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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

HOME.

Return Home

Well my mission has come to a close. It has been a month since I packed up my clothes, passed by some recent converts, including the family of Wendy and Marcos (who have become just the strongest mormon family ever, they have like 20 book of mormons in their house, temple pictures taped on the walls, and have weekly noche's de hogar in which they invite the whole neighborhood!) in San Juan, Satelite, and then had our farewell dinner with President and Sister Klein. Then I boarded the plane, survived a 9 hour layover in Miami, talked on the plane to a fire dancing scuba diving harpoon fishing yoga instructor a little about God while debating in my mind following the same career paths as her, and then finally landing at 10 pm in good old Phoenix Skyharbor airport in Arizona. My family and some good friends where waiting for me, including the Sister Hilton, The Martins, Sara Prokop, Matthew Dickens and Mr. Dickens, Isaac Miller, and Bella Roig. I was pretty overwhelmed, tried to give handshakes to everyone like a good missionary but everyone made fun of me and made me give them hugs. Oh well.

The adjustment is pretty hard. Getting back to english wasn't that hard, but it was hard finding a purpose. As a missionary our purpose is so clear and so defined. Invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, the reception of the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. That is what you do all day every day. Why do you wear a tie? To Baptize. Why do you eat? To baptize. Why do you shower in the mornings? To baptize. Everything is centered on helping OTHERS. And now, I have to worry about myself again. What am I going to study? Work? MARRIAGE ?  :O And how do I arrive at those points.

It is also hard being in Babylon. But I can do it and will do it. With Christ, all things are possible and are worth it. My mission is just starting, and I hope to always have that missionary spirit and be worthy to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with all those that surround me.

If you ever want to chat or have a question, my email is admoffitt15@gmail. com. I would love to hear from you!

Hurrah for Israel!

Sincerely,

Adam Moffitt



Best parents ever

My sister Jessica!

I HAVE FRIENDS

My little sister clara

Mi familia! Together for the first time in 2 years


The new temple in Gilbert Arizona that was dedicated while I was gone. It is so beautiful!

Presents for the family! Bull horn trumpets, machetes, coconut purses, what more do you need?

ITS GOOD TO BE HOME.

THE END.

Tarantulas, Off, and Baptisms for the Dead

Last big email of the mission - May 25 2015

 I have to write a double email this week because I didnt write last week. These last two weeks have been really full of awesome happenings. Last week was the week of the family. IT is a tradition here in latin america, I dont know about there in the states, but the church really capitolized this week because of the focus we have in the family and helping families become eternal and happy. Every day in the church we had an activity. Wednesday, my companion and I were in charge and we taught about how to protect our families from the attacks of Satan in a turbelant world like the one we live in today. we read efesios 6, and then organized the members and investigators into 4 teams, and then each one made their own set of armor in a competition. It was a great success and everyone had a great time and learned a good lesson.

  On Friday, there was a stake wide activity that was really  cool. The leaders of the stake invited all of the major officials of the governement and other leading positions, including the leaders of other churches, and had a presentation about the family and its importance in society. They showed several little skits about the programs that the church uses to strengthen the family like scripture study, family nights, and family prayer etc. 

They had this part where they explained the doctrine of baptisms for the dead and the vicarious temple work that we do for our ancestors to help them leave spiritual prision and go to paradise and be able to be saved (1 cor 15:29 1 pedro 3:18-19 1pedro 4:6) and I felt the spirit really strong. I know for myself that this doctrine is true and I believe that it is one of my favorite doctrines of the church. 

YES WE MORMONS BAPTIZE FOR THE DEAD.

no, we dont dig out corpses drag them to rivers and baptize them. come on. 

but we do perform baptisms FOR AND IN BEHALF OF those family members that have died WITHOUT the ability or opportunity to accept a valid baptism in this life by the power of the restored priesthood of Jesus Christ. That is a glorious doctrine because it explains that God is not a respector of persons. He taught that all men must be born of water and of spirit to enter into the kingdom of God (john 3:5), so that means that jonny who grew up and died on an island where he never learned the gospel is not condemned for not doing something that he never even knew or had the chance to do! Someone can, in a holy temple, be baptized in the place of him, and he, in the spirit world, can accept of reject that baptism. Every single human soul that has lived or is living or will live will have the opportunity to accept or reject the saving ordinances of the gospel of jesus christ such as baptisms for the dead. 

No. other. church. teaches. this doctrine.

This week we have helped recent converts do family history and have helped converts prepare 11 names to bring to the temple to have the work done for them. 

Anyways, the spirit was very strong and testified to everyone who was paying attention to the truthfulness of temple work. Because the activity was of the whole stake, I was also able to see  several recent converts that I was able to teach and baptize from La Sarrosa, including my favorite family ever, The Archaga family, as well as miguel tome, who is preparing for a mission this year and is in charge of family history now in ward. Also, I saw my mission son Elder Navas, who was my companion in la Sarrosa. This was very special to me because it meant alot to see that these people are still active in the church and are enduring to the end. I felt a joy equal to or greater than they joy I felt baptizing them seeing them enduring to the end. It was also cool because these people have been sharing their testimonies and have in turn brought other people into the church to be baptized. Miguel, has baptized two of his brothers, The archaga family has baptized their 21 yr old niece, and other converts have also been the means of bringing more of their family to the gospel. What joy to see some of the fruits of my work and what gratitude to God for letting me teach these people. Truly he did all the work.

