Monday, April 20, 2015

God Be With You Till We Meet Again

This past week was GREAT! We went on exchanges to Melaka and Masai, and got to be with the good elders there. The Lord's work is hastening in each of these different places in unique but good ways. I love being a part of this work! It's the best! We also had a baptism this past Saturday night, as well as the other elders in our district! It was awesome! Our recent convert, Hady, is SO AWESOME! She's a 16-yr-old from Korea, and this is her first time learning about God. She is so open and willing to learn--she's incredible, and the Lord really has prepared her. She went back to Korea to visit her father there; she'll come back here to JB at the beginning of May, and then her journey as a recent convert will continue and move forward and upward. Hooray! :)
Well, elders, brothers, and sisters--the time has come.
This is my last P-Day as a missionary. Tomorrow morning/early afternoon I head off to Singapore for a final interview and fireside with my beloved mission president, and then the next day, at a VERY early hour, we board the flight bound for home. It's a really weird thing to think that my mission is coming to a close, that things are wrapping up. I don't think that I've fully and completely processed it yet, mentally or spiritually. I don't think it will fully process for a long time. As I was sitting down and doing my Personal Study this morning, I took a step back and looked at what makes me most happy at this very moment. Honestly (and I'm not saying this to be cliche, either), one of the things that makes me the most happy is sharing the Gospel with other people. Being able to see the Spirit touch their hearts; the light that clicks on in their eyes; the happiness that just pours into your own spirit as you tell them about the Savior and His happy message with every bubbly bone in your body--man, it's the best! A part of me feels like I'm going to miss it a lot; but as I sat back and thought about it all, I realized that these feelings NEVER have to end. I realized that the point of this life is to change and to become something more than we originally were/are. The best and only really effective place to receive and apply that time of refinement is in the service of the Lord. Being a full-time missionary truly has been a refining and changing process for yours truly, but hopefully it's not the only chance that I'm going to get for that type of refining. If it were, I'd probably be bound to not the Celestial Kingdom at this point--but thanks be to God for the matchless gift of His Son Jesus Christ! Through Him we are redeemed from our sins. Maybe even more importantly, He doesn't just redeem us (Helaman 5:10), but He also RAISES us to life eternal (Moroni 7:41). He enables us! He empowers us! We'll continue to be refined and perfected all throughout this life, for THIS is the time to prepare to meet God, and He's going to give us as many chances as we need--and even more than that--in order to get us ready to see Him again. He WANTS us to be with Him. I testify that that is true.
I testify that the love of God is real. I testify that the gift of tongues is real--I have no idea how people understood my words and decided they wanted to be baptized if it isn't true. I know that it exists, and I know that the Holy Spirit is the REAL teacher--not us finite mortals. I'm so grateful for the wonderful Saints of Malaysia and Singapore--I love these two little countries with all of my heart! I love these people with all of my heart! I wish that you all were as lucky as I am to know them and associate with them. They're wonderful, and I pray that God will bless them always. 
This Church is true; the Gospel is the path that the Lord has set for us to help us be able to return to Him. It's sort of the individual Plan of Salvation that each of us chooses whether or not to follow. For now I bid you all a fond farewell. To those still in the field, keep on keeping on! This is the greatest work EVER! To those back home, get ready--things are about to get real ;) :) I love you all, and hope you have a fantastic week! Keep the Faith! :)
God be with you till we meet again,
Elder Mitchell. :)
#singaporemission
#jbforlife







Monday, April 6, 2015

Rumor Has It....

Rumor has it:
1) That there's a temple coming to Thailand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's such AMAZING news! Thailand is our neighbor, and this means that all the members in Singapore and Malaysia will have greater and easier access to the temple! Pretty much everyone will be able to go too, because the Thailand baht isn't as strong as the Malaysian ringgit or the Singaporean dollar! Hooray for the revelations of God! Of all the many things to be happy about, I am SUPER STOKED about this! There's a temple coming to Thailand! Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
B) That was pretty much the only rumor that I've heard lately. :)
So life here is going pretty great. For any that may or may not care, I am finishing up the mish in about 2 weeks. It's a sad thought, but exciting and happy and scary all at the same time. Because of it, I ask my adoring fans to refrain from sending mail, because I probably won't see it...ever. So yeah. Emails can! Handwritten letters (unless they're sent like today) unfortunately cannot anymore. No worries, though--emails still can! :)
Today's email is going to be a wee bit shorter, but no worries. :) This morning as I was reading the 25th chapter of 2 Nephi, I kept coming across the phrase "they that believe in His name [Jesus Christ] will be saved". As I was reading, I couldn't help but think: What does that word "saved" really mean? I compared it to its opposite: damned. When something is damned, it is kept from progressing and or from improving. Therefore, when something is saved, it is enabled to continue progressing and improving and renewing itself. Those that believe in the name of Jesus Christ will be enabled to continue progressing and growing. The only place in the eternities that allows us to be able to continually progress and eventually become like God is the Celestial Kingdom. 
[My mind started blowing up right about this point with all of the kool little trajectories and tangents you can draw from this fact]
So: If we believe in the name of Jesus Christ, we will do the things that He commands us to. He will enable us to enter into the Celestial Kingdom, even the "mansion of my Father". Isn't that exciting?! It certainly says a lot about the power of belief and faith in the name of Christ. If we truly are converted to Christ, we will keep all of the commandments that He has revealed to us through ancient and modern prophets--and then we are assured by God Himself that we will partake of His glory, enter into His rest, and and inherit His kingdom--"joint-heirs with Christ" in the Celestial Kingdom of God. :)
I sure do love you all, and I hope that you have a marvelous week! :)
Sincerely,
Elder Mitchell