The Blessings Of Interviews With President Smith

 

The Huehue Centro Zone

The Big City Of Huehue

Tortillas for the week: 10

So my zone consists of 18 missionaries, 5 sets of sisters, 3 sets of elders as well as myself and my comp. It is nice to have such a big zone but it is weird that there are sisters in our zone since I haven’t had any sister missionaries in my zone for over 8 months. Serving as Zone Leader and guiding more sisters then elders is way different but I like it. There is a lot I can learn from the sisters since they choose to come; whereas it a priesthood duty for young men. For all of us serving a mission is a blessing beyond explaining. As I said before it is so different serving in city than in the smaller areas of the mission. For example here Huehue we have a legit store, it is kind of like Walmart but definitely not Walmart. I can get root beer and other stuff that is not as exciting as the root beer. It does remind me of stores like back in the states. Not only did I by root beer last week I also bought Campbell’s clam chowder. Yes I am excited about this store and all the options; it has been a very long time since having a place to buy familiar food. Ok enough about the store.

Celebrating Elder Moncada's 20 Month Mark

Do you guys remember Josue (Hermana Cony’s nephew)? This is crazy but he lives in our zone and we met with him and we are having dinner with him tomorrow night! I am so happy that he is here, I love this man; it is such a tender mercy for me to be able to have him in the zone. The Lord’s hand is truly in each of our lives. 

"Man Fell That Men Might Be"

"Holy Big Lime"

This week was a little rough but my heart is full of gratitude. We had interviews with President Smith. I don’t even know how to express my love and gratitude for this man. When I walked in and sat down President Smith said what do you want to talk about? I had to think what do I want to talk about because I had so much I wanted to discuss but my main concern was how can I take care of the flock (zone) and show them that I love them as I been called to watch over them. He said one of the biggest things you can do is always think how can I bless them, not preach, teach or train them but how can I bless them. If you do that the spirit will work through you and Father in Heaven will honestly speak through you. During this interview I have never felt so much love, I felt President Smith’s love but more important I felt Heavenly Fathers love. It was an experience I will never forget. We talked about a few other things and I said to him, I feel different, I felt like I had more faith three weeks ago. I feel like my faith has dropped. He then said you need to understand in each calling the Lord will bless you differently. As I think about that, its true, as a Branch President the Lord blessed me with different gifts and he made me more aware of different things but as a Zone Leader he is blessing me differently. First of all my responsibly is over the missionaries not the members anymore. So He is going to bless me with gifts for the missionaries not gifts for a branch, He will continue to bless me with gifts but in a different way. Also I don’t have a book like Bishops or Branch Presidents do to provide me with instruction and guidance when I don’t fully understand my responsibility. I have different book of instruction and guidance to help me to take care of the zone. President Smith said, Elder Mcilmoil I want you to do this, get a brand new copy of the Book of Mormon and truly study to truly know God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. There is a great difference in believing or knowing that there is a God and in knowing God. We can receive eternal life and salvation from knowing the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom he has sent. For Jesus Christ said, “… this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3.) I invite all of you to get unmarked Book of Mormon and start over from the beginning and study with the purpose to know God and His Son, Jesus Christ. To know God is to be like Him which us gives us purpose and strength to stand firm in our testimony. Commit to study from a new unmarked Book of Mormon to truly to know God and you will see that your faith has actually grown and you will receive understanding to life’s challenges with renewed hope in good things to come.

This One's For Chance!!!

Just a side note l am starting to put more of a focus in the New Testament; I need gain a better understanding about our Saviors life so that I may learn how to lead and love in the way He did.

 "I'm Handsome"

"God Loves Me"

We had an amazing lesson with a lady by the name of Alanca about prophets. She told us all need is the Bible because it has all the commandments. I shared with her this example, if every day I look at pornography, Am I sinning? If I all need to do is follow the Ten Commandments, then no. God has called prophets to give new commandments as well teaching us to importance of following all God’s commandment including the Ten Commandments. We need prophets today to receive revelation from God on how to protect ourselves from new sins and addictions in our day. Just as prophets of old, the prophets today speak boldly and clearly, denouncing sin and warning of its consequences. Our greatest safety in avoiding sin is strictly following the word of the Lord given through His prophets. I know as we follow the prophet we will be protected from the things of this world that can lead us astray.

