Elder John Mcilmoil : Teaching Experiences And The Bread Of Life

Traveling To Ixtahuacan

Selfie In Camoja Huehuetanango

Ok where to start. First off I am way sick. My voice is almost gone. It is terrible, every time I talk to my comp I have to whisper. The heat makes things worse. It is what it is. So I almost a chicken foot but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. We also traveled to San Miguel Ixtahuacan for our three interview with President Bautista.

Smile Elders

Typical Guatemalan Market

Every morning during personal study time I have a film session. I watch The District. I watch to see what they did great and what they could improve when teaching lessons to their investigators. I also watch for teaching tips and see how I can improve. I have learned I need to ask more inspired question from Heavenly Father, He is the one that knows His children that we are teaching. After each film session I practice. At first it was a little weird because I’m talking to a balloon or a chair or nothing. I know it has helped. In my first real lesson after doing this my goal was just ask inspired question and LISTEN BY THE SPIRIT and YOUR HEART. I did and I truly asked questions from heaven. The spirit was so strong, it was amazing. I asked questions that were pretty deep but it truly helped us and our investigator to truly understand what we needed to do to help her and to become more aware of her needs. We learned that she was taught to respect all religions. We also learned that God is important to her and that the things we are teaching her are new and at times hard to understand. As we were closing the lesson I felt deeply impressed to have the closing prayer on our knees. She offered the prayer and asked what church is true and what Thy will is for her. It was a powerful prayer. After the prayer I promised her that she will know these things for herself like we (my comp and I) know these things to be true. I also promised her that she will know for herself that Christ lives and is her Savior and Redeemer. It truly was amazing experience. Then in another lesson with a different investigator I experienced another amazing experience. We started by asking her what she had learned from the pamphlet we left her. She shared with us what she learned. We then asked if she had any questions. She told us yes and asked how you know the things I read are true and how do really know that you have a prophet. I was guided by the spirit as I answered her questions. I shared with her that we know this things are true by something simple; prayer, prayer is our communication with our Father in Heaven. You ask Heavenly Father if it is true. I told her we have the promise that ‘if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.’ We then discussed Christ’s life and somewhat of the apostasy. As I was listening she kept referring to that all churches say they are true. I said, “Sister I understand your confusion with so many churches saying they have the truth. If you seek this knowledge ‘with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,’ I promise that you will receive an answer. You will receive the truth that this is the Church of Jesus Christ. Let’s read from the Bible in Luke 10:1, this teaches that the Lord called others to assist in sharing his word and they went out teaching 2 by 2. In Matthew 18:16 we read, ‘that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ We are witnesses that this is the true church.” I asked her if she knew for a surety that her church was true. She said, “I know my church isn’t true, I believe that none are true.” I again told her if you seek this knowledge ‘with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ,’ I promise that you will receive an answer. Then I shared my testimony. It was a sweet lesson.

The Big City Of Camoja

I Miss The Tut Tuts

Yesterday I taught Sunday school. The lesson was about manna and the Ten Commandments. I focused on the manna, the bread of life. I started with water, when Moses was instructed by the Lord to smote the rock to receive water to satisfy the children of Israel thirst. I then asked what the symbol of water is spiritually. I read that it is the love of God. I asked what are some ways that God shows his love for us. The class shared great answers. I taught that the water is the blood of Christ that was shed for us; and that is the pure love of God. Then I talked about the manna and I gave them bread. I shared that by providing manna, one day at a time, Jesus was trying to teach faith. He was teaching them to trust Him. In essence, the children of Israel had to walk with Him today and trust that He would grant a sufficient amount of food for the next day on the next day, and so on. In that way He could never be too far from their minds and hearts. We also need to ask God for our daily bread, the help to be strong every day. I shared a few thoughts from a CES Fireside given by Elder D. Todd Christofferson, ‘Give Us Our Daily Bread.’ He taught in the Lord’s Prayer is the petition “Give us this day our daily bread” He said, “I believe that we would all readily acknowledge that we have needs each day that we want our Heavenly Father’s help in dealing with. For some, on some days, it is quite literally bread—that is, the food needed to sustain life that day. It could also be the need for spiritual and physical strength. Jesus is teaching us, His disciples, that we should look to God each day for the bread” We need to ask God for our daily bread, the help to be strong every day. Elder Christofferson said, “Above all, remember that we have Him of whom manna was a type and symbol, the very Bread of Life, the Redeemer.” We read in John 6:35, ‘And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.’ I said this is not doctrine in anyway but in my opinion I believe that on our day of judgment Christ will ask us, ‘Did you partake of your bread and water daily?’ I want to say yes Lord, I did. In closing I shared my testimony and then shared Elder Christofferson’s testimony, “I bear you my witness of the living reality of the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, and of the infinite power and reach of His Atonement. Ultimately, it is His Atonement, His grace, that is our daily bread. We should seek Him daily, to do His will each day, to become one with Him as He is one with the Father (see John 17:20–23). I bless you that as you seek it from Him, your Heavenly Father will grant you your daily bread, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”

Yep, This Is How We Get Honey

Just Because

That lesson was a miracle in my eyes because I was so sick and to top it off I was losing my voice. I asked Heavenly Father to bless me with the strength and energy to give this lesson and that my voice will be strengthened and I would not lose my voice completely. My prayer was answered. I never once felt sick and my voice got stronger and stronger every time I spoke. I know that Jesus Christ is the bread of life and that by drinking his water and eating his bread we will never be hungry or thirst and we will receive eternal life. It is my prayer that we partake of our bread daily.