Sunday, January 18, 2015

A Wallaby & A Weekly E-mail



 Hello, Dear Friends and family!! I love you all dearly! you are fantastic.
 It has been a good week. We have taken ALL the formers out of the 2 area books we have and organized them into suburbs. We are now going and visiting every one and leaving our mark, if you will, on the area book. We are excited. Bishop also met with us yesterday and pointed us in the right direction with some of the less-actives and what he wants and is okay with us doing. FANTASTIC!!! Miracle! ha. One of the people he wanted us to visit is a nice woman who lives alone with a yard to literally fades into the bush-land. So she has wallabies that come visit her! ha. For those of you that are unaware, a wallaby is a small kangaroo (in a nut shell). Not literally in a nutshell... but you get the point! how fun. She feeds them! probably nicer and cuter than the other animals that show up looking for a feed *cough*cough*  missionaries! *cough*cough*. ha. I thought I would include a picture for you to laugh at. ha. they are so funny... with their little hands. Like little people that hop around. ha. We have also decided that once a week we are going to try some of the restaurants around Hornsby. So last week we got some sweet curry, this week we got some nice pizza. We chose this certain pizza-place because the it had a big Ferrari logo painted on the wall on the inside. ha. I wanted to get a picture.. but it was too crowded inside. Sorry dad! ha. maybe next week... Anyway the pizza was good! Enjoyed it. As I hope you enjoy the picture of Elder Nathan and said Pizza! ha. On to what this week  has taught me and vicariously you...
    This week in my daily reading of Preach My Gospel I have been going through chapter 2: Effective study. It seemed to be repeating itself and hammering the fact that the Holy Ghost is the way we receive all knowledge and can even "Know the truth of all things" through the Holy Ghost. It was great to think about as beginning my personal study I have been reading my Patriarchal blessing. As I ponder my life (and my Mission) I can see a few different ideas and paths, even paths I was on before my mission. While the spirit is there I realized I could actually see far down the track and what impact various decisions would have and Generally how my Mission or life would result. The spirit helps us to lift our vision and even see much beyond what we can see through or natural man eyes or natural man pondering. The spirit truly helps us answer deep, personal, and greatly important questions. The scriptures are right again! The spirit CAN, indeed, show us the Truth of all things.
     I am studying Preach My Gospel everyday in personal study and doing all the study activities. My capacity to teach and understand doctrine has been greatly increased! My studies are more spiritual and I get much out of them. I am starting to understand on another level what it means to Teach as Jesus taught, or to be as Jesus is. I can see how he teaches and what he taught those who would listen. Once again I quote a great example as a missionary, Elder Leneham said to me once: "As missionaries we have so many resources we don't even know about!" I did know about Preach My Gospel. I did know we are supposed to study from it often if not daily, I just didn't like to. Now, I feel as Jynx in the Preach my Gospel videos "you'd think would've told me this sooner. You've all been saying it and I just haven't been listening." I feel as if I just found a resource I didn't know I had. Not really teaching as Jesus taught... but a good thing to share regardless.
     One thing about the Mission that is strengthening my testimony is working with the People and working with myself. I could not have imagined upon entering the MTC how I could now see the Atonement work. In the people we teach lives and in my own life especially. The Atonement is the power purify us. The power to cleanse us. The power to humble us. The power to change us. The power improve us. the power to SAVE us. Save us from sin, confusion, doubt, guilt, and personal inadequacy. And fill us with Power, confidence, gratitude, humility, faith, peace, joy, and all other gifts from the god the Spirit can bring. My mission has highly increased my testimony of the atonement, by working with others and by working with Christ to change me.
I LOVE you ALL!!! Thank you for all you do and all your prayers. I am grateful for your role in my life. All of you. Thank you!
   Love,
Elder Ford

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