Hello
Everyone!
This
week was AWESOME! We had the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast and a
mission conference all in the same week! We'll start with the Missionary
Broadcast, since that happened first.
In the
missionary broadcast various general authorities gave training on different
aspects of missionary work. One that stood out most to me was given by...
well, this is embarassing. I don't remember the name of the Elder who
gave the training... Anyways, he taught that we should teach less active
or inactive members the same way that we teach investigators. In
meditating about that, I realized that at the core our goal with less active
members is the same that it is with investigators: to help them to feel the
Spirit. So it makes sense that we should teach them the same way.
Now, for
my favorite part: the mission conference. This week's mission conference
was presided by none other than Elder Quentin L. Cook of the Quorum of the
Twelve. Also present were Elder Adrian Ochoa of the Area Presidency and
Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy.
Various
topics were discussed, and powerful testimonies were shared. The email
title of this week comes from Elder Cook's message to us. He said
"You (the missionaries) are the message." He then explained
that we are the Lord's messangers, yes, but that we also are the message.
When we act in a manner that shows a Christlike attitude and a Christlike life
we become the message to the people.
To end
the conference, Elder Cook shared an experience about a college student who
asked him why the members of the Quorum of the Twelve aren't more direct with
their testimonies. Elder Cook explained that much of the testimony of an
apostle is sacred and personal, and that they do not feel that it is correct to
share such things with the world. He then added that he felt impressed to
be more direct with us, the missionaries of El Salvador. Elder Cook
shared a truly apostolic testimony with us. As I shared after President
Nelson visited us, the members of the Quorum of the Twelve are Apostles in
every sense of the word. They are witnesses of the divinity of Jesus Christ
every bit as much as Peter, James, John, and the rest of the original
Twelve. I know it, because the Holy Spirit of God has made it known unto
me, confirming and strengthening the testimony that I received a few short
months ago. For those who do not share my belief, I invite you to listen
to their talks from any session of General Conference. Ponder what they
say, study it, and ask God. He will tell you. I should know; He
told me.
Love,
Elder Colton West
El Salvador, San Salvador East Mission
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| I "borrowed" this hat from the husband of the sister that cooks for us. It's super cool! |
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| Another picture of Zona La Union |
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| A dead scorpion. Photo taken shortly after it stung me, and my companion killed it. This little guy got into my dirty laundry, and when I was washing socks I grabbed it by the tail, thinking it was a piece of grass. I realized what it was when I pulled it out of the water and it stung me in the thumb. The silver lining to this cloud is that the scorpion was already half-drowned, so it didn't inject very much venom. It still hurt though. |
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| A giant starfish. They live in the ocean down here. |
