July Transfers

This week transfers were held in the Texas Houston Mission.  We said farewell to fifteen missionaries - Elders Alder, Chavarria, Farish, Gray, Lowe, Moody, Nilson, Sevelo, Shaw, Smith, Tanavasa, Thorpe, Ulugia, Wright and Sister Sullivan. We will miss them and wish them the very best in their future endeavors. They will always be part of the Texas Houston Mission family. On Wednesday afternoon, 34 new missionaries arrived from the MTC!  We are thrilled to welcome them here and pray that they will find great joy in their missionary service. The past few days have been filled to the brim with meals, firesides, training, orientations, interviews, temple, mission transfers, airport trips, and lots of luggage!  We thank all who have helped make these events possible. Please enjoy a few pictures taken during the week. 

 

New Missionaries

 

New Missionaries with Trainers

Finding Doctrines

Dear Sisters and Elders –

President Boyd K. Packer explained that, “true doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behaviors” (seePMG, p. 19). Today, I would like to share several true doctrines that have changed my attitudes and behaviors about finding. These gospel principles have increased my understanding of how to work with the Lord to find those He has prepared to receive the gospel. These key finding doctrines include:

1. God knows the end from the beginning (D&C 38:2; Abraham 2:8).
2. God has prepared people to accept the gospel (D&C 31:7; Alma 13:24; Alma 16:16-17; D&C 4:4).
3. Those that are prepared respond to the Spirit (D&C 29:7; D&C 42:8).
4. We help others feel the Spirit through our words (D&C 100:7-8) and with the Book of Mormon (2 Nephi 29:2; 2 Nephi 30:3; 3 Nephi 29:1).
5. God will help us know where to go, what to do, and what to say to find those prepared (D&C 31:11; D&C 79:2; D&C 84:85; D&C 100:4-5; D&C 112: 19).
6. We qualify for God’s help when we are worthy (D&C 53:2-3; D&C 112:28), when we ask for it (3 Nephi 27:28-29), and we expend personal effort (D&C 4:2; D&C 84:94; D&C 123:12-14).

While these doctrines are each powerful on their own, together they describe an integrated approach for finding those the Lord has prepared to accept the gospel.

God knows all things. He has prepared people to accept the gospel. He will lead us to them or He will lead them to us (PMG, 155). As we open our mouths and share the gospel with the Spirit, those that are prepared will receive our message.

I invite each of us to re-review these finding doctrines in our personal or companion studies to build our faith that God can and will use us to find, teach, and baptize those He has prepared.

With much love and respect,

President Pingree

A New Senior Couple

Elder and Sister Jenkins joined the Texas Houston Mission on Thursday.  They have been assigned to serve in the Inwood Ward as an MLS couple.  Welcome!  Please see a picture of the Jenkins along with a few others taken during the week.

Elder and Sister Jenkins

MLC

Elders Segura and Mondragon enjoy taco salad after MLC

 

Laura Pingree visits family for the week

Houston West Stake Correlation

Elder and Sister Ramirez, new church service missionaries
assigned to the Waller Branch

Oherns and Eastleys after an office meeting

Woodlands 3rd Ward Hermanas

Elder Brandshaw with Ward Mission Leader

Elder Knudsen and President Pingree following a baptism

Setting, Planning, and Accomplishing Goals with God‏

Dear Sisters and Elders –

 

During this week’s specialized training we discussed how “God’s ways” are higher than “man’s ways” (Isaiah 55:8-9).  As we trust more in God and less in our own capabilities, we will experience more miracles in sharing the gospel.  All things are possible with God (Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37).

 

So, how do we rely more upon God in our missionary labors?  There are many ways, but one is to set, plan, and accomplish goals with Him.  Please find below a description of how we can involve God to achieve goals.

 

1. SET an INSPIRED GOAL

The first step to accomplish a goal with God is to identify an inspired goal.  This is critical.  We need to know that God is behind the goal.  Without this knowledge, we will not have the faith necessary to put forth our best efforts to achieve the goal and to expect His help in the process. 

 

How do we come to know that God is behind a goal?  There are two ways.  First, we can receive a goal directly from the Lord.  We ask Him and He answers us (3 Nephi 27:28-29) through a thought, impression, or feeling (D&C 8:1-2).  Second, we receive an inspired goal indirectly from God through a priesthood leader, a companion, the scriptures, or another appropriate means.  For example, the mission standard to “find a new investigator every day” is an example of an inspired goal received indirectly from God.  We can confirm the validity of indirect goals through confirmation of the Spirit and by applying the test put forth in Moroni 7:13, 16-17.

 

2. PLAN

Once we have an inspired goal, we must devise an inspired plan to accomplish the goal.  Nephi gives us a template for inspired planning (1 Nephi 17:7-11).  He received a goal from God to build a ship.  To begin, Nephi determined that he needed tools and that he could make them.  However, he did not know where to find the ore to make the tools.  So, he asked God for specific help to locate the ore.  Nephi identified everything he could do on his own (i.e., make the tools) and then he asked the Lord for the specific help to do what he could not (i.e., locate the ore).

 

Like Nephi, we must first determine what we can do to accomplish an inspired goal.  For example, if we seek to “find a new investigator every day,” we must first identify those things we can do to accomplish the goal.  For example, during nightly planning we can schedule specific times and places to knock doors, we can promise to invite at least 20 people to learn about the gospel during the day, we can ask the members to invite nonmember friends for scheduled dinner appointments, or we can commit to ask for a referral after every lesson we teach.  After we make a finding plan and commitments for the next day, we can plead with God for specific help to do things we cannot accomplish on our own.  For example, we can ask Heavenly Father to have those He has prepared cross our paths the next day, we can plead for the strength to keep the commitments we have made, or we can pray for the Lord to recognize prepared friends and have the courage to invite them to the meal appointment or to learn about the gospel.

