October 25, 2016

Hey fam! I am doing great!

So today was change day and it went really well! Elder Gonzalez and I planned out change day so that it went by really fast and all the missionaries found their companions quickly and were able to have more time in their areas. President told us that we have always had the same problem of having a change day that drags on instead of getting people with their companions fast and get them in their areas quickly. Elder Gonzalez and I really thought about it all and put some sweet stuff into plan and we saved a lot of time today! haha It was a small victory but a victory none the less!

I am still with Elder Gonzalez! We are loving it! I could stay with this guy until the end of my mission and be happy, but also I hope I get to train a new missionary before I come home! I guess we will see how it all goes down! 

We have two baptisms for this Sunday! One is really set and the other is still more or less but we have the faith we can baptize him! Baptizing has become my favorite thing to do. Scoring a touchdown, hanging out with the boys, going boating, all are great stuff that I plan on doing, but all fail in comparison to baptizing someone and helping them participate in the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ. 

Elder Gonzalez and I were planning this afternoon our meeting with the new missionaries. We were thinking about it. We started asking a few questions, (If you want to invite the Spirit, ask a question). We asked questions like, "what would I have liked to know when I started my mission?" "What are the needs of these new missionaries" "How do we want them to feel as they leave this meeting". We both were writting every idea that came to our minds and we ended up really thinking about the Doctrine of Christ. 1-Faith 2-Repentance 3-Baptism 4-Reception of the Holy Ghost and 5-Persevere to the end. We both want them to understand the importance of the Doctrine of Christ. We want them to feel excited and uplifted to leave this meeting with all the desire to baptize. Its something that I really wish I would have understood better as I had started my mission. We started to write it down and the spirit was there giving us a lot of great thoughts, (We did this in a wendy´s, so you really can recieve revelation where ever you are). The Doctrine of Christ really does apply to just about everything. To be able to baptize someone we must live and be converted by the Doctrine of Christ. 1-Faith, do you really have the faith that you can baptize someone? What is the price required to pay in order to help someone be baptized? We are also going to share the talk, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ with them. 2-Repentence. To be a baptizing missionary you need to be constantly repenting and constantly changing. Look for ways to be better and to be cleaner. 3-Baptism. What does the Sacrament mean to you? In spanish Sacrament is, "Holy Dinner", and thats exactly what it is. You are having a Holy Dinner with Christ. You have an interview with Him. Tell Him how you did this last week and make promises on how you will better the next. 4-Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is everything in the work of the Lord. Without the Holy Ghost you cannot and must not intent to preach the gospel. Thats the difference between explaining the Gospel and teaching the Gospel. The teaching is to be done all by the Holy Ghost through you. 5- Persevere to the end. In this mission we knock on doors, we walk fast, we talk with everyone, and we dont tire of good works. It doesnt matter how the weather is or how we feel, we give it our all untill 9pm. We keep knocking doors until 9pm, because many times, in a very symbolic way, the family of 5 that is waiting for you at the last door of the street are only going to be possible to reach at 8:59pm on a rainy day, after being soaked and being rejected the whole day long. After the trial of our faith God grants miracles. 

I guess I will let you guys know how the meeting went when I write you later! 

Love you family! Thanks for everything! I am loving the mission!

Elder Buhrley