WEEK 48 "He Lives"

Family and Friends,

Rejoice that The Savior LIVES! Because of this simple statement we can smile :) Christmas was amazing being in the Service of the Savior. We spent the day around town and then went to Hermas and Ednally's home to visit with them and eat dinner. The spirit was so strong as we testified of Jesus Christ. Hermas made the comment that without a humble birth we wouldn't be having a wonderful conversation. This is a message of happiness and joy. My time is short but I love you all and pray that you had very Merry Christmas and that you will Have a Happy New Year. 

Elder O'Neil

WEEK 43 "Choose Whom Ye will Serve"

Friends and family,

I failed to put in my last email two other of our very loved investigators. I talked about them a couple weeks. but its the parents of one of the members here in the San Juan branch. Ednalie and Hermas and amazing and I have grown to love them as they have investigated this church.

The first time I met these two they came to church as a whole family. They have two sons and a daughter. All their kids are attending college and one of their sons is engaged and is moving to Australia to be sealed in the temple. Both of their sons are members and their daughter is being taught where she is attending school. They are a divided as far as religion and they want that to change. Their sons said if their family was going to join a church it was going to be the true church. Their sons have taught their parents so much about what it means to them to have an eternal family that they parents have grown to have that same desire also. We started teaching them a couple weeks ago and have been hitting walls with them. The haven't been reading and Ednalie hadn't been coming to church because of her job. I began to get frustrated with myself because I didn't know how else to teach the importance of keeping these commitments. I had prayed and prayed to find help and then one night I had a dream where I saw somethings that gave me the answers I needed. I received some very sacred council that I wrote down. 

We went to their house last night and taught such a powerful lesson. Their sons bore such powerful testimony of the importance of the Book of Mormon. Ednalie and Hermas asked so many questions that we answered from the Book of Mormon that helped them realize that the truth lies within this sacred book. In a part of my dream I saw people waking down a road and then turning off on "side roads" after a bit of time I looked back and realized that these people were walking back to the main path after the realized they were hitting dead ends. I described this to them and helped them understand that the Book of Mormon is the road map to our life. It was such a "spiritual high" for me and they finally understand why they need to read and come to church. 

This is the true church and we are the stewards of certain sheep. We need to council them in the ways of righteous. Elder Christopherson said "If we do not invite others to change or if we do not demand repentance of ourselves, we fail in a fundamental duty we owe to one another and to ourselves. A permissive parent, an indulgent friend, a fearful Church leader are in reality more concerned about themselves than the welfare and happiness of those they could help."

I love you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Elder O'Neil

WEEK 5 "Sumunod kayo sa akin"

Family and friends,

 

 This hasn't been a very busy week but much has still been accomplished. I have learned so much in my studies this week that has brought me to a conclusion that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has no imperfections just as does the Savior himself have no imperfections. 

 

There was a family that had made an appointment for us to go teach with them without making us aware of it. We didn't make that as part of our plans obviously, because we didn't know about it. We never showed up to the appointment and the family got offended and wasn't very happy with us. They wouldn't talk to us at church so we approached them about what was going on. They explained to us what had happened and we explained ours to them. This family has done so much for us with a home to teach our investigators and referrals and we don't want to lose that with them. We had heard from another member that they said they might lose our trust because of what had happened.

 

It came to me and my companion in our studies that though we may not be in the wrong or we may not always be liked that we were called to "....proclaim the gospel with power and authority." That power and authority is the Priesthood, “the authority and power that God gives to man to act in all things for the salvation of man.” We represent Jesus Christ and we need to share his message. 

In 2 Nephi 31 its the Doctrine of Christ. It talks about baptism but and how to gain salvation. The Lord says "follow thou me." Hes talking about baptism and that we should FOLLOW HIS EXAMPLE. As I thought about what we could do to help this family so we could keep their trust, this is what came to mind. "Follow thou me." I shared this with the family and explained that Jesus Christ wants us to further His work here on this earth and follow Him. It didn't have any reference to what happened earlier that week. The mother looked at me and said, "We all need to follow Christ and strive to be perfect. Im sorry for what happened. I understand that you had no control over it." I then knew at that moment that if we will follow Jesus Christ, the promptings we receive, and always strive to be worthy priesthood holders, we will be filled with the spirit and say what needs to be said when it needs to be said. 

The weather here is getting super hot. Apparently its becoming summer time which makes no sense because its always super hot haha. The humidity is really starting to make its self known. As soon as you get out of the shower and get dry, you sweat so much getting your clothes on that it was pointless to shower haha. The positive side to the weather is that everyone wants to stay inside. When they see us walking down the street they want to know why we're so crazy to be out in the heat. We tell them we have a message to share and then they have us come in to get out of the sun. Use your surroundings to your advantage, the gospel is everywhere haha. When we go to bed at night its about 75% humidity and 87 degrees, in the middle of the day its about 88% humidity and 96 degrees, its only going to get hotter. I wish I could share it with everyone in the snow.

Thank you all for you emails and prayers. I love hearing about your experiences. Further the work as members and as Christ said, "Follow thou me." I love you.

Elder O'Neil

WEEK 3: PHILIPPINES

Family and friends,

What an amazing work this truly is. The Lord has a hand in everything we do no matter what it is. He have followed the simplest impressions and feeling as to which route to take to our appointments and so many people were placed in our path that wanted to know more about our message and this coming week if full.

We had a great service project on Tuesday. We did a "remodel" on a house and took all the old stuff form that house and went across town to build another home. We have 2 companionships in our area and it was just us 4 doing this project. It was so much fun and made me so grateful for the simple little tools we have back home. Part of the project was hauling gravel from the remodel to a jeep. We had burlap sacks that we'd fill and then carry the bags. Its one of the best workouts you could ever have hahah! I loved it! Getting strong.

We had planned to have a bunch of lessons on Friday. Lesson after lesson we got stood up. We decided to start walking and came a across a village we didn't even know existed. We met a lot of really nice people and even found some family of a member who hasnt been able to find them for a while. We are going back there with him so he can see his family. I had an impression to walk down a path not knowing where it lead. It opened up to a field where off in the distance we could see a farmer. we aproached him and started talking to him. He had never heard of LDS or Mormons. He asked if we could come back and talk to him. I asked if there was anything we could do for him at that time. He said he was done for the day but that we could come back on Tuesday and plow his field with his cow. I can wait!

Its been super cold this week. Yes 65 is cold compared to 95-100 degrees and the humidity doesnt make it any warmer. Today is the first day in 4 days that the sun stayed out for more than 5 minutes and its super hot now. The storms have fairly mild. Some days it rains the whole day but its a mist. Craziest thing.

Baptism number 2 and more to come. This is Miko. He just turned 16 the day before he was baptized. He is much like Joms. Always wanting to learn more and more. He had been working with the missionaries for almost 2 years and just wanted to know for himself if he needed to be baptized. We went to his house to teach him one day and he said, "Elders before we start can I ask you a question? I received my answer and I am ready to be baptized. Can I?" I was shocked and looked at my companion and we both quickly replied YES! Yes you may! It was one of the neatest experiences to be a part of. He has such a power and spirit about him an is an amazing example to me of what the gospel can do to some ones life.

Thank you all for your support and emails and prayers. I can fell them everyday. This is the true church and Jesus is the Christ.

Elder O'Neil