Homecoming Talk

Good morning Brothers and Sisters,

What a wonderful opportunity it is for me to stand in front of you all and report my mission experience. I had an amazing mission, some say I didn't change that much which may be true in some aspects, however, I grew and strengthened my testimony and knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now more than ever I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true and that the Book of Mormon really is the word of God. I don't think I could have asked for a better mission. I love my mission. For those who don't know or don't remember I served in the Paraguay Asuncion North Mission. I am so blessed to have served there. I know that I was foreordained by our loving Heavenly Father to serve my Paraguayan brothers and sisters. I love them very much. 

So that you have a better understanding of what it is like in Paraguay, a little information about the church is important; there are two missions, about 400 full-time missionaries and around 80 thousand members of the church. The majority of the population is catholic they they are humble, friendly, and for the most part receptive to the Gospel. I love the people of Paraguay. I felt that love as I testified to them that families can be together forever. I can't wait to see them again someday...

Today I want to touch and talk about several of the great lessons I learned throughout my service to the Lord.

One of the very first lessons I learned was that of how great my family, friends, and neighbors really are. I would like to thank my family for their love and support. I am truly blessed to have been raised in a home where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is our foundation and where I have been taught to love and to serve the Lord. I saw so many families where addiction and abuse had destroyed all love , hope and faith. What a blessing the gospel is in out lives to lead and to guide us away from sin and destruction. I am so very grateful for my leaders and teachers in the church. Each one of you has helped me to become the young man I am today, your teachings and examples have been an especially big blessing to be throughout my service in the mission field. You have blessed many lives. Thank you so very much.

When I was in the MTC, one of the most commonly asked questions was... Why did you come on a mission? It took me several weeks to figure out how to answer that question. There were lots of reasons and I had always just planned on serving a mission since I was a little boy. I figured that since the Lord had blessed me with so much, I would just simply repay him with two years of service and have quickly begun to see and learn that the more I give and the more I serve, the more blessings I receive. We can never do more for the Lord than he can for us. 

Throughout my mission I gained a stronger testimony that God hears and answers our prayers. He answered so many of mine and I had the opportunity to hear the testimony of many others as they read The Book of Mormon and prayed to know if it is true. One of my most memorable prayer experiences was with one of my recent converts, Ever. He had less than three weeks of being a member and realized that the decision he had made to be baptized was a commitment that wasn't very easy. Satan worked so hard and Ever began to doubt his testimony. Thankfully he had learned what we have all learned or need to learn to become active members of the church, that when we lack wisdom, we must ask God. That through the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things. He did just that, and shared with us that he prayed like he had never prayed before and then opened the scriptures and found in Doctrine and Covenants several verses that stuck out to him. By those verses and the feelings he received, his testimony was strengthened and he was able to overcome the trials of being a new member. I know Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us.

(Optional Story: I also remember one night as the day ended and we were trying to accomplish our daily goals. It was late and almost time to go home but we needed another lesson and a new investigator. It as not likely to get into a house at that time of night. We decided to say a quick prayer and then do a couple of last minute contacts. That night we found a lady who later got baptized with her whole family. These types of experiences happen often on the mission. The Lord prepares people and puts them in our paths, especially when we show our faith and diligence.)

Another great lesson I learned was that we must become more like out Savior Jesus Christ. The important part is become, not just be. To become is a process that requires many changes in our lives. To become a missionary is a process of trying to do better everyday. I saw this process with all my investigators and converts also. To become a member of the Church requires so much change, a change of life, a change of culture, a change of heart. I look up to each of the wonderful examples that my converts are to me. Especially one 18 year old named Sergio. He was a common 18 year old young man out side of the church who drank, smoked, and spend his weekends at parties. He is now a worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holder who is preparing to serve a mission. Wow, what an example to us members of the church who have a hard time giving up little things that keep us from serving to the fullest in our callings. His change didn't come through us missionaries, it came through the impressions of the spirit that come as we study the scriptures, pray, and attend church. I learned a lot about how to listen to and to follow these impressions of the spirit. I still have lots to learn and do. Like my mission President said, "to learn is to change."

