"Put me in Coach, Put me in"........week 97 & 98

Well family,

I write you from the beautiful highlands of Jinotepe. Surprise, surprise! I am not in the office anymore. I was emergency changed out on Wednesday because the President wanted me to help out as zone leader here. Elder Woods was a little caught off guard but he is doing alright. He has only needed to call me like 5 times in the last five days ha ha. But boy is it a change of pace. It feels great again.I love being with the missionaries and building their faith. That has been the biggest challenge and goal for the zone in Jinotepe. We have the biggest zone and we should have the biggest goals and numbers. But lately the zone has been having low numbers. We are about to change the history of Jinotepe.

I arrived Wednesday and we worked in the afternoon trying to meet the members and see the investigators that the missionaries had been teaching. My new companion is Elder Ward from Utah (another Gringo...ha ha) and he only has a little over a year in the mission and one change as a zone leader. I feel like the Lord is depending a lot on me to change things here. It has been a hard change for me but I have hit the ground running.

Thursday we had a Zone Leader Council meeting to set goals and we basically looked like crazy people with our goals for the zone. The zone only baptized 9 people last month between 26 missionaries. Our goal for the month of April is 60. I feel like it is going to be the biggest trial of faith I have had in my mission. I am trying to remember everything I have I learned since the beginning to put it into practice. The missionaries are determined to work harder. Seeing the daily numbers we have seen that they have nearly doubled in many cases. The Lord is going to bless.

I think the world is full of three types of people: those that make things happen, those that watch things happen around them, and those that look around them and wonder what is really happening. We need to be the force to change things for good in the lives of members and nonmembers alike. We need to be more than listeners and watchers. We must be doers.

I love the council given in 1 Timothy 4:14-17

“be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity...neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of hands...for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee.”

We must not let our limited experience and vision cripple our faith. When things don't happen at first, we regroup and we work harder. When we don't see our strength as enough to do what the Lord requires, we begin to have real faith.

Jacob teaches about how our weakness really strengthens us.

“Nevertheless, the Lord God showeth us our weakness that we may know that it is by his grace, and his great condescension's unto the children of men, that we have power to do these things.

The great missionaries of the book of Mormon understood this principle.

“Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.” (Alma 26:12)

When we feel weakest, we confide in our Father in Heaven. I know that he gives unto us according to our faith. Our faith gives us power.

I am very excited to leave it all out on the field. I feel like one of those players who has been watching from the sidelines for so long. Now I am warmed up and I ask coach, “put me in coach, put me in coach.” I will not give up. I will keep going unto the end. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be a special representative for the Lord in this place and in this time.

Well family, I love you. I pray for you and I hope that you can be blessed continually for your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that when we feel the weakest, we have the opportunity to ask for divine help.

“For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?” (Jacob 4:9)

If He can create the world and keep everything in place, why couldn't he help us in our daily lives?

Elder Russell

Believe in the Lord's Promises........week 96

Good afternoon family!

I had a great week this week. I feel very thankful for lessons that I have learned. Every day is a new opportunity to do what we left undone yesterday. Every new day is another chance to be more compassionate, more serviceable, more studious of the scriptures, more obedient to the Father. We should seriously ask ourselves daily if we are better than we were yesterday. We should care about each moment because in the eternal scheme of things, our time here on earth is as if it were a small moment.

That is how I feel the mission has been for me…every new day that I wake up, my past seems to fade away. I remember only the missionary schedule and daily routine and my thoughts, actions, words and worries are that of the mission. Every day adds more moments onto the list of things that I have made happen on the mission. Interestingly enough is the fact that despite the time I have on the mission, I feel like I have been here for so short a time. I can trace the week by week and month by month with journal entries, and a fast replay through my mind makes me realize that it is longer than just a moment, but it doesn’t feel like that. In the mission I have learned how to live more in the moment. I enjoy the little things a lot more.

For example, the time in the office seems to just eats away at my field time some weeks. This week was one of those weeks in particular because we had multi-zone conferences with the whole mission. In summary, lots of spending and cash flow and work and record keeping, etc. We only got to teach a hand full of lessons…but they were powerful lessons.

