into words. How can I explain in words how much my life has changed
and how much I myself have changed in these short eighteen months? I
came on my mission expecting to see many people make the step into the
baptismal font and become new, but that was not the blessing I had in
my mission. As the scripture says, how great will be my joy if I see
one person come unto Christ, that person was me. As I have sat
pondering on the special moments and the amazing spiritual experiences
I have had, all I have been able to think of is gratitude. I have
learned of the true meaning of the Atonement. I have learned of many
of my own weaknesses and had the opportunity to work on them daily and
to overcome many of them. Each new day comes and it arrives with many
more opportunities to become better, to think of others and to come
closer to Christ.
If I could describe my mission in one word or phrase I would say
learning to love others. It has been amazing for me to think back on
my first area or my time in the MTC and see how much love I have
gained for everyone around me. I have learned that each and every one
of us are truly brothers and sisters, just on our separate and
different journeys through life. We have each been given different
trials and problems, but we each chose to come here with that
knowledge. I have truly enjoyed working and serving the lords elect as
I work in New York. I have come to truly enjoy talking to people in
the street as well as teaching others in their homes, and seeing them
learn to love The Lord as much as I have learned to love Him.
It has been one of the best experiences of my life to work with the
Hispanic people here. There are so many from different countries and
backgrounds, but each one of them has such a great love for others and
a desire to give everything they have to those they love. As it says
in Preach My Gospel that we should adopt the culture of those we
serve. I have seen how much I have grown and felt so much love for
others as I have tried to apply that counsel from Preach My Gospel.
Working with the members of the wards and branches I have served in,
has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. I am certain that
they have taught me so much more than I could ever teach them. They
all live in such humble circumstances and loving homes. They all have
these amazing stories of their conversion and how they came to know
that the church is true. As I have helped less-actives regain their
testimonies and investigators gain that testimony for the first time,
I have seen my own testimony strengthened more than words can even
describe.
I have watched one man take the step to be baptized in my mission.
His name is José Pichardo. I came into the area and he was already
being taught by the sisters. The first time I met him, I could barely
understand his Dominican Spanish because of a speech impediment and
lack of education. As I got to know him my heart was just full of love
for him and a hope that he would someday accept the gospel and be
baptized. He had such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon and of
coming to church. He loved the way he felt when he was reading and
when he was at the chapel. When he was home, he had a lot of family
problems, but he found his release inside the Book of Mormon. He would
read for hours daily because that was the only way he could feel the
spirit in his home. He knew the church was true long before he made
the decision to be baptized, but knew his mother and his step father
wouldn't support him in his decision to be baptized, so he pushed it
off for a few months. He would sometimes go to lessons with the elders
as a member present before he was baptized and share his amazingly
humble testimony, because he loved the gospel so much. One day we just
asked him what was keeping him from baptism and that it was a personal
decision that he could make if he wanted to. He thought for a minute
and said, I'm getting baptized, in one week. So we planned everything
in that short amount of time and he was ready that Wednesday to be
baptized. He left his house without telling his mom where he was going
and when he got to the church his mom had followed him there. We
thought everything was going to just blow up and he wasn't going to be
baptized. But we talked to him and had him talk to his mom about his
decision to be baptized. Everything went smoothly, he was baptized and
his mom was there to watch. After the baptism, his mom asked us if we
would come visit her sometime because she had felt the spirit so
strongly during the baptism. He has followed on as a strong member of
our ward. He received the Aaronic Priesthood and finished the Book of
Mormon. He is one of the greatest examples of endurance that I have
met in my mission.
Another one of my favorite experience of my missionary was when the
Zone Leaders and Sister Baker and I had a planning session for what we
wanted to focus on in Zone Meeting on Monday. Elder Durham had a
really cool idea to help us all get back on track with being perfectly
obedient. So on Monday we did the activity. We had our zone meeting
and then we had a council as a zone about how we feel like we are
doing with our obedience and how to recognize the authority and
respect of our calling. Then we had everyone go into the chapel and we
had a few scriptures written on the board about our purpose as
missionaries(D&C 58:2-7; D&C 6:22-24), what Christ did for us(Alma
7:11-13; D&C 19:15-19), and what he asks of us as his disciples (D&C
1:31; John 14:15). So we all went in and read the scriptures silently
and all had time to recommit to being obedient. As we walked back into
the room there was a quote on the board that said, "You are of a
singular generation with exceptional potential. No wonder satan wants
to cripple that potential by tempting you to violate the laws of God.
