Zarahemla Week 45

Old Port

Another week has quickly gone by here in Montréal! We are already in week 3 of the transfer which is still boggling my mind... I feel like I just got back to Zarahemla a couple of weeks ago! We've been busy, which for sure helps us stay focused, and training has helped a lot with that as well. It's been fun! Here are a few quick highlights from the week!

I went on exchanges with Elder Toledo,
and we saw Horacio! It was a fun day.

We had a cool experience going finding the other day! We've been working at being bold as we talk to people, and as we were passing by someone in an apartment building, we noticed an open apartment door with a large group of Spanish speakers having a party. It'd be pretty awkward just dropping in on the party and preaching repentance to them, but we decided to do it anyway! But, it was a miracle! The mother ended up being a member who used to go to church a long time ago with her dad, but stopped when she was about 13 years old. She was interested in coming back though! She has two kids that may have potential as well! It was awesome to see that as we just got over the awkwardness of some situations, the Lord makes miracles happen! Super cool!

We ate at Hermano Farfan's house!

We had Zone Conference, and it was President and Sister Phillips' (as well as my) last zone conference. There were many tears; we will all miss them a lot! We talked a lot about Spiritual Gifts which was very informative and uplifting. We discussed a lot about what spiritual gifts we had, and it was very interesting! I think what hit me the most were two principles that we learned... One, that all spiritual gifts are to be used to bless the lives of others, and two, that the Lord desires us to have ALL spiritual gifts; we just have to work for them. We were able to identify some specific gifts that we have the capacity for, and set some plans on how to develop them! It was a very uplifting experience.

Made Pizzas with Elena again 

Well again it's been a great week, things are going well, and Elder Salvador and I continue to have fun together! It's great being here in Montréal, and I'm excited for all the miracles the Lord has for us! I hope all of you are doing well as well, and I hope you have a great week. Love you so much!

Elder James

Found a public ping pong table in Old Port 

Today's P-day activity

Zarahemla Week 44

Winter Montréal

Summer in Montréal

We had a great week, as always! It was Elder Salvador's first full week, but it seems like he's already fully adjusted! We both still have a lot of learning to do, but we are having tons of fun. We've seen lots of crazy and interesting miracles this week, and we have continually seen the hand of the Lord in the work. I'll share some highlights!

Exchanges with Elder Montaño!

Piero, who I believe I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, was super hard to see these past few weeks. But, after repeated efforts, we were finally able to see him! We even ran into him on the bus a couple of times! It was cool to see that as we try our best and work persistently, the Lord may bless us with the thing we desire! It was a cool little miracle.

Piero took us out to Lunch at an awesome Peruvian restaurant

We were on exchanges with the Zone Leaders on Friday, and we saw some really cool miracles! We wanted to go pass by someone that used to be taught a while ago, and it turned into an unexpected miracle as well! We knocked on the apartment door, and two Indian guys opened the door. We just talked to them a little bit about India at the door and I told them of my love for Indian food, and then just opened the door and sat us down! It was super cool, they were very friendly and nice, even though they had literally no idea who we were! We were able to discuss a bit about the gospel, and help them understand a bit about God. They didn't necessarily share our beliefs, but they were very open! They were very kind!

The other day, we felt like we should go by Horacio again. We're not visiting him as much as we used to, since he doesn't feel like everything is ready for baptism yet, but he did something that really showed to us his desire to follow Christ. He called us one morning (he almost never does that), and told us that he let a family that just got here from Mexico the other day stay in his apartment. We were confused and thought he was making a joke or something, so we didn't think much of it. We then felt impressed later in the day to pass by him and see what was up. We passed by and he was there, and he told us again about this mysterious family that he let stay in his apartment. He asked if we wanted to see them, and then he led us out and took us to another apartment in his building. He knocked on the door, and introduced us to Liliana, the mother, and Evelina, the daughter (the father was out working)! They were SO very kind, and we chatted with them a little bit, then were able to share a quick lesson with them. Horacio was teaching and testifying as if he were a member! He told us that he really wanted to bring them to church and share the gospel with them. It was so adorable! It's cool to see that as someone truly tastes the fruit of the gospel, they can't help but share it! It reminds me of a scripture in 1 Nephi 8, which talks about the fruit that Lehi tastes, which represents the love of God and the blessings of the Atonement. It says, "And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit." As we taste of the love of God and of the blessings of the Atonement, we cannot help but to share them! Horacio was a very cool representation of that concept. He's so awesome!

Well things are going amazing here in Zarahemla, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I hope you each have a fantastic week as well, I love you so much!

Elder James

Zarahemla Week 43

First Poutine

We had an interesting week! I received my new companion on Thursday! His name is Elder Salvador. He is from California, but his family is from Mexico originally. He just got into the mission field, so we've been working hard at getting him adjusted! He's doing great though, he has a lot of fire. He talks to everyone he can, even though he doesn't speak too much French yet! He's been doing very well! Well here are a few highlights from the week!

Said goodbye to Elder Ramos Chen last week. We had a really fun transfer together, and saw so many cool miracles! He is super smart and taught me a lot. We'll see each other at BYU though, so I'm excited!

Met my new trainee, Elder Salvador!

