December 28, 2010

December 28, 2010

Hey everyone. I need to start off by telling you that numbers on your mission do not matter. They don't reflect at all what kind of missionary you are. You can be the best missionary in the whole world and never get a baptism. It is all about running into the right people at the right place and at the right time. I am trying my best to simply prove to God that I can be trusted with running into those elect and prepared souls.

Now, I would like to announce that I have my first baptism scheduled for January 15. She is a lady who showed up at the Spanish Branch Christmas Party, and she immediately got transferred to us. We met with her once, taught her the first lesson about the restoration, and she accepted our invitation to be baptized! She spirit was very strong. She has been to church a few times, and things are looking good. We are actually teaching her again tonight, so keep us in your prayers. Today I am on travels with our District Leader, his name is Elder Call. He is going home at the end of next transfer, and has already been a Zone Leader. He is super solid, and I am excited to see how he does things. Hopefully I can learn a whole lot from him today.

I honestly don't have much to report this week. I'm just doing my best, working hard, and trying to have a good attitude. If I had to say one thing this week it would be to simply never lose faith. God will put us through whatever he needs to to prepare us, and mold us into the people we need to become. Even God, having all his power, cannot force us to change. We have been and always will be co-existent with God. He does not have power over our conscious selves, and he never will. It is all up to us whether we will heed to his promptings. He will do all he can to clear the way, but he will never force us down the path. It’s all up to us. So I guess just simply never lose faith, and it really will all be okay in the end. A scripture I memorized this week was Ether 12:6. It says "...I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." You need to put forth and SHOW your faith before you receive an answer. We need to make the leap BEFORE we see God waiting below to catch us and lift us up higher than we were before. Never let your faith falter.

With much love,

Elder Porter