Okay, well hey, this week was way cool! It was seriously so fast I can't even believe it and right now thinking back about my week the coolest things that we had were two big conferences!!
We had one just with the Area and Mission President and it was way cool! The President, President Bowler, had assigned each of the APs to speak on one of the principles our mission uses and what we need to do to improve! The whole meeting was really just mind blowing because they began with a power point of the average stats our mission reports every week! The average for our mission is only 12 lessons a week and that is absolutely terrible!! In my three months here my lowest number for weekly lessons was 17 and that's still 5 higher than the average! But yeah enough about that. They continued by showing us the number of baptisms we had in the last year for our entire mission, which was 1179 in total. The number looks really impressive right? Well no... it's terrible! They showed us how each month we were averaging less then 100 baptisms. In our mission there are 246 missionaries and if each of the companionships only had one baptism every month then the growth in those two numbers would be drastic!
Our mission president then spoke and took it a step farther. He reminded us of the missionary objective to invite others to come unto Christ by faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and persevere to the end. He reminded us that our work is to bring others unto Christ by baptism. That is our main goal here in the mission for two years and the numbers aren't showing it! He told us that if each companionship had at least one baptism a month then it would be a huge step forward. He then asked us to imagine how quickly we could change the world if every individual missionary had one baptism every month. In the world there are 80,000 missionaries and if we each baptized at least one person every month for an entire year then the difference by the end of the year would be unreal! I can't even imagine it but I want to be a part of it!
In Matthew Chapter 10:39-40, it says:
He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
This has been my goal in this mission, to lose myself in the work! This mission has brought both the hardest and the best moments of my life up to this point! A huge part of missionary work is described very briefly in this scripture. Those people who accept us into their homes are accepting two young men or young women with the name of Christ on their chests! Our goal and our purpose is to help people to accept Christ and be perfected in Him. After they accept us they have the opportunity to hear this beautiful message of our Savior and Redeemer as well as the pleasure of learning more of our Father in Heaven. This work is marvelous and I won't trade one second of it for anything in the world! I really have learned the importance of taking up my cross and walking in the way of Christ! Taking up our crosses is an act of our faith, diligence, and our love for our Father. Christ showed us the way and now we need to follow Him with complete fidelity and trust in God, the Eternal Father that He will always be there and that He will always provide a way for us to accomplish the things we need to if we follow the Son of God with faith! I love the scripture my brother, Elder McKee shared about trusting in God and not in the flesh! For us all to lose ourselves in this work we all need to take up our crosses having faith that God the Father will make those burdens (your cross) light on your shoulders! I know God lives and I am blessed to be here sharing this message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son, with these amazing people in Honduras! I love you all and I miss you all but I am here and this is my work, the work of our Lord and I wouldn't trade one second of my time here for an entire year at home!
I want to be one of those missionaries who changes the world. Please all of you help the missionaries in your respective areas to achieve this marvelous goal! Please help each and every one of those Elders and Sisters in the world baptize one person every month! That's the new missionary motto! Every missionary, every month! This work is our work but it's also yours! Let's make a difference in the world and share our message!
I love you all and I love this work! Together let's make the change and bring 80,000 people into the waters of baptism every month! Thank you all for your prayers! I really can see and feel the difference in the blessings I receive as a direct result of your prayers! Please continue to remember me and the others in this work daily as you speak with our Father in Heaven! This week is a week to put my shoulder to the wheel and work my butt off to meet this new goal! Thanks for everything and hey don't be afraid to write me!
Elder Jonah McKee
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