August 31

Hey mom! Thanks for your email, I really like hearing about what's going on back home. Some of the other elders have set up ICloud albums with their families so there families can send them pictures through that. Just a thought :) 

This week was pretty rough. We had a lot of appointments fall out, and just a lot of people that made commitments they didn't keep. For example, on Sunday, we had 16 people tell us they would be at church, and none of them came. It was really sad for us, but we did our part. We gave testimony, invited, and promised blessings. The rest is up to their agency. 

But that wasn't really what was hard. This last week I've been doing a lot of self reflection. I felt like I was just stuck in a routine. I would get up, work as hard as I can, and not really see any results from it. Next week I'll have been out a whole year, and I just felt like in the past year I haven't accomplished anything. If I've been works so hard, then why have I seen minimal success? 

The answer to this question came slowly and through a lot of prayer and fasting. I read through my study journal, and I thought about all of the things I have learned here on my mission, and how much Personal revelation I have received. I remembered all of the good times I had, and all of the love that I felt. I remembered all of the blessings that have been given me, and all of the promises which will be fulfilled about my mission. But, most importantly, I remembered that Jesus is the Christ, and my savior. I have really come to appreciate the power of the atonement, and I really want to bear testimony that we can Access this power through fasting. Fasting has really helped me to focus this last week, and has helped me to know just what needs to get done.

In this past year u have had a very successful mission. I haven't seen a baptism, but it had still been successful, because I have learned and grown. I know that the lord is preparing me for something big that is coming, I can feel it. I've never felt so prepared to do the lords work as I do now, and I've also never felt as many temptation and power from the devil. He wants to stop whatever is about to happen, and I can't let him do that, this work is far too important, and I love these people way too much! 

 

I love you mom, thanks for writing me. You're the best! But, don't send any more toys, I don't need those, and they're now against mission rules 

Have a great week!
Elder Oliphant ️