"Who then is that faithful and wise steward?"

Monday, July 1, 2013

Hello All -

     This past week was a lot of ministering again (so mostly service), but I am happy to tell you about some investigators that will be baptized here at the end of the month. 

     Will and David, who are set with a baptism date of July 27th, are really excited to become members of the church. They were a referral from a member, and for the longest time we were unable to contact them, mostly because they live on top of the mountain so going up there to see them is a little out of the way. And when we tried calling their mom to set up an appointment, she kept blocking us and keeping us from seeing her sons. That went on for several weeks, until out of the blue she called us and set up a dinner appointment; during which we extended the invitation of baptism to Will and David and they accepted. Come to find out, the mom wasn't really enthusiastic about her sons joining a church she had stopped going to (she's a less-active member); but when she started going back to church, she realized that she couldn't keep her sons from it.  After talking with them and realizing that they wanted to be baptized, she called us. Now mom and sons are on the road to full activity, and I have faith that dad will soon follow suit. It was a great testimony builder for me about the power of the Holy Ghost in conversion. Just like when the sons of Mosiah taught and the Holy Ghost changed the hearts of the Lamanite kings, so too the Holy Ghost had changed the heart of this mother and now two more of God's sons are making covenants with him and will be tremendous instruments in his hands.

     I have also had the privilege this week in doing a great deal of soul searching about "who is Elder Cox?" When I first came out on my mission, it was rough. Elder Broby wasn't doing things the way I thought that they should be done, or even in a manner I thought was contrary to the way we were taught. But at the end of the 2nd week, he shared something with me that I will not soon forget, "you need to learn how to be Elder Cox, not just elder." I thought about that and realized that I was being mechanical, and had no personality in my dealings with members, investigators, or even other elders. Once I found out that I could be myself and have fun, and still maintain the level of spirituality required for missionary work, things got a lot easier and Elder Broby and I finally became friends. The reason I bring this up is because now there is another new elder in our district who has not figured this out, and I think never will. I am just so thankful for the knowledge that I have in that although the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is to change our hearts, it doesn't really change who we are.  It only makes better what is already there. 

Love you all and hope that you have an excellent week!

Elder Cox from the California Bakersfield Mission