We continue to teach Santos and Lizet about how they can prepare for baptism. They are ready but they need to get married. Hopefully, this week they can get all of their paperwork worked out so next week they can get baptized. While my companion was interviewing the wife this week for baptism, I spent some time reviewing with Santos about the Book of Mormon. With very little education, his recall is somewhat limited but he remembered the importance of the book of Mormon. I proceeded to explain the different tools for studying it and then I gave him several promises. I promised him that if he read the Book of Mormon daily that he would over time become more fluent in his reading and upon finishing it he would be completely capable of reading. I also promised him that the book would strengthen him against temptations and that it would bring a spirit into his home, distilling the doctrine of the kingdom in his heart and mind. He was excited about the promises and is committed to read it in its entirety.

Now mind you, I remember a certain day in the MTC when I had a disagreement with a few companions. The conversion had to do with the promises that we can give as missionaries to investigators. I was very hesitant to promise anything to my investigators because I was afraid it would happen as I promised. In the mission, I have realized what kind of promises come to people when they keep commandments. Plus, I follow the spirit a lot more. I have come to realize that God blesses according to the needs of the people too, if they have faith in him.

I believe in the promises of the Lord. I wouldn’t have promised something like that at the beginning of the mission. But I will have you know that I feel completely confident that the Lord will bless him and his family with these things if he keeps his part of the contract. I choose to believe in the Lord´s promises.

Do we live our daily lives with faith in the lord´s promises? What promises do we not believe in quite yet? I think if we were promised by our boss a pay raise by getting to work early every day of the week that we would do so without a doubt. But do we believe in the Master? But do we read the scriptures daily to receive milk and honey without price? Do we pray on our knees with all energy of heart early in the morning and at night so that the Lord can more abundantly bless us in our lives with what we need? We should believe in the blessings of the Lord. I believe but I stop believing sometimes. Surely, from time to time we will doubt the Lord´s promises. Peter did when he began to sink. Thomas didn’t believe in the Lord´s resurrection at first either. But we should live by faith knowing that the Lord will bless us if we do all that we can. Life become so much more enjoyable.

I love you all. Thank you for your examples of faith. Thank you for your prayers. I feel of your love and support. May the Lord extend his all merciful hands over you to bless you with what you desire and most need.

Elder Russell

Repentence and Sincere prayer........week 95

Well family,

I have very little time to write. Everything has been going well here. It is just busy. I can´t believe another week has gone by already. The work in the area is still progressing. We had a family baptism this week. We have been teaching Eliza and Jon Kevin now for a month and she was baptized to complete the small, young family. She is expecting her first child already. It has been good to her conversion to the gospel.

We also continue to work with other families. Santos and Lizet are doing great! They both attended the baptism. It felt good to see them there. We had a very special lesson with them the night before. They had both fallen into their bad habits. She drank coffee and he smoked after having dropped them for two weeks. We talked about the repentance process and the importance of changing completely. We may have said things pretty strongly in their small, humble home but the spirit was there. Up until then, Lizet had been the only one to profess she had received an answer about the restoration. Santos always just changed the subject when we asked him about his prayer. But Saturday when Jon Kevin was going into the baptismal font with Eliza, Santos leaned over and whispered something to my companion. “I prayed,” he said. “How did you feel?” my companion replied. “Really good,” he responded.

God answers prayers. He cares about his children. He wants us to repent…sincerely. He honestly feels sad when we sin. He forgives and forgets when we truly repent.

I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. It heals me daily. I feel like in this time of my mission, the Lord is helping me understand this much better. I have come to trust more in the healing power of the Atonement. I have powerful personal prayer. It helps me get by every day.

I love you all and I pray for you. May the lord bless you always. Pray unto him with all energy of your heart so that he might lift both your spirit and heart from your bended knees. We reach our highest heights when we lower ourselves humbly to our knees.

Elder Russell

Rejoice........week 94

Well family,

I am pretty much out of time after having sent all of those photos, but I will try to fill you in on a few of the things that have been happening here in the office.

I continue to train Elder Woods as the financier and he is getting the hang of it now. I am trying to give him the reigns as much as possible and at times I feel like I am not doing anything. Oh well, I guess consulting every few minutes isn't that bad. We are always busy it seems...I don't know where all the work comes from but it seems to keep coming. One of these days I will figure it out.