 

3. ACT and FOLLOW the SPIRIT

Finally, we must act upon our inspired plan.  Despite fears or challenges, we strive to accomplish each task we scheduled and live up to each commitment we made.  Certainly, the Lord may alter our plans and present opportunities that we did not expect.  However, when we are living close to the Spirit, we will recognize these opportunities and take advantage of them (see 1 Nephi 4).  God wants to help us to achieve goals to complete His work.

 

Goal setting and planning must be “acts of faith” and must involve God in order for us to “bring about much good among Heavenly Father’s children” (PMG, p. 146).  God is waiting to pour out greater blessings upon us as we learn to rely upon Him more completely in our daily efforts.

 

I sure love you and feel blessed to serve with you in this mission!

President Pingree

Specialized Training

Sister Wolfe completed her missionary service this week in the LDS Employment Office.  We appreciate her faithful service and know she has blessed the lives of many.  We will miss her!

This week, specialized training was held throughout the mission.  The trainings were held at seven church buildings with approx. 30-35 missionaries at each location.  The theme for the training was Isaiah 55:8-9.  We discussed how God's ways are higher than man's ways and reviewed examples from the scriptures and PMG.  We also discussed how to more fully involve the Lord when setting, planning and achieving goals.  In addition, we reviewed things that build our faith and those things that destroy our faith from principles taught in a conference talk by Elder Pearson, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (April 2009).

Please find below pictures of Sister Wolfe and others taken during specialized training.

Mexican food with Sister Wolfe (right)

Connecting with the Light of Christ

Dear Sisters and Elders –

Every person on earth is given the light of Christ in order to “know good from evil” (Moroni 7:14-19).

President Boyd K. Packer explained: “It is important for a…missionary…to know that the Holy Ghost can work through the light of Christ.  A teacher of gospel truths is not planting something foreign or even new into an adult or a child.  Rather, the missionary…is making contact with the [light] of Christ already there.  The gospel will have a familiar ‘ring’ to them” (“The Light of Christ,” address delivered at the seminar for new mission presidents, 22 June 2004, 2).

When we talk with others, we want them to FEEL something.  Therefore, we need to state truth in a clear, concise way so that our words connect with the light of Christ within each person.  In addition, we need to speak with “solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness” (D&C 100:7).  Those that are prepared will “hear [God’s] voice and harden not their hearts” (D&C 29:7).

Based on this principle, Elder Golden during his recent training suggested an approach for contacting new people.  Unless guided by the Spirit to do otherwise, he recommended that we state something like the following:

“Good day, sir (or ma’am).  We are representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ.  We have a very sacred message from Him that will change your life.  May we share it briefly with you?”

When talking with others, I invite you to use clear, concise statements of truth in order to connect with the light of Christ within each person.  Speak sincerely and with humility.  Those the Lord has prepared will recognize the truth and open their hearts to your message.

Thank you for your devotion to the Lord and to sharing His gospel truth with others.

With much love and respect,

President Pingree

This past week missionaries went to the temple with their zones.
Here is a picture we received from the Houston West Zone II.

 

Doing our Part

Dear Sisters and Elders –

I hope you all had a positive, revelatory experience watching the worldwide broadcast yesterday, The Work of Salvation.  I know I did.  The messages gave me strength and renewed energy.  What a blessing to be a part of this glorious work!

President Ezra Taft Benson said, "I have often said one of the greatest secrets of missionary work is work!  If a missionary works, he will get the Spirit; if he gets the Spirit, he will teach by the Spirit; and if he teaches by the Spirit, he will touch the hearts of the people and he will be happy" (PMG, p. 121).

Certainly, the Lord will perform miracles to hasten His work.  "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27).  He has prepared people to receive the restored gospel.  However, we must do our part.  He requires our obedience and virtue.  He also requires us to work hard and do our very best.  If we do, we have access to His promises and power.  If we don't, then we are left to our own strength.

I always enjoy reading your letters.  Thank you for the miracles you share.  Much can happen when we are obedient, virtuous, and put forth our very best efforts.  Here are two illustrations shared with me this week:

"This week was literally one massive miracle!  We started doing and performing our best for the Lord. We stopped trusting in our own strength and started to rely on the Lord's. We set goals that we thought the Lord wanted us to achieve and not goals that we knew we could do on our own. The numbers we report to you this week are real and fit within PMG definitions. We didn't achieve these numbers, but the Lord did. We had nothing to do with it; we were just the instruments in His hands. The Spirit was very strong in every single lesson we taught, even in the simple street contacts that we did. We would state simply and clearly our calling as representatives of Jesus Christ and state the importance of our message. Almost every single time, they invited us to visit them…some times that very night. This is the Lord's work, not ours."

"Miracles? This week has been full of them! We have tried our hardest to be obedient and virtuous missionaries. We have been listening to the first thoughts that come in order to better follow the Spirit and we've seen the promises fulfilled. We've made our new motto, 'be a constant.'  We want to do everything in our power to be a constant part of the equation of missionary work. We have been so blessed this past week. We were able to get 5 new investigators and that puts our total of investigators at 12. We've found so many people who have been prepared and we feel so blessed that the Lord has placed so many people in our path. We don't feel we deserve it, but we've been trying so hard to be obedient and virtuous so that we can accomplish the work the Lord needs us to do. It's been really humbling. We didn't find all these people on our own and we definitely aren't the ones teaching these people. The Lord led us to them, and he's allowing us to be the vessels through which His word can come."

Thank you for your faith, work ethic and devotion to the Lord.

With love,

President Pingree