For me it is hard to accept change. I learned this as I was transferred many times and had many companions. Changing areas to me was the toughest thing even though I always learned to love and was blessed in each new area. Leaving an area meant leaving people I knew and grew to love. They were like my family. I honestly felt a part of me stay in each area that I left. It was hard for me.

There is one lesson I learned that I don't really like to talk about, because I kind of knew of it before the mission but it was confirmed as I served. That is my lack of ability to sing well. In my mission it was normal to sing a hymn to start each lesson. I really like it at first until one day my trainer decided that I was ready for my first division with members. He put me with a 17 year old young man! I had no more than three weeks in the mission. I couldn't speak or understand a thing. I was lost. I didn't know much at all and was really nervous. My trainer told me of several families we could visit and no one was there. We decided to contact a house where I remembered seeing a lady that looked nice outside. We found out that she was a less active member and we started to teach her. Up to this point in my mission I had sang in ever lesson. So I pulled out my hymn book and picked "I know that my Redeemer Lives" and in my terrible Spanish I started to sing without even thinking about if the young man I was with knew how to sing. I still don't know if he knew how or if he just didn't want to help me because I sounded so bad. I couldn't even finish the first verse. I had to stop, apologize, and I just remember saying I know I can't sing but the message in this song is really special. "Yo se que vive mi Senor." It was a humbling moment that I will never forget. I remember feeling the spirit in that lesson even with the circumstances. I know that my Redeemer Lives!

I learned a lot about an eternal principle that happiness comes through obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. Here we have everything we need and then some, especially compared to lots of the families I taught who lived in nothing more than a 10x10 plastic tarp shack with a dirt floor. It was amazing to me to see them smiling. I couldn't believe they could possibly be happy with nothing. When I saw this I realized that our material goods aren't what make us happy. It is when we live lives honorable to receive the blessing from God. It was something that literally brought tears to my eyes to realize how ungrateful I was before the mission. We are so blessed here in America!

When we keep the commandments of God we will prosper in the Land. In Mosiah 2:41 it reads, "I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold they are blessed in all things both temporal and spiritual and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true: for the Lord God hath spoken it."

I am a witness to this promise. I saw the great difference in the active member families that kept all the commandments, and the others that don't. The difference was great. One active family for example, the Dad was just a security guard, the Mom had a little store in front of their house that was closed on Sundays and didn't sell alcohol. They had been members for years and didn't make any more money than the rest of the members. But they kept all the commandments and had everything they needed and then some to help others in need. Thanks to our ancestors that have kept the commandments and set us the example, we are where we are today. 

Another great example of this was Osvaldo. He had been unemployed for almost a year when we shoed up and started teaching him and his family. The day after his confirmation, our many prayers were answered and he found a job. I know this promise is true. 

I was very surprised when I found out that a day of missionary work is more exhausting than a day at the Lumber Yard or a day of insulating. When I would get home it usually didn't take me long to fall asleep. Like President Ezra Taft Benson 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 tough the hearts of people and he will be happy. There will be no homesickness, no worrying about families, for all time and talents and interests are centered on the work of the ministry. Work, work, work. There is no satisfactory substitute, especially in missionary work."

I want to invite each of you young men that can, to prepare to serve a mission. I learned so much. It blessed my life, my testimony is so much stronger than it was when I started. I am my best convert. I was also blessed with the opportunity to help lots of others convert in the gospel. One of my companions always quoted, "You can count how many seeds are in one apple, but you could never count how many apples are in one seed". Think about it, by helping one person change their life, how many lives are changing? The blessings are eternal.

There is a story told of a group of turkeys that would get together in a field to play. One day, one of the turkeys came and claimed to be able to fly. The other turkeys didn't believe him until they saw with their own eyes that the claim was true. All the turkeys begged and pleaded to the one turkey to teach them how to fly. So he did and they all learned. They flew all day long and loved it, they had a wonderful experience. At the end of the day the turkeys stopped flying and walked home... So what is the morel of the story? Don't be the turkey who just walks home.

Often the mission is like.

I know.... Testimony.