I have learned quite a bit from personal study this week and I would just like to share a short scripture with you all. Right now I am in 2 Nephi. When I was reading about the plan of salvation verse 11 of chapter 9 struck me. I was particularly touched by the descriptions Jacob uses to talk about the members of the church. He says,

´´Therefore, the ^aredeemed of the Lord shall ^breturn, and come with ^csinging unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and ^dmourning shall flee away.´´

Perhaps the words like ´´singing, everlasting joy, gladness, and a freedom of sorrow and mourning´´ were what caught my attention. I thought about how we as members of the church have the right to feel good all of the time. Surely there are trials and difficulties that come. I guess we could assume that in those times that it isn't expected of us to show such happiness. But that is a wrong assumption. No matter the circumstances, trials, etc that we might have, there is something to rejoice about. But how can we be happy in the difficulties? I read a little further in 2 Nephi 9:52...

´´Behold, my beloved brethren, remember the words of your God; pray unto him continually by day, and give ^athanks unto his holy name by night. Let your hearts ^brejoice.´´

We let our hearts rejoice when we remember what wonderful things God has given unto us. When we pray unto him thanking him for the blessings we have our hearts are changed. Our heart is full of gratitude and there is no more room for sorrow. The sorrow and mourning shall flee away! I thought of Job for example. When he had trials, what made him rejoice?

´´And said, ^aNaked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath ^btaken away; ^cblessed be the name of the Lord.´´

(Job 1:21)

He thanked the Lord for what he had been given and recognized His hands in all things. The trials continued but his faith never faltered. He had a grateful heart and the sorrow wasn't there. He walked as a redeemed one of the Lord, singing with everlasting joy the glad song. What greater blessing can we have then life itself? Can we ever truly be so tried as to forget that Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins? Can our problems ever be bigger than the love our Heavenly Father has for us? When we remember this and thank him for everything, our problems seem forgotten and they are resolved with his help.

I know that God loves each and everyone. I know that we should be the happiest people. I hope that we can always remember who we are, where we have come from, why we are here, what we have been given, and where we can go after this earth. If we do so, than earth´s sting shall be swallowed up in Christ. He is the reason for us to be happy. I am glad, are you?

Elder Grant Russell

To Know the Mysteries of God........week 93

Good afternoon family,

I don't really know what to say…this week has been a blur. We had transfers this week for the mission so we ran around a lot trying to finish up last minute things. It is always a busy week but it is always rewarding too. I feel like it is always a time of reflection and meditation on the things we have learned in the last change. Now that I am in my last change as financier, my thoughts and desires are shifting towards the field. I am so excited to get back in the game and give it all I have, to leave it all on the court. My desire grows everyday to serve the Lord even if my energy is less and less. I don’t wake up as easily as I did at the beginning of the mission. My shirts are worn and my socks have holes in them too. Most ties have multiple stains and my shoes are almost ready for their third pair of soles. My scriptures are heavily marked with cross references and lessons learned and I have two journals full of experiences to show why. But of all of the noticeable changes that have come over me it is the spirit that I feel daily, the revelation and daily learning that has caused my own person to change. It is that spirit that keeps me going. In my own strength I am weak, but in the Lord´s strength I can do all things. The more I serve the Lord in his kingdom, the more I realize that I have so much more to give and that I will forever be indebted to him. I have pledged my life and heart to the lord and I am willing to do whatever He asks. He will support me along the way.

I am now training like I said. Elder Woods is the new financier. He is great! He is short, blond, and he fits the stereotype financier for our mission. Hopefully, he won’t go bald too like the rest of us ha ha…He is from New Jersey and he is going to do a great job as financier. He has a year and a half in the mission and will be finishing in the office. This week we had success in marrying a few people. No, lawyer responsibilities aren´t a part of the duties of the financial secretary but we are supporting the people we are teaching to be married. It was a nice wedding. I admire the faith of the Nicaraguan people and their simple testimonies of obedience. They are willing to keep the commandments without a moment´s notice. For example, these couples knew that the Lord expected them to get married because they have already started their family. Both have babies on the way and they knew that the Lord required this of them urgently. We arranged the marriage as if it were an every day event. There weren’t a lot of ribbons or bows, invitations or family preparations. It was just a simple ceremony with a nice cake to celebrate. It was great! They understood the reason behind the activity.

