Following Up

Luis Guillion - ARGENTINA  Hello Beautiful Family of Mine :)

What a week it has been. We are working as hard as we can and trying to find new people but nobody was ready this week. We are hoping and praying to find some people ready to hear the gospel this week. I am sure there is someone waiting for us and I am excited! :) 

We have had some adventures this week. I sent a picture of it. But we went on Hermana Vargas first exchange as a sister training leader... hahah oh dear. Long story short. The place where we were trying to go was 2 hours away in train and bus. But we missed the first train to get to the second train. So we had to wait an hour for the second train. We got on and just as we were about to leave I thought.hmmm. maybe we should call the sisters. Turns out the next bus left at 6pm. We hopped off the train and went back home because we would have been waiting all day in the station. Anyway, it was quite the disaster/adventure. We just laugh about it and now we will being doing 2 exchanges this next week ;) WOOOOO! 

We missed the train

Hermana Vargas loves her water

I have been to nicer sections of town.

Another adventure was that we had a FHE in the ward this week. We are making a ward mission plan because we haven’t really had one. Part of it is that every other week we will be doing a FHE for the ward, and investigators. We had a great turn out. We played a game called find the treasure. Basically random objects around the church and then they had to tie it in with the gospel and how it could apply. (example. bar of soap.. repentance)  It’s hard to explain on email but it was fun. Then the elders talked about what the treasures of the gospel are and how we can share them with other people. The spirit was strong and I loved what they said. They said that whoever had a phone needed to get it out and send a text to a nonmember friend to invite them to church or the activity next week. awesome right? Gotta love technology! 

RS Activity

I have a goal to read the Liahona conference edition again before this conference in October. I am almost done. But today I was reading a talk that was amazing and I have to share. I am sure you have heard it or read it before. It’s called. ¨Following Up.¨ Any of you who were missionaries or know missionaries know that we LOVE to give commitments. But something important as well is to follow up. This is what Elder Ballard talks about in is talk and it was very powerful. I will only share the  highlights and then I want to leave you a personal commitment to go and read it this week. Will you do it? I hope so :) 

Highlights: 

-We can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith.

-If members learn to use the correct name of the Church in connection with the word Mormon, it will underscore that we are Christians, members of the Savior’s Church. Brothers and sisters, let us follow up and develop the habit of always making it clear that we belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

-I’m a great believer in the principle of follow-up. As it says in the missionary guide Preach My Gospel, “extending an invitation without following up is like beginning a journey without finishing it or buying a ticket to a concert without going into the theater. Without the completed action, the commitment is hollow.”2 Preach My Gospel teaches everyone not only how to invite but also how to follow up on our invitations. The purpose of missionary work is defined as inviting “others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.”3Inviting is certainly part of the process. But notice that there is much more to missionary work for members than simply extending invitations to people to listen to the missionaries. It also includes follow-up with the missionaries in the cultivation of faith, the motivation to repentance, the preparation for making covenants, and enduring to the end.

-In the spirit of Peter’s example, may I suggest that we can all be more consistently involved in missionary work by replacing our fear with real faith, inviting someone at least once a quarter—or four times every year—to be taught by the full-time missionaries. They are prepared to teach by the Spirit, with sincere and heartfelt inspiration from the Lord. Together we can follow up on our invitations, take others by the hand, lift them up, and walk with them on their spiritual journey.

-To help you in this process, I invite all members, regardless of your current calling or level of activity in the Church, to obtain a copy of Preach My Gospel. It is available through our distribution centers and also online. The online version can be read or downloaded at no cost. It is a guidebook for missionary work—which means it is a guidebook for all of us. Read it, study it, and then apply what you learn to help you understand how to bring souls to Christ through invitation and follow-up. As President Thomas S. Monson has said, “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him.”

-It is my testimony that as we work together, seeking the one, inviting, and following up with trust and faith, the Lord will smile upon us and hundreds of thousands of God’s children will find purpose and peace in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

Velasquez Family

Family and friends... whoever is ready this. I just want to testify of this Apostle’s words. For 3 conferences straight he has been talking about missionary service. That must mean it’s important. I know that it is part of the Lords plan to share this gospel with everyone. Before my mission I never really knew how but now... I do and know its our responsibility. Dont beat yourself up because you haven’t been doing it. Simply make a goal now, get down and pray and figure out who you can help out and how you need to do it. There are TONS of ways to share the gospel and be a missionary. Go out there and get em! Hope you are doing well. I am loving life! I am praying for you. Thanks for your love and support. Have a wonderful week! Tear it up!

Con Amor,

Hermana Newman :)