I hope your weeks have been great, and I hope you all had the chance to watch General Conference! In Australia, we watch it a week later than yous in the States, but it was truly wonderful to watch and listen to the inspired messages from prophets, apostles and other leaders of the church. I remember times when I would count down the time until Conference would be finished. However, I find myself wanting more and wondering how the time flew by so fast!?
There was so much that I loved about Conference, but I love this section from Elder Vinson's remarks (and no, not just because he's from Australia):
"So, the question for each of us is, are we also fair dinkum about the gospel? Because being half-hearted is not being fair dinkum! And God is not known for showering praise on the lukewarm... (Revelations 3:15-16)
"Are we true followers of Him who gave His all for us?... He who was Himself absolutely committed in His atoning sacrifice and is so now in His love, His mercy, and His desire for us to have eternal joy?...
"Please, please don’t put your total commitment off until you get around to it at some nonexistent, future time. Get fair dinkum now and feel the joy!"
I love that. Be totally committed. If you think we are just a Sunday church and you only live the Gospel during those 2 hours, you're painfully wrong. Now I understand that it's a little hard for me to say that considering I've committed my whole life for 2 years, 24/7 to be focused and centered on the Gospel and church. HOWEVER I do know there are sacrifices we can make so we can have the influence of the Gospel in our lives more than we do now. As mentioned in that same talk:
"... it’s not our successes but rather our sacrifice and efforts that matter to the Lord."
Well this has been a pretty good week. Slowly getting around to meet the members and friends of the church in this area. Then we had MLC (Mission Leadership Conference - where the leadership of the mission get together with President and Sister Runia and the 2 Assistants to the President and discuss the needs of the mission and ways to improve), which was really great and much much needed. A lot has happened but I'll share one experience from a couple days ago...
We visit the Rutikanga family and we catch 3 of the brothers and 1 of the sisters. They're an African family from the Congo. Going into this, I don't know anything about them besides that missionaries have been meeting with them fairly often (also my comp is pretty quiet and still not confident with his English, but he's trying). So I start off with the normal get to know you questions, then step into trying to figure out what they know about the church, what the missionaries have taught them in the past, what they've thought about it all, and about their knowledge of religion/Bible/etc. Well initially I figured they didn't know much, but turns out they knew a lot and didn't have the best experiences with the previous missionaries.... So we start discussing, the differences of their beliefs and ours. We discuss what is written in the Bible, what was Priesthood Authority and why it's necessary, what the need of the Book of Mormon was. Well... One of the brothers goes on a long shpeal, quoting verses of the Bible and his thoughts on Christ and authority and what it meant to be a follower of Christ. Which was all good stuff, but it was just words and lacked that "mmff" that comes when the Spirit testifies of your words. So after he finished talking, "I step up to the plate" and tell him that our invitation to all is to simply read the Book of Mormon and find out for yourself whether it's true or not. To come and see. Not to take our word alone, but to find out for yourself and receive an answer from our Heavenly Father. The sole purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify that Jesus IS the Christ, the Son of God, and that it is only through Him are we able to to live with our families forever and to return to God's presence. The invitation at the end of the Book of Mormon is this (then I read Moroni 10:3-5, MAN the Book of Mormon is SOO powerful!!):
"3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things."
After I read that, I could see they were surprised or touched by those verses. I continued that this is the invitation, to find out for yourself by reading it then praying to the Father with a SINCERE HEART - a sincere desire to know whether or not it's true, and not with a desire to prove it wrong - and REAL INTENT - that if you do find out it's true, that you will do something about it. I bore my testimony on how I've done just this and found out that it's true. That's why my friend and I were there as missionaries to share with the world that it's true. I learned who Jesus Christ was through this book and I know that God loves us. And because He loves us, He will answer our prayers and guide us to the truth. Because spiritual questions must require spiritual answers. He will answer our prayers - James 1:5
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
I testified that God will surely answer their prayers, and tell them whether or not the Book of Mormon was true, the word of God, but they need a SINCERE HEART with REAL INTENT. I know these things are true, because I've done it myself. So will you do the same and find out for yourself? I promise that you WILL receive an answer, and it'll be up to you to do something about it.
While I spoke the room changed, it was completely quiet. As I spoke and bore testimony, I was moved myself and the Holy Ghost was very apparent in the room as I testified of truth, the Holy Ghost did as well. After I finished talking, no one said anything and they just looked at me. So I thanked them for their time, ensured they had a Book of Mormon, and closed in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
So I'm hitting a point in my mission where I'm really enjoying it (not that I didn't before hahaha but just different or more so now). Where I come back to the flat exhausted and drained from the day. Where I love talking to people and sharing what the Gospel of Jesus Christ has done for me in my life and the potential it has to change their lives as well. This past week there was a brand new Sister who was struggling, or rather, giving her companion a very rough time. Her companion had reached out to me and the other Zone Leader about her situation. We came up with a game plan, and the first part involved me calling them up and talking to the new Sister. While talking with her I asked about her background, how the mission was going, and how her companion was. Then I shared with her my sincere excitement for her mission - the experiences she would have, people she would meet, things she would learn, and who she would become. Now I know I've still got 9 months to go, but I these past 13-14 months have been life changing and I'll never be the same when I go back home. I shared with this Sister the love I have for my mission. I have had some pretty incredible experiences, met some of the best people in the world (from literally all over the world), I like who I'm becoming (long way to go but better than where I was), and my love for the Savior has deepened. It hasn't been easy, but it has been priceless for my life. I love my mission and I sometimes find myself scared or not wanting to go home... Don't worry, when the time comes I'll be ready to go but just... it'll be hard coming back into the world from this... I'm so grateful I left everything behind and came on a mission even though it was 3 years later than normal, because I've really found true joy, learned how we can have lasting, enduring joy with those we love, and most importantly come to know more of who my Father in Heaven is and what I mean to Him. This is the best thing I could've ever done. I love you all and have a great week.
Elder Brandon Escamilla
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Australia Sydney Mission
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