Hes Been There Before

    In Sacrament meeting recently I heard this beautiful poem spoken and thought I'd share since I'm sure all missionaries feel this way at times. Just remember who is always there. 

Hes Been There Before 

 The alarm bell rings at 6:30, I stumble to my feet

I grab my companions bedding and pull off his sheets

A groan fills the room, is it already time to arise?

It seems like just a second ago, I was able to shut my eyes

The morning activities follow- study, prayer and such

When it’s time to leave the apartment, you feel you haven’t accomplished much

“We have a super day planned,”

My comp. says with a grin

I lowly utter a faithless breath,

“Yeah, if anyone lets us in.”

With the word of God and my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street prepared to

Face another day of humidity and heat

It’s 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost through

My champion and I are riding home not accomplishing what we thought to do

We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot

Only to look inside and hear my echo reverberate “air Box”

We go up to our apartment, the day is now complete

The only thing to show for our work is a case of blistery feet

It’s past 10:30 p.m. My companion is fast asleep,

Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep

In the midst of sadness, I kneel down to pray

I need to talk to father, but I’m not sure what to say

“Oh, Father” I begin, “What happened to us today?

I thought we’d teach somebody, but everyone was away

My hands, my aching hands- worn, hurt and beat;

If our area was any smaller, we’d have knocked every street”

“Why on missions are the days so much alike?

The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike

Will you send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me

I sweat so bad, it gets in my eyes, it’s very hard to see”

“Why do I have to wear a helmet, isn’t your protection enough?

People always laugh at me, and call me stupid stuff

Please send us investigators so I may give them what they lack

I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them hurts my back”

“And what about my family: They don’t have much to say

I’m sick of not hearing from home day after day after day

Oh Father, Why am I here am I just wasting time?

Sometimes I just want to go home, I’m sorry but that’s on my mind”

“My companion, Heavenly Father, what are you giving me?”

The way he rides his bicycle, I don’t think he can see

Now you have it, I can’t go on, I don’t know what to do

That, my Father in Heaven, is the prayer I have for you”

My prayer now finished, I stand up, then jump right into bed

I need my rest for tomorrow, we have another long day ahead

Sleep start to overtake me, I seem to drift away

Then it seems a vision takes me to another time in another day

I’m standing alone on the hill. The view is very nice

A man walks to wards me and says, “My name is Jesus Christ”

Tears of joy well up inside, I fall down to His feet

“Arise,” He states, “Follow me to the shade. You and I need to speak”

My attention’s towards my Savior, total and complete

He says, “Your mission is similar of what happened to me

I understand how you feel, I know what you’re going through

In fact, it would be fair to say I’ve felt the same as you”

“I even know how you felt when no one listened to you

At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do

I know you don’t like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet

Just remember the donkey I rode wasn’t equipped with 21 speeds”

“I understand you don’t like sweating, in fact it’s something you hate

I remember when I sweat blood from ev’ry pore, oh the agony was great!

I see you don’t like your companion- you’d rather have someone else-

I once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth”

“It’s hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you

I remember when they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews

So you feel burdened down by the weight of your pack

I recall how heavy the cross was when they slammed it on my back”

“Your hands hurt from tracting and knocking on doors all day

I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I ached in a similar way

It’s hard not to hear from home when your family’s not there to see

I lost communication on the cross and cried, “Father, why hast Thou forsaken me?”

“We have a lot in common, but there’s a difference between us you see

I endured to the end and finished my mission, so follow and do like me”

He embraced me with His arms and His light filled me with His love

With tears in my eyes I watched as He went back to the Father above

I stood with awe and wonder when a beep rang in my head

I listened and heard the alarm, then realized I was in my bed

My companion let out a groan, “6:30 already, no way!”

I sat up and said, “Come on, I’ll even carry your scriptures today!”

No matter what we go through,

When we feel we can’t take more

Just stop and think about Jesus Christ,

He’s been there before!

By Elder Troy Whittle

Texas Houston Mission

My Missionary

I heard this missionary story awhile back and don't know how accurate it is but thought I would share it with my missionary this week.

On his mission in Zimbabwe this Elder was on splits with a bunch of other Elders and they were walking when a bunch of teenagers came running up with knives. In the panic and hysteria everyone started running to get away and this Elder tripped and was left behind. The group came upon him and started stabbing him. He said a prayer and (being the little guy he was asked for strength), he was overcome by the strength of angels as he said and literally threw the attackers from his body. Scared by the immense power, and a little freaked by it all the attackers ran away. He fainted immediately due to blood lose. A lost elderly couple came upon his body and took him to the hospital. Where they discovered that even though he was covered in blood and his shirt and garments torn to pieces, nothing beneath the garments was hit. Nothing vital was damaged. He recovered safely and though he has a large scar the extent of his arm and across his face. He is alive.

My missionary ...

One of the great miracles of missionary service in this Church is that Sid Going and thousands just like him have not asked, “What will I get from my mission?” but rather, “What can I give?”
In 1961, at age 18 and holding the Aaronic Priesthood, Sidney Going was becoming a star in New Zealand rugby. Because of his remarkable abilities, many thought he would be chosen the very next year for the national All Blacks rugby team.

