Great week.

April 20, 2015

Wow, tomorrow I hit 20 months in the mission. I don't like it, but what can you do about it? That is super nuts.... Life is good. We had a good week! We had a whole family get baptized! The Sanchez family got baptized on Tues. It was pretty much the best baptism I have had on the mission. The spirit was just super strong, pretty much tangible. The talks were great, the family were just so happy, the members came to support them (even if they showed up late.) It is something super special to be able to see an entire family enter into the waters of baptism. I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives, but it especially changes the family because the family is the central part of the Plan of Salvation. The true happiness comes from having the gospel bless our lives through blessing our family’s lives. I am so glad that my family is eternal. I know that the Lord always helps those who serve and love Him. Those of broken hearts, and contrite spirits.

This week I had my testimony of Charity, Faith, and Hope strengthened. We have a missionary in our zone who is struggling. He doesn't have a good hold on the language. He said that he isn't really studying Spanish because he doesn't feel the desire. He said that he just reads from the dictionary looking for new words. I thought about what my desire was for learning Spanish. It wasn't too hard. The only thing that got me through learning Spanish was my desire to understand and talk with the people that I loved, that I was trying to help. I expressed my feelings of that and he told me that he was having troubles with loving the people, that he was having troubles with loving Mexico. D&C 4 instantly came to my mind. Verse 5 says "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work." If we don't have these things, then we won't be able to really be the missionary or the disciple, that the Lord expects and hopes of us. Truthfully, I don't really remember what else I said. I read some other scriptures with him and  I explained some things, but the Spirit really was just guiding the whole thing.  We set the goal of studying the attributes of Faith, Charity, and Hope to help him feel the love for the people and the place. I then had the chance to give him a blessing. I could feel the Spirit really strong as soon as I laid my hands on his head. Just another testimony builder of the Priesthood. We really do nothing. We aren't the source of the power, just the conduit by which the power is given to others. I am having just a ton of testimony building experiences and I feel that I have progressed a lot in these last few months and I know that I am progressing every day with the help of the Spirit. Life is good, the work moves on, lives are changed, miracles happen, hearts are softened, and eternities are made. Love you all, have a great week!!
Elder Morris

p.s. I saw Pres. yesterday and we talked to him for a min. As we walked up he was like "That is just my favorite name!" He really likes calling me Mitchell Dee. He then told me that a missionary who went home 2 transfers ago is engaged. He then turned to me and said, "Your goal is to beat him. Before 2 transfers." I just laughed because girls are still weird and have cooties. Ha-ha LOVE YA TONS!!!!!!!!!

Great General Conference!

Wow, what a week. This week was SUPER awesome!!! Definitely one of the most spiritual weeks of my mission. What I am going to share is just a portion of what has happened. We had Leadership counsel this week. We all went in fasting and prepared ourselves to be fed spiritually. Oh boy, did that happen. It was AWESOME!!! We talked about the atonement. How and why the Savior did what He did for us. It is amazing because he has done so much for us and asked so little in return. It is a huge comfort to know that I have someone like that cheering me on. It was super powerful and we were reading scriptures and we were feeling the spirit and watched a video of Pres. Eyring and Elder Holland talking with a video presentation of scenes from the atonement from the church's bible videos. Boom, the spirit is palpable. And then we end by singing I know that my Redeemer lives. There was not a dry eye in the room folks, let me tell ya. Very few time have I felt the spirit that strong on my mission. It is something that I will never forget. Also when we got home we found 2 families just super chosen and super awesome!

Then with Conference, it just topped off the week. I loved the talks and the counsel from our living prophets on the earth. I know that those men and women with their messages were inspired just as I know that I am sitting here writing. Man, good stuff!!!

Some of the quotes from Conference that I loved:

"It is supposed to be hard" L. Whitney Clayton

"Actions are the evidence of our belief and the substance of our faith". L. Whitney Clayton

"I can teach you to dance, but not to hear the music." Wilford A. Anderson

"A saint is a sinner that keeps on trying." Dale G. Renlund

"All I want to do in life is to please my Fathers, both temporal AND eternal" Michael T. Wringwood

"I know what time it is at home" Quentin L. Cook

" I am here to become a better man because I love my Father in Heaven and His son Jesus Christ." Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"You can build on whatever strength you have"  Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"We cannot embrace the choices they make, but we can embrace them" Brent H. Nelson

"God loves us deeply, perfectly, and everlastingly" Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Living the Gospel is not a burden, but a joyful rehearsal for eternity" Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Family, I love you. Just know that I am forever indebted to you for all you have done. It is weird to think of, but I will be with you guys for the next General Conference! LOVE YOU!!!!!
Elder Morris

ACTION FIGURES FROM MY EASTER PACKAGE FROM HOME. LOVE EM!!

