Tag Archive for: Missionaries

Missionary WORK

“This is hard work,” said the young missionary.
“Yes, it is,” I said, “but isn’t it great!”
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤: “an activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.”
We held Zone Conferences in Antwerp and Zoetermeer this week.
There was insightful instruction given throughout each session.
For a large portion of my time, I chose to focus a lot of my direction around one word…. “𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐊!”
Today, many have forgotten the value of work and look upon it as something to avoid.
David O. McKay said, “Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that power to work is a blessing, that love of work is success.”
I learned the value of work through my parents example, they were certainly unafraid of hard work.
In the summer of 1977, when I was 12 years old, I started a daily early morning newspaper round.
By 5.30am, I was in the newsagent’s sorting out the newspapers for early morning delivery.
Frequently, I’d head off on my round on my bicycle.

Dynamo’s

In those days my lights were powered by a dynamo on the wheel.
The output of the dynamo was determined by how hard I pedalled.
If I pedalled hard, the lights were bright.
Pedalling softer, the lights were dimmer.
If I stopped there was no light.
And so, it is with all of us in life, especially in missionary work.

Pedal hard

You have to keep pedalling and working hard to have light in your life.
It’s my experience that industry, devotion, and hard work lead to enlightened progress.
There is no substitute to hard work.
Gordon B. Hinckley said “Nothing happens unless we work. You never will plough a field by turning it over in your mind. You have to get out and take hold of the plough and go to work. Work is what makes things happen.”
In Missionary work, the requirement is 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌!
It became part of me a long time ago.
Let it become part of you too.
It is through the discipline of work, that we determine what we become.
What role has work played in your life?

Fires and Flames of Faith

A few days ago, 12 new missionaries arrived at Schiphol Airport.

Their flame of faith aglow, spiritually they were on fire!

Each of them with a burning desire to share their knowledge, eager to communicate gospel truths by talking to everyone.

Years of preparation and several weeks in the Missionary Training Centre (MTC) fanned their flame of faith.

‘Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,’ (Mark 16:15) ‘for ye shall … [witness of] me … unto the uttermost part of the earth,’ (Acts 1:8).”

Fire

“For a piece of wood to catch fire, it must first be heated to a temperature at which it ignites, then burns by itself. The initial heating requires energy from outside. When it is ignited, it becomes self-sustaining and gives beneficial light and heat.” – Richard G. Scott

Having been around the new missionaries for a few days this week, their flame has certainly been ignited.  Just like their other missionary colleagues, they’re now providing “beneficial light and heat” to many people throughout Belgium and the Netherlands.

Your own fire of faith may be small, but I know that making principled choices, brings greater confidence in God, and then your faith will grow.

Flames of Faith

Never let your fire of faith be quenched.

How we choose to live our lives, can either increase or diminish our faith.

If its diminishing, don’t despair.

A flame of faith can grow from a tiny spark.

Missionaries come to ignite the flame of faith in some and rekindle the flickering flame of faith in others.

“First and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe.”—Jeffrey R. Holland

Missionaries can help you fan the flame of your flickering faith, and catch fire, even if you feel lonely, like an isolated ember.

My experience is that embers burn much brighter and glow stronger when they are closer together.

Come and join us.

Keep your spiritual flame burning brightly.

Why not reach out to one of our new missionaries today and let them rekindle your flame of faith and ignite your fire.

Disciplined Hearts

Daily, missionaries are invited to be disciplined.
At the commencement of their service, each missionary receives a copy of “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ”.
I know that there is no discipleship without discipline.
Discipleship means discipline!
“Walking the path of discipleship takes practice — each day, little by little, grace for grace, line upon line. Sometimes two steps forward and one step back. The important thing is that you don’t give up; keep trying to get it right.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Discipline

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: the quality of being able to behave and work in a controlled way which involves obeying particular rules or standards.
The word discipline comes from the Latin word discere, ” to learn, ” or discipulus, ” learner, ” making a disciple a student and follower.
Each of us, with discipline and effort, has the capacity to control our thoughts and our actions.
Whilst serving, missionaries learn about being more disciplined, every day.
Typically, each day begins at 06.30 and ends at 10.30pm.
Daily activities include, reviewing goals, planning schedules, studying the scriptures, prayer, preparing lessons, finding people to teach, serving others in the community, working with local members, teaching lessons face to face and online, travelling and attending other meetings/activities.

Disciplined Hearts

It requires a disciplined heart to be an effective missionary.
“Small disciplines repeated with consistency everyday lead to great achievements gained slowly over time.” – John C. Maxwell.
Through discipline and devotion, and often challenging circumstances, missionaries become much more responsible and respectful in whatever they do.
I am a witness to the fact that discipline is something that can be developed and can act as a bridge between our goals and accomplishments.
“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” – Dalai Lama
Making a real effort to align our actions and behaviours with our thoughts is a sign of true discipline.
How do you develop your daily discipleship and discipline?

People May Wonder

– Who is Jesus Christ? How can He help me and my family?
– What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ?
– How can having faith in Him bless my life?
– What does it mean to repent?
– How can I feel God’s peace and forgiveness after I’ve made bad choices?
– What is the purpose of baptism?
– What is the gift of the Holy Ghost?
– What does it mean to endure to the end?
𝑯𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅?
All of these questions and more are answered in the third lesson taught by our missionaries in “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”
Why not speak to one of the many missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, today.
Answers are only a conversation away.