We've seen Julio, the man we regained contact with last week, multiple times this week! He's doing very well! We have been focusing on the basics, on helping him read the Book of Mormon and praying. Yesterday he expressed how he has been seeing lots of change and help from God as he's become more actively applying the principles of the Gospel in his life. He wants to be baptized soon! He has quite a bit of changes to make, but he is motivated and has the goal of baptism in mind. He's very humble, and it's been fun to work with him!

Saying goodbye to Elder Ramos Chen 

We started teaching someone named Yair this past week. He moved here from Peru just a few months ago. We had our second lesson with him on Elder Salvador's first day, and I made Elder Salvador invite him to be baptized. The Spirit was very strong in the lesson, Elder Salvador invited him to be baptized, and he accepted! It was awesome! It's been humbling to see him work, because it really reminds me that we don't do anything in the work; it is truly the Lord's work. Sometimes we get caught up and put too much of the work on our own shoulders and take too much of the credit. But it's been clear to me in watching Elder Salvador work miracles that it really doesn't matter how "experienced" we may think we are as missionaries, if we do our best and have trust in the Lord, he does the miracles!

We're ready to work! 

There is a scripture that I love that has been on my mind a lot recently. It is found in Matthew 6, and I wanted to quote a few verses:

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?"

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things."

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

I have found this passage to be so true on my mission. I have seen the difference in peoples' lives, and in my own life, between having God as our first priority and having other things as our first priority such as work, school, money, etc. There is happiness, power, and love in the one, and a lack of said things in the other. It is so true; God knows we need food, He knows we need to work, He knows we need money, He knows we need sleep, He knows we need all these things… Nevertheless, the passage says it so clear: these things will be added unto us, if we put God first. It's a promise, and I know it is sure!

Well it's been an amazing week, I hope you all are doing well as well. Have a great week, I love you!

Elder James

Zarahemla Week 42

The Zarahemla District!

Greetings from Montréal! We have received our transfer calls... And I will be staying, yet again, in Zarahemla! This means that I will have spent my entire mission on the island of Montréal, and exactly half of my mission in the Zarahemla ward! I feel like I have become one with the members, it's so fun to be with them. They are like my family! Elder Ramos Chen is already leaving, which is sad, but I will be training a brand-new missionary! I don't know anything about him yet; it will be a mystery until I meet him this Thursday. But I'm excited to spend my last transfer training! It's going to be fun! Here are a couple of cool experiences we had this past week.

The other day, we had a bit of time left before needing to be home, so we decided to do a little bit of metro contacting. We got on the metro, and were finding Latinos, but we had a feeling that we needed to get off at a particular station, and turn around and take the train north. We got off, we went to the other side of the tracks, and got on the other train. At first there were no Latinos, so we decided to walk the length of the train to find someone who spoke Spanish. We walked and walked and walked, and then we found Julio! Elder Toledo and I had found Julio last transfer, and he was super cool; he even had a baptismal date for a while. But, some things happened, and he dropped us. I recognized him and said hello, and he seemed very happy to see us! He apologized for dropping us before, and said that he just had a lot of things going on at the time and wasn't in the best place emotionally or spiritually. He said that he was actually interested in us coming back, and invited us back the next day! It was cool to see that although we judged incorrectly that he was no longer open for the gospel, the Lord corrected our decision and put him again in our path! It was a great experience.

This week, we started teaching Blady, who moved from the Dominican Republic a while ago. He's super cool and is so very humble. He came to church on Sunday, and we met him before to discuss the Restoration of the Gospel a little bit. It made so much sense to him, and it was clear that the Spirit testified to him that what we were sharing is true. It really showed to me that when we are humble, the Lord can actually teach us. If we are prideful and unwilling to learn, the Lord cannot do much. Every single person that I have taught on my mission who were truly humble received clear and specific answers that the church of Jesus Christ has been restored, that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that the Book of Mormon is true, etc. On the flip side, rarely do I see a prideful person receive answers. It takes humility and sincerity to receive direction from God, and Blady is a perfect example of that! It's a pleasure to teach him.

We had a sad experience this week that turned into a profound learning moment. Horacio, who was ready to be baptized last Saturday, last minute decided not to be baptized only hours before the service. Elder Ramos and I were crushed, primarily because we love him and care for him so much, and because we know of the blessings that he will be missing out on. On contemplating and reflecting upon this, the Spirit helped me realize that now I understand a fraction of what our Heavenly Father experiences and feels when he sees his children reject the blessings that he freely gives them. I strongly believe that experiencing this type of divine disappointment is part of the process of us becoming who God wants us to become. Although it is very saddening to witness, we are able to take solace in the fact that we worked as hard as we can, and did everything in our part to allow specifically Horacio to receive these blessings. But, as always with missionary work, we cannot force anyone to accept these things. It is always up to them. It's a privilege to be able to use these experiences as opportunities to grow. It reminds me of a scripture in John 17:3 which says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." In order to know God and his Son, Jesus Christ, I believe we must learn to experience, in part, the suffering that they have felt. Reading about God's suffering in the scriptures is one thing, but experiencing that suffering (a fraction, of course) is another. Experience isn't just the best teacher, I believe it is the only teacher.

Well I apologize that this turned into a sermon, but I am grateful to be here in Montréal, and to learn more about God and Christ through experience. Although we do sometimes have difficult moments, the positive far outweighs the negative. I am enjoying my time here a ton! It's been the best experience of my life! I love you all so much, and I hope you have a great week.

Elder James