First of all, HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD!!! I love you so
much dad and wish you a Happy late Father's Day.
Thank you for being the best example to me and always encouraging me to
do the best I can and always being there for me through the hard times. You really are the best dad anyone could ever ask for.
Well
this week has been great and I really am enjoying my studies every week
because I have been reading in the Liahona lately and been uplifted by
the talks that are given. I feel the spirit really talk to me
and I really enjoy reading the words given by our Prophet and the
Apostles. So something I read this week which tied into what President Monson said about Choices, I read a talk from Elder Neil L.
Andersen and he talked about "Faith is not by chance, but by choice."
First of all he asked two really good questions to us all. The first he
said was 1. Where is your faith? The second was 2. How does the savior
see my faith? So I took these two questions and really applied them to myself. Sometimes during the mission life I put my faith in myself and say I can do this by myself and I get selfish or sometimes we put our faith
in the worldly things and we lose our faith in Christ and Heavenly
Father.
I really liked what it talked about and the second question
how does the Savior see our faith? Do we really trust in him and do we
really love him? If we do we are showing our faith in him? When we keep
his commandments and serve him we are showing our faith to him. So
serving a mission really has made me realize me that Jesus Christ lives
and he is there and I really believe he is my savior and Redeemer. I
believe that through Christ's Atonement we can be forgiven of our sins and
Jesus Christ went through so much for us. He knows our pains and
troubles. I really apply this to my mission life when everything
seems so hard and when everything is so stressful and when I pray I can
feel his help and when he had to carry his cross it makes me think he is
carrying the challenges and trials I have had here on my mission and he
is always there for us when we need him.
Something else - I like what
he said about Faith: "Faith in Jesus Christ is a gift from Heaven that
comes as we choose to believe, and as we seek it and hold onto it. Your
faith is either growing stronger or becoming weaker, and The Future of
your faith is not by chance, but by choice." I would like to talk about
this last quote he said about faith is not by chance but by choice, how
we live our lives increases or diminishes our faith. When we pray always
and are obedient, honest, and pure in thought and deed, these are choices
we have to make to either be obedient and obey God's commandments and receive the blessings he has in store for us or disobey his commandments
and miss all the blessings. Being pure in thought and deed is a big one. We need to always let virtue garnish thy thoughts and always pray
to have clean thoughts and always make sure that we are keeping God's commandments and always and doing what is right.
Something I liked that somebody
said to me this week is "it's easy to become a Mormon but hard to live the
gospel." He said when he was baptized he knew it was true, but living the gospel is the hard part - always enduring
to the end and always keeping God's commandments. I like the phrase take
T- Take upon his name A- Always remember him K- Keep his commandments E-
Endure to the end. That is what we need to do always remember this is
his church, his work and we are just instruments in his hands to help
him do his work and bring salvation to others. Always attending church
and partaking of the sacrament and renewing our covenants we have made
with him, always keeping his commandments even if it is hard, always
repent and keep trying and enduring to the end. Always living the gospel
standards, do what the lord want's us to do.
So that is what I have really been applying to myself these last couple of days and I read this
quote in a book about missionary work which I really liked and it reads "
Something wonderful happens in a missionary service when he or she
realizes that the calling is not about him or her; rather, it's about
the Lord, his work, and Heavenly Father's children." That is my new motto:
this is the Lord's work and we are here to serve him with our full
heart, might, and strength, to do the best we can. Also I read this also
too "When i asked you to be a missionary, it was forever. When I asked
you to see this through to the end, it was because it's not over 'til
it's over, we're in this 'til the end." I want to say this to you: we
are all missionaries in the work of the lord, we have committed our life
to him and serving him and helping him in his work by being a good
example to others, sharing the gospel with others, by living the gospel
and the happiness and joy it brings to you when you serve him. I know
that my mission has been hard and full of challenges and trials and it's
really not easy but it's so worth it and I really would not miss this
chance to serve the lord and serve the people here in the Philippines
and show my love for others. I know this work is true and this is His
church and we are to bring the lost sheep unto him. I love being a
missionary and love every moment of it. I'm enjoying the last 9 weeks I have left and am doing the best I can. I love you all so much and miss you all
so much. Take Care always and stay safe.
mahal ko kayo at ingat kayo palagi
Elder Francis
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