week 64 Let Us All Press On In the Work of the Lord
Dear Friends and Family,
How is everybody!? I love you all and hope
you all are toughing it through the tough times.
I have been here in Ciudadela for a good few
weeks now, and I love it here. The ward is so helpful and supportive and every
day is a big, new, crazy adventure, and all in the sacred service of the Lord.
When Corona virus hit Buenos Aires this past
week, the Argentine population when into apocalypse prep mode, and the mission
made us go and buy a long list of food to store in the Pench in case of
emergency. So my companion and I went to the Makro, which would be Costco in
the USA, and shopped for an hour finding all the thing needed, then waited in
line with our giant cart for two hours because the whole rest of Argentina was survival shopping too, crazy stuff! Luckily proselyting continues so far
here, and we are seeing the Lord's hand manifested in more and more powerful
ways each day. We had three baptisms this last week, Jeanneth, Alejandra, and
Selene all took a big step toward their Savior, and all though the baptism had
to be swift and with few people, they were able to be confirmed directly after,
according to the instructions of Elder Bragg, and the Spirit of the Lord was
potent in that nearly empty chapel.
Then, we received word from the Area
Presidency that on Sunday we could bring the Sacrament and Come Follow Me Class
to our non-member friends as long as we had a member along to help, and so we
prepared the best we could and I bought a loaf of bread and a big water bottle
with some disposable cups, and we went out to minister with our friend Albert who is preparing to serve the mission. We did 5 separate Sacrament meetings with different member and part-member families, and I ended up directing the meeting a couple times. The Lord has revealed that through the ordinances of the Holy Priesthood the power of Godliness is manifest, and as we knelt and blessed the bread and water, and held our little testimony meetings with in the little concrete houses of these good families, the power of Godliness was felt in our hearts and the Spirit of the Lord filled our souls. It was a time for me to see the reality of priesthood power and authority, and I know perfectly that that power rested upon every home where the saints were gathered. Those of you who so participated last Sunday know exactly what I am talking about.
I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ, I know the Russell M. Nelson is a living Prophet of God upon this earth and the Apostles and other general authorities who sustain him are men of God armed with His own power and authority. I know that if we hearken unto the Good Shepherd, and unto His servants, He will guide us through this and any other time of panic, grief, or pain. My daily message to the people of Ciudadela, and my one personal plea to you is this: Hear Him!
For some that means continue in faith, for other that means find it, for some that means honor sacred covenants, for others MAKE SACRED COVENANTS WITH THE LORD. Do not delay. Should doubt of fear come, fall to your knees, bow your head, and ask your Father in Heaven what He would have you do right now, TODAY, and always remember that God works according to the faith of His children.
I love you and the Lord loves you, may we all continue basking in and sharing with others the wondrous light of the Restoration. This is Way, the Truth and the Life, this is the Rock upon which to build your foundation, this is the Body of Christ, here you can you come unto Him, and here you can feel His sanctifying power and prepare yourself to one day soon, see Him face to face and know that He is.
With deep love and great hope,
Elder Davis
Week 57 1/27/20
SO this past week the mission president and his wife swung by our
department in order to drop off an air cooler. We had an hour to
organize and clean everything beforehand and luckily it was already
pretty good so the task was swiftly completed. I cleaned the inside if
the Fridge, my comp cleaned the stove, and the other two elders did
something too... I think... joke, joke. Anyways, President got there
with the AC unit and looking around commented on the cleanliness and
order of our Pench, and how many others weren't so clean. WE PASSED woot
woot! He helped us set up the AC and right when all was done and he was
about to head on his way, there came a "Can I use your bathroom?"
immediately followed by my face of horror. Now, to be fair the bathroom
was in decent condition, and I was the only one who had cleaned it all
before. But in the weeks after, nobody else did..... and so what
happens.... President asked for paper towel and some cleaner and BOOM
despite my pleadings and sobbing HE started to clean the toilet. Dad I
should have listened to you, you have always taught me this simple
principle of just cleaning up a bit daily... but alas I was left to cry
"O, That I had repented before this great and terrible day!" President
also showed how we could easily tighten up the seat so as to make it
more comfortable and (now I quote his words) so as to not "fall into
Hell." HAHAHA!!!Â
In other news we were able to get
45 people to fill up our little meeting HOUSE this last Sunday, a
wonderful feat for us. The work continues forward and so does the
summer. At times I feel I am carrying the message to the people, but
throughout difficulty and trials, I often find it is the message that is
carrying me.
