To Walk On Water, You Have To Get Out of The Boat

Weekly questions from home. The elder responds in his email:

Q1. Are you in need of anything at this time?

A1. Nope.

Q2. Have you received Uncle Pati's letter/email? Aunty G is resending it.

A2. I did receive it, thanks. I'll write the 'commander of the army' in Sandy :)

Q3. Did you receive the box (w/white dress shirts for elder Perez and Moodie, Royal BYU shirt for you, and gospel talks on DVD)?

A3. I did thank you. They were very thankful and very touched.

Q4. How did your talk assignment go in Stake conference? Was it on Sunday or Saturday? Did the Pres and sister Harding, missionaries, zones attend? We thought about you all week/weekend.

A4. I'll answer in my letter (below).

Q5. Who can we pray for this week in our personal and family prayers?

A5. J.L., the Elders seem to be making progress with her. Additionally, we have added 2 sets of sister' companionship's in the Whitewater ward so we have 6 missionaries for this very divine woman.

Peter, trusting in the Lord, said "Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto
thee on the water." And Jesus said, "Come," as He ALWAYS says to his disciples.

Wow so true! GOTTA GET YOUR FEET WET, GOTTA CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN, GIVE ME THIS MOUNTAIN! This principle of stepping outside of our comfort zone and relying on the Savior is incredible. Let me share with you an experience that just happened in the Whitewater Ward demonstrating this.

Elder Perez and Elder Moodie Fayetteville Zone Leaders Photocred: GAM

B. a recent convert was a disfellowshipped Jehovah's Witness, who for 25 years did not feel worthy to pray and talk with God. The past 25 years she said "I hated waking up in the morning." During this long period of time, "I prayed that I would not wake up in the morning." Everyday so terrified of a life filled with guilt and shame, she never went outside, EVER. One day she felt a prompting to go outside to work in her flowerbed. When she did, Elder Perez & Elder Moodie (Fayetteville zone leaders) who earlier that morning prayerfully planned out their day and with great faith went out on the rescue stepping outside their comfort zone after noticing B. started a conversation. This inspired meeting was 4 weeks ago. During this first contact the Elders quickly invited her to come to the Savior and be baptized by the Authority that has been restored to the Earth. 2 weeks ago B. was baptized. Her sins and burdens she carried for the last 25 years were removed from her. She literally feels that she is a daughter of God. B. rejoices and has a completely different outlook on life now that she is a member of the church and can partake of the Sacrament at church, something she looks forward to each week. "I'm stronger this week..to do what I wasn't strong enough to do last week..and the last 25 years." THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN TELL ME THE GOSPEL IS NOT TRUE, THIS IS HIS CHURCH! B. went and did baptisms for the dead at the Atlanta temple with the Fayetteville Zone this last week. WE CANT AFFORD TO MISS PEOPLE LIKE B.!!! IT'S NOT AN OPTION! People will not likely change unless they are INVITED to do so...that is why we are here upon this earth and blessed with the Gospel, to INVITE people to Come Unto the Savior. Think of it this way...If the Savior stood in front of you, what would he tell you? I would imagine it would go something like this...."Go and talk to that person or this person and first, let them know that you represent me; second, let them know of my love for them; third, invite them to follow me and be baptized so that I can help them!"

I was the first speaker in the Sunday general session of the Georgia Fayetteville Stake Conference. The conference was broadcast to the 5 other buildings here in the Fayetteville stake. It was a neat experience for me as I feel so much love for President Parker, Brother Griffiths (High Councilman over missionary work), and the saints here. What was really cool is that I had a whole week at the temple to prepare spiritually. When Sunday rolled around I found I had so many great things to share yet I didn't know what of these was needing to be shared most...all I knew was that I had been EXACTLY OBEDIENT. I went up with just my scriptures to speak and all of a sudden the Lord put into my mouth (D&C 33:8) what was the most important message to get across to the people.  It was a powerful stake conference the theme of each meeting was the "Hastening of the Work." 

A little interesting perspective on the Fayetteville Zone. When I arrived here a-year-and-a-half ago...this was the zone that nobody wanted to go to. Fayetteville and surrounding communities has a high concentration of affluence, many whom are set in their ways. Let me just testify to you that this is flat-out COUNTERFEIT thinking employed by Satan and those who would follow him! He wants the members and the missionaries to think that the work of salvation is impossible or simply too hard here! Rather than take that view, we must rely on what the Lord has said! The Lord said in the Doctrine and Covenants (section 4), "THE FIELD IS WHITE ALREADY TO HARVEST." In the Lord's vineyard, there are no terrible or give-up-on areas. Fayetteville is now the highest performing zone in our mission with nearly 60 missionaries. They are hoping to finish off the month with 35 baptisms. A year ago it would have been out of the question to think that they could achieve more than 6 in one month?! The Lord is Hastening his WORK!!!

 

How Faith Correlates With Works

Let me close with an invitation to contact the full-time missionaries and ask them if they have any investigators that can be taught in our home and volunteer to bring an investigator to church if they go to our ward..I promise that if you will do this the powers of heaven will be brought down even more abundantly in your lives..great missionaries make more opportunities than they find. GOTTA GET YOUR FEET WET RIGHT?!

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is His church. There is no other church that He is at the head of. Keep Climbing! We are all enlisted 'til the conflict is o'er Happy are We!

Love, Elder Gautavai