Elder Parker Spanbauer: Week 51 Antofagasta

Feb 27, 2016

This week was so awesome for many reasons.... The first being that we got to watch a broadcast of Elder Bednar and it was so good. I have never learned so much in just 3 hours. He has inspired me to be a better missionary but more than just that, a better disciple of Christ. One thing he said that I really liked was that many times as members we have the tendency to ask in our prayers for things rather than ask how we can receive those things. It’s so true! I often find myself asking for miracles when really I should be praying to be able to recognize those opportunities when they come. I realized that when we pray, its not a simple thank you for, please bless...etc. Its what can I do to receive this blessing or better yet, I promise I will do everything in my power in order to receive this blessing. Faith requires action. He gave a classic example of this when we pray in sacrament that the people that weren't able to come can come the following week. This is a completely faithless prayer he said, because it requires nothing on our part. We are simply praying that those people will magically come the following week..... That does not work. He said we should be praying and promising that we, as members of the church will go to every single one of these people´s houses on our way home from church and ask why they weren't in church. He said what we should be praying for is that we don´t all go to the same house. hahaha. I really liked this example because it’s completely true... We need to pray with faith and with the determination that we will act in order to receive. Elder Bednar really helped me humble myself in this aspect. My invitation to you all is to pray with faith and with a willing heart to act on the answer you are given. Nephi did not murmur when he was instructed to build a boat... he prayed to know how he should make it and how he could obtain the tools to construct it. Joseph Smith did not just pray to know which church was true, he prayed to know which church he should join. These are two awesome examples of praying with and the desire to act. We have been having success in our sector. We found a guy named Alan and he is from Bolivia. He is one of the most humble guys I have ever met. When we contacted him in the street we shared a little bit of what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is. He was particularly interested in baptism. Later this week we had the opportunity to teach him and he is awesome! He accepted the invitation to be baptized. We still haven´t put a date with him yet but he is definitely prepared by the lord. We have been working a ton with members to obtain references. Yesterday we had a cool activity of talents. Every organization performed a dance. The priest´s quorum did a song from queen and it was soooo funny. The young men did back street boys. It was probably the coolest activity I have had in the mission. I seriously love the mission guys. I pray that you are all progressing as much as I am. I love sharing my testimony with you guys because it was something I never did before the mission. The office is going well. I haven't been too stressed so that’s good. I actually like the challenge of having to complete with my responsibilities in the office and in our sector at the same time. It’s a test of our faith. Many think that the elders in the office don’t baptize because they don’t have much time to work but that is completely false. Everything depends on ones dedication and consecration and trust in the lord. I love you all and I loved the photos and video you sent! hahaha Until next week!

Elder Parker Spanbauer