At age 19, in this critical moment of his ascending rugby career, Sid declared that he would forgo rugby to serve a mission. Some called him crazy. Others called him foolish. 4 They protested that his opportunity in rugby might never come again.

For Sid it was not what he was leaving behind—it was the opportunity and responsibility ahead. He had a priesthood duty to offer two years of his life to declare the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. Nothing—not even a chance to play on the national team, with all the acclaim it would bring—would deter him from that duty. 5

He was called by a prophet of God to serve in the Western Canadian Mission. Forty-eight years ago this month, 19-year-old Elder Sidney Going left New Zealand to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Sid told me of an experience he had on his mission. It was evening, and he and his companion were just about to return to their apartment. They decided to visit one more family. The father let them in. Elder Going and his companion testified of the Savior. The family accepted a Book of Mormon. The father read all night. In the next week and a half he read the entire Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. A few weeks later the family was baptized. 6

A mission instead of a place on the New Zealand All Blacks team? Sid responded, “The blessing of [bringing others] into the gospel far outweighs anything [you] will ever sacrifice.” 7

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/preparing-the-world-for-the-second-coming?lang=eng

Spiritual Thought:
Excerpt from ...

ACTING ON THE TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST
DIETER F. UCHTDORF
Second Counselor in the First Presidency

" Another topic I would like to discuss is the difference between growth and real growth. We have heard some about this today. In Church terms, growth could be defined as new members. New members come through children baptized at age eight as well as convert baptisms. Real growth, however, is defined as growth in the number of active members.
In some areas of the Church we have dramatic growth in new members, yet active membership remains stagnant or grows only a little. We have some measurable ways to indicate activity in the Church, such assacrament meeting attendance, ordination to the priesthood at the right age, missionary service, and possession of a current temple recommend. Perhaps the more accurate indicators of real growth in the gospel of Jesus Christ are those that we can’t measure as easily, such as daily prayer, scripture study, family home evening, love at home and for our neighbor, and personal experiences with Christ’s Atonement. These are recorded not by a clerk in Church records but in our hearts and in heaven.
Our missionary efforts are compromised if we baptize God’s children but do not maintain love and friendship with these precious new members who are excited to find fellowship with the Saints and a place of belonging in the household of God.
Here again, our councils can deliberate on the spiritual and temporal welfare of every member—taking special care to consider each new convert. Our work as a council is to help our members grow in their love for Heavenly Father and their fellowman. If we focus our efforts here, one-on-one, many more members will feel that they have found a home in the Church—that they have found the “why” of the gospel.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember that you and I are not perfect. Consequently, our councils will not be perfect either. At times they will be understaffed. At times they may include one or perhaps several people who are not fully engaged in the work or who are distracted by the complications and stresses of everyday life.
Please do not give up. Be careful not to over-idealize your expectations of how your councils should operate. Once again, if you are focused on the “why” of the gospel, the Spirit will direct your humble efforts.
President Hinckley once said, “We are here to assist our [Heavenly] Father in His work and His glory, ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39). Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere.”2 What a humbling statement by a prophet of God.
If your circumstances are less than ideal, please take comfort in knowing that the Lord will support and enhance your efforts, sanctify your decisions and actions, perfect them through the tender mercies of Christ, and “consecrate [your] performance … , that [it] may be for the welfare of [your] soul” (2 Nephi 32:9) and the souls of those you serve.
As I mentioned earlier, there is little good in hearing the word of God if we do not translate what we hear into our lives. Consequently, we ask that you take the following steps without hesitation and continue to do so throughout your service in your callings. "

Names, Not Numbers

I recently read this on LDS.ORG when searching for something to send my brother. I really enjoyed reading this article and remembering the importance of records rather then for the numerical purpose but the personal purpose. Although this article talks about local record keeping and so forth I saw such purpose in sharing it with our missionaries as well. To remind them as they turn in their reports filled with numbers that it is the names, not the numbers that truly matter. My husband shared an experience on his mission where as district leader he was turning in the reports and the numbers were very low. He later got a call that day from a leader stating the lack of determination and work that was being put in if the numbers were really that low. After being frustrated and depressed over this news he contacted the Mission President in hopes to identify where he could improve these numbers. But his Mission President assured him that the Lord cares not about numbers but about fulfilling the prayers of those that surround you. He urged him to concentrate on those few numbers he served and to think nothing less of them for they may be hundreds in the course of time. 

Names, Not Numbers

CHRISTOPHER C. H. WILLS

Full Article Here

Excerpt:

The true reason for keeping reports lies not in numbers; surely the Lord must have little interest in statistics alone. But his work and his glory center in what those numbers represent—people, his children. Numbers can tell us, his servants on earth, about the faithfulness or falling away of our brothers and sisters and about their need for assistance and loving guidance back to safety.

If we count only numbers, we have only statistics. Once we learn to count names, we start to save souls. This is the work the Lord intends us to perform.

...