Got Milk?

All I can say is that the Lord’s love can heal anyone and His love has a promise which is found in a hymn I love, ‘If You Could Hie To Kolob’  

There is no end to glory;

There is no end to love;

There is no end to being;

There is no death above.

There is no end to glory;

There is no end to love;

There is no end to being;

There is no death above. 

As I read the words in this hymn I find so much comfort as I experienced how hard it was to leave my first area Chichi and then it was even harder to leave San Antonio and now I have a small glimpse of how hard it is going to be to leave any area I serve in but I know the hardest will be when it is time to go home. It brings me comfort because I will see my family here in Guatemala. There is no end, no such thing as the end and I testify of this with all the humbleness of my heart.

Elder's Quorum BBQ

EQ Activity=Soccer, BBQ, And Fun

What I love about Mom is that her love is endless and what I love about Dad is that his priesthood power is endless.

Con amor, Ducks forever!!!!!!!!!

Elder Mcilmoil

October 27, 2014

My Wall Of Encouragement

Scripture of the week: John 13:35

“Hope On, Journey On” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“I may not be my brothers keeper but I am my brothers brother” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

“Courage not compromise brings the smile of Gods approval” President Thomas S. Monson

Stairway To Heaven?

The City Lights Of Huehue

 

Small Town To The Big City And Don't Look Back

Priceless Memories

Tortillas for the week: 20 

Where to begin, I’m now serving in Huehue Central which is in the middle of the city. My comp is Elder Moncada, he is from Honduras and we are the zone leaders. It is so different than San Antonio Huista. Three of the biggest differences are I’m in a ward instead of a branch, this is a city (way to big and way to many people) and it is cold here, well it’s cold for me because I came from the hottest area in the mission, so yeah it’s cold. Last Monday night was one of the hardest nights of my life having to say goodbye to my San Antonio Huista family. I now know why Ammon said to King Lamoni I wish to dwell here even until the day I die. His greatest desire was to serve the Lamanites and bring them back to righteousness. He was able do so because of the love he had for the people. I feel that pure Christ like love for the people in San Antonio Huista. Never have I shed so many tears of sadness but had such great peace. These people have changed my life forever. I have learned how Christ loves, and I now understand that the pure love of Christ is the most joyous to the soul, it is everlasting.

 Familia Foto

So the crew, I should say my brothers and sisters that I have never had, had a testimonio meeting. In this family of brothers and sisters from San Antonio Huista we have a recently returned missionary, a less active member, 1 priest, a convert and a non-member and we all shared our testimonies. During the meeting I saw something that I have been praying for since I begin serving in San Antonio Huista, I saw the future of the branch and who is going to lift up the branch, it is this group right here. They are the future that will lift the branch by strengthening testimonies and building faith. Another tender mercy from the Lord. I left San Antonio Huista Tuesday morning. 

Saying Goodbye To Elder Turner

So on Tuesday I arrived here in Huehue. All I can say is I have learned so much in just a short amount of time. The first thing I learned is this and it is also going to be my scripture of the week, it is in Luke 17:32, where the Savior cautions, “Remember Lot’s wife.” You may be asking why and what would I learn from this passage of scripture. With the Lord’s counsel “look not behind thee” ringing clearly in her ears, Lot’s wife as it says “looked back.” The lesson I have learned from reading this account I have been looking back, I can say yearning to go back to the Hustias, I wish to dwell there. It has been so hard to leave but I didn’t admit to this until Friday night and when I did I felt I needed to read more on the experience of Lot’s wife and I remembered a talk shared by Elder Holland at BYU, ‘Remember Lot’s Wife’ http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1819.  As I read it I knew that the Lord was telling me what I need to fix and change. I also felt He was telling me it’s ok that you still have these desires, I will heal you just give me your heart and your faith and it will be fine, we will take it one step at a time and we will do this together. It is through the Atonement of my Son, Jesus Christ, that you can live forever with our loved ones. Not only with your family forever but you will be with your family here in Guatemala forever. Just keep walking and trying, trust Me and good things will come. He also showed me that I do need to repent of those yearnings to look back and not having faith by looking forward. 

