Family, Priesthood, Pastor and Couple Missionaries Needed.

This week has been so fun!  We are really preparing some sweet people to make covenants with our Heavenly Father! Even a family!!!  We started to teach a lady named Yenno and her husband is a member. As we started the teaching with her, he and she decided that if she was going to be part of the church then the whole family should be members. so they allowed us to start teaching their two children as well!  The father has had a struggle coming to church over the years but this has been a great opportunity for him to be more active and to participate in the things of the gospel!   After many of lessons with the Turray family it clicked in our companionship that we could have Brother Turray baptize his family!  We met with him and reviewed what it meant to have the priesthood and that he could be the tool for God to help his family enter into the gate and put on the path to eternal life.  It was a great lesson and really helped open his eyes to how important the priesthood is and how we need to live worthy of it at all times.  So I am happy to say that we will be having a family baptism on December 21!   What better of a Christmas gift than a family confirmed in the household of God! ! The experiences that we have been having caused me to reflect on my own priesthood and that responsibility that I have to always live worthy of it.  You never know when the Lord is going to call upon you to bless your family!  I want to encourage all priesthood holders of our family to strive always to live worthy of that priesthood that you have.  Even the covenant you made when you were ordained into the order.  I know with all my heart that the priesthood is real!  I have seen it bless the life of many here in Sierra Leone,  I have seen it bless my own life.  But most importantly I have seen how the Priesthood has played a role in our family growing up.  I am so thankful for our father for always being there and ready to administer in the authority to all us his children. Thanks Dad.
   Another experience that we had this week was we met a pastor, yes, another pastor. I dunno why I always meet them but I guess its seemed fit.  Pastor (I'll leave his name out on this one) was a man that is looking to destroy the church (almost like a Book of Mormon story) but he had previously bought lots and lots of church manuals and literature from a member (yes he paid for free stuff) and read them.  His goal was to write papers and books to try to stop people from joining the "latta days" turns out he couldn't find too much to write about other than the temple.  And in that he didn't know much of what to write. (he asked where he could read about what goes on in the temple, ha ha I just laughed and asked him if he had never read the scriptures)  As my companion and I went and met with him we thought it would be nice to start the message of the restoration with him.  Once we got to Joseph Smith he tried to counter it with this scripture 2 Corinthians 11; 13-16.

13 For such are afalse apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
 14 And no marvel; for aSatan himself is transformed into an bangelof light.
 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose aend shall be according to their works.
 16 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool areceive me, that I may bboast myself a little.

 haha it really was an approach that I had never seen.  But after reminding him small of the writer who wrote that book (Paul) telling and asking him if it not had been Paul that seen a light and was converted?  He was quiet then and we bore powerful testimony that he can only know if he reads ponders and prays.  At the end of the lesson in his prayers he prayed and asked God to open our eyes (not his) to see the truth.  It's crazy to see how many people with turn down a simple invitation to witness a miracle in their lives.  Its simple read, ponder and pray. I DID IT!  I never knew it until I had my life changed in the summer of 2010!

  Hey Dad we are in need of couple missionaries and I was thinking of some people who should totally come to Africa on mission that is the Duffins!!  The old stake president!!  Well anyone really.  If you know anyone who is planning on going on a mission and wants to come to Africa for 1 year or more tell them to put in their papers and request West Africa area!  We need more missionaries here!  If they can handle living in this country come on over!!!!

ELDER HALES