Hey Everyone!
This week had its ups and downs, but the best part of the week,
without question, was being able to see how the Spirit always "beareth
record" (see 3 Nephi 11) of Christ and always says the same thing. We were
able to witness how revelation received by leaders can be received by
those whom the leaders oversee and how everyone can receive their own,
individual confirmation of revelation. Truly, the Heavens are not
closed, and God does, in fact, speak.
Tuesday, February 10th, 2014:
In preparation for Mission Leadership Council, Elder Corbett and I
studied and prepared a list of questions that we wanted to receive
answers to. I was prompted to study about the parable of the Wheat and
the Tares the morning of MLC, and it became the topic of discussion
during the meeting. We talked about how we can help everyone have a
greater vision of harvesting and reaping the rewards of our labors.
Elder Corbett and I had received revelation about how to better
implement the vision to baptize, and that also became a topic of
discussion amongst all of the members of the council. It was incredible
to see how much confirming revelation that we had received and were
receiving. It strengthened my testimony that our leaders are truly
called by God, and that He will confirm to us that they were called by
inspiration, if we are willing to trust in Him. During the evening, we
went with Joel Cortes to teach Carolina Garcia. We talked about
exercising faith to receive an answer from God. Carolina began to see
the importance of exercising faith with a baptismal date. We are
confident that she will be ready to make that step in the near future.
Wednesday, February 11th, 2014:
Today marks one year that we have had the iPads here in our mission.
It has made me reflect on how much I have learned since acquiring the
iPad as a result of how much better our studies are. During the
afternoon, we took Elder Garcia and Elder Flindt to the bike store in
Monrovia to pick up Elder Garcia's bike. We persuaded him to get a
hybrid bike because it will serve him so much better in the long run.
After the run across the mission, we went to go teach Wendi Martinez
about the principle of grace. She has been struggling a little bit
with staying positive with her resolve to change and become more
patient, so we helped her understand how the Lord can make up the
difference of what we, as humans, are unable to do. Elder Corbett and
I then went to eat dinner with Hermana Estrada. She made a Venezuelan
food called arepas, and they were delicious. We then went to teach a
man named Jesus for the first time. He had a number of excellent
questions, and he appears to have some solid potential. After we left,
we went to go see Otulia Duarte. She informed us that her husband no
longer wants us to come by. It has been hard for us to see so many
people with so much interest become former investigators as a result
of things out of our control.
Thursday, February 12th, 2014:
Elder Corbett and I had studied a lot in preparation for zone meeting,
and I feel like it really paid off. We taught about the importance of
the fundamentals of Preach My Gospel. We did a role play of the first
day in the MTC and presented Preach My Gospel as a manual for how to
do missionary work and help investigators prepare to make covenants
that will help them feel the love of Christ in their lives more often.
It was very cheesy, but everyone felt the Spirit and understood the
idea of always going back to the basics. Several missionaries in the
zone also mentioned that they had received personal revelation about
the topic as they were studying in preparation for zone meeting, too.
That just goes to show that the assistants received revelation for the
mission, which was confirmed by the personal revelation that we, as
the zone leaders, received, which also happened to be confirmed by the
individual missionaries within our zone. It was a really neat
experience to be a part of. During the evening, we went with Joel
Cortes to teach the Vargas family. Unfortunately, the lesson was just
as poor as zone meeting was great. The Spirit was not present, and we
were worried that the family was going to drop us right there on the
spot. We began to testify right before we left, which brought the
Spirit back and reminded them of how happy they feel when they learn
about God. I don't know exactly what caused the lesson to go so awry;
regardless, the Spirit must be present when we teach.
Friday, February 13th, 2014:
Weekly planning was a little difficult to focus because we were trying
to work so hard to discern the key need of the Vargas family.
Investigators often have a variety of needs that prevent them from
gaining the desire to act and progress, and there is usually a
specific need or setback that is the root of the problem. Just like
the root of a tree, only a piece of the problem itself can be seen;
the remainder has to be uncovered as we work to help the individual
change. We have been working very hard to figure out what we can do to
help them feel the Spirit again. I don't know if I have loved a family
quite as much as I love that family and want to help them. We went to
correlation meeting with Hermano Ojeda and planned for the week ahead
with the district. Elder Van Wagenen then came with me to do
exchanges; Elder Corbett went with Elder Carnahan to Arroyo - West. I
have really enjoyed watching Elder Van Wagenen's progress over the
past three transfers since I first met him in Belvedere 2. We both
worked very hard to contact and find some new people to teach. We were
unable to find anyone that had that much interest to our dismay. Elder
Van Wagenen and I went to read with Carolina Garcia in 3 Nephi 11
about the instance when Christ comes down to visit the Americas. Going
off of what we taught in zone meeting, we showed how Christ teaches
his doctrine very simply and how Carolina can begin to exercise faith
in order to know that Christ wants her to be baptized and be clean. As
we follow Christ's example, we become like the Nephites who had a
personal experience with the Savior himself.