When every secretary and clerk accurately record attendance, at the end of every meeting the names of all those who did not attend are known. And when the names are known, a caring secretary, a concerned leader or teacher, a loving friend, a home teacher or visiting teacher can take action. Nobody should be absent from a meeting without somebody recording it and caring enough to ask why. Is it sickness—of body or mind or spirit? Is the person on holiday, or has he or she moved?

As members of the Church, we can all show genuine concern for everyone around us and act to save souls. Then truly we become caring under-shepherds—followers of the Master Shepherd, who cared enough for us to give his life for us.

Favorite Inspirations

What are some of your favorite quotes or scriptures to send your missionary?
In emails, letters, or packages!

Here are some of my favorites:

1 Now behold, a marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men.
2 Therefore, O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
3 Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work;
4 For behold the afield is white already to harvest; and lo, he that thrusteth in his sickle with his might, the same layeth up in store that he perisheth not, but bringeth salvation to his soul;
5 And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.
6 Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence.
7 Ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.
Doctrine and Covenants, Section 4

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."
Doctrine & Covenants 6:34

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”
President Gordon B. Hinckley 

You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities.
Pres Gordon B. Hinckley

“We should bring our wills into subjection to the will of the Father, and feel to say, what is the will of our Father, whom we are here in the world to serve? Then every act that we perform will be a success.”
The Apostle Paul said that. He said: “You are called. It is not the wise that are called, but God has called the foolish to confound those which are wise.” [See 1 Corinthians 1:25–27.]
Lorenzo Snow

And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!
Romans 10:15 

My missionary ...

I enjoy writing my brother every week and I am going to start a new set of posts including anything my missionary especially liked in my email, usually the spiritual thought at the end.

I thought I would start with this story, I sent my brother near the beginning of his mission back in April. He mentioned how much he liked this story and I thought your missionary might too :)

Excerpt from my email,

Excerpt from Elder Richards The Joy of Serving a Mission talk:

Image from Mormon Voice

Now I like a little story that President Grant used to tell about the love that converts have for their missionaries. He told about a couple who came here from one of the Scandinavian countries. They hadn’t been taught much about the gospel. All they knew was that it was true. And so the bishop went to this couple and taught them the law of tithing. They paid their tithing. Then later the bishop went to them and taught them about the fast offering. They paid their fast offering. And then the bishop went to them again to get a donation to help build a ward meetinghouse. They thought that ought to come out of the tithing, but before the bishop got through with them, they paid their donation on the meetinghouse.

Then the bishop went to the father to get his son to go on a mission. Now I can hear President Grant standing here, saying, “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.” The man said, “He’s our only child. His mother will miss him. We can’t let him go.” Then the bishop countered, “Brother So-and-So, who do you love in this world more than anyone else outside of your own relatives?” And he thought for a few minutes. He said, “I guess I love that young man who came up to the land of the midnight sun and taught me the gospel of Jesus Christ.” Then the bishop countered, “Brother So-and-So, how would you like someone to love your boy just like that?” The man said, “Bishop, you win again; take him. I’ll pay for his mission.”

Link here: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/print/1978/10/the-joy-of-serving-a-mission?lang=eng

"... Over mountain or plain or sea;"

Photograph by Jed Clark

I’ll Go Where You Want Me to Go

Hymns, no. 270 (PDF version)

1. It may not be on the mountain height
Or over the stormy sea,
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me.
But if, by a still, small voice he calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in thine:
I’ll go where you want me to go.

[Chorus]
I’ll go where you want me to go, dear Lord,
Over mountain or plain or sea;
I’ll say what you want me to say, dear Lord;
I’ll be what you want me to be.

2. Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now in the paths of sin
Some wand’rer whom I should seek.
O Savior, if thou wilt be my guide,
Tho dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo the message sweet:
I’ll say what you want me to say.

3. There’s surely somewhere a lowly place
In earth’s harvest fields so wide
Where I may labor through life’s short day
For Jesus, the Crucified.
So trusting my all to thy tender care,
And knowing thou lovest me,
I’ll do thy will with a heart sincere:
I’ll be what you want me to be.

A Rewarding Service

Missionary Work: A Priesthood Duty

President Thomas S. Monson speaks to young people about missionary service—a duty for young men and a rewarding option for young women.                 

https://www.lds.org/youth/video/a-priesthood-duty?lang=eng

Two By Two Plus One

As more missionary's embark into the field every day it is comforting to remember who else is walking with them.

(I made a card and printed this painting off to remind my brother who is always with him.)

New Era Missionary Issue

This issue of the New Era from March 2007 is dedicated to Missionary Work. It is filled full of wonderful insights.

My favorite article from this New Era is "The Five M’s of Missionary Work", by Thomas S. Monson, it covers the Message, Missionary, Member, Mission, and the Mission President. How each are essential on the mission and have a role in a successful missionary's experience.

Whether you want to print out an article and send it to your missionary for a pick me up in a letter or for a fun insert in a package, or find a quote you enjoy to add to an email when you are having a brain freeze for things to write.

Another fun piece in this issue that is worth a read is dedicated to all us waiting at home. "Missionary Mail", By Connie Myers, answers some questions that many of us have... "What should we write about? How do we get it there? What should we send?"