January 14, 2012

Hello Everybody!!

 

The week after changes is never very exciting.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but... I haven't written in my Journal for about 2 weeks now, and so I have zero stories on the tip of my tongue, so I'll be able to give some brief overviews based on my agenda, but even that is kind of iffy...

 

We'll start with what I remember for SURE.

 

District Meeting on Wednesday was SICK, if I may say so myself. Not because I gave it or because it was my message, because it wasn't my message. On Tuesday the Zone Leaders had concilio with President and so on Wednesday morning before District Meeting the Zone Leaders talked to us, the district leaders, about what President talked about in concilio and so we talked to the missionaries in district meeting about what was talked about in concilio. President Watts has presented to us the Lord's desire and goal of 4 baptisms a month per companionship. So far there as been 1 missionary in almost 200 who has done this for more than 1 month in a row (he did it for 5 straight months) and he just went home. The question in concilio was that if they believed they could do it. They all said yes, and President said "So why aren't you doing it?". It was a very bold, straightforward question with no answer. To be honest, I haven't believed the whole time that it's possible for every missionary to baptism 4 people for month. Call me a doubting Thomas, but that's a LOT. Its not that I didn't want to do it, but 4 people a month every month comes out to be 48 people a year, 96 people in your mission. I haven't heard of that for a long time, and definitely hadn't seen it in my mission. So, yes, I didn't believe for a brief time that it was actually possible. Or better said, I doubted rather than didn't believe.

 

President then asked how we could demonstrate faith to achieve the vision and goal of 4 baptisms a month and presented 12 points of how to exercise faith to achieve our goal. I don't have all 12 points here with me, but I would like to share some of them with you.

 

1) Search and Follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost

2) Obedience in everything

3) Pray specifically

4) Repent and Change

 

It's kind of a a chastisement, really. But it's a building and growing process that I hope to be able to follow. Even though I'm in the office, and my time in the office is almost up, I know that as we work and follow through these plans with faith, believing that we can achieve all that the Lord has asked us to do, we will succeed and we will bring His children, once again, back to His presence.

 

Love,

 

Elder Andrew A. LaPray