Remember the Good

I can remember well my first few days in Junction City, Oregon. My companion and I were both new to the area and knew nothing about Junction City. So on or second day the two of us went to find the our local church building. We had been given some basic instructions on how to get to the church and we followed them the best that we could. As we turned onto the road that we had been told to take we found that it dead ended at an elementary school. Frustrated by this building that sat directly in our path my companion tried to see how we could now get to the church that lay somewhere ahead of us.

As our car moved along the street I turned to my left to see a large brick building that I thought could be an LDS meetinghouse. I exclaimed to my companion that we needed to go see if that was the church. Having already passed the street where the building lay my companion tried to flip a U-turn. While doing so our car hit a curb and our front right tire burst. We now had a flat to fix. But the two of us knew how to change a tires, so all would be back to normal quickly. We pulled out all of our equipment only to find that our jack was all out of shape and could not be used to lift the car.

We were in trouble at that point. Looking through the contacts on our phone my companion and I realized that we didn't know anyone that we could call. We also had no idea where any members from the ward lived. The only option that we had was to knock on doors and see if anyone had a jack that we could borrow. I think it was a surprise to most of the people talked to to have two Mormon missionaries knocking on the door to ask for a jack. I also think it was a little bit of a relief for a lot of these people that we weren't there to talk religion.

After knocking on several doors a man lent us a jack that fit under our car. Sadly the jack hadn't been used in years and was pretty badly rusted. it took thirty minutes of hard cranking before the car was lifted off the ground and we could finally get the bolts off of the tire. In the end it had took two hours to change the tire. At that point my companion and I were finally able to go find the church, but it took a lot more time out of our day than we had planned on.

This was just my second day in Junction City and the next eighteen weeks were filled with weird car breakdowns, a battle with heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and much more. Yet during all that time there were some very bright spots. I met plenty of amazing people who have touched my life. Many of those people have become dear friends to me. So when I look back on at my times in Junction City it's not the difficulties I think about, but the small triumphs, like the baptism of a good friend or the time that I spent with my companion. Those are the things I think of because they are the times that helped me the most.

I know from personal experience that in life there are many negative moments. Times where we question our faith and our resolve to move forward. These times suck, but they're a part of life. Luckily these times end and won't always be a part of our lives. And when we look back on the times we have passed through we will be able to see more good than bad. Always remember that Christ passed through all of our trials and much more. Yet when He had finished the work he was called to do He still loved and He still cared. If He can find the good then surely we can too.

BElieve

THEre is

GOOD

Cat in a Trap

Shortly before my baptism my family got a new cat named Kissa. She was a calico cat who was super independent. She was pretty different from the cat we had before. The prior cat named Sammie loved the family, always came home at night and was just super friendly. Kissa was nothing like that cat.

But despite the differences between the two cats I still tried to love Kissa. I can remember trying to hold here like I had done with Sammie and how Kissa would struggle to escape from my grasp. At night I would try to get that cat to sleep in my bed and she wouldn't have any of that as she thought it was much better to go and explore the house. Kissa also had a problem with coming back to the house at nighttime. Sammie had always know to come back in when the sun went down. If we weren't at home to let Kissa in then she would disappear.

The night that I was baptized I cam home from my baptism excited that I had just received the gift of the Holy Ghost and was excited to take on anything that the world would throw at me. I remember coming home and not seeing Kissa anywhere. My Dad and I went and searched for her out in our dark backyard, but she was nowhere to be found.

But I didn't lose hope. Having just been baptized I knew of my Heavenly Father's love for me. I got down on my knew that night and prayed that we would find Kissa. It was a little bit strange for me to do this considering that I had never really asked for anything in my prayers before. But I knew that Kissa would be found soon.

The very next day Kissa still hadn't shown up at our house. When school ended that day the cat was still missing. But still I knew that she would come back. That night as we were getting ready for bed we got a call from our neighbor down the street. He said that he had caught our cat in his cat trap. I was so excited.

My Dad and I ran over to the neighbor's and found Kissa wandering back and forth in this little trap. Boy was she happy to see us! We took her back home and from that time on she made sure never to run away again.

That time I took extra time to thank my Heavenly Father that my prayer had been answered and that Kissa had come back.

This experience as simple as it may be became an anchor in my life. As I grew older I've had time where I really doubted if God existed and if He really cared about me. But I can always look back on a time where God answered the prayer of an eight year old boy and brought his cat back.

God loves all of us and will never forsake us. If we are looking for something whether it be a cat or an answer our Heavenly Father will hear our prayers and will help us out. Put this challenge to the test and don't doubt and God will answer. I can promise this from my own experiences in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The First Week in the Mission.

The first week of my mission was tough for me. I remember feeling overwhelmed everyday as I went and tried to talk to people on the street and in their homes about the Restored Gospel. I knew that the message of the Restoration blesses everyone, but I was scared of messing up. I spent a lot of time praying for courage and to know what to say to people. But when I talked to people I found that I was still afraid and had a tendency to speak too fast, call myself the wrong name, and switch my words around. I felt unworthy and kept wishing for help. That help though came in a different form than I had prayed for. I realized as I tried to talk to people that even though I fumbled with my words people were listening and had a desire to learn about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Not because of me though, but because the Holy Ghost was testifying to people of the truth of the Restoration. Because I was about the Lord's work I was helped by His Spirit. He had answered my prayer not by giving me courage or the ability to speak well, but to know that everything would be okay as long as I tried my best. I came to realize that all the Lord asks of us is to do our best and to come unto Him through faith in Him, repentance, baptism, and enduring to the end. When we strive to do this we can find comfort and healing. May we all come unto Christ is my sincere prayer. Amen.