Week 28

Hello Family!

I sure hope that you all have a great week! 

Lately things have honestly been pretty slow with finding those that are prepared to receive the gospel, but that is not slowing us down in our efforts to find! We are determined to find those that are ready to receive the fullness of the Gospel, Our message is the best thing they will ever hear their whole life, so why be selective on who we share it with? I won't stop until everybody has heard it! :) 

This week was pretty great as we have been having a lot better support of our members which is really great! Two weeks ago I gave a fireside to our ward under the direction of the bishop about working with the missionaries. It was really successful and it is really been fun to see the fruits of it. We have gotten a lot more referrals and have been able to have more people work with us which is so crucial! I am so grateful for member who are excited about the gospel and are willing to serve along side the missionaries. 

It is so cool to see the ward function so well here, the bishop is amazing and the ward members serve each other so sincerely, that is one thing that I really admire about Filipinos is how they are serve with their hearts and are very kind and loving. 

It is so  powerful when we have a member to work with us and to see the difference that it truly makes. I encourage each of you to find someone to refer to the missionaries! You can do it and you will be so blessed as you share the gospel with others! Even when we live in places where it seems like everyone has heard the gospel! I promise you that God will put people in our paths if we are willing and prepared to receive them! I want all of you to know that each and everyone of us makes a difference! God has given us our own individual missions and has equipped us with the talents to fulfill them!

 Sometimes it is hard to press forward , but there is one thing that can always can keep us going, God loves and because he loves us he is aware of our needs! He will not abandon us and nether will His Son, Because he has engraven us on the palms of his hands! Trials make us who he wants us to be.I know that the gospel is true way! Jesus Christ is the source of all hope and all peace and that God will never abandon us. 

I love you always!

ELDER MURDOCK

Teaching to every creature!

Week 28- Progress

Hey everybody!

I am so grateful for you all! I love getting all of your emails and all of the support that you all give me as I am clear out here across the world! This week was a week of progression both for me as an individual and for our investigators as well! So here is how it all went down:

 Earlier this week I felt so inadequate and like my effort was no good, I was comparing my teaching skills to those of my more experienced and well trained senior companion and was crippling my confidence. I was feeling really tired of doing my very best and feeling like it wasn't enough. i did a lot of praying and a lot of reading the scripture but I was feeling really discouraged and frustrated that my area wasn't progressing as well as I thought it should. It took a few days but I realized that most of my problem was that I was focusing on my weaknesses and not on what God can do with me as I allow myself to grow and learn from my mistakes and 'learn line upon line'.  

As I took a step back and be humble enough to let the Lord consecrate my efforts it was amazing to see the difference in my teaching. I show more love for my investigators and was able to teach with more clarity and with more spiritual power, I was able to ask the investigators inspired questions that helped us understand their concerns better and helped them recognize the truth. I was amazed to see the difference as I let my weaknesses fall in the hands of the Savior. We have seen miracles in our area of people that God is truly preparing to receive the gospel. Here are some examples;

We are teaching this really awesome guy named "JR".  His wife is a member and is less active. We have been teaching them for just a few weeks and it has been amazing to see his change as at first he was really hesitant to meet with us and had a drinking problem, but now he has completely stopped drinking and has gone to church every week with his wife since we taught him.  He is planning to get baptized on February 14th and it is really cool to see his wife return to the church with him, it is really been a blessing to teach them.

We are also teaching this 16 year old kid named Jervin and he is really progressing and really wants to gain a testimony, it has also been really cool to see the holy ghost change his heart as he at first also didn't want to listen to us.

I would like to give a shout out to all those that are struggling with seemingly unbearable trials, I know that Christ has walked your paths of sorrow and will always be at your side. I know that although in the moment it seems as if it is too much to bear, those trials administer to our well being and give us the experience we need here in mortality, I know that all trials are possible to overcome through the enabling power of the Atonement of Christ.

Here on the mission more than another time in my life have I seen him exceed my own capacity of talent and ability and I know it is because of Him and because He lives!