I invite you all to grow your testimony, and to share your testimony. Know the truth then make it known.
I
love you all and appreciate and ask for your prayers of faith on my
behalf and on behalf of all the missionaries laboring in the vineyard of
the Lord. :)
'Till Next Time,
Elder Davis
Week 55 1/13/20 An idea sparked in my mind.
WOW! HAPPY NEW YEAR ER'BODY! And I suppose that means that I have a year in the mission field.
My
apologies for not writing letters, lately time and talents in that
category have been rather small haha! But I bring assurances of my love
for each of you, and I pray for you (yes, YOU!) frequently to the Lord,
All though maybe not by name the Lord knows who has impacted my life for
good and He understands that when I plead for family and friends, so
many of those friends have been leaders in the Church, and many of that
family is what Joseph called "the household of Faith," just as it
represents those who have a branch in the Davis line.Â
This
new year, I sat fearing and fretting in HOW I could possibly ensure I
finish my mission experience learning ALL the Lord desires I learn,
doing all He expects me to do, and in the end becoming what the Lord
needs me to be. I wasn't so preoccupied by the passing of the year, but
more by the passing of the year and the closing of the opportunity
WITHOUT me having taken all from it... or maybe more accurately, having
GIVEN my all to it. In these moments of reflection an idea sparked in my
mind, and I was inspired by it:
2
LOSE
2
YOURSELF
With
that goal in mind, I saw great hope in the concept of losing myself
even further in the work of salvation, and thus finding myself not only
returned to family and friends, but finding my divine identity in the
Lord.
As I got to work in THAT manner, I found
great joy and satisfaction, and great closeness with the Lord. And for
about a week or two, all continued so. Of course, with any good work or
inspired thought, Satan soon comes to tempt and try and impede, and thus
I have found a lot of challenges with hope, with health, and with the
progress of interested persons here in my area.Â
The
benefit of such trials and testing is the growth of patience, and the
rise of grit. I take great courage and faith from the lines of "Come,
Come, Ye Saints" and I also testify that "Soon we'll have this tale to
tell, all is well, all is well." If pioneer ancestors could haul wagons
and families over thorns and thistles, and through the depths of
freezing rivers, I know that I can endure a "thorn in the flesh" or two,
and I can go through the depths of sorrow and fear and discouragement,
and come out on the other side, unharmed, unstopped, and unbroken.
A
line from the movie "Unbroken" is one that rings true in not only
things of sports or war, but also in the salvation and exaltation of our
families: "IF YOU CAN TAKE IT, YOU CAN MAKE IT!"
So Gird Up Your Loins, Fresh Courage Take,
Our God Will Never Us Forsake!
With love and courage,
Elder Davis
Week 52 CHRISTMAS
MERRY CHRISTMAS Y'ALL!!!Â
On my little Christmas checklist I have done the following:
1. Sang with the other missionaries in a bunch of homes for older folks
2. Found the Manoas (Argentine soda company) bottle that was decked all up for Christmas.Â
3. Made a collage of awesome photos of Christ
4. Colored the day of my Agenda red and green just so I didn't forget that it was CHRISTMAS
5.
Found a wonderful lady named Amanda whose daughter had died seven days
prior. We taught her the Plan of Salvation and it felt great to truly
Light the World for somebody; she was down and heavyhearted when we came
and was happy and smiling when we left. My wonderful Argentine
Grandma!
6. Found a Minions non-alcoholic beverage for kids and decided I am young enough and bought it.Â
7.
Had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas Argentine style, which means
getting together with friends and family and listening to blaring loud
music 'till early in the morning as you cook meat and eat it.
