Week 48: Come Unto Christ

Well there it is -today marks 11 months in my mission!! Wow!!!

There it is wow. I would only be dreaming this on my first day!! but it is awesome and it has been so fast!!! man!! But its been very good!  Saturday we had a baptism of a man who's name in Benjamin and this has turned his life around like crazy he has completely changed his whole life. He told us that the love of Christ has really changed him. he just had a separation with his wife and his girls don't want to visit him and so he was sad and well that's when my companion and his other companion before me stepped into his life and they really changed it. he told me he owes us a ton but really he doesn't owe us anything. 

I have been reading the new testament every morning and well the teachings of Christ go right into this situation it says in Matthew 11:28-30:

 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.. 

Isn't that just what he did. he came unto Christ and He had his burdens lifted from off of him Just a little bit. HE CAME unto Christ and let Christ take the burden and then relieve the pain. We need to come unto to him and we need to be perfected in him. We need to come unto him and be perfected in him to feel his love. I can really say that when we come unto him and take his yoke upon us we will feel a lot better I have felt it as I have been embarking on this journey for 11 months. Its been rough sometimes but really it has been rewarding It has been the best of times and the worst of times- well really more of the best of times! its amazing to see how the lord will work through ones hands to help his children. It is amazing I really have seen it as we are sometimes like -where are we going? well lets go over there what are we going to teach? my companion asks, Well lets follow what the spirit tells us to teach. At first he was like WAIT! WHAT? I said we aren't here Elder to teach just lessons we are here to teach the people the love God has for them and well lets see what he can do through us, because we are servants in his hands we have a purpose and well lets go fulfill it. the first time I told Elder Zambrano I wish I could have taken a Picture. He said, Wait! well OK Ill follow you companion. haha and well you know what we did we followed the spirit and we made it one of the best lessons I have seen in my mission not just because I'm a good teacher haha Just kidding no it was because we let the spirt into the room and we made miracles happen. 

In Mosiah 5:8-10 it reads:

8 And under this head ye are made free, and there is no other head whereby ye can be made free. There is no other name given whereby salvation cometh; therefore, I would that ye should take upon you the name of Christ, all you that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives.

 9 And it shall come to pass that whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ.

 10 And now it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall not take upon him the name of Christ must be called by some other name; therefore, he findeth himself on the left hand of God.

the head is Jesus Christ there is no other way by which the blessings will come except by and through the master, Jesus Christ. here as a missionary I have watched over and over and over again one of my favorite movies from the church the best two years!! haha no its Finding Faith in Christ. I really never thought before why this movie was made until I saw the movie in action. We watched this movie with Benjamin and I just want to say Faith is a very important thing. that's all i have to say on Faith is a basic thing that we need to have to be able to make the next move. Faith is the basics on how we can change our lives for good and also how we can follow the Master in all things. it is a very important thing Faith. and well here's a scripture. 

In Alma 26:22 it says:
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to reveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. 

The main thing that I am trying to say is Come Unto Christ and be perfected in him! come and give him everything and take the light load and continue on. Repent and be renewed. Come unto Christ and let him heal you. 

I have seen so many things in my mission and well one of them is people acting and doing and letting the masters touch come and make them better. I know that if we do this we will become disciples of Christ and we will let him heal us.

After 11 months I am flying through my mission. but I don't miss a time to let the spirit lead me. I Hope you are all having a great day and well hope this week was and is a good one for you.

I love you All!!!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 47: Two thumbs up!

Well Hello Everyone!!!

out our apartment window

Hope everyone is just great!!! This week was good it had a bit of a rough beginning but then we hit Friday and we made it back to a great week. This week i have been studying about the priesthood just a bit and about the power of the priesthood that really is a power that comes from god. and what a power it is. it really comes from god. Saturday an Elder from my district got sick. and his companion went with Elder Zambrano to some lessons that were important for them to be in so i got to spend a little time talking with this Elder. he asked me to give him a blessing and i said of course I will i would be honored. in this blessing I felt that I needed to say that in the morning he would wake up and continue his work and not be sick. the next morning he woke up and was better, not completely better, but he could go to church and he could go and do the lord's work. it was a special opportunity for me to use the priesthood and to give him a simple blessing but then the power of god acted through me. 

