Jaxon's Journey - California Ventura Mission: July 4, 2016 - Westlake YSA Ward

#WHOOOOOOOOAAAAA #LIVINGONAPRAYER

Hey!

Okay. I love the mission. Only one thing wrong with it. Time is just too fast! Feels like I was emailing home like 5 hours ago. Crazy.

My week has been AWESOME. I loved every minute of it.

Let's see. Okay, Mom, I got the parcel! I feel bad. I forgot to tell you about the shirts. But they were good. The only that was annoying was the sleeve was shorter and tighter. I did find pants. :) Dad, I got a card from your Mom, from the Jestes, and from Aunt Virginia, and the Shirley's! It was great.

Tuesday was so awesome. Ah. We had Zone Conference, and it was another super spiritual experience! We had some guy come and talk to us about car safety and stuff. It was a cool presentation. They fixed all of our Tiwi's, and yeah. Then President talked about being equally yoked with the members. The main theme was that we can't expect the members to be able to do missionary work if we aren't showing them how to. Then, SURPRISE! Elder Parkinson and I sang "I'll Go Where You Want Me To Go" to open up the afternoon session. It was awesome. Wanna know something cool about that? Zone Conference was on the 28th of June. When was the last time I sang in front of a crowd? Probably at my Farewell. When was that? 28th of June. We killed it. And then, the three Stake Presidents from the three Zones that were represented came and spoke to us about the vision that they have for their stakes. It was great. And then we talked about faith and becoming a true believer of Jesus Christ. All-around, it was an amazing spiritual experience and I definitely want to become a more true believer of Christ. That night, we did a new missionary exchange with Elder Palmer and Elder Ruby. I was with Elder Palmer in his area.... and....

Wednesday. Probably the hardest day of my life. Just kidding, it was fun. Just really sweaty. Elder Palmer and I worked our butts off. And also my thighs. Ladies and gentlemen... Elder Harvey biked for the first time on his mission. Yup. And I nearly died. I am way outta shape. But, we had a couple great lessons. One of them was with a member that didn't want to stop talking. But the people we were teaching became new investigators!

Thursday was a lot of administrative stuff. So not much happened this day, except for a lesson with Allison. I am not surprised she found you on Facebook! She already found Elder Parkinson and I. Anyways, we talked about Obeying and Honoring the Law. And Elder Parkinson, in lieu of July the 4th, went full American. It was awesome. She will be finishing the new member lessons this week!

Ah. Friday. What day? HUUUUUMMMPPPPP DAAAAAAAAAAY! Gah. Great day. We went to gather Stake Reports from everyone for our meeting on Sunday, and then went to Moorpark to go to the college. No one was there, so we went walking. We walked down this street that I knew a Less Active lived near, and we talked to a lady and were walking back, because we planned to see Reggie later in the day. I told Elder Parkinson that we could go by Reggie right now, but later in the day is probably better because he is most likely sleeping, and who turns the corner in his car? Reggie. We went to his house and had a lesson with him about receiving answers from the scriptures. And then later that day, we saw Madisen and taught her about the same thing, just applying it in different ways to both of them! That night, we did another new missionary exchange. Only this time, the classic duo was re-united....

Elder Bronson. Do you remember him? I came out with him, and we were in the same District for our first two transfers, and this was my third exchange with him! It was great. We talked with a lot of people and walked around a lot. Tried this new idea I had, Park Contacting. It was good, met a Spanish lady and referred her to the Spanish Elders! So that was awesome.

Sunday. We had our 6am meeting with the Stake Presidency about the missionary work in the Zone. The Zone has 5 people who should be getting baptized this month! Church was great too. A lot of the testimonies were about faith, and about having the faith necessary to get through trials. And we talked about work during Elders Quorum. How we need to take pride in our jobs and do them to the best of our ability. Saw Alex that night, a former investigator, and talked with him. His brother is the only member in their family, and he is on a mission in Africa! And Alex just won't sincerely search the Book of Mormon and pray about it.

Today? We are doing a scavenger hunt with the Zone, and tonight is a tailgate FHE with the ward! Should be fun, but we have to be in by 8 :(

My testimony this week has grown in sacrifice. I have had the question this week, as I have reflected on my mission thus far, and I studied this morning about what it truly means to "forget yourself." I came to the conclusion that it's a choice we make. We choose to lay everything on the altar of sacrifice. But, it isn't just a one-time choice. Rather, it's a choice we make every conscious second of our day. I was reminded of an experience I had before my first Midget game. Suresh came into our locker room, with a speech prepared. He spoke to us about the ancient Greeks, how they were some of the most fearless men to ever fight. Their army was great. And he talked about how before every battle they entered, they would land their boats on the shore, and burn them. They would do this as a sign of no retreat. There wasn't anything for them to go back to, and so as soon as the stepped onto that field of battle, they were either going to defeat the enemy, or be defeated. Suresh told us that as soon as we stepped a foot on that football field, we needed to have no retreat. No excuses. Just play your guts out. My thoughts are that we need to do the same things as missionaries. As soon as we step into the field, we need to burn those boats. We need to make sure that we give our all. No retreat. No excuses. Just soul-saving. This is something I really want to apply. I am trying very hard to let go of myself. To make that conscious choice of becoming the consecrated missionary that God wants me to become.

" 18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

28 Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee." (Luke 18)

I sure do love you guys. I am glad you are doing so well! I hope you all have a great week, and know that I love you and are praying for you!

BURN THE BOAT!

Love,

Elder Harvey