The District 2-17-2025

Monday I was recovering from sickness most of the day until around 6:30 a member took us out to eat some authentic Pakistanin food and it was delicious. I had some lamb and some chicken kabobs on homemade pita bread with some rice and it literally cured me. Tuesday was powerful wow. There is an Elder in our district who cannot seem to catch the vision that our mission has of Baptizing and it has caused some problems. I gave a training in district council on baptizing ourselves as missionaries into baptizing that I have been pondering and praying about for a while and it was sooo good!Literally the lord took over and the certain elder In my district had some things that finnaly clicked with him. It somehow encompassed every dispensation and everything pointed back to our Missionary purpose in building up the kingdom of God on earth and baptizing and confirming God's children and binding them In a covenant relationship opening the gate to the celestial kingdom. A vision was casted upon my district and the spirit was present. Later during lunch I watched a movie on John tanner and his ministry and conversion and it lined up perfectly with the training I gave and I was almost in tears it was so powerful. Everytime I study the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the early pioneers I get emotional more so than any other thing I don't know why. Later that day it started snowing but we made our way across to the other side of town before any of it stuck and had an amazing lesson with our Ghana freind Robert which was amazing. He knows this is the restored church and he is hesitant about Baptism again but believes it to be a good thing and is currently praying about it. Later that day the snow got so bad our mission banned all use of mission vehicles and we were advised to go home but the bus systems shut down and it was a 2 hour walk back home. We were stuck waiting at our bus for over an hour waiting on the zoneladers to pick us up(they got special permission) While waiting we pushed like 5 cars up a hill because they were fishtailing and had two wheel drive and half of them were from Africa or the middle east so they had no idea how to drive in the snow it was bad. We made one of the lady's a friend because we pushed her around for like 15 minutes haha. It was so crazy all heck broke loose that night. Our zoneleaders pulled up in a minivan and on the drive back people were going nuts on the road overcorrecting themselves and sliding around into curbs and other cars. That night I had like an hour conversation with my comp and taught him some crazy life principles it was great he's actually able to learn from me now. Wednesday was nice one of the Elders in my district called me first thing in the morning and apologized for some stuff and he like my training in district council literally an answer to my prayers. My comp is leading out the area right now and it's been hard for him because he is still learning to access the Atonemnt and it's been a learning process he's doing good. We were riding the bus back and the driver missed our stop so we had a 30 minute walk back to our place but on the way back we put two people on date for Baptism. That was a cool nice little miracle. When we got back to the house we had a lesson over the phone with a Jehova witness from Dubai and thay was interesting haha. My comp and I then had another talk for like an hour he struggles bad with anger issues he was mad for like an hour that the lady we taught was a jehova witness so we had a good talk on that and he is learning and growing. We then had a surprise member meal it was food from El Salvador and it was delicious. What a great day besides all of the wet snow haha. That night we started our 24 hour exchange with the Elder who apolagized earlier and we had a nice chat before bed. Thursday was intense this exchange was super important for many reasons and every second mattered. We set a goal for 10 friends and 2 on dates and we did just that it was amazing! We found a family who was literally talking about going to church and getting baptized and right now they don't have a church home and we taught them about eternal family's and the covenant of baptism and wow they want it. After having an exchange like this and seeing how we do missionary work here in Mount Vernon he is starting to baptize himself into being a baptizing missionary and that's everything. That day I was able to help him with some things that he has been struggling with personally and even with his companion through knowledge that I have and to me that's special. Being able to lovingly correct somone and create that bond is unuiqe and special. That night after the exchange my comp was low-key heated and upset with me as well as disassociated it was terrible. We had to have like an hour and a half long conversation about it and I was just so mentally exhausted. It got to the point where I had to talk for thirty minutes straight dating back to last December and point things out to him as they really are and as to why. Iv never had to explain myself in a way like that before. He never was able to understand that everything I did was out of love for him and love for others and it caused me to tell him things as they are and explain myself. I feel as all my life until my mission people never were able to see me for who I really am. In a world where everyone chases and seeks I would get put in the background and