What else... Oh yeah. So my companion one day this week stuck his hand in his shoes before putting them on and yelled and I look over and this big tarantula just crawls out of his shoe and starts running around our house. There is really only one thing to do when this happens, other than curling up in a ball sobbing and pleading for mercy.

Grab the bug spray, OFF, and aggressively soak the wild tarantula in OFF.  as it slips and slides around, grab a match, light it, throw match in slow motion at tarantula, and watch it explode. 

This is the only way to effectively kill a tarantula. Trust me.

There were many other amazing experiences that we have had these weeks, including many miracles here in the field. We are seeing Gods hand in the work even in spite of the adversity that there always is.

I love you all!


Elder Moffitt

ahhhhhhh! Kill it!

Luke, God. is. your. FATHER!

May 15th 2015

Well here I am in my last change of my mission! After 6 months in Tocoa, Colon, and on the verge of lung cancer, I was changed to Barrio Berlin in Progreso, Yoro, Honduras. I was on the verge of lung cancer because I hadnt rained in 2 months in Tocoa, and the streets are all made of dirt, so when vehicles and or wind and or small insects pass the street, all the dust flies up . So there is like this chinese pollution factor of pure dust that makes the sunsets look like starwars epic becuase of all of the dust in the air. Every time that a car passed us my companion and I would have to take a deep breath and squint like arab traders. We were going to get darth vaders masks and prosylte like that but it probably would have scared people off even more. 

¨(kuuukeeekuuukeeee...Pedro.... God... is your FATHER!!!!)¨

But anyways I will finish my mission here on the outskirts of Progreso, a big city with wendys, pizza hut, and all the rest. There is even a dunkin donuts and a baskin robbins I think! But dont worry I am going to stick with rice and beans for 6 more weeks and then I will pig out. My goal is never to touch rice for at least 248 days upon returning home. My companion is named Elder Monroy, he is this chubby little guatamalan guy that is a real jokester. He is really funny and is just starting his mission, so I am finishing up his training with him. 

The ward here is so cool! The members are really dedicated and really have a desire to work. I am not sure if it is just my worn collar but we have recieved a ton of references from the members and we even passed the young womens group on sunday going to visit all of the less actives in their organization!!! They asked us if we were teaching any young women that they could go visit. I had to grab my jaw and stick it back on before responding. That was the first time someone had asked us if they could go visit one of our investigators. 

When I got here we had a total of 4 investigators, so we have spent the majority of this week just contacting like crazy and trying to find people that are chosen and have been prepared by the Lord to recieve this message. It is always super fun to contact because you never know who you are going to find. It could be someone really wierd, or some really apostate person, or the next general relief society president. who knows? Yesterday we had 15 minutes before our next cita so we contacted a few houses and this one guy came out bald and super smiley and invited us in and I thought he was a jehovahs witness cause his smile was super creepy and was getting ready for that but turns out he was baptized in the church like 6 years ago and is a air force sergeant for Honduras that was super excited to find the church here and wasnts to go back. We left him the war chapters in Alma to read for homework because I think those are so cool and can teach us alot about how to conquer Satan in the spiritual war that each of us is part of.

Today we had a zone family history activity and I really got to figure out how to use the system and could really feel the spirit testify to the truthfulness of the work. I love the work of the temple and the obra vicaria, not sure how to say that in english, but the work for our ancestors. It is so cool to see where I come from and feel the spirit of the work of slvation on the other side of the veil. I am totally going to work in family history a lot more when I get back, or at least help others do it cause my family history is pretty well done haha.

Pretty much I am just determined to finish strong my mission. This is not a time to slow down but to really give it my all until the last day and then have the rest of eternity to think about it and relax. I was called to serve for 24 months, not 23, or 22, so I still have plenty to do.

Endure to the end is much better expressed at USC. Fight on!

I love you all and will see you soon enough. Plan cool things for us to do when I get back, cause I dont really have time to think about it. 

Love you all!


Elder Moffitt




Life is Hard for the Best People

This week was great but hard. SO MUCH APOSTASY! But it is good. we cannot expect to be representatives of Jesus Christ without dealing with harden hearts and blinded eyes and ununderstanding ears. It is incredible to me to see how traditions of ones fathers can just completely mold and hardens someones form of belief. That pattern is so visible in the jews of the bible, the lamanites of the book of Mormon, and people here. People only want to believe what is familiar to them, and there are so few that really understand the import of our message and the weight of the invitacion to really pray and ask God, the fountain of all truth, for an answer and a confirmation. 

The guy we found milacrulously in Trujillo on divisions, remember, that is our neighbor, has been progressing. He is really open, and always tells us the errors that he commits. He has talked to us about his challenges with the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. He has problems drinking and really has a desire to change and is starting that repentance process of recognizing his errors, and feeling godly sorrow for them. I hope to be here when he is ready and repentant enough to wash away his sins in the waters of baptism.

I found this quote today and it hit me pretty hard. As I am nearing the end of my mission, it seems like I am working as hard as I can but not having the same results that I would expect. Here it is: 

If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived - Jeffrey R. Holland

I think the Lord is just giving me those last few trials to be able to pass with courage and steadfastfulness (is that a word?) to be able to then enjoy the last few miracles of my mission.

Hurrah for Israel!


Elder MOffitt