Hey Family!
I don’t have a lot of time, due to some emergencies we
have to meet with president at 5 and we will be in a 3-some till tomorrow. This
week though was amazing! I am doing really well and I will be going through
some highlights of this past week.
1) The
Exchange that caused a Change.
So like you had heard, from my last letter, I went on
exchanges with the Assistants this past week. I was with Elder Robison in their
area. We had some amazing experiences and I learned so much. We talked a lot
about what we can do to help the Oakland Zone overcome some challenges. We then
had an amazing companionship study. We studied the same thing, not knowing in
our personal study and as we shared it in companionship study it was surprising,
but we knew the spirit had guided us. In that study we received some revelation
for an investigator on how to teach 2 people on different levels. We then went
to a district meeting.
While we were over there we stopped by the Visitor Center to
get some copies. As we were there Sister Thalman from Concord saw me and asked
if she could get a picture with me to send it to our MTC district
president. We had the same MTC district president so that was cool. We then
went to the district meeting and in that we did our accountability. As we did
so, one of the concerns of the sisters had to do with the revelation that we received
previously that morning. I shared that with them and they really liked it and
said that they would implement it into their area. For the district training,
we had an opportunity to receive revelation in our planning for finding new
investigators. Elder Robison and I prayed, and then were led through the area
book and found many names that we felt were those who we needed to visit.
The rest of the day until dinner we spent our time
contacting those people. I learned so much from his example. We talked at
dinner about his experience becoming an assistant. He was in the mission for 5
months and went from district leader to assistant. He is amazing. It was very
interesting to share and hear about our experiences. As we did, we found that
we had very similar experiences before we were called. That night we taught a
family in Spanish, which he still doesn’t speak because he was called in English.
After that, we went by some other people and taught one of their other
investigators with a date. We taught her about prayer and as we did so I
thought of a scripture to share with her and when I did she said, "Where
is that? I have been searching for a scripture that says just that." It
was really cool. I learned a lot from this Elder though and as we evaluated our
exchange I set some goals to teach, testify and then to invite. I felt like I
was getting on track to reaching my potential. I learned a lot and it was good
to be in that environment. I had some weird experiences and it felt like I had
been with him before and things. We had some amazing uplifting experiences.
That next day when I was back with Elder Bradford, I was on
fire. I feel like I am becoming who God wants me to be. We had an experience
teaching an investigator and I was having impressions to ask him questions to
truly find out what we wanted. He was explaining that he believed in God but he
just wasn’t sure and all that and so I felt the impression to just ask him,
"So if I understand correctly you want to truly know if God exists?"
When I asked that he got quite and looked at me and said yes. He said that he
believes in God but he really wants to know He actually exists.
2) The
Power and Authority of Our Calling.
Last Friday was full of priesthood power. After our weekly
planning, we were called to visit a less active member and to give him a blessing.
He was really struggling. We sat down with him and got into the highways and byways
of his situation and then administered him a blessing. The spirit was so strong
and it built my faith in the priesthood.
Right after that we drove to the
baptism of Elia Siegal Galvez in Concord. That was the most sweet experience
that I have ever had. I truly learned to grasp just a bit of the love our
Heavenly Father has for His children. I got there and she was so happy to see
me! When we took pictures together I just put my arm around Elder Brogyay and I
was telling him how proud I was for him. I was so happy to see him so happy. It
made it even better when he was the one baptizing. That was his first baptism
in the mission and the first for him to do. He was so happy and it made me so
warm inside. The baptism went perfect. The best part was when sister Elia
Siegal was asked to share her testimony. She began 25 years ago with her
experiences of Mormon missionaries always showing up to her home no matter
where she moved to. She said that she was given two copies of the Book of Mormon
in English and in Spanish and at nights when life was tough she would pray to
God and ask for help and would have the impression to open the book of Mormon.
She would do so and recieve the exact answer she was looking for. She then said
that the day we knocked on the door she was so happy to see us. She said that
the first contact she had with us that day we found her she felt the spirit so
strong. She explained that she felt bad for having talked the whole first
lesson, but she said that she was so impressed that we just listened to her.
She thanked me for doing so. It was funny though because she said that when we
were leaving she heard me say in English, "Oh my head hurts." She
speaks English, but it was funny to hear that because I had no clue that she
heard me. She said she felt bad but laughed. I was just sitting in that baptism
so happy! Her conversion story is so powerful.
We then returned to Oakland and went over to the husbands of
our investigators who he is a member. We gave him a blessing of health and the
spirit was again there and was so strong. On the way home in the car I just
told Elder Bradford how amazing it is to see the power and authority of our
calling. Its real!
3) Stake
Conference
We had stake conference this week which was interesting, but
amazing! I want to write Holly about this, but still haven’t
had time to do a letter. We had a stake conference on building Zion in Northern
California. They said that establishing Zion is a pre-requisite for the
second coming of the Savior. Elder Perry spoke of how we are to build
Zion: 1) We are to be united in heart and in mind. We first must be united
personally with God before we can be united with our fellowman. 2) We are
to dwell in Righteousness. Just as the people of Enoch. 3) We are to have no
poor among us. Being Self-reliant The principle of the law of consecration. This
talk just got me to my core. This is my stuff!!! It made me feel a little trapped and wanting to come home and
get to work on step 3 of “No poor among them”. I felt though as he mentioned this,
that this was a part of my my purpose here on earth. It was a very special
moment for me.
We then had a special missionary conference meeting that
morning with all the stake. My companion spoke in it with President Lineger the
second counselor of President Meredith and also the stake president. They spoke
of the new stake mission plan and their vision of working in unity as stakes,
wards and missionaries. We then were talked to by the stake president and
President Lineger and invited to attend the stake correlation this next Thursday
with President Meredith, the stake and with Elder Packer ( an Area 70) We are
really excited for that and I am also excited to learn. That night we slaved
away on the stake reports. We had our indicator calls which we did in the
mission home starting at 9:30. Those didn’t finish till 11:30 and till 12:30 we
did the stake reports which needed to be sent to the stake presidency by this
morning. I am actually not that tired it was really cool to do the papers and
reports. A lot of work though. These are pictures of us doing indicator calls and our stake reports.
I am feeling really good and I am learning a lot. I feel
like I am finally on track to reaching my potential. I have a lot to go and I
have a lot of changing and maturing to do but if it is the Lords will I will do
it. Something that I have also learned is from Elder Bednar is that the only
thing we can give the father and the only thing He wants from us is our agency.
He wants us to give Him everything and if we do so we will be more free than
before. That is something I am working toward but it is a lifelong pursuit.
The bishop of my ward in Oakland.
Thanks Family,
Elder Hill
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