Monday, April 6, 2015

Le Paques (Easter) and General Conference...a great combination!

Hello everyone...how is it going!? Everything is going great here in Africa and I am loving it! This week has flown by and it has been a pretty amazing week! The hard thing is so many exciting things happen during the week and then I get to cyber and its like all my memories of the past week just leave my head and I have no idea what I have done:)

This week was a great week for preparing investigators! We have 2 who are very ready for baptism, Flor and Saloman...Saloman especially. We have been meeting with him around 3 times a week, for about the 2 past weeks. We talked to him about baptism and he is really excited for it. So we set a date with him for the 25th of April. And at one of the lessons this week, he asked us what all he needs to be doing to be prepared for his baptism. Now this was amazing! I have never had an ami ask this and it just filled me with joy. And then, this last Sunday it rained really bad and he had been sick, yet he still showed up to church and it was just amazing! It's so awesome to see people accept this gospel and the change that it makes. I'm so very grateful for this mission!

The next experience was with an ami who is named Geraldine. We have been talking about
priesthood power and how someone can receive this power. And as we were discussing, we focused on how it had to come from God. And then I thought to myself and asked the question: how is it that someone could receive this power from God? And through study of the Bible I have learned that it is always given to the Prophet and then the Prophet can lay his hands on someone's head and confer it. Now, when we talked about this, I thought about how I can trace my priesthood lineage all the way back to Jesus Christ. When I pondered this, I got such a comforting feeling that this church is true, and how blessed we are that we have this authority which was given to Joseph Smith by Peter, James and John.

Now a small transition to General Conference. We were able to go to the Coleman's last night and watch the priesthood session as a zone. I love how the talks really focused on the importance of the priesthood and how sacred it is. And reading in Preach my Gospel, we see that the priesthood is the power and authority to act in God's name for the salvation of his children. Now, I love the part that says "for his children". It's nothing to wave about and to brag to the whole world...rather, it is gift that we have received that should be treasured. He has given us the most precious thing that we can receive on this earth and many of us hold it. So it is up to us to be worthy and to use it to its maximum in our church callings and in our family.

The Elders: Easter and the Priesthood Session...a great combination:)

Now I'll talk about the season of Easter. In French, it is called Pak (or I think that's how it's spelled...  it sounds like the English word "pack"). In Africa, it is a big, long week of festivals, and on Sunday, many people have big, big parties. But sadly, there is no Easter bunny here:). While I love Easter, I was not as excited as usual and I wondered why. And I think it's because on your mission, you do your best to think like God and to do what He would do. And you think of the Atonement every single day. But I want to focus on the sacrament. The sacrament here has taken on a whole new meaning. When I take the bread, I think of how He died on the cross for me, when I drink the water, I think of how He suffered in the garden for me, and finally when it's over, I think of when He rose 3 days later, and how because of that, I will live forever and so will every other person. And because of the Sealing power, which was restored by Isaiah thru Joseph Smith, I will live with my family forever:)

Family and friends, I know that this church is true. I know that this work we are all engaged in is a marvelous work. I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God. I know Joseph Smith was a prophet and that Thomas S Monson is the prophet today. I know these things are simple, but I know them to be true.

Thank you to all who wrote me...I really appreciated it. I love you all and I hope you had a good Easter weekend. Someone go eat a few boxes of chocolate and peeps for me!

Love,
Elder Legerski

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