What missionaries learn!

Well it has been an incredible week. The first day that I got here to my new area over a week ago now we found a new and amazing family. They are the Acosta family. The parents are Raul and Rosalinda his wife with their 3 children Augustina 15, Brian 14, and Rocio 7. They are so amazing and so kind. They have been progressing so well and are excited for conference this coming weekend. Three of them were able to come to church this week and they loved it and were left with some great thoughts. There is no greater joy than to Preach the Gospel and watch the change come into the lives of those whom we teach. They become kinder, more gentle, gain greater faith in the Savior, have a greater resolve to be better people and citizens, have a great desire to share what they are learning, and they always come to know, ´´line upon line precept upon precept´´ that the Restored Gospel is true.

I will share some of the things that we learn from being missionaries. The fact that we talk to so many different people with so many different backgrounds helps us to have a greater vision of what are the troubles that people go through day to day. It helps us understand them more and have compassion for them. It teaches great patience and persistent patience. We learn to have great faith through action and exercising that faith. We learn to stick up for each other and to receive specific answers to specific prayers. We learn to give heed to the Holy Ghost and the whisperings of Him. We learn and practice courage as we boldly declare the truth and invite others to ´´come and see´´ what we have found and what God is doing even now. We learn humility. There is no more important characteristic for someone who is an honest seeker of truth and is not being baised on their own opinions. But the greatest blessing of all is that we learn to become more like Christ by putting his attributes on Him and learning how to develop them. I am definitely not saying missionaries are perfect or even better than others but we try to be like the one we follow in word and in deed. Some have greater succes than others, but conversion is a lifelong journey. We truly believe that, ´´It would mock the Savior’s suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross for us to expect that He should transform us into angelic beings with no real effort on our part. Rather, we seek His grace to complement and reward our most diligent efforts. (2 Nehpi 25:23)´´ (Elder Christofferson)

I invite everyone to watch and hear and prove the words of living prophets and apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. What an amazing opportunity we have to see and listen to the voice of God now a days. I promise that as you watch they will say something that will be so relevent and personal to your personal questions desires and doubts that you will know that they are the TRUE representatives of Jesus Christ upon the earth today. Have a great week!

Love
Elder Passantino