Nov 14, 2013

Hey everyone,

Another quick week has flown by! We've had loads of exchanges to sort out the last few weeksSince there was only a two week span where we didn't have any meetings. I got to travel back to Preston and spend some time there. It's been over a year since being there so it brought back a lot of memories. Preston was probably my most challenging area but because of that I also learned a lot about myself.

I had a miracle while I was on exchange there as well. We have this program called the AUFprogram (lost sheep) where we go out and try to contact less-actives who have lost contact with the church. After we go the less-actives house, we knock ten doors to the right and ten doors to the left. We knocked all the doors...nothing. We decided to go one extra door because we know God blesses extra effort, and we met a young mom who we ended up teaching on the spot. We were pretty excited! As we were walking back to the car we stopped a lady just before she was able to go into a house. It turns out that she was a less-active member and she felt prompted to go to a friends house, but her friend wasn't in. We literally were two seconds away from out car before we bumped into her. She asked us if we could teach her right there on the spot so we had a lesson right there in the middle of the road. God always blesses you for extra effort and sometimes it's at the very last minute. "God loves photo finishes." 

I went on exchange with my MTC companion yesterday as well. It was so much fun to talk about all of the crazy memories we had in the MTC. We talked about how they took us all the way to Manchester City Center and they set all the MTC missionaries loose and told us to go and talk to people. We were scared out of our minds! Looking back on it now we were able to laugh. Things change over a two year span.

We had a Manchester Zone sports day that Elder Cox and I went to for about an hour. It's been almost a year since picking up a basketball but I realized that I can still shoot :) Some things don't change haha. I also realized the next morning how out of shape I was when I could barely walk. I'm still feeling it.

This next week is going to probably be the busiest week of my mission. We have loads we have to prepare for. Elder Texeira, the Europe area President is coming next week for a mission tour and zone conferences. We'll be having Zone Conferences next Wednesday, Thursday, and Fridaywith Elder Texeira. We have a new missionary training on Tuesday, and we have a transfer planning on Monday where we will plan all of the transfers. This transfer has flown by! It ends on November 27th. My brain will be fried next week but it will be a week full of memories. I'll be sure to right it all down.

Well thank you all for your support. I love you all loads! have a good week!

Love Elder Ford

P.S Here is our Harvester Corner,

In the 35^th Section of the Doctrine & Covenants the Lord states, “I call upon the weak things of the world…to thrash the nations by the power of my spirit” (D&C 35:13). We each recognize that we have weaknesses and at times the weight of them can create a feeling of immense inadequacy. Many of the great leaders and prophets we look up to have felt these same feelings. When God called Moses and told him of the great work he was to do in leading the children of Israel, Moses responded, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh… (Exodus 3:11).” Enoch also felt the weight of inadequacy when he was called. “Why is it that I have found favour in thy sight, and am but a lad, and all the people hate me; for I am slow of speech; wherefore am I thy servant?” (Moses 6:31). This feeling can easily lead to the disabling feeling of discouragement if left unchecked. Discouragement is not a Christlike attribute. It comes from missed expectations and is one of the adversary’s most powerful tools. He will constantly tell us that we are not good enough and that we will fail, but through the Gospel of Jesus Christ we learn that we fail only when we make choices that lead to failure. We are each a spirit child of a loving, all powerful Heavenly Father and we were not put on earth (or into the mission field) to fail but to succeed gloriously. Through the principle of faith, doubts and discouragement can be overcome. Through gaining a testimony of our divine potential and our calling we gain confidence. We are not in this work alone. God has promised his “angels round about you, to bear you up” (D&C 84:88). We have faith in Jesus Christ, and he has faith in us. He will give us the power to accomplish our calling “notwithstanding [our] weakness” (2 Nephi 33:11). God’s words to Enoch apply to us, “Behold my Spirit is upon you, wherefore all thy words will I justify; and the mountains shall flee before you, and the rivers shall turn their course; and thou shalt abide in me, and I in you: therefore walk with me” (Moses 6:34). We love you!

“Be ye therefore perfect”

  Elders Cox & Ford