Why do we complicate things so much? I think from time to time the members of the church can get so involved in Homemaking night and scout camp outs that they forget about the reason behind everything we do. They forget the reason behind the activity. Surely they are important though. I have never understood this so much as I do now. The Lord wants us to keep our covenants and be obedient and endure to the end and if we do these simple things, then everything else is just a support, an appendage. Why do we do activity days, mutual, church basketball and other programs? The lord teaches that by small and simple things great things are brought to pass and that by simple things he brings about the salvation of many souls. How did seminary activities get some many of my high school friends baptized? I don’t know but in the end it worked. The Lord cares about everyone and tries to embark everyone´s interest with the goal in mind that their activity in other the aspects will enable their continued activity in church.

I am thankful that I grew up in an environment where these programs and activities were a part of my life. I am most grateful that I was taught the importance behind the activities and that my family´s focus was on covenants more than activities. I was impacted by a scripture this week in my personal study.

´´And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.

And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.´´

(Alma 12: 9-10)

We in our lives have the capacity to know the mysteries of God. However, we receive according to the portion which we are prepared for through our diligence and obedience to the Lord. I then asked myself this question:

How many times in my life have I received only the lesser portion of the word?

I would have us ponder upon what we do in our lives. Are we focused on the best things? Are we just busy or are we anxiously engaged in a righteous cause? Everything we do we should do it with the eye single to the glory of God. We should recognize that we are part of a great work and that our diligence will help us know the mysteries of God to a greater extent. As we do so, our callings become joys and blessings to us. The loving nursery leader knows the mysteries of God when she realizes that in her hands she holds the future leaders of the church. The Boy Scout master knows the mysteries of God when he resists to yell at the rambunctious boys late at night because he remembers that these same voices will proclaim the gospel of peace in all nations and tongues. A father and mother know the mysteries of God when they pray with their little child who will have no recollection of the prayer or the night they prayed to together.

These things have made the difference for me. Thank you Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters, scoutmasters and young men's leaders.Thank you for knowing the mysteries of God and being there for me in the times when it seemed it didn’t matter. I now know the mysteries of God a little bit more because of your diligence and faithfulness. My goal is to continue to learn and one day know them in full.

Let us magnify our callings not by making our jobs difficult or complicated but by seeing more clearly that our service has eternal consequences for ourselves and others.

Elder Russell

God Know Us........week 92

The Lord knows each and every one of us. Our thoughts and worries and struggles…He has felt them too. More and more I realize that God cares about the one and will stop at nothing to help them get back on track if they have been lost. That is why He came to this world.

From time to time, I have fallen into a common trap that Satan has for missionaries. When missionaries see a convert that goes away from the fold, the enemy of all righteousness tells them that their service was in vain, that the person is doomed to an eternal destruction and all sorts of other nonsense. Honestly, it is pretty tough when we see a child of God who has made covenants go astray. One almost falls into the trap. It has happened a few times in the mission for me. But I have seen so many examples that are contrary. This week I received an answer to my prayer, a prayer I have had in my heart since about a year ago.

When word had gotten to me that my converts Carlos and Fatima had moved from La Borgoña about a year ago, I was worried for them. They moved to Pochomil where there is no church and barely any members for over an hour and a half in bus. Apparently they had been meeting with a few other members in a makeshift nucleus. That at least comforted me for a while until about 8 months ago when I heard that the nucleus was abandoned. The only way that people could go to church was in bus and the trip would be both costly and long. The family had nothing they could do. I have thought about them weekly since then and prayed that they might be strong and that they might keep the faith. They are special to me and I know that the Lord has something really special prepared for them. Since my time in the office I have tried to contact them and there was no luck. I had no phone number, no direction, no member that could talk to them and I certainly couldn’t go look for them. I was stuck. The only thing I could do was pray. But the Lord was preparing the way for them to come back, little did I know.

In my normal routine of coiffure duty in the office, I took the AP to La Borgona for the District Meeting they were having since he didn’t know how to get there. I began talking with one of the members that I always worked with there and it was amazing to feel of her faith again. I suddenly felt prompted to ask her about Carlos and Fatima. Perhaps she would have heard something…it turns out that she did. They had returned to La Borgoña for a few days to see how things were with their house and she had seen them that day. They were right there! I was so excited. She we took a quick detour and went to see them.

