5.8.11
What a blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives and to know that if we are living the gospel the Lord will bless us. That makes me happy to hear that Kortland is doing better. I'm excited to be able to be back before he turns 19 so that I can help him get ready for a mission. I'm excited and I look forward to that day when he will serve the Lord. It's not too far away. Here in Central America the young men can leave at 18 years old if they have finished high school. I wish that it was the same for the US but the Lord knows why He does what He does. I love being a missionary and doing what the Lord asks of me because it makes me happy. The great thing about serving a mission is that you put to the test, not only in your life but also in the lives of  others, all of the things that you have been taught and you see that they are real. In the mission we pay an Emergency Fund in place of tithing which means that every month we put 150 quetzales in a pouch every month and we save that money in case of an emergency. There have been times in my mission when I haven't put the money in and at the end of the month I'm short on money, but every month that I have payed my Emergency Fund I finish the month with around 200-300 quetzales extra. It's amazing that the law of tithing can work even for missionaries. What a blessing it is to pay tithing.

This week was a very interesting week for me. I worked hard and was obedient, but the Lord needed me to be a bit more humble and so this week he gave my companion and I 2 days this week where we didn't have a single lesson. All of our appointments fell and we walked all day long without getting into a house. It was rough for me because here in Guatemala the people are usually willing to let you in. I got a bit frustrated and thought for a while, what can I change to be able to have the success that I need and desire?  I thought about many things, but the conclusion of my thoughts was that I needed to change my prayers. I was turning into a robot with my prayers and if I want the Lord to bless me, I need to be more sincere. Often our lives become so routine that our prayers become the same. We must always remember that we are communicating with our Father in Heaven and if we want His divine help, we need to genuinely ask for it. I have gained such a strong testimony of prayer. I have never prayed so much for the welfare of others and been so blessed in my own needs. Let us remember that the needs of others are greater than our own. As we are charitable to others through our prayers, miracles happen in our life as well as in the lives of others. I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and as I'm now studying the Old Testament I know too that it is the word of God.


Genesis 17:1

Let us all become like Abraham. Talk to you on Sunday around 1pm your time. I love you all so much.

Love,
Elder Turner