Hi everyone!
So I looked at the transfer information (where all the
missionaries will be the next 6 weeks) on Saturday and was shocked. Like 50%+
of the companionships in the mission stayed together including myself and Elder
Proffit! So we will be together until mid/end of June. I'm looking at my second
nearly 6 month stay in Loveland! haha. I wonder what I'm supposed to be
learning! One thing we thought about for why so many are still together is that
our mission president and God are trying to help us not wait until our
environment changes to change. Rather, we need to change today! Find new people
to teach today! Help someone be baptized today! In life, we can't just be
transferred away from our problems!! We have to refocus and make it happen! So
maybe that's what we are being taught. Though that's just my opinion on that.
For the many of you that know me, I'm not the best at going
to bed on time, waking up on time and stuff like that in life in general.
Unfortunately that carried over to being a missionary. BUT I have recommitted
myself to being TRULY diligent in my mornings and planning sessions. That has
made a large difference. I have successfully studied these last 4 days in a row
for the full 1 hour. If you couldn't tell, I don't always share insights from
studies in my email. That's mainly because I didn't dig deep enough to actually
gain an insight that I remembered while I was emailing!! And that is bad. It's
hard to tell the negative impact when you study less diligently, but when you
recommit and REALLY make it happen... WOW. The results are immediate. You feel
WAYYY better (not that I was necessarily feeling bad) and have more joy. *sigh.
It's the best. Wouldn't you know it that the day (Friday May 1) that I
recommitted to being more diligent is the day that Kellen had a pang of
conscious after partying that he needed to do something different. Then we
talked to him that Sunday after he said he hadn't slept for a night because he
was rethinking his life. Is it a coincidence? I personally doubt it. Every time
I have recommitted to being more diligent, a miracle has come out of nowhere.
(And we met with Kellen yesterday and earlier today and have another lesson for
tomorrow set up! It's pretty promising right now.)
Lastly, I'll leave you with a rather long insight I had in
studies. :)
I was reading in 3 Nephi 24 the other day and it blew my
mind a little bit. This is the part in the Book of Mormon where Jesus is
visiting the people in the Americas. At this moment, Jesus is quoting the
prophet Malachi in Malachi 3. The most common thing to take away from that
chapter is that if we want to "abide the day of [Christ's] coming" (3
Nephi 24:2 and Malachi 3:2) then we need to not rob God by paying tithes and
offerings. As we pay our tithes and offerings it says, "prove me now
herewith, saith the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to
receive it." (3 Nephi 24:10 and Malachi 3:10).
However, what hit me most powerfully were verses 13-15. In
the New Elder Campbell translation it says, "You have spoken words against
me, saith the Lord. Yet you ask, 'what have we spoke against thee?' You have
said that it isn't worthwhile to serve me and keep my commandments and live up
to the covenants you have made with me. You believe that the proud and wicked
and those who tempt me are favored of me because you believe they are
succeeding in life while you are not."
How often does that happen to us today? For us in the
mission field... it happens a lot. Not all missionaries are diligent in serving
God and following Him in the way He has invited us to. Sometimes those
missionaries seem to be very "successful" by baptizing people while
those who are more strict at doing the things that the Lord has asked us are
not having the same "success" in baptizing people. Those that are
following the Lord sometimes ask, "Why am I working so hard to follow you
without being blessed while those other ones are being blessed by not following
you? I'm not going to follow you as closely so then you will bless me."
The problem with that interpretation is that we frequently expect immediate
results from following Jesus Christ in our lives, but that doesn't always
happen. What DOES happen is that we are slowly changed into a true disciple of
Jesus Christ and we are on the path back to Him. In the end, we WILL be
rewarded in our diligent heed to the Lord's commands. In the eternal
perspective when we give up our sins and give our heart to God, He will not
disappoint. One of my favorite qualities of our Heavenly Father is that He is a
"man of His word" and He follows through on the promises He has made.
I learned a lot in that scripture pondering session! God
basically told me, "Stop justifying your disobedience because no immediate
results are happening! You receive no witness until after the trial of your
faith! Be obedient for reals Elder Campbell!" And I said, "Thank
you... my bad..." :)
Have an awesome week!
Sincerely,
Elder Jeff Campbell
CO Fort Collins Mission
500 Hillspire Dr
Windsor, CO 80550
P.S. It was great talking to my mom and dad this weekend on
Mother's Day. They are really awesome. :)
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