HueHue Central Zone

This week I have also found an answer to question I have had, why did it take so long to truly find my personal testimony? My answer was it came when I was humble enough to know it, that answer came from a lesson I was teaching. I was sharing my experience of how I found my testimony and the promise I made with Heavenly Father that if I didn’t know if the Book of Mormon was true by the time I finished reading it I would go home and not waste anymore of His time. I read the Book of Mormon every day and I begin to see a change in me, I became more humble, I became more humble to the whisperings and promptings of the spirit. There came a day when I was humble enough to feel my testimony glowing inside of me. I now know this with all my heart, because I became humble enough to listen. 

Missionary+Money=Mall

What I love about Mom is that she is my cheerleader and what I love about Dad is he supports me in all my decisions.

con amor, ducks forever, 
Elder Mcilmoil 
October 20, 2014 

Grateful For Kind Families

Scripture of the week: Luke 17:32 

“Faith is always pointed toward the future.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

“The past is to be learned from but not lived in.” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

"It takes an act of faith to open our eyes to the light of Christ." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Endings are not our destiny." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Changes And I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go

Saying Goodbye

Love My Brothers

Tortillas for the week: 35

Where to begin this week, we had the most amazing tender mercy yesterday, WE HAD 34 PEOPLE AT CHURCH!!!!!! What a tender mercy! When I counted I was just so humbled and in that moment I knew that this was my last Sunday and it is, I am being changed (transferred) and will be released as branch president but I have called to serve as a zone leader. This week has been countdown to being changed (transferred) with the experiences I have had throughout the week. I knew I was going to be changed especially after the experience I had on Friday. This is what happened, again another tender mercy, Friday night we had an activity and we watched The Restoration video (www.lds.org/media-library/video/2008-06-01-the-restoration?lang=eng) As we were watching I felt the spirit telling me to write down on a slip of paper “Will you share your testimony of…...." and give a slip of paper to a few people. I did and wow, was it amazing! I gave a slip of paper to Ana Paula which said “Will you share your testimony of The Book of Mormon.” What a powerful yet so humble testimony. In the moment she opened her mouth I could see in her eyes that she now knows, she knows The Book of Mormon is true. I also gave a slip of paper to a young man, Edvin, that asked him to share his testimony about the Atonement and again it was another wow moment. I shared with him after how powerful and strong his testimony is on the Atonement. He looked at me and with a humble heart said thank you. The activity was so very powerful and was confirmation to me that how much we have all changed and progressed and that it was time for me to go.

I'm Going To Miss This Kid!

It just seems every day this week something would happen as a confirmation that I would be changed (transferred) but everyone was saying no you’re not going we still need you which made it even harder because I knew it was time and I did not want to go, I love these people more than I could ever express. All week long I kept the meaning of this hymn in my heart and found peace in the words: ‘I’LL GO WHERE YOU WANT ME TO GO.’ I love this hymn and it has been the hymn of the week especially today as there are many tears since I’m leaving San Antonio Huista Huehuetenango tomorrow.