FSY

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend FSY Nederland-Vlaanderen in De Beukenhof, Biezenmortel.
For the Strength of Youth (𝐅𝐒𝐘) conferences are five-day events that include activities, devotionals, and classes designed to help strengthen faith in Jesus Christ and provide opportunities for youth to grow spiritually, socially, physically, and intellectually.
My co-facilitators were 5 of our missionaries, Libby Wilcox, Averi Hanny, Christian Adams, Luk Vanderlinden and Dallin Doxford.

Workshops

We had the opportunity to run 4 workshops, attended by in total, 100+ Gen Z participants, aged between 13 – 18 years old.
Our topics –
– Preach My Gospel – 2nd Edition.
– The Benefits of Serving a Mission.
To begin, we ran some fun icebreakers on communication, change and observation.
I retired the first edition of Preach My Gospel, and everyone received a hard copy of the second edition.
We used it to teach some key principles about technology and sharing the gospel via social media.
Technology allowed us to connect to the Missionary Training Centres (MTC’s) in Preston England and Provo, Utah.
We were joined by former missionaries Joey de Sousa and Nathanael Strickler who teach at the MTC’s.
They facilitated a discussion with missionaries who were enjoying the first few days of their MTC experiences, and fielded questions from our participants in the room.
Four of the missionaries online, will be arriving in the Belgium Netherlands Mission in 5 weeks’ time.

Expert Panel

We followed up with an expert panel of our own missionaries, who have served from 13 – 22 months in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Questions came freely from the workshop participants.
They listened intently to the answers from our missionaries.
What’s been the most difficult thing in the mission field? Do you have any fun? What do you do all day? How long do you serve in an area? Is it hard work? What is it like to be with your companion 24/7?
It was fun to be with everyone.
Somehow, we managed to engage with our Gen Z digital native friends for around 50 minutes at a time!
And we even managed to share a fun Instagram post together!
Please invite us again! 😊

His hand to the Plough

Around 1 year ago, whilst preparing for Zone Conferences, an image came to mind that I’d seen many years ago.
My good friends Gary & Jo Griffiths had used it when they presided over the Scotland Ireland Mission.
I scoured the internet to try and find a copy of the image and reached out to Gary too. But alas, I was unsuccessful.
A few days later, one of our missionaries Atticus Snow, mentioned to me about a blank canvas he had, and asked if he could paint anything for me. A serendipitous moment, if ever there was one.
I then shared with him the image I had in mind.
Time passed by
And for a while I forgot about the image and the painting.
More time passed.
Earlier this year, I asked if he’d made any progress with his “drawing”. He’d been busy and had only made a little bit of progress.
Even more time passed and the time for him to return home was approaching.
Again, I asked about his “drawing”.
He told me progress was being made.
A few days ago, I asked “Did you finish the horses?”
He replied, “No it’s not finished.”
I was a little disappointed.
Returning home after a busy morning on Thursday, Monic said that there was something in the office for me.

Surprise

And there it was. He’d surprise me!
The most exquisite painting of the image I had described 12 months previously.
I must admit that I shed a tear or two.
Later that day, at our departures meeting we asked everyone gathered to share their own impressions of the painting, and what it meant to them in regard to missionary work.
Many poignant thoughts were shared, things of our souls, touching all of our hearts.
Consider, Luke 9:62.
Atticus told us about the research he did for the painting and a few finer particulars.
If you look closely, those details will emerge.
It is a labour of love.
One meaning, I see symbolically, is two strong missionaries, straining to fulfil their purpose, as the Lord directs them in their work, guiding the blade true and straight, with His eyes future focussed, fixed upon the furrow to be cut.
Let you heart ponder for a while.
What do you see?

Good, Better, Best.

This week, we joined with other European Mission Leaders at a 4-day Seminar in Den Haag, here in the Netherlands.
We counselled collectively together and received inspiring instruction from the Central Europe Area Presidency.
It was wonderful to share many experiences together, including the obligatory visit to Keukenhof!
Personally, it gave me the opportunity to reflect upon all that I have learned as Monic and I have served concertedly in Belgium and the Netherlands for nearly two years.
Through the course of the 4 days, many principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ were discussed.
For a few brief moments we spoke too about “The Chosen”.

The Chosen

For the uninitiated, it’s an enjoyable multi-season television series about Jesus Christ that has been watched by tens of millions, throughout the entire world.
Monic and I have watched all the series and are sure that many reading this post will have done likewise.
However, reflecting upon all that I continue to learn about Jesus Christ, from my perspective I have come to conclude this truism.

Connecting…

Connecting to Jesus Christ…
– Through the Chosen is 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅.
– Through the Missionaries is 𝑩𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓.
– Through the Scriptures is 𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕.
I love The Chosen and I love our missionaries too.
Both play their part in helping many to understand the three most powerful behavioural words spoken by Jesus Christ, namely “Come Follow Me” – see Luke 18:22.
I know that as you personally study the scriptures, you will come to know the Saviour and His teachings.
Few things you do will bring greater dividends, as you absorb his words by pondering them, then letting them sink deeply into your heart and applying them into your life.
Spencer W. Kimball emphasized the need to continually read and study the scriptures. He said: ” I find that when I get casual in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no divine ear is listening and no divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures the distance narrows and the spirituality returns.”
Enjoy The Chosen!
Invite the missionaries to speak with you!
They’ll guide you through the scriptures as you accept His personal admonition to “Come Follow Me.”
How have the missionaries helped you?