July 24, 2011

The short, 4 week transfer is over already. I cannot believe how quickly time goes. It is horrifying to see how quickly and frequently the alarm clock goes off every morning. It seems like every few minutes is the beginning of a new day. It feels like I'm constantly coming home from a day of hard work. Constantly writing in my journal and planning. Constantly crawling into bed. It is all a giant blur. It is scary that it's already been 8+ months.

There are 10+ new missionaries coming out later this week. A big group. As I've had the chance to reflect on the experiences of the past month, it is amazing to see how the Lord pulls and stretches you in the exact spots that you are weak in. He always tugs at your weaknesses. It is a blessing...in the long run. The past weeks have been the hardest of my life-without a doubt. What great growth and progression we are able to have after and during trying times.

We had some blessings at church this Sunday. We had 6. That is a lot. The ward loves it when they see us bringing so many people to church we can't handle them all ourselves. We love it too.

We're still teaching our Hindi family. Progression has been slow due to crazy work schedules and unkept commitments. We'll see how things go over the next few weeks. Awesome family, but just like anybody else, you've got to act to progress or gain a testimony. Staying where you are won't benefit anybody but the adversary.

Still working closely with another Indian woman. A deeply rooted Hindu as well. Her name is Chander. It is so great to watch her learn and grow because she is so ridiculously sensitive to the spirit. She keeps commenting over and over about how "beautifully simple" Christianity and the gospel is Jesus Christ are. This coming week we'll be teaching her the Plan of Salvation with members of the ward. If she can be sensitive enough to the spirit to recognize truth, it will be a huge building block on her progression. We have had some sacred experiences with her, helping her learn to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. The spirit is always so strong with a sincere person that first time they pray. It’s just more evidence that what we're doing is real and right.

Thank you for setting the example for me. Please keep doing the small and simple things with the family that will create a strong foundation for them.  I appreciate your parenting every day! I'll attach a picture of my missionary tag with this email if I remember-I've got a picture of the family on the back. You'll like it.

Elder Wendt and I are working hard! Trying our best to work in diligence and fulfill our purpose as missionaries. Keep the prayers coming-we need all we can get.

Love,

E. PORTER

July 18, 2011

The work continues to push forward in the great city of Brampton. As we do ALL that is required of us we are blessed with miracles.

The week was full of finding once again. I have truly come to have a testimony that the Lord leads His missionaries in their efforts. It is impossible to find people who are prepared off chance or by yourself. But if you ask the Lord to lead you to them, it works out a lot better. You can see the hand of the Lord guiding you as you focus on inspired planning...truly trying to go where the spirit tells you. You are lead to those who are interested in the church. Pretty amazing.

I had a great experience this week. It’s happened a few times on my mission. A few too many times to simply be a coincidence. We were planning and looking at the map to find the next street we should work. You pick a street and try to feel in your heart if somebody is waiting for you there. Sometimes you feel nothing, so you move on. But after a few tries, just as D&C teaches us, your heart will burn if you are on the right path. You feel the spirit after you have picked where you need to go. This particular experience we only had a 20 minute random chunk of time to go finding. That is not a lot. We had to be precise and go straight to where somebody needed us with the time we had. After studying the map I felt that we should go to a particular spot at the end of a street. On the top left part of the cul-de-sac to be precise. Well guess what? We went there, knocked 3 houses around where we felt we should and we found someone who wants us back. Coincidence? I think not.

Earlier this week we also decided to take the bikes up into the country again and knock off some clusters of homes that have not seen missionaries in the past 20+ years. Long country lanes and beautiful farm land in southern Ontario. Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately with long country lanes and farm land comes mean, angry, people-eating dogs. We were pulling out of a lady's driveway and a dog started chasing us! Classic missionary moment. Unfortunately, my bike was meant for a 12 year old, so it wasn't very fast. The dog was quick, and apparently it thought I would be tasty because it bit my right ankle! It actually hurt pretty badly. It caught up to us again and came back for round two. But I was prepared this time. As it jumped to get me again I kicked it right in the mouth. It stopped chasing us. The blood was definitely pounding after that, and the rest of the day continued without any interference. Exciting, eh?