I can’t adequately express the feelings I had when I saw them from about 30 feet away. Fatima did a double take and she beamed from ear to ear. Then Carlos walked around the corner and gave me a big hug. I didn’t want to let go. I had had to let go for so long from them and they had been left out to dry. I just wanted to protect them and help them and make sure that all was okay. We entered the small house like I had done so many times over a year and half ago. The house almost looked the same, it just didn’t have their possessions inside. But the spirit was there. That I can say.

They began to relate the long, sad story and history of their struggles in Pochomil. The families who had participated were overtaken by pride and worldly desires and shortly after they had moved there the nucleus was nonexistent. They explained to me that they always read the scriptures and that they had all of the manuals but that it just wasn’t the same. They had been trying to find a way to make things work out but their faith was hurt by their circumstances. They shared with me how the Lord had been blessing them with work and how they were now expecting a baby and how so many things were going well. Then Carlos´ mom died. They were looking into how they could make things work. In that moment, I asked them to bare their testimonies. It was an amazing experience to hear of their conversion stories from their own mouths. They both know it is true! We read 1 Nephi 3:7 and Fatima remember the scripture and she testified that the Lord would help them go to church, even if it were only from time to time as circumstances permitted. They committed to go to the temple and resume church activity. We said a sacred closing prayer.

I walked out of the lesson in awe. How did the Lord know? How does He make things work out like that? I too can sing the song ´´I stand all amazed.´´ He knows them. He heard my prayer. He helped me be there at the right time in the right place. I was so thankful. I said a silent prayer.

God will never abandon us. Our trials will be but for a small moment and then we will be rewarded for our sacrifice. The family will come back. I will be in their sealing. I know it. Satan´s traps never work out.

May we be in the right place at the right time, always!

Elder Grant Russell

The Prayer of Faith........week 91

New Pillows Anyone?

It was a busy week again in the office. I think that might be so redundant now in my letters that I might as well omit it completely…but it is nonetheless true. We finished interviews and had a few training meetings with the Elders. I have been trying to finish up everything from January and February now that they finally gave me my budget for the year. It was a lot of paperwork and number crunching but I finally got through it with only some minor headaches and sleepiness. But it was a fulfilling week as well. They always are when we do our best.

President told me this week that I will be training a new financier next transfer so I am getting everything ready for him. I am updating all of the system and making sure that his head doesn’t explode when he gets here. Transfers are in 10 days so that means that shortly I will have a new companion. Then I will go to the field again! Watch out Nicaragua, here I come! I am a little excited now for it. I guess I am trunky (anxious) to go the field…but it is a good sort of trunky I think.

I have been reading the Doctrine and Covenants the last few days and I have loved some of the counsel that the Lord gives through His servant Joseph. One particular verse in Chapter 10 was so simple but so powerful to me. It talks about the Book of Mormon and the faith of the disciples in the Americas and how their faith would let the gospel come forth in the latter days.

“And I said unto them, that it should be granted unto them according to their faith in their prayers” (10v47)

By the simple faith that they had in the Savior, their words ring in our ears, their spirit fills our hearts and minds. I am thankful for their faith and their prayers.

Elder Gardner and I have been worried about a certain recent convert for a few weeks. He had been so excited and zealous for weeks after his baptism but then one day he just suddenly changed. We were shocked by his sudden busy schedule and we were worried when he denied our visits for almost two weeks. We prayed a lot for him. When I read this verse I believed that it would be okay. One night I prayed and asked Heavenly Father to help him get through whatever it was. I felt a comfort. I knew everything was going to be alright. Then a few days went by.

Thursday night we got a call from the Ward Mission Leader who informed us that the convert had been sick and had been operated on. Who would have thought?! So we called him and to our amazement he answered in high spirits. We went over and we had a very pleasing visit and everything was alright. His surgery went great and now he felt better. It turns out that his condition had made it difficult for him to receive us especially because he wasn’t feeling so hot. We left feeling grateful that the Lord had answered our prayer. He had taken care of him. In that lesson with him, we talked about gratitude and we gave him the Conference Liahona with President Monson’s talked marked inside. It was a great lesson for all of us. We were all able to recognize the hand of God in all things.

I am so grateful for the Lord. I am grateful for the gospel and I know that it is the sure path to happiness in our lives if we walk in it always. Thank you all for your support and love across the miles. I love you all. I try everyday to be worthy of the privilege to wear His name over my heart. It is such a blessing.

Elder Russell