Week 61 (July 17, 2017)

This week has been really tough. Not just in our area, or even our zone but in the entire mission. Everybody is sick, even the mission president. We all worked so hard in June for those 367 baptisms, but now the adversary is working to make sure we don't do it again. That's why I love the scripture in Joseph Smith history 1:15-17. "I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction. But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction- not to an imaginary ruin but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such a marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being- just at this moment of great alarm, I was a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me. It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound." This to me is clear evidence that the power of God is much more powerful that the adversary, and more than that that God will deliver us from our doom and from the devil. The mission has been under attack from Satan, but I know that is we put our trust in the same God that appeared to Joseph Smith, then we will be delivered from our enemy. The devil can fight us all he wants, but the will of the lord will go forth. 

As for me and my companion we are both sick. I'm just exhausted all the time and can't do much, and he has a fever and is just dying, but we still worked our butts of this week. We had a fast in our zone last Wednesday, and it seems to be working. The difficulties that we had are gone, but now we have others. Its been a tough time working out here, but we still seem to find good people to teach. the miracles come when we are out in the streets, not in our house. Just this week we have seen them. 

One came from looking for people to teach. We prayed and asked the lord to guide us to the house of a guy who was aged 18 to 26, lived alone, and would listen to us and eventually be baptized. We finished the prayer, followed the spirit and went right to the house. Neither of us had been there before but the guy we found was everything we were looking for. He has a baptismal date in 2 weeks. 

Later that night we had did it again. In the mission conference Elder Johhny Ruiz of the area presidency was talking about his time as a mission president and how he had a girl find a family of 11 people. So my companion and I asked the Lord for a family of 5. But both of us had the idea of 11 in our heads. We asked that we could find the family by just walking around and waiting for someone to talk to us. So we did. first street lady said hello. We talked and she was all alone with one kid. So we said a prayer and kept going, still looking for the family. On the second street we passed a man who also said hello while passing us by. He was just getting home from work and passed us right in front of his house, so we obviously we had to talk to him. He let us in and we invited the family to come and listen to our prayer for the familiy. After everyone came into the kitchen we had 11 people. It was perfect. It was all in the lords timing for the first lady to talk to us so he could position the other guy perfectly in front of his house so we could find the family of 11. If we would have been 20 second earlier or later it wouldnt have happened, but by following the spirit we were led the right place at the right time worthy to do the thing we needed to do. Couldnt have been any more perfect. 

I think thats it for the week. Love and miss you all! 

Elder Hamblin