Goals and Personal Revelation

We finally got new nametags ALL in khmae!

Hello family!

I had a good week, tough, but good. Something really fun this week was last thursday, Elder Jorgensen and I had just finished meeting with a contact of ours for the first time, didn't work out by the way, and we were biking wondering what in the world we were going to do. Then we saw Om Rodtha, a recent convert about 56 yrs old, trying to shovel a 1 ton pile of dirt around to level it and get it ready for concrete. So Elder Jorgensen and I pulled over and did the whole thing for her, about 1 hour later we finally got it finished and i have about 5 blisters on my hand. I just dont understand why they just can't get a shovel :-p.

Investigators are doing better, Miing Pov didn't come because she was in kampong thom, but Chandy did which was awesome. We went Wed to teach him and he was just super sad, he had a huge problem with his family, and he just felt bad. He knew that he should have gone to Church on Sunday. He said how he was so impressed that we weren't mad, but just kept coming back to meet him. So we had some huge progress with Chandy, he came to church yesterday, and he said how he wants to wait to get baptized for a little bit while he prepares himself. So happy for him, it was all him too, it's so amazing to see how well he responds to the influence of the spirit and how much he strives and wants to do good. 

Last Friday was specialized training though which was super fun, we got our new goal card, which is a card that says all the things the mission president expects us to do, like plan meals, contact more, eat healthy, wash hands, teach shorter lessons, etc, it says a bunch of things. But mostly it says the goal for baptisms. Last year was 900, this year is 600, which is more realistic and totally doable. Which means i should get 7 or 8 baptisms to do my part. Also, he added, 250 people saved. So president wants us to re-active 250 members. I'm totally glad he changed the goal up like that because he always wanted us to focus on both but the goal really pushed for baptisms even though a lot of our time goes towards re-activating. But anyways the theme for the meeting was "Diligence". The president noticed there was no really big push towards the goal in december like there was in 2010. So he wants us to be more diligent and push that extra 10%. Hoe to the end of the row is what he says. Anyways, his main focus is finding, contacting especially. He told us that its ok if you get scared to contact "you'll get over it". haha he's funny. So it was a really good motivational meeting.

This last week was tough again for investigators. Lessons went absolutely amazing. I basically taught all the lessons because elder Jorgensen was translating for the new senior couple that went with us. Honestly i have never felt the spirit so strong when teaching before. I felt the words given to me. I didn't say anything new or beyond my vocabulary or ability, i just felt like i said what i needed to say, my thoughts were very clear and i barely even had to think about what i was going to say, it was amazing. But nobody came to church. I was so suprised, i just don't get it. This is one sunday that i have honestly felt like they were for sure going to come. I do know though at least, that i couldn't have done anything more, can't beat agency sometimes.

This past week i have really been thinking a lot about personal revelation. I can honestly say this last week i really feel like i've been getting some serious personal revelation. The funny part is, nothing new is happening, the only difference is i realize its personal revelation. I realized my best source for personal revelation is just writing. So now i started reading preach my gospel again, and i read a passage or a good thought, and i just write in the notes part on the side of the page, to where i'm filling up the notes on every page. Some of it is just summarized and dumb, but it leads me to thinking more, because it gets the dumb stuff out of my mind and i have new ideas start coming in, so 2 days for a total of 30 minutes, and im 3 pages in, and 1 of those pages was only a 1/2. After having started that is when i started teaching with the spirit. Personal revelation is so important, and it just brings the spirit into your life stronger. Its not so much different ideas or miraculous events, as much as its you can feel God with you, studying with you, walking with you, and teaching with you.

It's my testimony i leave with you as a representative of Jesus Christ that i know this church is true. God desires to open the windows of heaven and pour out his spirit upon us, we need to gain the desire to recieve it. I know personal revelation is a gift a God, it is the way he guides us, and touches our lives, i promise you that as you strive to recognize God in your live, the promptings of the holy spirit in you every day doings, you will be filled up with the Love of God. In the name of the Savior Jesus Christ Amen.

I love you all, Elder Rucker

This picture is a members kid crying, its so funny because he was barely crying that loud because he had been crying for 30 minutes after getting ash in his eye so he was all out of breath, but his face didn't change at all, made me want to send it with a caption "for only a quarter a day, you too can support a cambodian child...... buy cookies and treats and the local vendor..... because as soon as they get money thats what they blow it on..... little treats and candies from thailand.. but man when you give them one it makes them really happy.... thank you"