I gotta get running! But I hope you guys all have a great week! Thanks to you all for being awesome friends family and dogs! Shout out to Santabelle!
Love,
Elder Michael Gadberry
PS -- Shout out to Elder Alvey for behold tis his birthday today! Boom shocka locka.
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