This week was very successful for the Kakata missionaries! The progression of this amazing city is just incredible! Here's my report for the week...
On Wednesday, we had our last interview with President Clark. I figured it would be the best time to answer the following 4 questions he had asked us to think about in his last weekly email the day after Father's Day. I was very happy to write down my feelings about each question and President was pleased with my answers.
The first question was the easiest... "What are some important principles your mortal father has taught you?" Anyone who knows my dad also knows that he is a faithful man who loves God, his family, and his country. If I were to add another I'd say his favorite NBA team:) My father has taught me that God comes first which includes loving and serving family, friends, and even strangers. He has taught me to be positive when everything seems negative. He leads by example and kindness. I love my dad and these are only a small portion of the many great principles he continues to teach me as I try my best to follow his profound example.
The 2nd question was, "What's the most important lesson we are teaching to build stronger fathers in Liberia?" For me the answer is easy. What's the role of the Father? The father plays an important role in the Family unit which is God's favorite thing. The Family is crucial and central to God's plan. My answer is the Law of Chastity because it protects the Family and since the father has the responsibility of not only obeying the law but also to teach it to his children.... It's important and even compulsory that he understands and lives it. My answer is the exact same for mothers. The Law of Chastity is the most important lesson we are teaching future and current parents(The head of the family).
My answer to the 3rd question, "How are you preparing yourself to become a strong father?" is this.... I'm on a mission. I am learning and understanding truths that I don't think I would've learned back home. Truths that teach me to be more patient, humble, diligent, charitable, obedient, and kind which I'm sure is a great set of attributes to have as a father! I know that while I'm here, the Lord is shaping me to become what he needs me to become. I wish to become an actor, a talk show host, and a director but above all... My biggest dream is to become a father of a big happy and faithful family. There are many reasons why I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary but a massive one is because being on mission prepares me for the rest of my life, especially to one day become a father.
The 4th question... "What do you understand about the Father of your spirit?" There's a lot I know and there's a lot I don't yet know about this subject. I do however know what I need to know. The Father of my spirit is the Father of everyone's spirit which would make us all brothers and sisters. The Father of our spirit is our Heavenly Father and he loves us more than any mortal parent ever could. His love is perfect and too grand to fully comprehend. Because He loves us, He sent His only begotten Son to come down to earth and atone for the sins of all mankind. The Savior's infinite atonement ensures that through repentance...we can all return to live with our Father in Heaven. Because He loves us, He gave us a body, a Savior, and a path that'll lead to Eternal Life with Him, Jesus Christ, and our loved ones. The most important thing that I understand about the Father of our spirits is this... He loves us. This infinite truth when understood will cause us to more diligently follow Him and trust His Eternal plan of happiness.
Most of my answers to these questions couldn't have been answered prior to my mission experiences. When I think of all that I've learned in just one year... I'm amazed at how much knowledge can be gained when we chose to follow and serve the Lord. This is why I'll never stop encouraging my friends to go on missions:)
On the 22nd, we had a wonderful baptism service for Marie, Chris, and 2 of the zone leader's candidates. Something was wrong with the generator so the font was unable to pump a lot of water. Poor Elder Dube had to baptize in water that didn't even reach his knees!!! If there's a will.... There's a way:) Each candidate stood for the prayer and then sat in the water while Elder Dube laid them back to fully immerse them. It's honestly so special to see how the Church works it's way around the difficulties of Liberia. Unfortunately, one of our candidates was unable to be baptized because his mother last minute changed her mind and didn't approve. He was all dressed, excited and ready which made it very hard to tell him he'd need to wait. My heart ached for this faithful young man who desired to be baptized. I promised him that I would try my very hardest to teach his mother and change her mind about his baptism.
It's common for the children in Liberia to be more faithful than the parents. If you ask me.... In most cases, the children are the true pioneers here!! I know a small girl no older than 6 who enjoyed going to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints even though her mom had her own church she would attend each Sunday. After many failed attempts to convince her mom to come to church with her just once...this faithful and fearless little girl chose to not eat her food until her mom promised to go to church with her the following Sunday! This she did haha! What happened next? Well, after 1 month of missionary discussions and coming to know which church was true... The mom was baptized and is now one of the strongest sisters I've met here in Liberia. All this because a little girl wanted her loved ones to taste the sweetness of the fruits she loved. I absolutely love this story and it stands as a witness to me of the unique faithfulness of the children of Liberia.
This is my report! I hope you enjoy! Love you all:)
