Monday, April 25, 2016

Week 85 - What Sucess on a misison looks like

Hey Mom!! We had a good week! I got the call from President saying that I will indeed be getting transferred tomorrow and I'm going to Indianapolis to be a Zone Leader in the White River Zone, so I'll be returning to the White River Spanish Branch once again! So now I will have served in every area in that branch. It's been weird only serving in 2 branches my whole mission while other missionaries "branch" out to other branches (haha get it?), but it's good to be able to make such good friends in the branches I have served in. So the zone I'll be over will be twice the size than the one I'm currently in, so it will be a new experience. My companion will be Elder Porter. 

We taught a lesson in jail!! Remember S?? Well he's been in jail for about 5 months and we were thinking about him the other day and we decided to go try and contact him. We went to the Elkhart county jail and set up a video visitation over there. It was only a 20 minute visit via a computer in the jail, but I still spoke through a black telephone like in the movies, so it was pretty legit. We had a good conversation and he said the earliest he'd get out is in June, so we got some contact info from him and hopefully the missionaries can contact him after he gets out. 

This week was great! We got a lot done and were able to teach a lot of lessons, but sadly, still no progression in this area. Sometimes I feel like the Lord of the vineyard in Jacob 5 when he says, "What more could I have done for my vineyard?" Sometimes it feels like we do everything we can and the people still don't change. It gives us a very small glimpse of how our Heavenly Father must feel. 

I know this time of difficulty has been a great learning experience for me and that the Lord wants me to take something from it. I've learned a lot this transfer about what success really is in a mission. There's a page in PMG Ch.1 that talks about success in the mission field and list some points that will be evidences of success throughout the mission. I found it interesting that not a single one of those points talked about baptisms or converts. It talked more about things like:
  • Being diligent 
  • Feeling the Spirit guide you
  • Watching people come closer to Christ
  • Serving others
  • Loving investigators
  • Being exactly obedient
  • etc.
I've learned a lot this transfer about success and that just because we don't have baptisms, it doesn't mean we aren't successful. I've worked harder than ever this past transfer and I've been doing my best and although I still have many things I need to improve, I'm confident the Lord is happy with what I did here.

I had the opportunity to share my testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday and I testified of the 2 most important things I've learned thus far in my mission: That God loves and knows each one of us personally, and the divine role and purpose of Jesus Christ as our Savior. It was a blessing to be able to share that with this branch that I have come to love so much and it's sad to say goodbye to them. 

I'm looking forward to a new transfer and a new area! I'll learn a lot and grow from the new experiences I'll soon have. 

Have a great week and I'll see you in about a month :)

Love, Elder Thayne

No comments:

Post a Comment