Thanks for the Birthday wishes!

Letter  3/9/15

Wow, this whole 20 thing feels weird. Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!!! It was a really great week. We found a whole bunch of new investigators. 17 to be exact. There were many whom I feel really have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to receive this glad message at this time. One of them is the Familia Sanchez. They have friends that are members and have always been looking for the true church, but they haven't been able to find it. When we taught the Apostasy they told us that this how they had felt their entire lives, going from one church to another looking for the truthfulness but not being able to find it. They came to church on Sunday and said that they had finally found it and that they were really at peace with their decision. They are just the best family and are SO prepared. It is a huge blessing to be able to be one of the missionaries to teach this family. I am really excited to see them progress and make covenants with our Father in Heaven. And a bonus is that they have a business making and selling campechanas and the Dad said that for us, they are free.... I think I am going to have to work on self-control with this situation. Ha-ha

My birthday was great. In total, I received 3 cakes from members. Thanks mom..... Ha-ha Really I have the best family in the whole world. They are always watching out for me and helping me to feel loved! I don't know what I would do without them. I love you!!!!!

Letter 3/19/15

This was a really good week. Our investigators, the Familia Sanchez, are really progressing well. We have visited them and each time they accept us warmly and with opening arms. They told us that they were going to sell their eatery that they have and make some changes in their businesses. We left them with a scripture and as we were about to leave, a thought came to me saying that "Those are some pretty big decisions". I asked myself what I would do in the situation. Almost immediately I answered "Well, I would involve the Lord. I couldn't do it alone." The Spirit prompted me to briefly teach a little about revelation and how the leaders of the Church and Jesus Christ himself have counseled us to ask of the Lord with faith and sincerity and He will tell us what will be the best. I invited them to pray together as a couple and ask for the guidance of our Father in Heaven. The next lesson I went on exchanges and wasn't there to verify the next day, but my companion told me something really cool. They had taken the opportunity and had asked for guidance. Then almost instantly the eatery got packed with people and they started selling more than they had sold in a long time. They know that it was the Lord answering their prayer. They are really special. They also said that they are going to be closing on Sundays and that after church, they are going to be taking all the leftover food from Saturday night and take it to the hospital and give it out. They are awesome.

This week has been full of blessings, big and small. My companion and I have been working on praying with a greater faith and doing self-evaluations to see what the progress is in our personal conversion. It has really been something great to see the difference. I would really love to tell you in a detailed manner what the changes are, but I can't. That is one thing that over the past couple of weeks I have seen and had my testimony strengthened because of it. The change comes gradually and slowly, almost imperceptibly, but it comes constantly. One day all of the sudden you say, "Wow, well that is different." It is something really special and I think that it is something that we all can do to be perfected in Christ. Moroni 10:32 I invite you to take 10 minutes each night and have personal reflection with the Lord. He will tell you what you can do if you ask with faith and humility. Have a great week!!!

Me and my companion Elder Quist

Our Temple Trip

These are the Campechanas I love soo much!

Elder Morris

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes!

Monday- Crazy stuff. We saw meet the Mormons. IT WAS SO GREAT!!!! I hope it comes out on DVD because I have a feeling it would be better in English. But it was still pretty awesome. It brought such a strong spirit. Also, I am pretty sure that my mom cried through the last story as well as a lot of other missionary moms. We had 4 lessons with members. I have never seen that on a P-day. This ward is awesome. We taught Sandra the restoration and the spirit was so strong. I was overwhelmed and I know that she could really feel that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God.

Tuesday- I had exchanges in the muddiest area that I have ever been in. It was raining all Monday so there was some pretty serious mud. I bought a whole thing of oranges and by a whole thing, I mean like 30 oranges. DELICIOUS. I was able to testify with the spirit about how God has everything planned out. It is like we are looking through a microscope at a huge tapestry and all we can see are the little threads. We may think we know what it is going to be, God knows with a surety of what it will be because he made it and is currently making it. I would say I came up with that on the spot, but I would be stealing credit from the True Teacher, the Spirit.

