What does God want from us? Everything!

Hello all,

Another great week in the mission! 

Every time I think that I am getting to be a bomb missionary or am getting the hold of things, God sends me another trial or difficulty to put in my way. In a way I am really grateful for these reminders that I need Him in my work because it isn't my work, it is His, and I cannot do it my way or with my own strength or wisdom. This week, practically every single one of our appointments fell through, so we offered prayers and looked for new investigators, especially families complete with fathers, to contact and teach. I testify that we were led by the Spirit to find several families. 

Elder Amado, the member of the Quorum of the Seventy with the most time as a general authority of the church, came yesterday and we had a missionary reunion all day yesterday listening to him. Because of this, we didn't write yesterday. The Spirit was super strong when he talked and, although he taught us for like 6 hours, it felt like 6 minutes. I learned so much and can testify so strongly that this church is true and has leaders that have the authority of God to be leaders of the church of Jesus Christ.

So many cool great things happened this week. It was rough but it was instructive. 

Know that I am safe and sound and still have a great sense of humor and a wonderful eyesparkle. BIG NEWS! I have started parting my hair to look more like a pro missionary and the fan commentary has been incredible. Just know that it is a powerful hair-part. 

I think that every one of us arrives at the point several times in our lives when we ask God in exasperation, mentally, or out loud "What do you want from me?" The simple and often not understood answer is "Everything." 

Honestly there is no way to sugar coat the gospel of Jesus Christ because it is purely and simply about sacrificing everything. Usually God doesn't require that we sacrifice everything, but we need to be willing to sacrifice all and, when he asks, anything. People that love God but won't give up their work on the day of rest, or won't read the scriptures, or won't sacrifice time to go to church simply don't really love him. A good question to ask ourselves is "Do I love God? How much? How much am I willing to sacrifice to prove it?" Those who lose their lives in the service of God will find it, while those who look to save their lives by not serving God will lose that which makes life worth living.

Life is good. We have a lot to look forward to these next few weeks! Keep praying!

Love, 

Elder Moffitt

My area of San Juan in San Pedro Sula

Estamos en HONDURAS

Marvelous week this week. Really quite dandy. I'll start the cool news of the week with an excerpt of an email I recently received from my dear mother in Arizona:

"The Sister missionaries called to see if I would take an 11 year old investigator to see a baptism in Tempe West Stake. I agreed and took her to the baptism. She sat with the Sisters. Almost all the seats were taken so I sat in the back row by a guy I didn't know and tried to be casually friendly by sharing the hymnbook, etc. It was a very spiritual baptism of a 40 year old newly married couple. I was especially touched because I felt really close to you and Jessica since this is what you are doing each day. I had a very distinct impression that I was suppose to share those feelings with the stranger next to me. (Really?) So, when it was over, I asked if he knew the couple. He said he had "seen them around." So I asked if he was a member of this ward and he said that he was a "wanna-be." He had been baptized many years ago and had strayed and was wanting to come back and get his life in order, and try to get his 21 year old son to join him. So I just told him that I did not know this couple but that I felt the Spirit of Christ really strongly because my two children were on missions and this is what they get to do each day. 

He asked, Where? 

And I answered, "My son is in Honduras and ..." 

He interrupted, "I was just in Honduras last week. I was visiting my girl friend in San Pedro Sula."

"Really, my son is in San Pedro Sula!"

"Where? My girlfriend is near downtown."

"My son is also near downtown. Is she a member?"

"No. Here's her picture."

"Here is my son's picture in front of his house.  My son is an excellent missionary. If you would like to give me her address, I can pass it on to my son so he can teach her the gospel."

He shows me more pictures on his phone. We talk about the photos and then I ask if he would like to give me her address. While pulling up pictures, he has also been texting his girlfriend and has asked her if he can give out her address for a missionary to visit. She messaged back "Thanks" with her address.

We both thought that God must have directed our meeting. :)"

Pretty cool, huh? What are the chances of that happening? That's my missionary mom right there. Well anyways, this week I got permission to go and visit this hermana and ran into even more miracles. She wasn't home when we showed up at her house, and so I felt impressed to ask to use a neighbors cell phone to call her. A friend was visiting these neighbors, and let me use her phone. As I was calling, the neighbors ratted out the visiting women and told me that she had served a mission and was also "Mormon". The reference from my mom didn't answer the phone but we started talking to this ex missionary, who isn't participating in the church as actively as she could, and were able to invite her to come back to church, to which she agreed. She then led us to another house and we taught a lesson to a lady who has a son in the US who is a member of the church. She has been waiting for missionaries to arrive at her house for a very long time but they rarely pass by that sector. We challenged her to be baptized, and she accepted. She then told us about her sister, who lives in our area, and told us to visit her, as well as several other references. Leaving that appointment, we stopped by the house of the reference from my mom and she was there!!!!!!!!!! We taught her for about 5 minutes and then asked her, "Hermana, do you believe that it is coincidence that we are here?"

"Obviously not," she told us. What, then, do you think was the intention of God that my mom talked with your boyfriend in a random baptismal service in Arizona and sent us here? She replied that God has a plan for her. Five minutes into the lesson, we challenged her to be baptized and she accepted. 

