Monday April 28, 2014

This week has been a roller coaster of stuff, The work is going well. We are main focusing on having member present lessons and we were able to meet our goal of 8 which was nice to see. We have several people who are progressing well to baptism, and it seems as soon as someone starts too they get bombarded my Satan's influence. That is why it is so important that they are able to meet with the missionaries, read their scriptures and pray each and every day. Satan's power is real and he is out there and anytime any of us put our guard down he will strike. If there is one thing I can solidly testify from what I have learnt so far on my mission is how strong Satan is, and how persistent he is in stopping this work from going forth. I tell us all this so I can help strengthen us all from his power. I know I still have a long way to come and I allow contention to come in, but as we slow it down and talk about how we feel with each other as well as share our thoughts and feelings with each other it'll help all of us become strong and be the rock that does not get washed away. Just like in Helaman 5:12 we must build our foundation on Christ and if our foundation is on Christ we cannot fall. He is our Anchor and as stated by President Uchtdorf we must consistently and often Doubt our doubts before doubting our faith. I know that if we take the time to stop and think we will have a greater control on our actions and eventhough I don't like not talking that silence is key and is very important especially in a disagreement.


My week this week was good, On Easter Monday we were able to have a good P-Day, we wanted to go to the zoo, but unfortunately didn't get the chance to do so, so instead we went to a Leprechaun museum. I know it sounds funny, and it is but it had a giant's room, which was so fun to climb around on. It was us( Baldoyle Elders), Finglas elders and the Rathgar sisters, so it was alot of fun.
We had a fun time eventhough alot of the day was wasted from travelling to things and them not be open. But I enjoyed myself. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to spend my P-days with other missionaries I know I won't have the priviledge to do that for my whole mission, so I am enjoying it for the time being. After the Leprechaun museum we went to a member's house, they were from Nigeria and fed us some kind of interesting food where we used our hands to eat it. I will show you a picture after. The church was absolutely genious with the Easter message this year, I love how intooned the church is with technology and the stuff going on around us.


On Tuesday, We did what we do every Tuesday and we were able to do some 12 weeks meet up with our district recieve instruction and then go to the Oconnors house it was awesome. I love being able to visit with them each week they are very loving. Afterwards we were able to have a lesson for the first time with just one of the investigators that usually comes with her friend so that was nice to  be able to tailor it specifically to her needs.


On Wednesday, We had three member present lessons which was nice and it was nice to get done what we needed, unfortunately I was bed ridden for the first half of the day and forced myself out of bed for 5 so we could go to our lesson. Fortunately though for us the other elders in our ward had nothing planned until 5 so they went on splits with us so we could still accomplish all that we needed to that day.

On Thursday, We were able to continue to volunteer at the community garden, which is always really fun and I love it. I got to learn how to use a garden How to remove weeds and make it look nice and learn about composting as well. We also had a few people ask us about our church and we were able to share some things about it. They took lots of pictures but I can't find where they are I was told they were online but don't know where they are.

On Friday we were able to help a family with some service which was nice I got to hack away at some bushes. We were then fed Plantines, which were really tasty as well. After that we came back home and went to visit an investigator, the lesson went very well and it was nice to see them we see these two investigators three times a week which is nice. We then had our first English class it was interesting, Elder McCarthy got them all to say will you show us your dance moves to me so I had to dance for them. I did a bit of charleston dancing. It was alot of fun and a good experience, We have alot of people from Venezuela, Mexico and Brazil.

On saturday, we were able to be at a member's house with an investigator which was really awesome , we are so glad that she is starting to find friends and we are planning on doing another one this Saturday, we just need to ask the member. After that we were able to volunteer for CARI, which is children at risk Ireland, so we were able to help them raise almost 1000 euro in the 4 2 hour shifts we all took with the church as a helping hands project which was alot of fun. That evening I had a feeling about something so I commented and my companion went to check if our investigator had e-mailed us and based on my impression we found he wasn't able to meet that night. It is nice when the Lord is able to bless us with opportunities as simple as that to strengthen your faith.

Sunday was usual Sunday.

This Monday we had a new thing called zone development. It was fun but depressing as well, I felt some of the things were fun and others were boring but it was nice to see everybody from our zone.


This week I have alot going on, I have two exchanges one with a brand new greeny so I will get to strengthen my teaching because I don't usually get to say too much but I will have to here and one with a fellow Canadian who is the district leader, we all have different styles and it is nice to get a break from your own companion and also nice to experience other people's styles.

Well have a great week I love you all.


- Elder James Reece