Wednesday- Cold. The weather here is nuts. I don't think it is possible to predict it because everyone is always wrong.

Thursday- We ate pizza. I don't really remember Thursdays, with weekly planning they go by WAY to quick.

Friday- Exchanges again. We had some pretty sweet lessons. We found a golden investigator whose only problem is coming to Church. He has to work every other Sunday, but he is so awesome and his wife, well I haven't met her, but she is reading all of the restoration pamphlet and likes it so I am pretty sure they are super chosen. We also had a lesson with a Jewish/Christian couple. They were trying to say the Book of Mormon wasn't true because Jared didn't appear on some tablet as a descendent of Noah and a whole bunch of bologna like that. Listen, it is simple. READ with and open mind, MEDITATE the things that you read with a contrite spirit and open heart, and ASK our Father in Heaven in the name of Jesus Christ if these things are not true. BOOM!!! Problem solved. We also ate some pretty nice taco that night.

Saturday- Yeah, I don't remember.

Sunday- We had an awesome testimony meeting. And we had a couple really great investigators there who are really great also!!! Good stuff.

Love you Lots!!! Pictures and stuff this week!!!! LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

MMMMM Birthday stuff!

It's a Christmas Miracle! Packages 3 1/2 months later.

2/2/2015 Email

I haven´t received any packages. Bummer. This week was good. We found some new people to teach. It was some good stuff. We are having a completion with couple of our missionaries in the zone to see who can contact the most people. If you fail your goal, you have to buy burgers for the rest of the missionaries. Ha-ha I love it because it gives me motivation to contact AND free food!! It is a great idea. Ha-ha

I had a really cool experience this week during one of the lessons with a less active member. We were teaching and talking about the Iron Rod. It was going really well. We were talking about how we need to really hold tight. While I was listening to him talk, a repelling trip kept coming to mind. So I just went with it and it worked out really well. I shared the basic of what repelling is and how it works. I then likened it to the iron rod. We need to hold fast to the rod so that we are always upright and going in the right direction. Not just holding on, but actually harness ourselves to the rod, so that even if we mess up, we are able to stay close and safe and have the chance to grab ahold again. The Lord is full of second chances. I love you guys, I hope you have a great week.

Elder Morris.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! YOU ARE THE BEST SORRY; I DON’T HAVE MUCH TIME: MORE DETAIL NEXT WEEK!!!!!!!!

2/9/2015 Email

I GOT THE PACKAGES!!!!! WHOO HOOO!!! I got like 4 of them!! It was a Christmas miracle a month and a half late!! Ha-ha but thanks for all the great stuff that you sent. I really like the ties! But you must think I am fat because the sweaters are HUGE!!! Ha-ha but I rock them anyways! 

This week was good. We are working a lot more with the members. We have worked a lot with the bishop, the ward mission leader, and we have plans to work with the pres. of the Elders quorum this week. The members are having more confidence and we are seeing the results. Our focus this week is finding new investigators. We have seen a lot of great things happening in our area and I know that the Lord is blessing us a lot. 

We are going to have a baptism this week!!! Ruby is going to get baptized on Sunday! She is great. She told us that she was not going to be able to come to church yesterday because she had some stuff to do. Then we get to church and there she is! We asked her what changed and she said that she just had a feeling that everything else needed to be put on the back-burner because the church is the most important on Sunday. So, even though she has had a brain hemorrhage and only half of her body works, she went, caught the bus, and came to church!! 2 hours early!! Then when we taught her last night she told us that she never wanted to stop going to church because "that is where her people are at". She is great. 

Folks, this church is true. It is the truest thing that I know. Here on the mission I have felt the hand of the Lord in my life so much. I have felt of his love and His guidance and I know that if we work and live as we should, he will bless us with his guidance as well. Have a great week!!!

Elder Morris. 

My memory died so I am getting it fixed. Pics next week.

The Lord needed his valiant son. Love you Grandpa!

Well, I really don't know what to say. I have a million moments passing through my mind's eye. I don't even know where to begin. Okay, a little bit from the week.