He knows that he has no power over the righteous individual, yet he is
a master of making sin appealing to the undecided." And under that
quote said, "I choose to be perfectly obedient", with the Zone Leaders
names signed underneath. As we all walked in one by one we all signed
our names underneath and all chose together as a zone to be perfectly
obedient to all of the mission rules and all of the commandments. It
was a really amazingly spiritual experience and we all were truly
uplifted by the spirit in a way I have never felt in a meeting ever
before. It was amazing.
In my mission I have realized that no matter what happens during a
bad day, if I am being 100% obedient, working my hardest and learning
and teaching the gospel I am always happy. Yes, we have hard times
every day with investigators, less actives, members or even
companions, but there is always a positive event that enables us to
remember why we are truly here as missionaries, which is solely to
invite others to come unto Christ. While I was being trained, Sister
Cole helped me to see the positive in every situation. If we tried to
tract a door and the only thing that came out was some horrible
Spanish and they just slammed the door in our faces, she would say,
"The Lord put us here in this exact situation, knowing our previous
knowledge, knowing our Spanish abilities, and he trusts us to do what
is right". I have tried to keep that motto throughout my whole
mission. We all make mistakes, we all forget to do something really
important, or we don't know what to say, but we are all imperfect
beings, and Christ has put His trust in us to do His work. He knows us
perfectly, so He can send the Holy Ghost to us in every moment of
need. That spirit will lead and guide us in our missionary work in
every way.
When I was called to train Sister Livingston I was really nervous but
excited at the same time. I often wondered if I had anything to give
to a trainee or even had the ability to teach her what she would need
to know to be a successful missionary. Sister Livingston came to me
extremely prepared. She knew how to teach by the spirit even in our
first lesson. She had so much love for everyone around her and shared
it with them. The Lord qualifies those he calls. I learned so much
more from her than I could have ever taught her. Training taught me to
be humble and to respect those younger than me, which was something I
had struggled with before that point. As I tried to be the best
example I possibly could, I tried to instill in her that positive
attitude that I had been focusing on throughout my mission. We saw so
many blessings and miracles! We got to know the members and also to be
able to earn their trust and receive referrals for their friends. I
know that everything happens for a reason and that I was meant to be
companions with the amazing sister missionaries that I have been able
to serve with.
As I end my mission all I can say is how grateful I am to my
Heavenly Father that he has allowed me to serve here in New York with
those who I have been able to serve and serve with. I have learned so
much about myself and about life outside of the mission. There are
just so many things that I have learned that I can't even put into
words. My testimony has grown so much and I have gained a stronger
testimony of all of the things I had a testimony of before the
mission. I know this gospel is true with all of my heart. Even as I
walk through the streets of New York and hear people defile the name
of the church and this work, I can feel the love of my Savior Jesus
Christ and the power of the Atonement. He has guided me through all of
the trials I have gone through in my mission. I know without a doubt
that Joseph Smith was called as a prophet of God to restore the church
of Jesus Christ in our dispensation. I have received the witness of
his true calling many times throughout my mission.
I have learned the true meaning of the Atonement. I have an
understanding of the enabling power of the atonement. I have seen His
hand in my life as a missionary so many times, when I just felt like I
couldn't do anymore and I had given all I had, I have seen countless
times that The Lord's hand is outstretched to me to carry me the rest
of the way. I have experienced true repentance and true happiness as I
have applied the principles of the atonement in my life and in my
work. I know, maybe more than anything else, that the Book of Mormon
is the word of God. The spirit testifies of that truth to me every
time I bear my testimony to someone in the street or to someone in
their homes. There is a power in the Book of Mormon that I can't
describe. It changes people. It changed me. I know that satan is
trying his hardest to fight against us but, just as our beloved
prophet Joseph Smith said, this work will go forth boldly, nobly and
independent, until it has sounded in every ear. I am so thankful that
I was a part of that revelation for these short eighteen months. I
know that all of these things are true and I know that there is
nothing that will stop this work from progressing. I love my Savior
and Redeemer more than anything in the world and I will serve Him for
the rest of my life. I know these things are true, in the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.
🚋 Hermana Jessica Bloxham 🏀
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| Reunited with Hermana Bloxham and President and Sister Morgan! So happy to be back together!! |
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