My dear family,
What a week. I can't believe how fast it went by. It is so great to be a missionary. Good work everyone. In a few words, if the Russell family is not working, studying, raising a family, or fulfilling a church calling, it means that they have died. I will never forget the talk by a young man in the 6th ward who said that the church doesn't have a symbol like a cross. There is the honey bee if you insist. He made a joke that the only honey bees that he had ever seen were either working or dead. It makes me think of my family :)
Well I am super pumped to be a missionary right now. I am completing the prophecies of Troy who said that the missionaries really begin to work when they have a year in the mission. I feel this way right now. I am beginning to understand how to find families in the mission field. It is so much better when you teach a family. We are teaching some 12 families right now with another 5 that we already have appointments the following week. WHOO! When a family learns and accepts the Gospel, they strengthen one another and they work to enter in the temple. There is nothing better than that. I am very anxious to hear from some of my converts in Amilcingo as they will be ready to enter into the temple as families in January. My goal as a missionary is to help unify as many families as possible.
This week has been a week filled with revelation and life changing lessons. I learned this week that the success of any endeavor consists in 3 things; the basics, your diligence, and your ability to do it when you don´t want to do it. I realized that I am always trying to reinvent the wheel. I don´t have to. God has already revealed His Gospel to His prophets. I just have to master the basics, be diligent, and work when it is hard. This week an excellent example of this for me. My companion has always helped me with this. He always quotes the movie Glory Road in which the coach says that we master the basics because more than that is dangerous. I want to baptize. How can I do that? God has already explained how. I just have to master the principles of how, do it, and stick to it always. It has been a life lesson for sure.
We are preparing a baptism of a girl Luz this Friday. We are very excited. We have others that we are teaching so that they can be baptized the following weeks.
I want to share with you a very basic formula of how to do the work of salvation. To bring people to Christ through baptism, you need to present them to the missionaries. To help others to become active again, you need to bring them to church and present them to the bishop. To help them stay active, you need to present them to the members. That´s all. It's really simple but it will bring more joy and happiness in your life than you can imagine. I have my personal goals to do everything I can so that I can do that with those who I know. There is no greater joy. And with what end in mind? The temple. My life´s goal is to say hey, look at my awesome eternal family and all of those whom I played a part so that they could have the same. That´s all. My life in a nutshell. I am a very simple member of the Church of Jesus Christ. But I am super happy. Remember, stay to the basics because more than that is dangerous.
The Lord calls us to do His work. He is capable to bring about His purposes without us but He calls us to find joy in being part of His work. There is no greater work. If you are reading this letter and you are not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, contact the missionaries and be baptized. If you are a member but you don´t feel super strong, talk to the bishop and do what he tells you. If you see a new member of the Church, present yourself and invite him over for dinner. I promise you that the Lord will touch your heart and you will feel of His love. As the prophet Alma said in Alma 31:35 "Behold, their souls are precious, oh Lord, and many of them are our brothers; therefore, grant us, oh Lord, power and knowledge so that we can bring them, our brothers, again to thee." I offer the same prayer to my God. I know He answers the prayers of those with humble hearts. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Love,
Elder Russell
