What a stellar week! And another one coming up!! I got my Christmas package from Samantha with some snickerdoodle bread or whatever it was. It was superb though. She told me to open it right away so I did! I also got a really cool CTR ring that spins! My fingers hurt from spinning it so much... but its like a good hurt. She also sent me a new scarf and some candy!
This last Wednesday we brought in 13 new Elders and one Sister into our Zone all learning Thai. They are really cool elders and sisters! I can tell they're all going to be phenomenal missionaries and I've been doing my best as Zone leader to Minister unto all the Zone and impart of the knowledge that the lord has so freely given me while i've been here.
On Thursday I got to teach Adam again and we brought a member (one of our teachers). We met with him for only 10 minutes but we taught all about agency, invited him to be baptized and go to church. He said he would be baptized on January 8th and he would go to church with our member friend on Sunday! Even though the investigator is our teacher acting it is still so real and the spirit still works! I still love my investigators so much and its so amazing! We also learned how important it is to just listen and wait and truly hear the Investigator and then listen to the spirit to ask a heaven sent question. The next time we met with Adam on Friday we really listened and found out he wants to gain a witness but he doesn't know how the holy ghost works and he knows we keep talking about it but he doesn't know what it feels like. So we taught him how the spirit speaks to us and how its different for everyone. We invited him to pray and begin reading the Book of Mormon from cover to cover and think of the question. And after you pray, listen. Then read some more, Pray some more, Listen again. He said he really wants that so he will!
We had a similar experience with Robert but he was still stuck on the nature of the godhead. We gave him the same council, to read, pray, listen, and repeat. He prayed at the end of our lesson and we just knelt and listened for a minute or two. The spirit was so strong and Robert really felt it. He said he felt good and he will continue to pray like that because he really wants to know and he really wants the faith his family and children have.
Finally we come to Sunday. We had a great sacrament meeting with our zone and some good meetings. Then that night we had a great Devotional where we got to hear from sister Payne who was in The District! But the best part of my night was the talk we got to watch after the devotional. It was a talk that Elder David A. Bednar gave on Christmas a year or two ago at the MTC called Character of Christ. I learned that I need to begin a lifelong pursuit to learn OF Jesus Christ, not just about Jesus Christ. The Character of Christ Is turning out always and giving of yourself and being selfless in all things. When the natural man would turn inward and be selfish, Christ turns out and blesses the lives of others. This is real conversion, putting off the natural man and becoming a saint, which means to be more like the savior. This mission is not about me. Its just not. This mission is about helping others receive conversion. About blessing the lives of the people whom i come in contact with. When we turn towards other instead of ourselves then we ourselves receive conversion, but when we do it for our own conversion then it doesn't work. We need to always be focused on how we can help others. When the savior suffered temptations in the wilderness, as soon as he finished he sent angels to minister to John in prison (see Matthew 22 JST) not to minister to himself. After suffering all that, the natural man would have turned inward and wanted to take pride in his accomplishment. But he did not. When Christ suffered in the garden his 3 chief disciples wouldn't stay awake so they let him down. Then one of his disciples betrayed him. He suffered all the pains of this earth, was disappointed by his apostles and betrayed and the he worries about healing the guard's ear! When on the cross he makes sure his mother is taken care of and even does missionary work to the two thieves hanging beside him! And then he says forgive them father for they know not what they do! Christ never thought of himself, but for the welfare and conversion of others always. This is the Character of Christ. This is the spirit of the season. I hope all of you can strive everyday to receive His image in your countenance. To develop this Character of Christ, line upon line and precept upon precept. Here a little and there a little. Until you do not just have a testimony of this church. But are converted unto the Lord Jesus Christ. I love you all and i hope you are well. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
- Elder Brewer
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