God is not a god of coincidences. He does have a plan and he uses us, when we are obedient, to fulfill and complete his grand designs. This work is real, this church is the church of Jesus Christ restored in its true form by living prophets ordained with power from on high. I testify of that from a dinky little faded green internet cafe in Honduras to whoever reads this in whatever part of the world you are. The evidence of this exists and is waiting for anyone who cares enough to read a little navy blue book called the Book of Mormon and pray about it. If we aren't afraid to open our mouth, to be led to those who need us, and to take advantage of those moments when life gives you lemons. God will work miracles. Many times God makes citas fall so that we find the person that he really wanted us to find. 

Other news... we are teaching a lot of really great people. One 20 yr old we found and who accepted an invitacion to find out for himself the truth and be baptized if he receives and answer in the affirmative has already read about 200 pages of the Book of Mormon in the past week alone. There are so many cool things that happen every day on the mission. 

Spiritual quote of the week: If we want to know God, we serve him. If we want to know God better, we serve him more. 

I know this is true and I have learned so much about myself and about others and about God in the past months by dedicating so much of my life to Him. My goal is to become a consecrated missionary, or to give ALL that I have in the service of the Lord. The happiest nights in the mission are when you crawl into bed and you are exhausted out of your mind and your feet hurt but you know deep inside that you gave it your all and the rest is in God's hands. If things are in God's hands they always end up awesome. Lets put more of our lives and the world in God's hands by doing what He has told us to do. 

Elder Moffitt

Teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ in San Pedro Sula

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Hello Everyone! 

Still working hard over here! This week flew by so fast; not really sure what happened. Every day we get faced with different challenges but I have learned on my mission that getting stressed out really doesn't help anything at all. When the challenges come, we work harder, think harder, and put our trust in God. God cannot ask for more than our best, for that would not be just, but he cant ask any less than our best either, because that would not be just. The Lord has His plans, and if we do all we can, we will end up on the awesome side of the outcome.

Building a house for a family in San Pedro

Weddings, overcoming drug addictions, miracles, baptisms, changes in peoples lives, there are a ton of awesome happenings coming these next few weeks!

We are teaching a dad who is fighting with alcoholism and wants to change so bad but can't seem to resist the temptation when it hits. He has 4 boys and wants to be a good father to them. On Thursday we sat down with him and made a schedule for the week with 6 categories: 

- prayer in the morning, 

- scripture in the morning, 

- prayer in the night, 

- scripture in the night, 

- scripture memorized that day, and 

- if he made it through that day without drinking. 

We promised him that if he would do those 5 things every day, he would be able to check off the "Didn't drink today" box every night. We stopped by a few days ago and he was like a completely different person. He has never been able to look us in the eyes, but this time he was so happy and so confident and he ran inside when he saw us and brought out his checklist and for the last few days he had checked off every single square. This guy had never said a prayer in his entire life before we met with him and now he is praying every day, morning and night, and is reading the scriptures and memorizing powerful scriptures to repeat in his mind when the temptation hits. We don't make the decision to resist temptation in the moment that temptation hits, we decide in all the minutes we spend going to church, reading the scriptures, praying, and putting on the spiritual armor of God piece by piece. The change in him is a literal miracle made possible by the atonement of Christ. We are hoping that one day he and his girlfriend will get married and that he will be able to be baptized and leave all the hardships of his past behind and be able to start over completely.

Mario and Javier's baptism. Happy day!

This Sunday I learned another great lesson. I was sitting in church and thinking about all the people that we wanted to come to church and didn't, and then I stopped myself. I looked around at all the people that DID come to church. The spirit of Christ was really strong in that meeting and I found myself smiling from ear to ear, just really, really happy to be a missionary and feeling a trust that God knows and will sanctify the work we are doing in his own time and in his own way. I felt that I had down all that I could and felt so at peace. I almost just started laughing out loud in the middle of the sacrament meeting I felt so much joy. Maybe the classes were going to be kinda boring, maybe the members wouldn't do all they could to help us, maybe some people won't want to or be able to make the changes we hope for in their lives, it doesn't matter. The gospel is about being happy and being sad stinks. Don't be sad people. Smile and be happy and trust that if you do your best, God will do the rest. If you trust in that, the only reason that you won't feel happy is if you don't do your best. So do your best, trust in God, and wait for the miracles. 

Elder Curichimba, Mario and me

YAY GOSPEL OF SALVATION!!!!!!!!!

I bet God and Jesus Christ have the best smiles and best laughs ever, because they are beings that live the eternal principles of happiness perfectly. They are the epitome of happy. Megahappy. Uberhappy. And when Jesus commanded us to be perfect, like unto him, he was commanding us to not worry, and to be happy. Like that wall fish. 

Wish I had a dancing "Don't worry, by happy" wall fish here in Honduras. Oh well, good Christmas idea :)

Happy thoughts,

Elder Moffitt

O that I were an angel, and could have the wish of mine heart, that I might go forth and speak with the trump of God, with a voice to shake the earth, and cry repentance unto every people!

Yea, I would declare unto every soul, as with the voice of thunder, repentance and the plan of redemption, that they should repent and come unto our God, that there might not be more sorrow upon all the face of the earth. Alma 29:1-2