12/09/2013
We had a baptism this past Saturday! Yup, my first one! And it
turned out a little disappointing because we had planned for lessons by
members, prayers by members and a musical number by the primary for the
services. Guess how many members came?
One! Our ward mission leader came twenty minutes late. The Relief
Society was in another room making Christmas decorations though. So the branch
will be ready for Christmas at least!
Then afterwards we had cake that we made. The baptism we had was for
three kids. I baptized two of them. It was amazing!
On Sunday we brought them and some of the families to the
Christmas Devotional broadcast, which was awesome. We had seven investigators
there and two of them we haven’t even been able to get to come to the church.
Anyway one of the kids, he’s probably five, kept grabbing my hand while
we walked and I was swinging him up and over rocks while we walked. I
love that family and just playing around with the kids. We kept walking and I was just thinking, this
is what it feels like to be a father. And he’s not even my kid. But it just made me so excited to be a father
one day. Kids are so trusting and we can learn so much from them. I don’t
know if that’s weird, but it was a cool experience.
Dad, yes I agree, the lesson that we can’t control certain
things is always a hard one I think! As
humans, we love to have control of everything and we can’t! We try to manage our schedule, our weight,
our money, our emotions, our spirit, our families, etc. It’s overwhelming
sometimes. But when we let go of the
things we can’t control it definitely gets easier. That is something I’ve
learned very quickly in the mission. And I think I relearn it about every month.
I really want to talk about how important members are, but I
feel like I’ve already done that. But I’ll do it again anyway.
So... here I go. I feel like missionary work is looked at wrong in the
church. It’s like a “special sector” of the church and I feel that as members, we
don’t know what it really is. I know I didn’t before I came on the
mission. The missionaries were like different people to me. But there is
a quote, I think by Spencer W Kimball (but I don’t know for sure), that says, “the
missionary church and the member church are the same thing.” It really is.
As missionaries we teach nothing more than you would hear in
church. In fact, we teach quite a bit less, just the basics. So why are we
afraid to help as members? All we do as missionaries is bear testimony of
what we know. Members do that every month in fast and testimony meeting.
So why can’t we do it every once in a while with people that are
investigating the church? My question is why would members leave the job of
bringing people into the church up to 18-year old boys! The girls are doing
great, they don’t have problems. I would think that there would be a desire to
help us, since we are only 18 to 20-year old young men. Doesn’t that scare people
enough to help out? ha ha Now I’m not saying I don’t know why I’m here, or why
18-years olds are doing this work. And
I’m not trying to take away from the special calling I have, or the sacredness
of my call. I know it is special, but I’m a member just like every one
else. I have a calling just like you or the Young Men’s president or the Bishop
has a calling. Mine comes in the mail
from the first presidency, and yours may come from the Bishop, but a calling is
a calling. We are all set apart to work
in our callings. Now I’m not trying to down play a call to be a
missionary, because it really is special. But so is any other calling
FROM THE LORD.
I’m trying to help you see that we all have a calling to do
missionary work, just like other callings. Missionaries aren’t super
human preachers that members should be afraid of. We are as normal as 18-year
olds get. Don’t be afraid of what the missionaries are doing. They are
teaching about the church that we are all a part of. So go out with the missionaries! Help them
out! Part of the struggle with
missionary work is getting new members to feel included in the ward. President
Hinckley taught that every member needs a friend, a calling, and the word of God.
You can be a friend when you go with the missionaries to teach. As you go
to teach you can help that investigator feel welcomed and loved and important.
And as they have a friend in the church, it won’t be quite as scary to go to
church. A story in Preach My Gospel talks about how hard it is for new
investigators. It says that the church really is a new life. Investigators
change their lives to be a part of the church, and at the same time, they are
introduced to a new culture. Think about it. The LDS church has its
own little culture. And I’m not a convert, but I’m sure its pretty weird
at first. I know when I got to Honduras, it was a new culture and it was
definitely weird. So as members, we may not be able to put on a white
shirt and a tie, grab our plaque and head out to some other country, but we
still have a responsibility in missionary work. You can help do the part
that the missionaries can’t. You can be a friend and help the investigator grow
in the gospel. Missionaries are only in one area for a few months.
So as members, we need to go and help teach with the missionaries.
Get to know the missionaries and their investigators. Be a friend
to them. Answer their questions. Make them feel important. Help them to feel
that the church isn’t something scary and don’t let them feel alone, because if
they do, it will be a burden to go and they will become less active very quickly.
When they have a friend at church it will be easier to go, and as they go,
their testimony will grow. That is how we should keep people
active.
There is also one other view I have of how members can help.
Like I said earlier, missionaries are only in one area for a few months.
It’s impossible to know an area in those few months without the help of
the members. They don’t know the streets, the people, the ward, the members and
they never will in a few months. But with the help of the members, it will
be a whole lot easier. When members help the missionaries know their
areas, they can spend more time teaching people and helping the ward grow, instead
of trying to figure out where they are. I know this from experience. In Honduras
where I am, there aren’t addresses on any houses. There are main streets
with names and that’s about it. And it
has taken me two months to figure most of them out. Members here are
critical because they know where places are and which streets you shouldn’t
walk down. Which is really important to
know. My companion and I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out the
area because we don’t have a lot of help from the members here. So help the
missionaries out!
Another key part that members play, is providing references.
Tracting takes a lot of time, and yields little results. It’s very
rare to find someone who is willing to listen to a message when we contact
houses here. References are so awesome because they cut the time that we spend searching
and gets us right to the people that might listen to us. They are like gold
and are really important! It may get
annoying that the missionaries ask [for a contact] every time you talk to them,
but they need them so think carefully and help them out! It’s really frustrating when someone says, no
we don’t have anyone that you could teach. You have to know someone that could
benefit from the gospel. It’s just impossible to not know someone we
could talk to and it helps us out a ton.
So that’s all I have today. Hopefully it moves some people
to action! Love you all a ton! - Elder Ollis
(Make sure you check out the new pictures on the Mission Field Pictures tab!)
