Hey
hey there Dad!
So
New Years and Christmas have come and gone really fast. It's hard to believe
how fast the passage of time goes. Indeed, President Monson probably has said
it best, in multiple talks that he has given: "Time certainly marches on.
Duty keeps cadence with that march. Duty does not dim nor diminish." I
hope that when I near the end of my mission, that I will still work as hard as
I can. Of course, we are agents, free to choose, so I just hope that I'll be as
smart and dedicated as I feel I should be when I reach that point. But
certainly, time marches on. Next Tuesday, I'll know if I'm moving, and if I do
move, where I'll be moving to... I've spent over half my mission in just three
areas, in of which I was in one area for just two months. Time does fly. I feel
like I've changed here and there along the way. Perhaps not changed, but more
of the feeling of that I've found out more of who I am, someone I am
comfortable being. Not to say before that I was uncomfortable, but I think I
understand more about myself, especially as a missionary. The mission has a
funny way of making us discard what was artificial about us before, and helping
us grow into the person our Heavenly Father wants us to become. We get rid of
the excess to start tapping into the divine qualities that Heavenly Father has
given us. We grow, and growing is a good thing. Growing and eternal progression
is our path and our journey. ความก้าวหน้านิรันดร์.
There
was a talk, given by President Thomas S. Monson, our beloved Prophet in these
days, given in April 2006, titled, "Our Sacred Priesthood Trust"
which is one of my favorite talks which I have read thus far (but it's a lot
funnier when you listen to it... just listen to it, please do.). In of which,
an Elders Quorum President where President Monson was serving (he was a mission
president in Canada at the time) was called upon to answer the question
"What is the worth of a soul?" for everyone to hear. In response,
this Elder Quorum President, after a pause, after what was probably was a
little bit of prayer, said: "The worth of a soul is its capacity to become
as God." For everyone who reads this email, I want everyone to ask
themselves, "Am I becoming as God today? What did I do yesterday to become
closer to God? To become closer to Jesus Christ? Am I becoming like Jesus
Christ? What do I need to do to become like Jesus Christ?" Especially if
there are any youth reading this, and most especially, any Aaronic Priesthood
holders (such as: Kai). As missionaries, we are to be the Lord's
representatives. In Thai, we use the word ตัวแทน, which translates to, give or take, "a person who
comes in place of..." All missionaries are here in place of Jesus Christ.
We are His hands. We are shepherds, here to gather in his sheep, under the
direction of the Shepherd of All. So, for the Aaronic Priesthood holders (and
everyone else who reads this letter), I want to ask this "Are you
prepared and worthy, to go out into the world, and serve in the place of Jesus
Christ, serve as He did, teach as He did, and become as He IS?"
However, this pursuit is a pursuit of a lifetime, not something accomplished
over just a couple of months, years, or even many years. Perhaps an eternity,
but it is our eternal goal to be as The Master is.
I'll
spin it a different way using our purpose as missionaries, found in Preach My
Gospel. We are to "invite others to come unto Christ by helping them
receive the restored Gospel through Faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement,
Repentance, Baptism by Immersion, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and
Enduring to the End." I'll highlight the word "invite". We
"invite" others to "come unto Christ." Do we invite others
to "go unto Christ"? No! We invite them to "come unto
Christ." Meaning they have to coming towards us, at least part of the way.
We're not quite to the Celestial Kingdom yet, and most likely aren't perfect
(yet) but we had better be standing right at the gates leading to the celestial
kingdom, leading celestial lives. If we want our investigators and Recent
Converts to lead celestial lives, then we had better be doing the same. The
Lord has condemned hypocrisy, and through hypocrisy is a poor way to teach our
investigators. Be obedient, be kind, be generous. Indeed, have faith, virtue,
knowledge, temperance, endurance, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity,
humility, and diligence. The way we develop these attributes is by praying, and
constant work. These attributes come as as a gift from our Heavenly Father. I
suppose that is one of the reasons why the last verse in the 4th Section of the
Doctrine and Covenants ends in "Ask, and ye shall receive; knock and it
shall be opened unto you." If you want to become like Jesus Christ, if you
want to prepare well to become a missionary, then we must pray, asking
"What do I need to do to become more like Jesus Christ? What must I do to
become a better missionary, or to prepare to be a missionary?"
I
ask myself that everyday, and if we have real intent, meaning we intend
to act on the answer we receive, if and when we receive it, then we will get
the answers we need. Thus we have repentance, to help us change, and become
better, and the Gift of the Holy Ghost, to help us know, and help guide us
everyday.
Ok,
that's enough on the Spiritual Thought, hahaha. As far as the life of this
particular servant of the Lord goes, we currently have a couple of
investigators who have a date to be baptized, however, we're having trouble
getting them to progress, or seem excited about being baptized., so it's going
to be a tough journey for us in these last two weeks of the transfer (actually
1.5), but where there's no resistance, how could we grow? We're going to try to
help them the best that we can. With prayers in heart, and guidance from the
Spirit, we'll do exactly what the Lord needs us to do. One date for an
investigator needs to be moved back because he missed Church this weeks, but
probably will have to be moved back 2 - 3 weeks so we have some time to
properly teach him and help him be truly converted. We also finally got one
investigator there at church today! While it wasn't our goal, we were happy to
have at least one investigator after a couple of weeks of some struggling.
We're going to keep working with them all, and get them all to church!
Yesterday,
I'm pretty sure I talked to at least 6 drunk guys. Couldn't understand a word
they said. Just gave them an inviting card, and biked quickly off (like
normal!). The funny thing about drunk guys is that they'll almost anything you
tell them to... or at least agree to do it. So we try not to teach them until
they're sober, or else we would have a lot of new investigators by going to
preach at alcohol-based establishments. They also like to shake our hands...
it's pretty weird.
And
then the dogs. We figured out the other day that if dogs go to chase you, and
you brake really hard, pull a 180 and go chase them, they generally run away.
So, the lesson is: Chase dogs and they run away. Way funny.
In
other news, I also crashed my bike again. Tried to switch lanes, ran into the
partition and crashed into the bushes... I'm thankful there were no strange
animals or insects living in the bushes... So that makes crash #7 or 8. Almost
one crash for every transfer I've been a missionary, and I haven't been riding
a bike for my entire mission... hahaha.
Truth
be told, I've been here a long time. Almost 6 months now. I've seen a lot of
missionaries come and go, from and into this mission. It's so strange, to see
so many new faces, and I have no idea who they are. I've hit one year in
Thailand, one year away from home, one year where everything I've learned so
far about life has been put to the test. What a blessing, what an opportunity,
and what a privilege. I hope I keep growing, and keep becoming better and
better. I feel like I'm finding out who Heavenly Father wants me to be.
I
love the Savior, and I testify that he is the Master Healer. He is our Older
Brother, who loves us and sacrificed His life for us. May we study onward, pray
continually, keep our covenants, and watch, as the arm of the Lord is revealed
on our behalf. I hope everyone is searching the scriptures everyday! Search,
ponder, and pray. We will receive all the answers we need from from such
studies.
Again,
Happy New Years! Love you lots! Talk to you soon!
-
Elder Collin Decker