Saturday, February 14th, 2014:
Elder Van Wagenen and I made brownies in the morning for the Vargas
family. We decided that love is the essence of the Gospel, so we
thought that we should find an easy way to show our love for their
family. Elder Van Wagenen and I went to read Mosiah 5 with Jose
Mendez. He has been progressing very well and always looks forward to
learning more. Converts always amaze me with how humble they are; it
is truly inspiring and humbling to see how much they emulate the
Savior through the way that they live. We went to the church for
the wedding of Marvin and Olivia Quintanilla. Today marked the 30th
anniversary of when they first started dating, which made the day even
more special when they decided to be married to one another. They will
be baptized tomorrow and will begin preparing to be married for the
rest of eternity when they enter into the temple in the future. I
loved seeing them be able to make this Valentine's Day the most
memorable one yet. We all finished the exchange, and Elder Corbett and
I got right back to work. I saw Hector and Erika from El Sereno on the
street in Lincoln Heights and began to talk to them. They mentioned
that they are planning to get married in May, which made me more
excited than I have been in a while. Seeing their progress has also
been extremely humbling for me. The friendships and relationships that
I have built on my mission are some of the most cherished memories
that I will ever have in my entire life. Elder Corbett and I delivered
the brownies to the Vargas family. It proved to be a great idea
because the Spirit instantly returned. As we read a few short verses
with them in the Book of Mormon in 1 Nephi 4, Guadalupe, Norma and
Mario all began to connect the dots. Guadalupe began seeing all of the
double meanings about how all of the prophets are types and shadows of
Jesus Christ and how the "dwelling in a tent" refers to the temple,
while Norma finally realized that the Book of Mormon is the evidence
that this church wasn't just founded like every other one. It was such
a neat experience to see revelation flowing through them in that very
instant. The Lord truly does make up the difference with his grace,
especially when we, as imperfect humans, mess up. His plan never
fails.
Sunday, February 15th, 2014:
It has been rather tough to get investigators to come to church
lately, and I'm not entirely sure why. We have been working harder
than ever, and our success seems to be waning at an accelerating pace.
Despite the rough patch with the missionary work, we are exercising
more faith that the Lord will bless us with miracles. Church was a
typical day with nothing noteworthy to report. The funny thing was
listening to everyone trying to sing the closing Hymn in Sacrament
Meeting, though. The Hermano leading the music was singing a different
song than everyone else, the tune was way off, and everyone messed up
with the number of verses that were being sung. I think the Hymn was
restarted about three different times. All of us were laughing because
it appears that no one here has been gifted with musical talents.
Elder Corbett and I visited a number of different houses during the
day, but it was one of those days in which not a single person let us
in. Days like today are a way that we show the Lord that we have the
drive and the faith necessary to keep enduring so that we can be
witnesses of miracles right before our eyes. I used to think that
miracles were just a coincidence. I am here as a witness that there
are no coincidences; God is involved in the details of our lives.
During the evening, we ate dinner at the Jurado family's home. The
assistants, Elder Ramos and Elder Fellows, needed our car, so they
came over to eat with them, too, before they took our car to run a few
errands. It was great to see them and spend the time with the Jurado
family. They are the most active family in our area, and they actually
attend a different ward.
We ate at Joel Cortes' house. He made us chilaquiles, which is one of
my favorite foods in the world. The best part is that Joel is the best
chef on the planet. We went to tour Forest Lawns, the cemetery where
Michael Jackson is buried and Elysian Park, the park where Dodger
Stadium is located. It was a really fun day with Joel, and we were
able to see some breathtaking views of downtown Los Angeles from the
hill on which it all sits. We plan on going hiking at the waterfall
next week. I hope that everyone has a wonderful week! Thank you for
all of your love and support! Always remember that what God says
matters, and anytime we place greater priority on something that
someone else says, we are risking the blessings that matter most for
blessings that are only temporary.
Love,
Elder Gabriel Valley
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