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Showing posts from August, 2017

Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 44

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Elder LaHue and Thato Mohapi President Thomas S. Monson - "Success is preceded by tears, trials, trust, and testimony." President Gordon B. Hinckley - Work will win when wishy-washy wishing won't." This week was filled with conferences. First we had zone conference  on Friday . The theme was "The Divine Companionship" of the Holy Ghost. We learned all about how to invite the Spirit into our work and receive guidance from our Heavenly Father. It was probably the most uplifting conference I have ever been a part of! I spoke about how obedience invites the Holy Ghost into our work. My favorite talk was given by Elder Dransfield (one of the senior couple missionaries). He spoke about how his mission helped influence the rest of his life. It was very powerful and made me realize the impact that these two years will have on the rest of my life. For lunch the Dransfields provided Chinese food!! On Saturday  and  Sunday  we had District Conferen...

Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 43

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Every week I look at the number of weeks I have been out and wonder where the time has gone.. how have I been out 43 weeks?! I had a valuable lesson learned in setting goals with faith. Each week, Elder Hinnen and I set goals for how many people who have a date set for baptism, how many investigators come to church, and other things. Sometimes they are just empty numbers, but this week I really tried to make sure I was doing everything I can to achieve these goals. And lo and behold, every goals we set was accomplished! We had 8 investigators at church and 7 people agree to be baptized in September. Maybe all the Lord wanted me to do was ask. Joy. That is what I have been studying lately. Elder Hinnen made this comment "happiness is better than pleasure, and joy is better than happiness". I have noticed that in the scriptures, those who have joy are those who are more concerned about others. Here is an example of Ammon from the Book of Mormon:  ...

Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 42

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Thetsane Chapel Sacrament attendance went up to 45!!  We are getting there slowly but surely. We had 2 potential Melchizedek Priesthood holders there! One's name is Manyane, who is a 24 year old guy. The other is named Pheello, who happens to be related to the 1st counselor in the branch presidency! Both of them seemed to enjoy church, and I think we gained some more trust from the elder's quorum because of it. We have been seeing many tender mercies each day, usually 3-4. We are putting people on B-Date each week! We should put at least 2 more this week. Elder Hinnen is still learning really fast and yesterday we taught our best lesson together so far. This guy named Hlompho gave a very sincere prayer at the end, asking to know if the message we shared is true. I know he will get an answer soon! I had the opportunity to go on exchanges twice this week, where we swap companions for a day. It is an excellent opportunity to teach and learn. On Saturday I went to...

Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 41

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Elder Hinnen Busy week!! We have been very productive this week. Mainly we have been working closely with the new branch presidency. We presented an idea for a branch fireside about missionary work that we would teach. They are on board with it and it should happen in September! A big struggle we are facing is church attendance. Yesterday there were 34 people there, an all time low. During the week we are going to go out with President Makutoane to track down priesthood holders and invite them back to church. We need them desperately. At the end of each day Elder Hinnen and I add to a list of tender mercies we made. A tender mercy can be defined as a unique spiritual experience we have during our day. It has helped me to ponder the blessings that God gives me and be more thankful for them. I had the opportunity to do 3 baptismal interviews yesterday. There is something special about being able to talk with people who are ready to make this covenant with Heavenly Fat...

Maseru, Lesotho Area - Week 40

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Elder Hinnen My son's name is Elder Hinnen! He came from Missouri, but lived in Oklahoma for high school. He is 18 years old. He is very mature, we have been getting along well and he is a prepared missionary. Also he'll be joining me at BYU after his mission. Teaching him has been a blessing!! We have been working hard, finding and teaching many new people. The potential for growth here in Lesotho will increase as we continue to be obedient and work hard. Here is his blog:  elderhinnen.blogspot.com History was made this Sunday: The Maseru Branch split was official! We had a 3 hour meeting and 3 new branch presidents were called. We are officially the Khubetsoana Branch, under the newly called President Makutoane. I am so happy about this, President is an awesome guy and I have known him for about 5 months. We are on the same page for missionary work and the progress here is going to skyrocket!! Alma  12:37  - "And now, my brethren, seeing we know t...