Week Twenty Eight - Three Questions

This week I asked Luke three questions:
How is your new companion?
How are your investigators progressing?
What do you do when you get discouraged or frustrated?

My new companion is great. His name is Elder Rui. He is from passo fundo in Rio Grande Do Sul. But he is short like me, normally quiet but we joke around a lot.

None of our investigators are progressing. For me progressing isn't receiving an answer about the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith. That is easy. Anyone with an open heart and mind who is humble enough to pray to God and ask with sincerity will receive that. It's only a matter of being in tune with the spirit and recognizing how the spirit works within us. But there are many people who even after receiving a testimony about the truth of our message, about the Book of Mormon won't go to church, won't be baptized and won't change their past habits or life. That is a lot harder. So we've been cutting off a lot of investigators and making new ones. We do have one who is doing really well though. But he twisted his ankle really badly and couldn't go to church. He's been staying in bed and taking a lot of medicine but he should be better this week. Making new investigators is easy. Just talk to people in the street, get their address and start making visits. A lot won't progress though. It's a lot easier when someone already has a friendship established with a member. And we don't receive anything here from members so it's difficult.

Whenever I feel discouraged or frustrated I just remember why I'm here on a mission. I always remember my Savior and when He suffered for my sins and gave His life for me. He died so that I can live. And that is why I am serving a mission. Because I love Him and He asked me to take care of His sheep. There isn't any justification in staying negative or sad when I know Christ suffered a whole lot more than me so that I can have salvation. I don't look at a mission as a big thing that I have to get over. I look at it as a blessing to serve Him and better myself so that I can be more like Him. There doesn't exist a higher calling than serving God, and serving our neighbor. That's what I remember when I feel discouraged.

But everything is well and I am happy.

Love
Elder Batten