03/14/16- God Can Change Us

Hello everyone! It was good to hear from all of you this last week, and it has been quite the week. Things are going well out here in Madagascar, and the work is progressing.
 

First off, P-Day activities. Today, we will probably go play basketball as a zone, and then maybe play pool at a restaurant we were going to go to for lunch. Next week though we have a plan to go to a lemur park just outside of Tamatave, so that should be fun.
 

Second: Zone Conference. We had Zone Conference this last week with Elder Hamilton from the seventy, which was awesome! We learned a lot, especially about focusing on the final goal. Before, in past times, it seems like missionaries were focused on baptism, baptism, baptism! But now, it's not baptism. Baptism is A goal, not THE goal. The final goal is celestial exaltation. And that must always be the goal that we keep in mind as we do everything in this work. That was one of the biggest things that Elder Hamilton focused on, was just the way, the path, that brings us to eternal life. And I have already felt a difference with the increased focus on eternal life in the lessons that I have taught. As missionaries, we are called to preach repentance unto all people in order for them to follow the gospel and thus obtain exaltation. So we must always focus on that in order to bring the Spirit into the lives of those we teach.
 

Third question: In the leadership meeting with Elder Hamilton, the biggest thing he focused on was that the calling of a leader, anywhere in the church, is the calling to be a servant. The leaders are not above the rest, but as Christ did when he washed the feet of the Apostles, the leaders are called to serve and not to be better. An Assistant to the President in the mission field is no better than a junior companion. And so, the best leaders are those who serve. And that's what his main focus in that meeting was.
 

Fourth: Our best lesson this week. That would probably be, for me personally, our last lesson yesterday. We taught for the first time a young man named Jean Jacque who is the non-member husband of a less-active member. He came to church yesterday morning and asked to meet with us, so we set up a time with him for that night. We were planning on just teaching a first lesson on the Restoration, but then at the beginning of the time, he came out and just started telling us how he, before, had been living a pretty bad life. He had been unfaithful to his wife, and they had split up. But recently, he felt something pushing him to change, and to ask forgiveness from his wife. So he did, and now he came to church and to us, asking for help, so he can change and, as he said "miala ny toetra ratsy" (leave his bad characteristics). And so we had an incredible Spirit-filled lesson on the Atonement and the grace of God and how He can change us, talking about scriptures like Mosiah 3:19, Moroni 10:32, and the like. I could tell that he really felt the Spirit, and I feel like his conviction to change will help him change and become a better person and leave behind the person he was before.
 

Last question: As of late, I have been thinking about how people can change, how they can truly become a new person, rather than just changing single actions in their day to day life. And the answer that has come to my mind is honestly very simple, and that is to simply try. If we try our best, and work hard to "deny ourselves of all ungodliness", then the grace of God, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, will change us. Yes, we must use our agency to choose to try and deny those ungodly traits and characteristics, but we must do so and use our agency in order to truly allow God to change who we are. I know that God's grace can change us, as it says in Moroni 10:32, and will change us, if we choose to use our agency and exercise our self-mastery to truly deny ourselves of all ungodliness, as the scriptures say. If we do so, then God will change us.

Anyway, that's all for this week. Thank you all for everything you do. Love you lots, and hope you all have an incredible week!

Am-pitiavagna,
Elder Snell

This is a classic cloudy day in Tamatave in our area.

The next two pictures are from lunch after Zone Conference, where you can see Elder Hamilton and President Foote in the background.

Also, I almost forgot. Last little story. Last Wednesday when Elder Hamilton first got here to Tamatave, he wanted to visit some members, so we took him to our member Arsene with his wife. So it was kind of a cool experience, but I got to translate for Elder Hamilton and our members. At the end, we all knelt down and Elder Hamilton said a prayer, blessing their home, and I had the opportunity to translate the prayer for our members. The Spirit was very strong, and it was a very nice experience for me personally, to feel that type of Spirit in their home.