Other than those exciting moments the missionary work is coming along. I have one more experience I would like to share. Last week my MTC companion and I went on exchanges for the day. It was so fun and great to get to work hard with him. We haven't worked together since the MTC, so it was a real treat. We found a Hindu lady, and we taught her and her daughter the message of the restoration. The spirit was present, and they both understood what we taught. At the end of the lesson I had the mother (Chander) offer a kneeling prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Most people have never prayed legitimately how they are supposed to before. And it is one of my favorite things to do with people. During the kneeling prayer, the spirit was very strong. And everybody in the room recognized it. She came to church and had a great experience and will come next week.

Later in the week she called on the phone and wanted me to say a prayer so she could write it down and repeat it. I taught prayer and knowing spiritual truths through the Holy Ghost again, and had her offer a kneeling prayer with me over the phone. I haven't felt the spirit stronger many times on my mission. Directly after the prayer I asked her how she felt, and she responded..."I feel lots of heat inside me! Inside my heart...it’s warm. It feels lovely. It is like lots of love. So much that it doesn't fit right. I like it..." After having experiences like this, your testimony grows so much. I had a similar experience with another investigator this week as well. It is so humbling to truly understand how great of a calling and blessing missionaries have at this part of their lives. I am so grateful for this opportunity I have to sacrifice for the good of God. I love my Father in Heaven and have a strong testimony that this is His work.

July 11, 2011

Week 2 of training-complete. Training is a very interesting assignment. When you first find out you are training, you think to yourself "Hey! I must be doing something right, eh?" A day or two later you realize how little you know and how little of an impact or success you can have on your own. You need divine help that only comes through humility. You are stretched to your limit day after day spiritually and mentally. You don't think you can do any more or go any further. But you do anyways. You might not have any visible success (number-wise), but you can come home and feel a spiritual confirmation that you did you best. You kept your covenants and you served as a sacred servant of the Lord should.

Something that has been in my mind the past few weeks is the need for spiritual power. You can be ridiculously eloquent, well taught and practiced, and the most confident missionary in the mission, but without spiritual power, you won't convert anybody. At best you may convince a few people. Spiritual power is the force behind anybody's conversion or any missionary's success. Miracles happen with that power. It is something that everybody needs to do everything they possibly can to get. Whether you are a missionary or not.

I have seen some remarkable things happen inside me the past months. After serving with Elder Hancock (who is amazing), and after having the assignment of training a missionary I have witnessed my nature begin to change. You develop a desire to talk to people not because it is your duty, but because you love them and know how important what you share is. You think back to what it must have been like in the Councils of Heaven, when we were all gathered together as spirit brothers and sisters. The great Plan of Happiness was presented to us and we all shouted and leaped for joy. All of our brothers and sisters were rejoicing right next to us. We were instructed more about the plan, and we all understood that some would fail. Some would fall short, be deceived, and not receive the happiness and peace that would have come from returning to our Father in Heaven's presence. Everybody understood this. But did the people we are searching for as missionaries ever think it would be them that would be lost..? As your understanding of the gospel increases your desire to share it expands as well. I am starting to feel it rather than just know it in my head. It is an amazing experience to be a part of. Having a brand new, untainted, faith-filled new missionary trusting me to train him right makes you put things in a proper perspective.

Elder Wendt is just great. He has strong faith and has a desire to work all day. We're working on improving teaching and finding skills mostly, as any new missionary would work on. Most people in our teaching pool have recently been baptized, so we're working on finding quite a bit lately. Going straight back to the basics instead of getting ahead of myself has been a good thing for me and my skills and development as well. We are doing a pilot-program to help the new missionaries learn the "Fundamentals" of missionary work. Focusing on different aspects of missionary understanding, work, teaching skills, etc. It’s a great review for me as well.

This past transfer our district boundaries were switched around, so my MTC companion (Elder Nash) is in my district now. We got to go on exchanges for the first time together this past week. It was one of the greatest days of my mission, to see how we have both learned and grown through our own trials and assignments. It was so great to work with him. We had a full day of finding and taught a few lessons out of it and found a really great Hindu lady who came to church this past week. She is very Hindu and quite rooted, but she is very receptive to the spirit, and she wants to keep coming and continue to learn. You never know what the spirit can do to people’s hearts and natures over time.

I am happy to be here training at this time. It’s really tough, but I'm growing and learning lots. Everything will work together for the better in the end.

-E. PORTER

Here is pic of Brampton Zone Conference