From the Pearl of Africa, Testimony of Jemba

Not all our investigators have to travel hundreds of miles to attend church, but there are a few.  Jemba is one of those few, and I feel immensely grateful for the testimony and the spirit which we have felt from talking with him.  When we first met Jemba, he lived several hundred miles from any church building, I did not know how he could get to church, and I did not know how he would ever be able to be baptized in this church.  Jemba is one investigator who has shown unbeatable optimism and spiritual insight.  I can’t think of many investigators who would take time in a lesson to teach us and share additional insights without us asking.  Jemba is one of those people.  Jemba knows who God is, and we know God is aware of him.  I feel the conversion of Jemba, and the opportunities which I have seen open to him have been real miracles.  I have seen many miracles while being here, and I am very grateful for that.  I am grateful to share with you this miracle, from the view of Jemba.

Hello everyone, I am by names of Jemba Denis, 19 years Old male Ugandan by nationality residing in a country named Uganda located in East-Africa.

Testimony of Cassia!!

I am excited to share with you the testimony of another person we have been working with!  I am hoping through these you will get a chance of how much I feel I have been blessed.  I know the real joy we find in serving as missionaries comes from seeing the conversion of others.  We read in the Doctrine and Covenants about the worth of a soul:

“Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;  15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!”  (D&C 18: 10, 15)

I have shared my own experience in talking with Cassia before.  Teaching her was one of the most unique and memorable experiences for me as a missionary.  I was able to teach her with my brother, and she is also the only person I taught face to face.  That is another story, today I am happy to share with you her experience, in Portuguese and English! J

Cassia –

Testemunho

Eu conheci a Igreja atraves do meu irmao, mas quando ele começou a frequentar eu senti que ele estava se afastando da familia e achava um absurdo então eu nunca havia me interessado em ir assistir uma reunião aos Domingos.  Anos se passaram e a minha irmã decidiu visitar a Igreja e aceitou ser ensinada pelos missionarios que iam a minha casa e sempre me convidava para participar de uma lição mas nunca me interessei, mas achava muito bonito a força daqueles missionarios, pois nao era facil estar longe da familia e da cultura por tanto tempo.

Causes Me To Fear . . . ?

We don't fear.

The last few evenings we had an influx of bugs in the apartment.  We have had large beetles, big ugly looking fly-like things, and a few spiders.  My first thought one evening was how I could give both spiders to my little sister.  But, then I remembered she is a few hundred miles away, and I would enjoy continuing to get letters from her.  So, as fun as that would be, we just squished them.  As ecstatic as my own sister would be about getting some spiders (not at all), it made me think a little about how fear can affect us in our lives.

I think most of the fears I had growing up were pretty typical.  And I am sure I could take a lot of time to talk about those things.  Working as a missionary my mind is often thinking about the subjects of fear and faith and the power they have to motivate.  I can see those people who are motivated by faith, and I can see the joy it brings.  I can see those who are driven by their fears, and I can see the sorrow it brings to them in their lives.  While rarely asked exactly like this, people do often have some version of—“Do you fear your church is wrong?”  “Do you fear these things point to the Book of Mormon being false?” “Do you fear you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life?”  The answer is those are things I do not fear. 

Testimony of Megan!!

Megan's Baptism!!

I love sharing the testimonies of those we teach!  Today I am excited to share with you the testimony which Megan has graciously shared with us.  Each of those we have met have the most wonderful stories, and everyone is unique.  I know this gospel and this church is something which changes all of our lives. The conversion we have is something personal to all of us, and something which comes from our own seeking and asking of God.  I know this is something Megan has done, and I know her coming to a knowledge of these things has come from God, through His Spirit, and not just what we have said.  But, enough of me, let me share with you her own story:

Megan

As little as nine months ago, I would have described myself as a devout atheist.  Having been raised by my two young parents and an Irish Catholic grandmother, I had many confusing, conflicting, and harsh feelings surrounding religion, faith, and God.  Going to church was always seen as a chore that was saved for rare holidays where we were forced into it by our grandmother.  Most of what I knew of God, Christ, and religion had to do with guilt, constant sin, and feeling afraid.  Needless to say, I did not relate well to this and clung to both my logic, scientific inclination and my compassionate, humanistic feelings.