GIVE SPECIFIC BLESSING ACCORDING TO THEIR NEEDS

March 20, 2016

Family,

Mom - Our Heritage is great. I haven't read Jesus the Christ or Our Search for Hapiness yet. One of the things that Elder Stevensen said that you could use when giving the Book of Mormon away is promising specific blessings that would be relevant to the person and their circumstances. Often times I and other missionaries get into the rut of saying, "I know that doing this will bless your life." We forget to tell them how it will bless their life. It is much more powerful if you give them specific blessings according to their needs.

I forgot March Madness is going on. That is sweet there were a lot of upsets. Everytime I come to emails I remember a lot of things that happened in previous weeks, but it seems like as soon as we are done emailing, I forget everything till Monday again. Kind of weird.

Amazing tender mercy this week was with Zheng DX. He came to church. It seems like we have been teaching him forever and we were considering dropping him next lesson until exchanges. Elder Copley (our district leader) was with Elder Darrington and was amazed at how far Zheng DX has come when reading over the Teaching Record. He really has improved a ton. We just haven't realized it because it has been so slow. At first he wouldn't pray, with us or alone, or read the scriptures. Now he gives amazing prayers in the lessons and prays consistantly (sorry for spelling)  at home. He also read the scriptures often. Now he is coming to church.

We decided to help Chen DX's son (Roy) with english homework maybe once a week because now he won't meet with us and is very busy with work. 

Chen JM with the baptismal date has disappeared, not too uncommon unfortunately. We finally contacted her after a few weeks of no contact and she just told us that she has no time to meet or come to church.

Zou JM has been in Mainland this past week. Liu DX has also mysteriously stopped answering and meeting with us. Nothing else too new.

This week I made some cool discoveries that we have been playing around with lately. You can sing the lyrics of #29 to the tune of  #136 and vice versa. Also #7,26,335, O my father, and Come thou Fount, all are interchangeable. Kind of fun.

Stake Conference was yesterday. It was awesome. Elder Nielson of the Seventy came and taught us both in Priesthood meeting and in the general session. He started the meeting by having us read from D&C 43:8 and reminded us we are to act. He then had us turn to 2 Nephi 2:14 and pointed out that there were 2 creations. Agents to act and objects to be acted upon. He told us that every one of God's creations are to be acted upon, except us. He reminded us of the War in Heaven and how the battle was over agency. He told us that Satan is trying everything he can to make us objects to be acted upon instead of agents who act. He said, "one of Satan's greatest tesmptations is for us to sit and do nothing." He pulled out his phone. He said, do you think mindlessly playing games and doing nothing on this is God's plan, No. That's not God's plan. That's Satan's plan. God's plan is that we are agents who act, not objects that are acted upon. He then turned us to James 1:22. He gave some reasons why people might have come to Stake Conference and said, but if thought you were coming here to only hear and not do, you are being deceived.

It reminded me of John 5:6 with the the man at the pool of Bethesda. In our trials or whatever we are doing, the Savior is asking us, Will thou be made whole? It's up to us. We need to act.

I'll share some other great things I learned in recordings cause I am out of time. Lets make sure we always improve the shining moments and bid Babylon's lie to sit and do nothing away, let's go to the mountains of Ephraim to dwell.

Love,

Elder Stratford

Pic of me bowling last week taken from Elder Herzog's camera.


exchanges with Elder Cornilles

Elder Darrington and I.

The other 3 elders and elder darrington in our apartment really wanted everyone to wear glasses today, so I am wearing Elder Dai's. They are no prescription glasses.

new haircut