"Elder Piñata"

"Elder Piñata" Having A Very Bad Day

We also had zone meeting this week. Elder Turner shard his final testimony as a missionary in our zone since he will be going home. It is sad to see him go because he is such a good missionary. So during the meeting we talked about the law of consecration (a divine principle whereby men and women voluntarily dedicate their time, talents, and material wealth to the establishment and building up of God’s kingdom) and being a consecrated missionary. The question was asked why to do need to live the law of consecration?  I said to show the Lord that every day we will dedicate our time to him. No one responded so I continued and said for example when we go home we still need to be a disciple of Christ and commit to living the law of consecration. By doing so we will show the Lord how much we really do love him and what we are willing consecrate ourselves more fully to Him. As Elder Holland talked about that if you go back to that person you were before the mission you will break the heart of the living Son of God, and you will show him that you didn’t care and that you were only willing to give up things for only a time but not every day for the rest of your life. As I was speaking those words it made me realize that my desire to stay in San Antonio was just a selfish desire and that day I got on my knees and said I am sorry, sorry for being so selfish. I knew that the Lord was showing me that I have a lot to change but He is saying let’s work on things one at a time; it was a big eye opener to my selfish desires.

Another thing I experienced this week was the Lord showing me how important it is to have the spirit with you always and that simple things can drive the spirit away. When we were waiting for an activity to start I was with the youth and we started to tell some jokes and I told a few jokes that were not so bad but they definitely were not the best and I felt the spirit leave. I was like what did I do, why did I do that. I learned that we are the ones that drive the spirit away and how much we take the spirit for granted at times. It was a very interesting experience and one I needed to see that what think are simple and harmless things can truly drive the spirit away.

Some Days You Just Have To Drink From A Coconut

Yesterday we talked with the youth about the temple. It was neat just to see them understand the importance of the temple and how every day we need to prepare to enter in the temple. In gospel principles we talked about las familias son eternas (families are forever) and at the end of class a thought came to mind to ask the two youth who attend gospel principles if they are praying for their future wife or future husband as counseled by Tad R. Callister in General Conference. They both said yes, not every day but we do. I about fell over, that was not the answer I was expecting especially since they are younger than me. I was shocked they were already doing this and then I thought why am I not doing this. So pray for your future family everyone and your family will be blessed beyond measure.

Making Totillas

Master Tortilla Maker

What I love about Mom is that she loves and what I love about Dad is that he taught me that it’s ok to cry at times. Love you two.

con mucho amore, ducks forever

Elder John D. Mcilmoil

October 13, 2014

Trust in God.

Scripture of the week: Alma 22:4

We are called by the spirit of prophecy

Stay strong, the light will always come.

“Hold fast to what you already know” Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

Blessings Of Listening To The Spirit And General Conference Notes

Blessings Of Listening To The Spirit

Tortillas for the week: 30

Last night we had a super powerful lesson and after the lesson I asked the family do you guys drink coffee? They all looked at each other and I knew the answer in that very moment; they all said yes we do, so we explained that are bodies are sacred and that we should treat with respect and reverence and that should avoid harmful substances and went into greater detail about the Word of Wisdom. I then asked, “Where is your coffee?” They said right here, I asked can I have it and they were a bit shocked but said yes. They knew I was going to take it but as soon as we were leaving things got a bit awkward, you could see they were like wow, there goes our coffee and you knew that they wanted one last drink. I wasn’t going to let that happen because they will always want one last drink. This was opportunity for them to receive great blessings through obedience. Hermana Cony was like you have to give the coffee back, they are going be so mad and they won’t want you to come back. I just had a feeling that they were not going to be mad. Hermana Cony kept insisting so I did but then they said to my comp take it we need to drink something else, and I just wanted to shout YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I dumped out the coffee today, let just say I hate the smell of coffee. I’m still in shock that I felt prompted to take their can of coffee and they agreed that it was the right thing to do. I testify when you obey the promptings of the spirit that miracles will happen because that was a miracle.

