happy 19 months, jake!

happy 19 months, jake :)

in honor of that, i want to post his last letter.

i don't usually post his letters on my blog, but it's probably his most powerful letter yet.

enjoy.

Hey Family!!

Manuel was baptized last Saturday. We ended up filling the font a little low because we thought that because of his weight the water would rise.. It was exactally the opposite, the water didn´t rise. We turned the hot water knob on in the baptisimal font hoping that it would fill up rapidly. Manuel weighs a little under 400 lbs, so we put two chairs for him to sit on. It ended up that about half of his body was out of the water, so we resorted to the ¨Sunbeam Chairs¨, the chairs that the sumbeamers use. This made life easier, the first time he was baptized his leg was sticking out, we had to have him cross his legs the second time.. and after the second time he was completely submurged. He recieved the Holy Ghost yesterday in Sacrament meeting, after the branch president confirmed him as member of the church .. we shook his hands and he was crying because he knew for sure that he was in the right place and he made the right decision.

It´s such a ¨Pay Day¨ seeing someone make a covenant with God, seeing someone recieve the Holy Ghost. God has people prepared for each missionary, our job is to find them.

This week I´ve read Acts chapter 5 quite a few times. The following below is a story.

 1  But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, ^asold a possession,

 2   And ^akept back ^bpart of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain ^cpart, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

 3   But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to ^alie to the Holy Ghost, and to ^bkeep back part of the price of the land?

 4   Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not ^alied unto men, but unto ^bGod.

 5   And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and ^agave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.

 6   And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.

 7   And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

 8   And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.

 9   Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to ^atempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

 10   Then fell she down ^astraightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.

In this story we learned that the portion that Ananias and Sapphira payed wasn´t sufficent. In this case they were talking about Tithing, or a Offering. We can apply this also to ourselves and to the church.. Are we really giving the ammount of time, and the ammount of service that god expects from us in our callings? Are we really paying 10% of all of our income?  As a missionary this applies to us also, are we really putting in the effort that God expects from us, or are we putting in less that God expects from us?

God’s vision of missionary work has been shared with his prophets. They see the same opportunity that He does.

President Spencer W. Kimball once said, “If you could only see the vision I have. I wish I had your bodies to do this work. I would run from house to house telling everyone of the gospel, and after I lost strength to run I would begin to walk, and after I collapsed from walking, I would begin to crawl, and after my knees were so bloody that I could not use them I would use my arms to drag myself, and once my muscle in my body was gone I would begin to yell…oh, only if you could see the vision as I have.”

We need to also apply this to us as members of the church. Are we really doing all that we can so that everyone can have the blessings of the restored gospel in their lives? Are we really preaching and standing as a witness of the restored church in all times and all places? God only expects the best out of us, the best effort and the best enthusiam in doing his work.

 Missionary Work changes lives. We don´t need to have a Plack to be a ¨Missionary¨. The Lord’s plan of happiness is purposely designed to give each recipient greater peace, direction, and purpose in life.

“The gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the prophet Joseph Smith will bless your family, fulfill your deepest desires and meet your spiritual needs,” Preach My Gospel. This promise is certainly true for all investigators. But it is equally true for all who get involved in missionary work.

“We care because the Lord, who knows the source of all happiness, has asked us to do [missionary work] and has assured us blessings and happiness and joy if we will do it. We care because when we share the gospel with others, we unavoidably get outside of ourselves; we think and pray and work for the blessing of others, and this only further enriches and quickens us by the Holy Spirit. The list of byproducts to ourselves is endless – growth in our testimonies, growth in our knowledge of the gospel, growth in our faith, more answered prayers. The eternal truth is: that which we willingly share, we keep; and that which we selfishly keep to ourselves, we lose.” President Thomas S. Monson, Oct. 1977.

I love you all, have a wonderful Memorial Day.. I forgot it was Memorial Day by the way!

Love, Elder Hillman :)