We have an investigator that is progressing really well. Her name is Ruby. She is really great and has come to church 4 times. Well, one of her old pastors came and was talking her out of coming to church. She was letting the world tell her and teach her of Godly things. So we gave her a blessing to be able to receive an answer from her Heavenly Father. We invited her to pray, asking specifically for direction from Him. She accepted. The next day we passed by and she had a story to tell us. That night she had had a dream. She was walking along a path in an open field. As she was walking along this path, some lilies caught her attention. She walked over to them and noticed the whiteness and brightness of these lilies. She said to herself "These are the lilies that I have been looking for and have always wanted. I think I will ask the lady to sell me some." She then turned, looking for the owner, but found no one. Looking back at them she said "Look how white they are. They are just like the white shirts of the missionaries." Then she woke up. The Lord answers prayers. The Lord cares about us and if we have questions about things pertaining to the Kingdom of God, why would we look in the worldly kingdom for the answers? Don't accept anything less than an answer from a loving Heavenly Father. Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you. Prayer works my friends.

Last night we had a meeting with the stake president and Mission President about how we can help the work in our zones. The answer, WORK WITH THE MEMBERS!!! All you members should make time to go with the missionaries. Just saying. But before the meeting, President Bird pulled me into a classroom to talk. He told me that my Grandfather had passed away. I didn't know what to feel. Truth is, I had been expecting that. Ever since Saturday, I had had a feeling that the Lord needed his valiant son with him more than he needed him here in a failing body. It is good to know that the Lord is now using him for the salvation of many on the other side of the veil. My companion said I was strong, but my wet pillow at the end of the day said something different. One thing that I have learned about the Atonement of Jesus Christ is that for me it doesn't take away the pain at the beginning. Life is still painful, just like a wound at first. But it does soothe the pain. It is the Holy Balm that if we apply it, it will heal whatever wound, spiritual or physical. The atonement is not just for the spiritual pain, but also for the pain that as humans we are susceptible to feel. Pain from hurt feelings, from a bad day, or from the loss of someone dear to your heart. The Lord does take away the pain, if we open ourselves up to His healing hands. My hope is that we can all accept and utilize the healing power of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. I love you guys so much. Have a great week!

Elder Morris

Don't worry, the Church is true!

Life as a zone leader. Last Thursday: Leadership council all day. Tuesday: Zone Training AND exchanges with the Assistants. Wednesday: Zone conference which I had to direct. Then Monday: No P-day. Tuesday. Exchanges. Wednesday: I didn't get to work in my area because we had to go find a missionary who went rogue and ditched his companion. We had a man hunt on bikes all around our little city of Cadereyta. Then we found him just in time to go to the mission offices to spend the night because on Thursday: TEMPLE! WHOO HOO!! The temple was great. I finally got to eat some good campechanas!! IT was great. Time to relax and time to chill. 

We have been able to find some new people that are really ready to be baptized. And the best part is that half of them are part member families. Families are the most important folks. Remember that.

 So, what is it that I have learned in the time since I last wrote? The Lord has a plan. It is infinitely expansive and infinitely detailed, yet everything is so simple that all we have to do is ask and He tells us what He would like. What I have learned is that everything will work out. Life will get better if you are doing your best. There is a saying that my companion uses a lot because it is funny. "Don't worry, the Church is true." It is 100% true, it is just funny because he uses it for everything, jokingly of course. "Elder, we don't have any more toilet paper!!!" "Don't worry, the Church is true." But I know that it has a lot of solace. Really, nothing else matters. The church is true. I invite you to keep that in mind and pray to know that it is true. If you know it, do it to get the confirming revelation that the Lord has promised. If you knew it once and have strayed a little, do it to renew the conviction you once had. If you don't know it, but want to, test the Lord, He never fails. But do it with a heart ready to follow the answer and with the humility required to submit your will to that of the Lord. Lastly, I want to share with you my testimony. The Lord works in small ways. He works through humble, weak, but dedicated humans to bring about the happiness that He desires for all his earthly children. The Lord loves you. I know that more than I know that I am sitting here in Mexico. People, the Lord wants you to be happy. He is pouring buckets of blessings!!!! Don't you dare put up your umbrella! Do what you need to do to be able to except all that the Lord is doing for you, all that He is WILLLING to do for you. I love you, the Lord loves you, and you need to love you. Be happy, “Don't worry, the Church is true”.

Love Elder Morris

P.S. Please keep in your prayers my Grandparents if you wouldn't mind. They had a serious auto accident. Elliott and Shirley Morris. They deserve your prayers. They are the best, most humble people.