few people would see me for who I am. That is except for a few select and one of those people were Gus Murray my main man. He knows me. He has seen me for who I am and knows the sincerity of my heart and the realness inside. Most people never truly see but who am I to tell them. Those things are supposed to be seen through sincerity and recognized as is on its own. My companion never really understood anything I did. The times when I put my heart on the line and sacrificed all of my time energy and attention for him he never recognized it for what it was and each time he felt I was seeking a handle on him with malicious intent. I had to dig deep inside of myself and paint a picture of who I am and why I do the things I do and that was a very hard thing for me to do. As a result he is now able to see me more clearly for the first time and things have been different since. He even told me some of the princibles I taught have been a missing peice in his life that he never understood even back at home Utah. On the contrary I am so mentally exhausted it's unbelievable but I am glad that I have a savior who knows and understands me and that I am able to yoke myself to. Friday was a very long day. I was very tired and motivation was a little lower not gonna lie I was just having a hard day. We had some amazing miracles because that doesn't stop the work. We found a family the mom has been taught in the past and although she can't come to church we got a return appointment...Immediately following we put a super elect guy on date and sent him over to Spanish and it was awesome! We also had dinner with a member he took us out to some fancy Italian restaurant it was so good. We like talked about fishing and stuff It was nice. We then visited a recent convert of 2 yearrs and he was depressed and suicidal just a couple days ago but he was so happy to see us. We shared a beautiful message and then as we were leaving he started telling us how sus his apartment has been and how the building he lives in is evil there are fathers killing little kids upstairs and it's no joke I can attest this places is super hood I go all the time. The sad part is our friend on date lives in that building and the adversary has been getting to her she doesn't live in a great environment and it's disheartening. Later that night we had accountability calls and the sisters in my district had a special training/trainer meeting with President and that the training I did prior on Tuesday was perfectly aligned with our mission president's that following Friday. One of them relayed that the training I gave touched them in a way that was an answer to their prayers and helped them what they were going through as a new missionary in training and it was such a humbling experience for me. To think that God is able to give me inspiration and allow me to be an instrument in his hands is special and I will never take it for granted. I later had accountability calls with the zoneleaders and they made an observation (basically chapped me) because sometimes I work really hard and put so much effort into others I automatically just place unnecessary weight on my shoulders and neglect myself every now and then and Friday especially I was feeling that as I was tired from the exchange and among other things. I still had Joy but I put unnecessary weight on sometimes that hinders it. I need that balance of staying diligent and working doing everything I can while letting God prevail constantly. That is so difficult to do consistently but it's all possible through the Atonement. Saturday was great but it was difficult for me haha I am taking a complete step back letting my companion take over the area and fail and it's something that stresses me out. I am the driving force in the companionship but I won't be his companion forever and president Mac Phearson said next transfer my comp will have a lazy companion. In preparation for that I want him to be on top of things and be a driving force and it has been really hard for me. Things have been less effective stuff is slipping through the cracks and I have no control over it and that's hard for me but it's not my Job to carry it's my Job to train and help my companion learn and be there when he fails. We had a good day though we took a youth out and had a goal of 5 lessons with members we only got 4 but it was great! One of the cars we pushed up the hill earlier this week when it snowed ran into us again and was like I prayed I will see you again! We got her number and she's interested in meeting and that to me was a miracle!! We also blessed one of our friends homes he lives in the Hood and let's just say his home needed it. We confirmed three people for church and that was exciting. That night I wanted to watch a spiritual video because I was just feeling down for whatever reasons I feel like a lot of the time I work especially hard but havnt been seeing the fruits. Opposition has been intense this past transfer and my companionship has been up and down and as things have been unstable so I watched a video and it was literally me....It was the video where the guy runs 100 miles in the desert and how amazing things were at first the cool sunrises the anticipation the joy and excitement until....things get intense after about a month he feels small, insignificant, unmotivated, distraught, tired, and that is how I would feel at times even though me and him would still push and go out and do. He came to relize