Some Things Never Change

General Conference was a definite highlight of the week. I watched every session in Spanish, it was good but because I still struggle with Spanish it would have been so much better for me to watch it in English but I will never regret that I watched it all in Spanish. For 2 sessions we had over 25 people in attendance, wow that is a miracle, you could feel the spirit just testify to everyone in attendance that the messages shared were words from God. I love the focus from this conference, TESTIMONY: receiving your personal testimony and as Elder Anderson said, “Each believer needs a spiritual confirmation of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith.” Knowing that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the restoration is a key part of our testimonies. I love the message from President Uchtdorf when he teaches us we need to “read, ponder and ask Heavenly Father, in Christ’s name, to manifest the truth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. By following those steps, God is bound by His word to manifest the truth through the power of the Holy Ghost. The more we incline our hearts and minds toward God, the more heavenly light distills upon our souls. And each time we willingly and earnestly seek that light, we indicate to God our readiness to receive more light. A personal testimony of the gospel and the Church is the most important thing you can earn in this life.” As I watched conference I felt my spirit being filled, I felt something magical swell up inside me, I felt the power of my testimony, I NOW CAN SAY I HAVE MY OWN TESTIMONY!!!! This feeling is the greatest feeling ever, the process was hard and long but it was worth it. I now can understand why the Lord said to Peter, when thou art converted strengthen your brethren. 

Made A Cake For One Of The Families We Are Teaching

I want to talk about one of my favorite talks, by Elder Tad R. Callister, “Parents: The prime gospel teachers of their children.” He said, “As parents we are to be the prime gospel teachers and examples for our children, not the bishop, the Sunday School, the Young Women or Young Men, but the parents. As their prime gospel teachers, we can teach them the power and reality of the Atonement, of their identity and divine destiny and in so doing give them a rock foundation upon which to build. When all is said and done, the home is the ideal forum for teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.” I say to you all I know these things because of my parents; they taught me everything I know. They are my most dearest teachers because Christ taught me through them. I owe Him and them everything. We all are in debt to our earthly parents and our Heavenly Father because they have given us so much. I thank you Mom and Dad for everything, thank you.

Sharing Messages Of Eternal Families

I just can’t say enough about conference, the messages shared taught me so much. One of the most powerful messages was from President Uchtdorf during the priesthood session when he recounting what happened at the last supper of Jesus and His apostles when He said that one of them would betray Him, and they each asked, “Is it I?” I have pondered so much on that one question, LORD IS IT I??? Have I betrayed thee in any way? We need to ask that question to ourselves every day. If there are days when we say yes we need to change for that is the pathway to personal conversion and lasting change. We need to say, “si senor yo te seguire” (yes, Lord I will follow thee.) We need to follow the Lord every day we need to be more concerned about what Heavenly Father thinks of us than what the other people think of us. We need to be Disciples of Christ not just followers of Christ. Followers say, “oh it is good to see Hermano  Vicinete  here especially since he has been struggling or hey Brother Johnson is here, he hasn’t come in a long time.” Disciples of Christ notice the needs of others and go to work to help them. Disciples of Christ also look inside their hearts and examine if they have gradually turned from the things of the Spirit and moved towards the things of the world and ask, “Lord is it I???” Disciples of Christ do not make excuses or justify unworthy thoughts and action, they constantly ask what do I need to fix and are willing to change. By doing so President Uchtdorf said, “those who learn of the Savior and desire to be like Him, those who humble themselves as a little child and seek to bring their thoughts and actions into harmony with our Father in Heaven—they will experience the miracle of the Savior’s Atonement.  They will be blessed with the desire and discipline to become true disciples of Jesus Christ.” May we be Disciples of Christ and say through are words and actions, “Voy a seguir a Cristo” (I will follow Christ.) I testify that Thomas S. Monson is our living prophet; I know Joseph Smith was called of God to restore His church and I know he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. I also testify that the belief is the first step toward our conversion and conviction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have seen belief becomes conversion as our recent convert, Ana Paula, has come with us to visit some people and as she shares her testimony you can see a light in her eyes because of her belief which once was a tiny seed has blossomed. She knows Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love her and she trusts in their plan for her. She is a disciple as she testifies, “vamos todos a seguir al Señor” (let’s all follow the Lord) May we all be worthy for His priesthood power. I know that the priesthood was restored by celestial angles to the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know the priesthood is the power of God and I can feel Him work through me every time I give blessings to members. Yo quiero mucho a mis hermanos y hermanas; tenemos que decir que voy a seguir a Cristo (I love you so much my brothers and sisters; we need to say I will follow Christ.) I pray for every day I will not be the one to ask Lord is it I but I will be a true disciple of Christ and follow Him.