Earlier this week we had a Zone Conference and President Cardenas taught us in Jacob 1:19 which says, "And we did magnify our office unto the Lord, taking upon us the responsibility, answering the sins of the people upon our own heads if we did not teach them the word of God with all diligence; wherefore, by laboring with our might their blood might not come upon our garments; otherwise their blood would come upon our garments, and we would not be found spotless at the last day". We must Magnify our office! What is our office? Our Callings. As Children of a god who loves us each one of us has a calling not just a calling in the church we each have a calling to use our gifts that god has given us. one of these gifts in the gift of the priesthood. its not just a gift that only the males have. its a gift for the family to use. We always teach people that its a two way thing priesthood and marriage it takes two people. The Husband has it and the wife uses it. its true the Husband might have the priesthood. this is where the wife comes in and says, use your priesthood please magnify your calling. sure you don't need to be like the deacons and pass the sacrament but if you are an example of your priesthood then you can help them be as well. we all know the deacons are a bit restless sometimes but being and example and maybe singing in the hymn book with your family not on our tablet or showing the love you have for your family then well they will look up to you and want to be like you. 

Ok well maybe I was thinking in Spanish and trying to translate it into English but you should get the idea. President told us that to magnify our callings as missionaries and as members we will show our diligence to him. we take the sins of others upon us as we teach and make them clean through the sacrifice of Christ. its very interesting there is a reason why the Elders don't go to all the meetings with the ward. President said its because it doesn't matter what punch the sisters are bringing to the party and because we have a better work to do than to plan the next party. he told us that we are already being drug spiritually with our investigators and what does it matter what kind of punch is brought we will still drink it haha. We each have a calling from god and well I am right now a Missionary and my calling to work with the people to help them know of the love that god has for them. after I will be a member and will have a different calling I will be helping the work go forth through a different way. the meaning of a member is a missionary as well but to help the missionaries to find people and to help our friends learn the gospel. and well then the missionaries and I will work together and we will bring everyone into the arms of Christ. because each one of us knows the love god has for his children and we feel it and we should want to share it. Every member a missionary.

Well hope that my thought from the week made it out clear but sorry if they don't because well Spanish is taking over the English and i have no idea sometimes what things mean in English haha. but the gift of tongues is a great tool and I have seen it do wonders with me and as the spirit speaks through my companion and I. 

Well the Picture of the two good looking guys, Yes I know Im good looking haha, is from the conference where suits are the attire, its kind of a formal thing haha. and the other one is us looking for people to visit haha not really, but it is sort of cool to walk through a Field like this. 

cooking breakfast

 

Well I hope you had a great week and hope this week is a good one for you as well.

Love you all!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 46- I am Elder Jaymes Monson and I am a Mormon!

I am Elder Jaymes Monson and I am a Mormon!

Hello everyone I hope everything is going well today and like always Happy new week! Wow this week was actually really great. Yesterday we baptized a lady named Noemi and what a great baptism it was. she is actually a really shy person but has a huge testimony of the truth. We were with her on Wednesday night, it was raining a little bit but not too bad, and we had been trying to talk to her all week. then we came to talk to her and she had been having a lot of hurting in her stomach and we came at the right time- we explained what a priesthood blessing is and asked if she would like one. i was privileged to give her the blessing and its really interesting how the spirit works, as the scriptures say, in mysterious ways. that is for sure it sure works through a person like fire sometimes. We gave her the blessing and you could feel the love our father in heaven has for her as I was guided to say some very key things that will change her life. as we blessed her and then as we talked for a bit she said, Elders i just received the answer to my prayers I will be getting baptized this week and you better be ready for it. we just said of course we will get everything ready then she shared something each one of us has, she shared her testimony with us. and the spirit was Strong before but it got stronger and stronger until it touched each of our hearts so strongly I don't even know how to explain it. she then said the closing prayer and all I can say is wow! we had to cut through the spirit with our spiritual swards just to get out of the lesson it was that strong. then we left the lesson and my companion and I just looked at each other and I said Elder If we could have that spirit always with us we would baptized the world haha. It was great but the important thing about that experience is the testimony.

