Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Hello From North Olmstead

Dearest Family and Friends,
 
I feel so very blessed to be alive today. Some time ago I remember sitting in my good friend Bro. John Scott's office at the institute building in Ephraim, UT; He had a little seed laminated to a scripture posted upon the wall. The seed was from a Sequoia, the largest trees in North America, attached on a laminated paper with a scripture found in the Book of Alma:
 
6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.
7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
This scripture has come to mean so very much to me. I have found that we cannot force spiritual experiences, all we can do is prepare to be ready for their arrival. The very most great and eternal events have been very small moments. I can;t help but ponder on all of those small moments that have shaped my testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is my desire everyday to be a worthy instrument in His hands to bring to pass the salvation of souls and help them to have the small moments that will define them.
This week has been so very fast and we are working very hard to find people to teach. We have a few on the radar for this week that I am really excited for. Also, this Sunday at our ward council all the council talked about was missionary work, they all resolved that if they were to inspire the ward to do missionary work, they as the leaders would have to quick start the engine and find some people. Each member said that they would invite one friend to hear the gospel this week, the best part was we didn't even bring it up, we just sat drooling as listened to the course of the conversation! All in all I have found that working with the ward and winning the trust of the members is the way to be most effective in the field. An inspiring member lesson is worth 8 hours of tracting in my mind. We had the opportunity to work on one of our members farm for 4 hours on Saturday morning which was alot of fun. It always inspires me to see how our members look out for one another anywhere that I serve.
Also this week Elder Hicks and I traveled around the mission and attended Zone Development Meeting for three different zones. It is pretty cool we just over see the meeting and make sure that all that President has asked of us is covered with all the missionaries. We had the opportunity to give closing remarks at the meetings; it was truly a blessing. I have found that if you will honor those around you, you will have more power and influence as a leader. I have made it a goal to go and look everyone in the eye with a smile and ask how they are doing before the meetings start and the results have been amazing; I feel so much love for my fellow missionaries. This coming week we have Training Meeting where we will tutor all of the new missionaries and their trainers, as well as Mission Council where we meet with all of the Zone Leaders and discuss the current state of the mission and what improvements are needed. The following week will be the "crucible week" for AP's, we have 6 different 6 hour meetings that we are in charge of for all the Zones in the Mission. The coming days will be alot of prayer, fasting and study.
Every day is a blessing. Every day I see the goodness in humanity. I can't express fully the changes that have been wrought in my heart by the atonement. There is nothing more special than watching others come to know themselves and in turn come to know the Father. I thank you all for causing me to stand, for being an answer to my prayers and for being true saints. Let us always be prayerful and watchful. Let our covenants with the Lord be at the forefront of our minds and may we love one another. The Gospel is easy,it's sure and true. It will change us from the inside out as we do the small and simple things. Pray. Study. Learn. Do. Become. Bless others all the while. I am grateful for the Savior and I know He lives! I hope you all have a great week!
 
Love Always, Elder Prince

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