Brotherly Love

What I love about Mom and Dad is that we would always watch conference as a family and that they made it a priority.

con mucho amor, ducks forever.
Elder John D. Mcilmoil   
October 6, 2014

Scripture of the week: John 14:6 

He is the way and the light and the life.

“As we look to Jesus as our Exemplar and as we follow in His footsteps, we can return safely to our Heavenly Father to live with Him forever.” President Thomas S. Monson

“If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead.” Elder Holland 

#LDSConf #ShareGoodness #ElderHolland

A Perfect Week: The Temple And A Baptism

The House Of The Lord

Tortillas for the week: 20

This week we went to the temple as a zone and I had a very special experience within the sacred walls of the temple. As I walked with Elder Rodgerson down one of the hallways I looked at him and said, “We are home Elder.” He looked at me and said, “Yes, we are home.”  As I thought even more about that experience I now know where my home is, it isn’t in Provo Utah or Guatemala or Farmington New Mexico or in a church, no my home is the temple because it is the Lord’s house. If any of you want to go home, go to the temple, it literally is the house of the Lord.  As we walk in we can feel Heavenly Father say welcome home, I have missed you, I testify that is what happened to me. I didn’t want to leave, I wanted to stay, I didn’t want to say goodbye, all I wanted to do was to stay in His presence but I knew I had to leave because I have to do his work in bringing His children home. As I was in the temple I was thinking to myself am I doing what’s right because there are times when I am not the best missionary, there are times when I don’t work as hard as I should or I think about worldly things too often or become to causal about things. As I was pondering about those moments and asking Father am I doing good, despite of all my shortcomings, I picked up The Book of Mormon and started to read Ether 12, I came across a scripture that I love and love even more now, Ether 12:37 “….thou hast been faithful; wherefore, thy garments shall be made clean. And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father.” Elder Holland gives greater insight to this verse. He said, “May I refer to a modern ‘last days’ testimony? When Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum started for Carthage to face what they knew would be an imminent martyrdom, Hyrum read these words to comfort the heart of his brother: “Thou hast been faithful; wherefore … thou shalt be made strong, even unto the sitting down in the place which I have prepared in the mansions of my Father. Before closing the book, Hyrum turned down the corner of the page from which he had read, marking it as part of the everlasting testimony for which these two brothers were about to die. ” That one verse in Ether 12 spoke to me as it comforted Joseph as Hyrum read it to him. I first read, “yu has sido fiel” (you have been faithful) and I was overcome with love and the feeling that yes I am doing good and I am guiding the branch as best as I can and despite my shortcomings Heavenly Father loves me. It is through the atonement that, “por tanto, tus vestidos estaran limpios” (my garments shall be made clean) and, “y porque has visto tu deblidad seras fortalecido” (And because thou hast seen thy weakness thou shalt be made strong.) I knew that I will overcome all my weakness, probably not on my mission but throughout my life I will be able to. The prophet Joseph grew in strength; he was not made mighty in a moment. It came to him as it will come to me and to all of us line upon line, here a little, there a little. I knew in that moment that the mountain I am climbing right now that I will reach the top. As we come face-to-face with our own weakness and seek the Lord in faith, humbly willing to do His will, we will receive His strength, and out of weakness will be made strong. I testify of the power of the atonement to overcome all of our weakness. The message in verse 37 and throughout The Book of Mormon is to Come Unto Christ that we may be made clean and that our weaknesses may lead to strength. Go to the temple and feel His love for you and know you can become clean and strong despite your weaknesses. As I left the temple I was filled with a renewed peace and hope. I felt like I was on cloud 10 and even higher. That experience in the temple was a much needed tender mercy.

