Open House

Hola!

This week has been another good one. I think they are all good though... But anyway, the Open House was this week and we had about 55 people come each night. It was a pretty good turn out. Elder Flint and I were at the end where the cookies were to answer questions. We didn't answer a whole lot of questions because the members who brought their friends or the tour guides were doing such a great job. It's a good problem to have! We haven't seen any direct referrals from it yet, but we hope to see some in the future!

This next week we have 8 dinner appointments for the next 9 days. It is awesome! usually we get one or two scheduled ahead of time and we might pick up one or two more each week. So it's awesome to have so many scheduled!

We are working with our Spanish investigator, the man I talked about a few weeks ago in my email, and he came to church yesterday. We have many return missionaries that speak Spanish that are excited to help out. So we have a wide field of fellow-shippers to work with. The bummer thing is we have had to drop both of the baptismal dates we had because they aren't progressing and aren't doing the things they need to to be baptized. Hopefully they come around.

It's starting to get colder here in Missouri, but I found a coat that another missionary left in our house, so we don't have to worry about that!

We had a trainer's meeting that our Mission President trained us at about 4 hours away. So Elder Flint was super tired from driving 8 hours in one day. But it was a good training. I saw a bunch of missionaries that I came out to the field with and it was good to see them again. President talked about the new missionary age and how all the missionaries in the field are going to have to step up because there will be a lot more trainers and a lot more leaders in the mission. And all the missionaries coming out to the field will have to be more prepared as well!

It is estimated that our mission, as well as most of the missions in the U.S., will see about 250 total missionaries serving there. That is 70 more than we have now! It will be pretty crazy to see the influx of missionaries!

As for my words of wisdom, or my testimony this week. I have to say that the Atonement is real. We all have as many chances as we need to come to Christ and become more like Him. It is a commandment from the Lord. Jesus said, "Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect" (3 Nephi 12:48). We are told many times in the scriptures that "the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish this thing which he commandeth them" (1 Nephi 3:7). We can become perfect, because we have been commanded to be. 

The Atonement is the enabling power for us to become perfect. The only way we can become perfect is to follow the Doctrine of Christ. "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost"(Articles of Faith 1:4). These four steps, followed by Enduring to the End, centered on the Atonement, is the Doctrine of Christ.

Endure to the End. It means becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and remaining an active member for the rest of our lives. If we become inactive, we fail to endure. Alma warns us against becoming inactive. He says "O ye workers of iniquity; ye that are puffed up in the vain things of the world, ye that have professed to have known the ways of righteousness nevertheless have gone astray, as sheep having no shepherd, notwithstanding a shepherd hath called after you and is still calling after you, but ye will not hearken unto his voice!" (Alma 5:37). 

Christ calls for us, and His call is for us to be perfect, even as He is (see 3 Nephi 27:27). Let us Endure to the End and follow the Doctrine of Christ and remember the Atonement and to apply it in our lives. It's is hard, but no one said it was easy. How to endure? 2 Nephi 31:20.

From Your Imperfect Missionary Friend,

Elder Zachary R McKenzie

Iowa Des Moines Mission

    D&C 6:34, 36

Doubt Not, Fear Not.
Faith in 400 for Christ in 2012