You all have a wonderful week! I pray for you!!!

mahal kita!,

here are some pics as I know that I have been so bad lately at sending pictures. Here is me out in the 'bukid'  or the country which is virtually what my whole area looks like.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

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ELDER MURDOCK

From the proud mom--We as a family create a "Vision Board" every year.  This helps us see our goals
and our "vision" for the year.  We love making the things on our board happen!  Tyler sent me this picture of
his Vision Board and I thought it was so great!  Can you tell his focus?!  He is such an example to me!

Week 27- Reassurance that he cares

Hey everybody!

This week was pretty great as I got a new companion! His name is Elder Bayani and he is really cool!! A funny thing is that his name in Tagalog means hero so everybody calls him Elder hero. He is really awesome and is an amazing gospel teacher so I am excited to learn from him!

This week although had its ups, also had quite a few times of rejection. I met this American man who was really rude and started ridiculing our believes and sneering at my testimony. It was really frustrating. I wanted to argue with him but then I had to catch myself and realize what I represented. We also had a disappointment with one of our really progressing investigators who told us she didn't want to be taught anymore. It was so hard as I knew that she knew it was true and that the spirit testified to her of the truthfulness of our message. It was so heart breaking to watch her use her agency in that way I really thought she would be baptized. I also met this lady who told us that she didn't understand why we walked all day in heat and tried to change what others believe, she said there is one God right? So why does it matter what church you belong to? She was pretty rude and refused to hear what we had to say it was not fun! I hate Satan just saying!

Although there was times of rejection, there also have been great times where I have seen the Lord's hand in things. One time we were looking for the house of a less active and we ran across a different house with a lady that had the first name of the lady we were looking for, we started talking to her son and found out he was a former investigator in a different area but moved away and lost contact with the missionaries. He was excited to see us and wanted us to teach him. It was a small miracle that was a great reassurance that God is there and he cares.

We also found a different family through miraculous means, we were just walking down the street and we saw this kid and he waved to us, so we went and said hi to him and he told us his Dad was sick so we asked if he would like a blessing. As we went into their little bamboo hut and met this family I felt the spirit hit me like a wave. We taught this little family and after the lesson the wife told us that she was a member and was baptized many years ago but hasn't gone to church for many years. We gave the father a blessing and left.  I felt peace and gratitude that He keeps sending us little tender mercies and lifting us up.

I know that He is watching over all of us. I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. If we follow the example of Nephi when he was tied to the mast of his ship, as his wicked hard hearted brothers refused to repent, and thank the Lord always and not murmur to Him in our trials-- we will be blessed with peace and understanding that comes with trusting in his judgement more than our own worldly understanding. The atonement is real and is the power that which we can do all things!

I love you all! I pray for you everyday!

Mahal ko kayo!

ELDER MURDOCK 

Week 26:

Hello Everybody!

I am so glad that you all had such a great New Year! I am so grateful for this time to start new and re-evaluate my growth as an individual and as a missionary at the start of this new year! I personally hope for each of you a great new year full of spiritual growth. 

Lately we have seen a lot of great things here! We have continued to find a lot of new investigators to add to our teaching pool and have rejoiced as we have found those elect chosen that have chosen for themselves to keep the commitments we extend to them.

One thing I am really learning about in the mission is the importance of agency. They have to choose the gospel for themselves in order for it to mean anything in the long run! 

We have some incredible examples of this in our area!

There is this wonderful older lady in the ward that has no money for transportation but walks a good 3 miles to church every week! 

Another simple example is Sis. Tesi one of our investigators. Her husband is against the church and won't even talk to us but she is strong in her testimony and still is working towards her baptism. I think it is amazing when we use our agency correctly the strength we gain though the enabling power of the atonement!

This years theme for the mission is Real Growth. I know that each of us can reach real growth in our progression to meet God as we embrace the atonement in our lives and let Him change us everyday. 

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world! I know that through Him we can reach our full potential if we are humble and rely on His grace.

I have seen real growth in my investigators and it is exciting to see them grow! I have also seen growth in the area and the members in the short time I have been here and it is amazing! I know that it is important for us all to grow and to strengthen each other as we all are on different parts of the path of life. 

Thank your for all your love and all your support! I love you and pray for you!

sorry no pics this week :)

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ELDER MURDOCK