that he will never be perfect but he can perfect in his efforts and his intentions. " I don't know why I always live my life like it's a sprint when it's a marathon" I felt that....It is something I have always struggled with and it has been a strength in my life but when untamed it can be a weakness. I get good missionary work done and am very diligent and the district is doing amazing my companion has been doing way better I have seen his life change but in the meantime I myself may not be ok at times because I am always sprinting up the hill to get work done and on behalf of others and I need that healthy balance. I need to let God prevail and slow down but at the same time I need to push it. That healthy balance is hard I struggle with it I need stability and it has been hard to look for that in my companion but I can always look to the lord. I need to learn to take each step with faith in the lord and with stride or one day I will crumple. This has been even more of a struggle as the district I have is very young with a lot of struggling missionaries and I do everything I can for them and the miriacle is that God has changed them and I have been able to be an anchor to their vessel but on the contrary overtime my anchor has been dragging on the sand rather than pitched on the rocks and that is not something I cannot neglect. My personal studies have been me studying for my companion and for the district but moving forward I need to take a little bit of time and step back focus on myself a little and continue the marathon helping others along the path in stride with Jesus Christ. That is something that is going to be hard for me to take a step back and re-yoke myself to the Savior. The hardest part is re-yoking each and every day it is not a one time event neither Is conversion it's a lifestyle and a process. Sunday was very needed. Our friend who is on date that Ghosted us didn't show up to church and we stopped by her house and was acting weird basically said nah and it's so sad to see even with the testimony she has the adversary got to her she was not acting right. On the contrary we had a friend we met a long time ago from seira Leon come to church for the first time and she met our recent convert we baptized last month and they are both from the same tribe and happen to know eachother!! It was so amazing to see. Our recent convert recently went to seirra Leone for a funeral and by the time she got back I wanna say two weeks ago she lost her Job and ran out of food and this Sunday as she came she mentioned she felt so much Joy amidst all of the stress and afterwards we were able to get her hooked up with bishop, get a temple recomend, food storage from the bishop store house, and a job refferance, and she was so happy it melted my heart. We now have her involved in the teaching process with our friend from the same tribe and it's a miracle. Another miracle is our district had the most success this district in this zone has seen in a long long time. It was an all time high and that was amazing to see from my perspective. Later during weekly planning I was able to talk to my comp and this upcoming week is going to be hard for me. My companion is leading out and it is so hard for me. I love working so much that it stresses me out a little to take a step back but I need it and he needs it haha. When I say take a step back I mean like on everything he needs the struggle now that he is more stable and has learned so much he can apply it all. To be honest my weekly Goal is to take care of myself because sometimes like I was talking about I just be doing to much I need to focus on myself and take a step back. I'm at this point where most all of my mission I have been pressing forward relying on the lord and just going crazy and I have learned to be proud of my accomplishments and grow in Humility in the lord. Most recently I pushed myself too hard mentally and physically and tried to give more than what the lord asked of me and with everything going on around me right now its going to be an extreme adjustment to go from that to taking a complete step back and have my companion take over. It's like going from a sauna to take a cold plunge the two extremes and so it's going to be hard to find that balance and I feel it's something I have needed in my life for a long time just ask my mom and those close to me I can get tense when it comes to things that need to get done. I would freak out if we were late to activities or sporting events and that's just one example. Moving forward with all of this my companion struggles to love himself and recognize his strengths and it's been a thing he has struggled with for a while and with leading out it's become more necessary for him to see. We were able to have a talk about it and I helped him figure out how to love himself and recognize qualities that he has. I swear sometimes the spirit just be straight flowing when I ponder and seek inspiration for others. I dropped some crazy knowledge I didn't even know I had through some inspired questions and helped him learn to love himself and remain humble. I love God he is so good and I love helping others. Learn to listen to the spirit that's all I can say, learn to ponder and learn to hear him and pay attention to the feelings of the heart. I love all of you. Shoutout to everyone who has made an impact in my life you know who you are. Shoot me an email I love hearing from yall "Stay Sweet" Elder Williams