8. I ate intestine. Not too bad but I got caught off guard when the juice exploded into my mouth. TMI?
I
love you all and hope you had a wonderful Christmas! :) The Savior
lives and is guiding His Church and blessing His followers, so just keep
on keeping on! :)
Trent wrote this poem for Chrismas
Beloved Son
Eyes once closed begin to open
Sounds and blurry lights surround
And through it all His mother holds
Gazing down on Love Profound
Born among these little sheep
Goodly Shepard, Firstborn Lamb
A babe, a King, lies here asleep
Almighty God, the Great "I AM"
Heaven's Cries break through the silence
Angels sing and weep and dance
The Prince of Peace to end all violence
Adam, Eve, a second chance
The Word of God to lift the weary
Healer of the wounds unseen
His feet shall rush to hush the fearing
As footsteps on the midnight sea
Soulful pleading in a garden
Pure Love bleeds from every pore
He suffers there for hearts so hardened
Satan laughs and nature mourns
The stars above all stand in reverence
As Father turns His face in pain
The Son of Man who cried repentance
is lifted up, the Lord is Slain
Eyes once closed begin to open
The longed for day, new Vision come
The Father points and says to Joseph
"This is My Beloved Son"
Week 51 12/16/19 LOST AT 1 AM, I GET A PEDICURE, MORE MISSION THINGS
SO! Training has been crazy but good. I am learning A TON of things
and developing more traits... like Anxiety hahahaha!!! Really though I
am glad for the challenge of learning and growing.Â
STORY TIME-
My first night as a trainer, we got on the bus that takes us four hours
out to campo and we left at 8 PM. I knew that I NEEDED to stay awake
over the four hours so that when we reached Chivilcoy at eleven thirty
that night we could get off and go to bed in peace. I stayed awake for
stop one two three four etc. UNTIL we were right arriving to city
limits... THEN my brain said sleep and my body said "Okay" and BOOM
before you know it, I wake up and we are in the middle of nowhere...
surrounded by darkness and meadows and cows and rivers. I then jump up
and ask an old lady where we are and find we passed Chivilcoy and are a
long way away from the next stop in ALBERTI! I just about screamed like a
girl and woke up the whole bus. When we finally DID arrive to Alberti,
we jumped off and there I stood at one AM in the morning in front of a
gas station in the middle of nowhere. I called the Zone Leaders, who
decided to just call President, who called and asked me where I was and
what my plan was to return to my area... I gave some options and settled
that I would pay a taxi from the town an hour away to take us... I had
the man take us to the bank so I could pay the 800 peso Remis ride and
then we finally got to the Pench and got situated around two.oclock in
the morning. I felt better when the Zone Leaders told me President
laughed for like two minutes straight when they told him what I had
done. XD XD XDÂ
week 49 12/2/19
Other than that, things
have been good in this last week of the transfer, even though I was
stuck in a trio and unable to work my own area without going on splits
with a (semi-active) member. I really have become good buddies with the
two other elders, and one of them will now be leaving to be the next AP
so I wish him luck and happiness! BTw the photo with a TON of Elders is
when we had a special conference here in campo, and thus a total of
ELEVEN elders (me included) had to figure out how to sleep and survive
in our one tiny Apartment. Luckily we had a million spare mattresses
haha!
Other than that these are just generally
some of the lovely scenery of EL CAMPO of Buenos Aires Argentina! :)
ALso Charlie the Dog who lives right next to the Church-house is smiling
for you all... Go ahead and hit that like button please! Show Charlie
some love. ;)
Anyways LOVE YALL! And here's a little thought I had this week:
Salvation
comes in and through the Redeemer. Through His merits, earned in days
long past, through His mercy which He will give us on the Great and
Final Judgement Day, and through His sustaining Grace, given to us
freely hour to hour.Â
This December let us all
Light the World by showing forth He who is the Light OF the World! Let
us be HIS true and loyal disciples, and let us bring souls unto Him, are
very own included! Â
I love you all and I
love Christmas. Somehow I found Swiss Miss here and immediately bought it
so please do NOT worry about me as far as gifts and traditions are
concerned, I will be JUST fine! ;) Hahaha!!!
With love and light,
Elder Davis
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)