Ana Paula's Baptism

Elder Mcilmoil, Ana Paula, Elder Herrera

On Saturday we had a baptism; Ana Paula was baptized! It was so special. The talks were direct and to the point. Those we spoke focused their messages on Christ. You could literally see every one that was there felt the spirit of Christ. We started the baptismal services singing “Come Follow Me”; isn’t that title so amazing, yes it is a simple phrase but filled with great instruction. The song was perfect since the first talk was focused on following Christ’s example. The speaker shared this scripture from The Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 31:17, “Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.” Elder Josec also spoke and he talked about the cleansing power of the atonement and was it amazing! As he spoke you could see the love of Christ touch Ana Paula’s mom. Her heart was definitely softened. He shared a little poem called Cristo la razón (Christ the reason). It talks about what He did for us and the pain He felt and that He did it all for us because He loves us. It ends with something like this, picture Christ standing here in front of you, smiling, with His arms extended wide open and He is inviting you to Come Unto Him because He loves you. As I was listening I could hear Him say Come Unto Me, let Me heal you, it is ok, I drank and didn’t shrink, neither will you, because you are with Me and I am here with you. The spirit was so strong. After Elder Josec’s talk, Elder Herrera, Elder Josec, Elder Castillo and myself sang, “señor te necesito” (“I Need Thee Every Hour”) in Española. I invite everyone to listen to and read the words to this hymn. My heart filled with peace as we sang the words “no tender voice like thine” because that is so true there is no tender voice like the voice of Christ. As we sang our voices kept getting stronger and the spirit was getting stronger when sang the words “Come quickly and abide” because we need Him as fast as possible. In the chorus it says, “I come to Thee!” and in that moment I could see a very powerful daughter of Heavenly Father saying I come unto Thee by accepting the invitation to be baptized. When we finished singing we left the church to go to a natural pool where the baptism would take. The baptismal service was going great until I entered the water, like I said it was a natural pool so the bottom was beyond slippery and I slipped and I almost went for a swim, luckily I was able to catch myself before going completely under the water. As Ana Paula entered the water she slipped and grabbed me; we both almost went for a swim. Luckily I caught a rock with my foot and was able to get ahold of it before we both went under. I finally found a non-slippery zone and at that very moment I instantly felt pain and I knew I had cut my toe; no good deed goes unpaid for....hahaha. After we were both were on a non-slippery area, I baptized her, it was amazing. Even though there was a bit of chaos in the beginning it truly was a very peaceful spot. As she came out of the water you could see she was changed, she was pure; she had a light around her, a light of cleanliness, a light of Christ. This was truly a moment I will never forget. After the baptism we went back to the church and had cake.

The Branch=Family

Sacred And Peaceful

At church on Sunday she received the gift of the Holy Ghost as we laid our hands upon her head with priesthood authority. What a week it has been, I have never been so busy, I feel like we were just running everywhere, but I couldn’t have asked for a better week; the temple and a baptism! I know that Christ lives and His Atonement offers the bright, shining hope of good things to come, of forgiveness, healing, strength, and power from on high. I invite everyone “to seek this Jesus of whom the prophets and apostles have written, that the grace of God the Father, and also the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of them, may be and abide in you forever.” In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Ducks Forever

What I love about Mom is that she is my sunshine. What I love about Dad is that he is happy, happy, happy.
 
con amor, ducks forever,
Elder Mcilmoil

September 29, 2014
 
Scriptures of the week: Ether 12:37 and Helaman 5:12 

Be true to the faith.

“In courageously pursuing such a course, you will forge unshakable faith, you will find safety against ill winds that blow, even shafts in the whirlwind, and you will feel the rock-like strength of our Redeemer, upon whom if you build your unflagging discipleship, you cannot fall.” Elder Holland

“I Need Thee Every Hour”

Verse 1: I need thee ev'ry hour,
Most gracious Lord.
No tender voice like thine
Can peace afford.
Chorus: I need thee, oh, I need thee;
Ev'ry hour I need thee!
Oh, bless me now, my Savior;
I come to thee!

Preparing For The Day