WEEK 30 - Agents to Act

March 27, 2017

Good morning!

This week has been quite diverse in the things we have been asked to do! We helped a family move, towed a broken down car, and then on the farm we wrestled goats to help give them medicine, and I got the privilege to help castrate two baby goats on the side ahah (Just your average Idaho farm tasks) To finish it all off we cleaned out a chicken house that had 300 chickens inside.. it was awesome. 

Its crazy to think that this is the last week of the transfer so I will find out if I will be staying or going, but I hear there will be some big changes in our stake where we are serving so I may stay, but still have a new area in itself!  We have been really fortunate to find a few really awesome potential investigators that we have set times to begin teaching them this week! The Lord has definitely been teaching us patience as we have been averaging about 10 lessons that all get cancelled or fall through at the last second! Its okay because I know its his timing and not ours! We are pretty excited for General Conference!

My thoughts from this week really centers around the articles of faith. I really really love how all our beliefs as a church are summed up in 13 sentences essentially. 

This week I have been focusing on the third article of faith.

 "3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel." 

I love how simply it puts it that we are supposed to keep the commandments that the Savior has given us! I really love the words found in 2 Nephi 13-14 as he talks about our life on this earth. 

"13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away. 14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." 

God created us to be agents unto ourselves to do and to become like him! The same goes with the Atonement that he has given to us as a gift for us to use and be able to become perfected just like our Savior who is perfect!

I hope we all can use the Atonement and all its blessings in our lives to better ourselves and our relationships around us! 

Keep Smiling

Love Elder Gerrard

--

Elder Woods and I

Pondering about our Investigators

Sunset over Nampa Train Station

WEEK 29 - Peace, Love, and Forgiveness available to all of us

March 20, 2017

My beloved brothers and sisters I hope you are all doing wonderful! This week was another killer week! Elder Wood and I have been able to do alot of service for people this week! On the Dairy farm we did alot of things but the main task was hand mixing concrete and pouring it down a hole off the side of a cliff.. (I promise it was completely safe Mom!) Later in the week we racked a ton of leaves that were in the back yard of one of our potential investigators home, but because he has cancer he hasn't had the strength to just get around doing things. Unfortunately many of our teaching appointments were cancelled last moment this week. None the less I can say that there is more to being a successful missionary than teaching and baptizing! Elder Wood and I have been simply being the farmers we are and just started planting seeds and helping the members in their missionary efforts, as well as going out striving to find those whom God has been preparing!

My thoughts this week center around the last point of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Enduring to the End. Knowing that we are all imperfect and fall short of many things, its no surprise that we all sometimes go through our own less active phases of sorts throughout life as well as in certain areas of the gospel. Whats so beautiful is our Heavenly Father knew that this would be the case! So he created the Atonement from the foundation of the world! How beautiful it is to know that the Atonement and ALL it covers and entails is for us because He loves us!

I want to testify to any and all that feel like they don't have the strength or means to accomplish something that the Lord has asked us to do to remember what 1 Nephi 3:7 says "...for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." I know and testify that the Atonement is one of the ways that he has given us to accomplish these things!

Specifically Grace.. it truly is a enabling strength that is open and available to all of us and when we truly repent with a contrite and sincere heart we can feel that beautiful mercy and forgiveness! I hope we all reflect on how we can use the atonement and grace more this week to accomplish all that our Heavenly Father wants of us! 

-- 

Keep smiling!

Love, Elder Gerrard

King of the Leaves

Elder Wood's and I .. Rake Masters!

WEEK 28 - We Walk by Faith not Sight

March 13, 2017


Hey Everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful week! Elder Wood and I have finally been able to NOT be sick and get out there and start laboring in the vineyard! Let me tell you... missionary work is ALOT better when your outside actually talking to people instead of laying in bed! The past week we have been working hard to increase our pool of investigators and people to teach. So we have been contacting former investigators and just knocking on people doors around them! Its been awesome and we have been able to contact some amazing people that I hope we can see some further success with them. Im excited this month to study my patriarchal blessing this month with our whole zone! Already I have seen some amazing blessings that are happening. I strongly encourage all of you to read and study that blessing! Im so grateful for my patriarchal blessing and the guidance, encouragement, and council that it brings into my life. Im incredibly grateful for this gospel! It brings so much peace and happiness in to our life, and how great is my calling to be able to share this message with others:) I LOVE IT!!

My thoughts of this week are really just centered on the trend I have seen throughout various investigators and  why some progress so much versus others. One of the biggest issues comes from those that are caught up in the philosophies of man. Many people really are caught up in the idea of having evidence to validate their personal convictions of their beliefs. This can be a great thing to strengthen our testimonies; however, we have to remember that spiritual truths need to be received through spiritual means. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 we read: "For we walk by faith, not by sight:"  We also learn in Corinthians 12:3 that  "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." My hope and prayer is that we as members of the church can continue to take Alma's experiment found in Chapter 32 and continue to seek spiritual truths through spiritual means such as prayer. Building our testimony this way will ensure that our testimony will be strong enough to endure all things and conquer the efforts of the adversary! I love you all! remember to devote your time to what brings lasting happiness!

-- 

Keep smiling!

Love, Elder Gerrard

Caution: what we bring is eternal life and added scripture

WEEK 27 - Being Sick is NO FUN!

March 6, 2017

This week started out pretty great; however, my companion Elder Wood and I both came down with something crazy and out of the blue so we have been sick in bed since Thursday night! The lesson to be learned from this experience is how important it is to endure to the end in terms of even in times of sickness! Im grateful Heavenly Father knows our limits and capacities, and im truly grateful that I had the strength to at least make it to a sacrament on Sunday! The spirit was truly strong as we sung come come ye saints. I really love the message that can be learned from the pioneers that we can do hard things! I hope you all remember that Heavenly Father is aware of you and you can do hard things. 

Im sorry that I don't have much more to write about this week hopefully we will be back up to speed soon!

WEEK 26 - Trust in His Timing

Feb. 27,  2017



This week has been awesome! Im very grateful for the lesson that I've learned this week. Leaving my old area was hard, since I had to leave so many wonderful people and investigators, but coming to this area has taught me that God's timing is perfect! This week we have meet with two former investigators that after all this time for some reason this week they have decided to continue meeting with the missionaries! Im excited to see where they go in the next 6 weeks, but all thanks to my experiences in my first area I was able to help them in a way that no missionaries have been able to! One of these investigators decided to just show up to church this Sunday and he wants to be baptized! It brought a lot of comfort to me to know that leaving my first area is okay, since the timing of our Heavenly Father is perfect! 

My dream came true! Thursday we volunteer on a farm! it was AWESOME!! I love working on a farm its just the coolest thing ever! so expect to hear about my farm adventures:) 

My thought for the week comes from my reading of 3 Nephi this week. I have been pondering about why we have the account of the Saviors ministry both in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon and it was very amazing to me how clearly he explains to us that Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost are soo clearly explained that there is no way we can dispute what the Savior wants us to do! Im soo incredibly grateful for the Book of Mormon in putting rest to the disputes of so many. We live in a world full of confusion and questions. I know that the Book of Mormon is true! It answers all of the questions of the soul and im grateful for such knowledge!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! 

New Investigator

My Backyard view

Cute little Calf's