The 6 missionaries serving from our ward were asked to write a letter about being a missionary to be read to the ward. Today was the day we shared the letters in Sacrament meeting with the congregation.
First up is Eric's letter (which is the letter I read). He is serving a family history mission on Temple Square in Salt Lake and not a proselyting mission due to his Asperger's. He has been out for 13 months now and will be coming home around Thanksgiving time.
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| Eric and his trainer, Elder Smith 7 December 2012 |
This
is Elder Perazzo, reporting from the Family and Church History
Headquarters Mission, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s the
second smallest mission in the church, area-wise (we work at Temple
Square and some surrounding buildings; the Temple Square Sisters’
mission is limited only to working directly in Temple Square) but it’s
one of the largest number-of-missionaries wise (most of whom being
senior missionaries and church service missionaries) and, we like
to joke, we’ve got the most baptisms as well, dealing exclusively in
family history work. It’s certainly the most unique mission in the
church--the young elders here are non-proselyte but we live here so it’s
not technically a service mission either.
I work in the Data Quality Zone, on the 6th floor of the Joseph
Smith Memorial Building. We work closely with the employees at the
Church’s Family History Department--when any changes are coming to
FamilySearch we know ahead of time. For example, soon they’ll be
changing the “photos and stories” feature’s name to “memories.” (And now
you’re among the first to know. Awesome.)
We have a lot of fun. The missionaries at my mission work in
different assignments in different zones around Temple Square--most of
us work at the Family History Library. I do that in the evenings. Though
we don’t really proselyte, last year we got a new mission president
who’s introduced some inspired changes. For example, we didn’t use to
need to stick with a companion [while on Temple Square], but now we do.
The young elders are now also teaching lessons on Sundays, to senior
missionaries of the mission.
So I’d like to share a TESTIMONY BUILDING EXPERIENCE. There’s a lot
of good stuff in Preach My Gospel that expresses how important that is
better than I can, so refer to that, but also know this: I can tell you
that testimony is what separates a decent lesson from a mind-blowing
awesome one, because nothing invites the spirit faster than a testimony.
And even if you don’t think that you “know” something is true, the
spirit will bear witness while you are giving your testimony of it. So
good.
I must admit, until quite recently I haven’t been the strongest
missionary, and right now I’m having around B+/A-, but I’m working to
improve. Once a month we get one-on-one interviews with the mission
president; he offers really inspired guidance--listen to his council.
This is the hardest thing for me to write about, how detailed I should
get, so I’ll just tell you that your mission president will know your
specific situation and will receive divine inspiration and advice for
you personally.
Okay. What would I say to you now, now knowing what a mission is like?
First,
cooking. Balanced diets don’t have to be expensive--V-8 is almost 3
servings of your daily veggies per serving, and Grape Nuts have 100% of
your daily while grains in half a cup. Tuna helper is
amazing
[he underlined it 3 times]. Tuna’s way healthier than hamburger, and Tuna
Helper is way faster & easier to prepare than Hamburger
Helper--tuna’s already pre-cooked so that eliminated one step already.
And although Tuna Helper doesn’t come in as many varieties as Hamburger
Helper, sometimes I buy Hamburger Helper but put tuna in it instead of
beef.
Alright, one last thing--a suggestion to my ward on ways to improve
setting goals for spiritual achievement. From a Family History
perspective, indexing parties are a great goal. It’s relatively easy,
it’s actually kind of fun, and it digitizes these people’s names so that
they’re up on FamilySearch and thus opened up for ordinances to be
completed. Everyone’s happy. It’s a great way to start thinking about
your own ancestors and to turn your hearts, and a great gateway to
getting into Family history. Ward Temple days are also great; I trust
you’re keeping up on that.
Well looks like all I’ve got time for.
Elder Perazzo
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Ryan is serving a proselyting mission in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission. We do not know where he is today as he was transferred this week. We'll find out tomorrow where he wound up. He has been out for almost 9 months now. Here's Ryan's letter to the ward (read by Glen).
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| Ryan with Pres. and Sister Wall about 15 May 2013 |
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Good Morning everyone. I'm
doing well. I'm having a good time in Louisiana. The ward I'm working
in right now is great. They are always nice to us missionaries.
Louisiana is considered part of the buckle of the Bible Belt. It's
hard work at times, but I do love it. I feel honored to be called to
serve here. In Jeremiah it says that the Lord calls people to be
hunters and fishers of men. I'm proud to be trusted as a hunter in
the great Louisiana Baton Rouge mission. I feel like this is truly
the greatest mission in the world.
One memorable experience
that I had was at a Zone Training Meeting. At the end of the meeting
our Zone Leaders asked us all to go into the chapel. As we were
taking our seats they asked us to ponder about Jesus Christ's mission
in life and all that he had done for us. They played a hymn to
invite the spirit in. After some time of thinking I began to feel
more of the Savior's love for me. I had never before felt a
stronger witness of God's love for me as well as the rest of His
children. I have found it easier to reach out to others because I
know God loves them too. It's a great blessing to be able to help
others.
There's is a saying in our
mission that says. “No one cares how much you know until they know
how much you care.” My advice to those preparing to serve a
mission is that you learn to care about others. Care about their
feelings, hobbies, and interests. You will gain a stronger
friendship with them as you do so. 1 Corinthians 13 is all about
charity. In the first few verses it clearly states how we are
nothing without charity. No matter how great of skills you have it
won't really matter if you don't have the pure love of Christ in
you.
I also urge you to have
sincere prayers daily. God is your Father and he wants you to tell
Him how you are doing. As you do this you will gain a stronger
relationship with Him. You will be able to see His hand in your life
more often. You will begin to know of His love for you. You will
fine a greater capacity to love others. I don't think it is possible
to over estimate the power of sincere prayer.
John 14:15 says, “If ye
love me, keep my commandments.” If you have sincere prayers your
love of God will increase and your desire to keep His commandments
will increase as well. Thankfully your spiritual strength and your
ability to do what is right will also grow.
In Alma 34, Amulek
basically says we should pray to God for everything. If there is a
spiritual goal you aspire to, pray for help. Reading your scriptures
will also help. When you read and pray God will help you achieve
your goal.
I love y'all. In the name
of Jesus Christ, amen.
