Week 64... Patience.

Hello everyone. Another week in paradise. We are having a great time here in Kabankalan. We are finding a lot of people and working with the ward. Things are going great, however the work hasn't beep progressing as much as we would like it to. I know that it's not coming as fast as I would like it to. A good lesson that I've been trying to learn, and Heavenly Father has been trying to teach me is patience. Something we all can learn to be better at. We forget why we do things. We don't realize that sometime we do things people do like, but we lose patience with them. We forget the real reason why we go to a shooting tournament. We lose sight of the most important things.

Patience is a virtue that we must all have, especially one with another. However it is difficult when we live in a place that serves you a burger in 5 minutes. It starts making patience a bit harder to have. Lets think for a second. What is patience? Lets start with the root word. Patient=bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint, not hasty, steadfast despite opposition. Those are the dictionary's definition. We learn the with patience comes trials. There would be no need for patience without a trial.

Last night Elder Jensen and I had the experience about patience. We have an investigator who has been taught many many times and knows the doctrines. She comes to church each week and follows the law of tithing, chastity and wisdom. However, she hasn't been able to be baptized because her father wont allow her to. Well she asked herself and us. Why? Why can't I be baptized, why wont my father let me? Etc etc. She asked herself why wont the Lord make a way for it to happen?

Well I shared with her my experience of asking myself why when my mother was put in the hospital and I got a call from home. We shared with her Isaiah 55:8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither my ways your ways thus saith the Lord" The Lord gives us challenges, burdens, trials and everything else so that we can learn and grow. I have often asked myself why did mom get a brain tumor? Especially while on my mission. I still dont know the answer, but I do know that had I not been on the mission at the time of it happening her progress may not be where it is. All I know is there is a plan. All I know is that God is teaching us as we come across our "stumbling blocks" each day and week. And our trials are not burdens, they are blessings. It's Gods way of showing us our weakness so that we can make our next step to perfection. Patience is the key to moving through our trials and afflictions.

Let us all be patient in afflictions. Let us all be patient when we don't have what we want when we want it. Let the Lord test our patience daily in all aspects of life. Work, shooting, school, missionary work, family life, hospitals, and the list goes on. Let us see the big picture of what the Lord is teaching us and what his plan is for us. I know that We are his children and he is teaching us to become like him and even better than him. Just as a father would teach his child the better ways of the world. He loves us and cares for us. Lets remember the hymn. "Fear not I am with thee o be not dismayed for I am thy God and will still give thee aid. I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand upheld by my righteous omnipotent hand"
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-Elder Heaton

Philippines Bacolod Mission