Welcome to the California Bakersfield Mission
Monday, July 8, 2013
To All,
Well, it was
the first week in the new mission; and believe it or not, there is not
too many things different. Except for the fact that President Wilson is
really cool and laid back. When we met him on Wednesday, he said that
all the spoken rules for the Ventura mission are gone, and that the only
rules are those in the White Handbook and "Preach My Gospel". He said that the only
reason a new rule will be needed is if a missionary does something
stupid. So he said, "Elders... DON'T BE STUPID! I don't want to make more
rules!" I got the message, so hopefully everyone else did. There were
also some wardrobe changes, but I won't bore you all with that. Other
than that, the week was really slow. The 4th was kinda lame because we
couldn't see any fireworks and had a curfew of 8 o'clock. And Elder
Broby got sick so we had to take it really easy the last half of the
week. But there were still spiritually learning experiences, good and
bad.
The good first: on Sunday, a less-active member that was reactivated through the efforts of the missionaries blessed his twin baby girls. It was the first use of his Melchizedek priesthood, so he fumbled the syntax of the blessing a little. But the love that he had for his girls was clearly evident, and the simplicity of his blessing only added to Spirit already so strong in that meeting. During the prayer, I was reminded of when I took out my endowments and the love that I felt, and the testimony that was borne to me about eternal families. It was a very good Fast Sunday, to say the least.
However, there was an issue that came to light yesterday regarding a member and an investigator. Last week, some members had brought their friend to church and were sharing the gospel in a loving and careful manner. All seemed to be going good, until another member (with the best of intentions) kind of "scared" the investigator off with their zeal in introducing them to us. Now the investigator is not interested at all in the church, and I felt like it was our fault in some way, or that the investigator was not sincere enough in their curiosity of the church. Thankfully, as I pondered this, I was able to correct my thinking. Because even after all we do as missionaries, people still have their agency, and are able to make their own choices, even if they are poor ones. I was also reminded of the story of Jonah, and how he wrongly judged the depth of the people of Nineveh's dedication to change. So while I wish I could chastise the member for "scaring off" the investigator, it is not my place to do so. All I can do is my best and invite people to change (like Jonah), and the Lord will make up the rest and send those who are ready and won't be scared off by me so that they can received their ordinances.
The good first: on Sunday, a less-active member that was reactivated through the efforts of the missionaries blessed his twin baby girls. It was the first use of his Melchizedek priesthood, so he fumbled the syntax of the blessing a little. But the love that he had for his girls was clearly evident, and the simplicity of his blessing only added to Spirit already so strong in that meeting. During the prayer, I was reminded of when I took out my endowments and the love that I felt, and the testimony that was borne to me about eternal families. It was a very good Fast Sunday, to say the least.
However, there was an issue that came to light yesterday regarding a member and an investigator. Last week, some members had brought their friend to church and were sharing the gospel in a loving and careful manner. All seemed to be going good, until another member (with the best of intentions) kind of "scared" the investigator off with their zeal in introducing them to us. Now the investigator is not interested at all in the church, and I felt like it was our fault in some way, or that the investigator was not sincere enough in their curiosity of the church. Thankfully, as I pondered this, I was able to correct my thinking. Because even after all we do as missionaries, people still have their agency, and are able to make their own choices, even if they are poor ones. I was also reminded of the story of Jonah, and how he wrongly judged the depth of the people of Nineveh's dedication to change. So while I wish I could chastise the member for "scaring off" the investigator, it is not my place to do so. All I can do is my best and invite people to change (like Jonah), and the Lord will make up the rest and send those who are ready and won't be scared off by me so that they can received their ordinances.
Oh the joys of
missionary work - having all the answers to the test, but no one believes
that you do. But the work goes on and is accelerating. Soon
there will be a set a missionaries assigned to each of the three wards
up here, so that is exciting. Hopefully, I'm not on the bike area with
hills like San Francisco.
I love you all and hope that you have a good
week.
Elder Cox
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