Be forewarned! This is a long rambling post.
As
the end of this mission in the CFM draws near, I find myself reflecting so much
on the experiences here, the things I have learned and a little bit
about the things I wish I could do over or would have done differently.
Some of the things listed were written by Elder Andy Aldrich, a missionary
from New Hampshire who had only been a member 7 years when he and Sister
Aldrich came to Fresno to serve. I thank him for sharing his thoughts and add
mine to them.
God
runs the show. When we figure this out our missions will be so much more
meaningful and we become missionaries. The people we think will be golden
usually aren’t and those who turn out to be golden often come to us from
unexpected directions. Just trust God and go where He directs.
Follow
the Spirit with exactness and take immediate action on promptings. Don’t let
your own judgment (or lack of), rationalization, or weakness allow you to
deviate from where you are being led. Know that God will place us in
situations where we can make a difference. We may never know the true extent of
what was accomplished in all of these situations but if we take action that
difference will be made whether we know it or not.
Know
that God opens windows of opportunity to everyone. These windows are literally
the windows of heaven. When we take advantage of these opportunities we are
blessed and we will continue to be blessed as we make a commitment to ongoing
faith-based action. If we fail to act on these opportunities God will close
those windows and open them up for someone else. As missionaries we need to
recognize when these windows have been opened for those we serve, and those
whom we serve o who have had the heavens opened to them need to take action as
well. If they do not God will move on and we need to follow where he leads us.
Don’t
take things personally when people don't follow your counsel or blow
off job leads and suggestions. Know that you are a representative of
Jesus Christ and that you are doing His work, not yours. Know that there are
forces at work that are far greater than you and know that you will never see
the complete picture of what is going on. Lose yourself in the work and just go
and do what you are being asked to do.
Never
make assumptions about people. Don’t assume why a phone call or an
email may not be returned or why someone seems to brush off everything you
have been trying to encourage them to do. Never assume who may or may not be
ready to ask God change their lives. Just put God first and seek to follow the
Spirit in all that you do.
When
we serve someone who has been prepared to come to the ERC it doesn’t
matter how much we know and how well we are able to teach it. God will work
with our weaknesses and that prepared person will 'learn' the message for
him or her in spite of us. When we teach someone who has not been prepared it
doesn't matter much what we say or do, they can't learn and internalize it
without the Spirit aiding them.
Know
that you are a human being who has physical, mental, and spiritual limits. Take
the time to rest and recharge when needed. A day or two off here and there or a
day at Yosemite or the beach will not destroy your mission and will in fact
leave you in far better shape to do greater works on the Lord’s errand.
Remember
to take time for yourself. Remember that to be the best missionary you
can be you must take care of yourself and you must set aside time to do so!
You
will work with people who become your favorites; you will work with people you
do not like; you will meet people you are intimidated by; you will meet people
who you really don’t want to come back to visit. Remember who you are as a
representative of Jesus Christ and serve as you are directed regardless of how
you feel. Know that those that are the hardest for you to love are those who
most need your love!
Know
that you are a unique person and a unique companionship. Know that you have
unique spiritual gifts as an individual and as a companionship. Don’t try to do
what others have done just because it worked for them. Do not be afraid to
think out of the box and do things differently from what others may perceive as
the correct way to do them. Use your unique gifts, talents, strengths, and
weaknesses to customize your mission to the needs of those you are serving.
The
Atonement and Plan of Salvation are something we need to be better at teaching.
As a church and as missionaries we do not do a very good job teaching the
Atonement. We assume that everyone knows what the Atonement is and those
assumptions include ourselves. We also do not do a very good job teaching the
Plan of Salvation. When we know that we are eternal beings made in the image of
our Heavenly Father, and that as sons and daughters of God we have inherited
His divine attributes and potential, that changes everything! If people truly
understood these two concepts would they ever go inactive or stop progressing
towards God?
Each
day on our mission we should be better missionaries than the day
before. At 6 months we were just getting started learning how to be
missionaries; at one year we were elevated to a higher spiritual plain and were
teaching concepts and workshops and following the Spirit with a power and
conviction we could not even have imagined earlier in the mission. To truly
become the missionaries we are capable of being we must give ourselves enough
time to grow.
Know
that there will be times on your mission where you suddenly feel lost; where
you suddenly feel the Spirit is no longer guiding you. There will be weeks
where you feel that you have not accomplished much. Know that these are points
of transition in your mission; know that these are pivot points or crossroads.
You have had success and you have become comfortable and you have grown as a
missionary. To keep growing you must occasionally change something; you
must occasionally move out of the comfort zone you find yourself in. At these
times trust that the Spirit is still with you; review what you are doing and
see that miracles are still happening, but know that something needs to change,
and trust that you will eventually be led to know what that change may be. Just
keep seeking God’s will and be patient and you will soon find yourself back on
familiar pathways.
The
power we feel when teaching workshops and working one on one with
individuals is actually the pure love of Christ coming down and encircling us.
As our mission and companionship progressed I started
feeling that love flow out from us to those we were teaching. We also learned
that we don’t need to know the people we are assisting to feel this pure love
flow out to them. God takes care of that - He only asks us to hear his guidance
for the individual.
The
work we did with so many of our candidates could have and should have been done
by home and visiting teachers. Home and visiting teaching should focus on those
most in need and in getting to know these people the ward can better address
their needs both spiritual and temporal. When home and visiting teaching
works as intended it takes a huge load off the bishop and frees him from much
of his burden. We saw far too many members of the church come into our office
for assistance who had no idea who their Bishops were, or who their Priesthood
and Relief Society leaders were. In the October 2012 general conference, Elder
Christopherson shared this:" "An early Church welfare pamphlet
stated: “A man out of work is of special moment to the Church because, deprived
of his inheritance, he is on trial as Job was on trial—for his integrity. As
days lengthen into weeks and months and even years of adversity, the hurt grows
deeper. … The Church cannot hope to save a man on Sunday if during the week it
is a complacent witness to the crucifixion of his soul." Employment and
self-reliance is critical to the spiritual welfare of every member of the
church for without it, a person cannot even begin to feel in control of
anything in his life.
Senior
missionaries can go to the temple as often as they desire and their daily
schedule permits. What a blessing this has been for the past 18 months. Going
to such a small temple is such a joy because we know all of the workers by name
and they welcome us with open arms each week.
All
missionaries, young or old, who will be driving in a new state, should get a
copy or the DMV drivers handbook for their new state and familiarize themselves
with the rules and laws whether they need to get a new license or not. Doing
this would have saved us from almost running down numerous pedestrians in the
early stages of our mission.
We
can feel the Spirit no matter what language is being spoken. Today we attended
a Hmong ward, and although we couldn't understand half of the meetings, we felt
the Spirit stronger than in most all English speaking wards. It was an amazing
feeling to feel the testifying spirit of truth. I testify that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is truth.
Rosa and Juan Hernandez
So many friends came to say good-bye. We had a wonderful luncheon and a wonderful afternoon visiting and doing the inevitable - saying good-bye. 
Pamela Thacker
Sheryl and Eric Johnson
Shirley Sirman
Susan Dvorak
