Ask a missionary

 Well, Conference rocks when you’re on a mission!! It’s probably been good forever just this year it was really good. I took like page after page of notes, so much I can’t wait to get the Ensign and read them all. It will be so good. How did you like the “Ask a missionary” talk? Haha, no pressure for me right. It was a really good talk and right after it ended we stood up to go see if there were any Spanish people and this lady stops me and says “Elder, do you think I could get a blessing? I didn’t know what to do and then I got told to ask a missionary so here I am.” It was great. I gave her a blessing just after the session ended and it was really cool. I love giving blessings. The oil part still gets me really nervous though. I will need to work on that. Also just in case you were kinda interested/wondering what happened other than conference this weekend, nothing happened this weekend other than conference. But on Thursday I had a Baptism!!! Haha. It was crazy. We started planning it all on Monday. It was crazy trying to get it all put together but it worked out. Oh and it was in Spanish! Yeah. I get so nervous I kinda messed up (I forgot to say his name, that’s important) but after that part I got through the rest and under the water he went. It was great. He is such a cool little kid. His name is D* and he is really cool. It was a great thing to get to teach him all the lessons and things so fast. He will be a great member of the church.

Oh something else kinda funny. So they do from time to time these talks at Zone Conference where they tell all the missionaries to prepare a short talk. You never think you will be the one to be picked. I’m just lucky I guess. They called me up and I suddenly realized how I really didn’t understand the scripture we were to use like at all! But I had a little something prepared. Not something to read, I still don’t do that well but I got up and just spoke of the importance of the scripture to me. That’s one thing I’ve learned from my mission or at least about giving talks. We are chosen to share with the group why that scripture or topic is important to US not why it should be important to everyone else. It also takes away the pressure of being corrected. The scripture was Luke 9:23-25 and it talks about taking up your cross daily and things along those lines.

Luke 9:23-25

King James Version (KJV)

²³ And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
²⁴ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
²⁵ For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?

When I read it some things stood out to me. When we take up our cross we stand out, when we know why it is that we do something it makes it possible. And that to drop your cross is to give up your choice. We all have the option to drop our cross and join the world but as we do that we will be lost in the crowd. There was more but that’s some of the main parts. I hope you have your scriptures with you and can read the verse or that won’t make any sense.

Well things are good here. We are having fun and working hard. We are just trying to find people to teach who can really use the help. There are so many people that could be helped with what we have. Well my time is just about up. I’m pumped about the new mission age.

 I love you all so much and hope that all is going really good.

 Love Elder Birks