Each of us has a testimony and well I just finished the Book of Mormon for the second time in my mission in English and what better than the words and the testimony of this book through the words the prophets say. As the book starts I Nephi being born of goodly parents and ends with the strong testimony of Moroni We can just say that the book really is a testament of the truth that we have. The testimony of the servants of god. As Nephi says I will go and do the things which the lord hath commanded me (1 Nephi 3;7) and The lord has commanded me and i Will obey (2 Nephi 33:15) and Ammon who teaches with power (Alma 18 - 19) or Captain Moroni who if any one who ever was or would be like him the very jaws of hell would be shut forever (Alma 48;17) or King Benjamin who teaches it is by our faith on the name of Christ the we can be spiritual sons and daughters of god (Mosiah 5:7) or Abinadi who explains that we need to come into the arms of mercy and call on his name (Mosiah 16:12) Or Heleman who explains that we need to be built upon the rock of our salvation (Heleman 5:12) or Moroni who explains to us that the witness comes after the trail of our faith (Ether 12:6) or the most powerful on that just tells me how he is a servant of the lord when it says ¨... I make not myself known to the Laminites lest they should destroy me...because of their hatred they have put to death every Nephite who will not deny the Christ. And I Moroni WILL NOT DENY THE CHRIST.¨ What power and authority he has I will not deny the Christ. oh shakes my to the bone! If we have a testimony like him and so many other people in the Book of Mormon what have we to lose? nothing. We can now Put of titles of liberty up and say We will fight for the lord. (Alma 46:12-13) Will we be like Moroni and say everyone is ding spiritually because they have denied god but I Will not deny the Christ. I Elder Jaymes Monson will not deny the Christ! so who will be with me? I hope all of you will. I know the book of Mormon is true! I know it with all my heart and by this book a man can really come closer to Christ and by not denying his works we can and will Know the mercy of our lord and our god. We will not deny the Christ because we know what will happen to us Spirtually. Come unto Christ and be perfected in him (Moroni 10:32-34) And when ye shall receive these things I would Exhort you that ye ask god the Eternal father in the name of Christ if these things are not true and if ye ask with a sincere heart and with real intent having faith in Christ he will manifest the truth of it unto you by the gift of the holy ghost and by the gift of the holy ghost ye may know the truth of all things. (Moroni 10:4-5) I know because I have asked him what about YOU? i KNOW THIS BOOK IS TRUE AND I WILL NOT DENY IT NOT ONE BIT! in the name of Jesus Christ our savior and redeemer, Amen

By sharing your testimony you can make it bigger. I love this work and I love sharing the gospel with others!!!!

Hope you have a great week and well the pictures are of the baptism and the rain last week when it rained really hard haha it was kind of scary to be on the side of a mountain and hear the thunder and lightning Right by you haha!! 

Love you All!

Elder Jaymes Monson

Week 45-What a great week!

What a great week!

Yep what a great week it was a great week because my companion and I had good attitudes this whole week. when you change companions its sort of hard to adapt but Elder Zambrano and I have been working very well together and well that's good. at the beginning of the week I told my companion that we were going to work very hard this week to have 20 lessons in total. he said it was impossible to do that, he said we have never done that! how are we going to do that, 20 lessons is a lot!! calm down Elder just like Peter pan says with Faith trust and a little bit of pixie dust we can fly why don't we try? no not to fly but to have these 20 lessons. I am very proud to say as we came in yesterday night looked at the week we had we reached it! we had 20 lessons exactly! what a great feeling to just say wow! we did well this week all but Saturday when in the whole day we only had 2 lessons but other than a bit of a slip up we did it and it feels good and well hopefully we will be having a baptism this week because we have been working with this one sister named Noemi, what a great person she is. A person just changing her life and just always there to make you smile. she really knows that she is a daughter of God. She really is a great person who is acting on her faith and following God. Talking about faith, I read today Ether 12 and that's a bit about the Faith that we need to have in our Lord Jesus Christ. it says in this chapter: 

2 And Ether was a prophet of the Lord; wherefore Ether came forth in the days of Coriantumr, and began to prophesy unto the people, for he could not be restrained because of the Spirit of the Lord which was in him.

 3 For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled—

 4 Wherefore, whoso believeth in God might with surety hope for a better world, yea, even a place at the right hand of God, which hope cometh of faith, maketh an anchor to the souls of men, which would make them sure and steadfast, always abounding in good works, being led to glorify God.

Ether was a prophet and he was like us missionaries working day and night to proclaim the word of God. so we know the faith of this man was focused on the Lord. the faith of this man was very big very big but Moroni Teaches us something very important in verse 6 it says:

 6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. 

the witness of our faith comes after the trail of it. A lot of times it might seem like the Lord is trying us but really he is protecting us. it might seem like our parents are doing the same thing. when we are little kids we love to just find new things or do new things but our parents know that if we get on top of the table we are going to fall and get hurt that's why they tell us to get off the table. its kind of like our father in heaven who it always looking out for us he might be giving us this trail because he knows what is coming or he might know that that's not the right choice to do that right now. that's why he is called our father in heaven or our heavenly father he is our actual father who looks out for us every step of our lives so then why don't we listen? we are but sometimes we ask ourselves why me and turn it on to the other person.  so we think why me? well why not? haha its for our benefit. If we are using our faith correctly then why wont we be looking for the trial to over come it and to better ourselves. the best thing we can do is to look at the positive and look to the best that's why this week Elder Zambrano and I turned what was a trial to this area into a positive thing. We turned an area that was doing ok to an area that will be doing better and better everyday and not standing still but progressing. 

So let us make the best out of every opportunity. Hope your day goes well!!!

Love you all!

Elder Jaymes Monson