Did You Think To Pray?

Brothers and Sisters its a pleasure to write another blog for you!  So we all know that if we need help on anything or need an answer to a question or whatever the situation may be, we can pray.  So your probably thinking, "yea yea I know blah blah blah I can pray, I know that already," but do you?  Brothers and Sisters im sure we have all thought of this at least once in our life but im hear to tell you that it works.  It truly brings miracles.  Just the other day my companion and I were getting ready to head on out for the day when I decided to grab my flash drive to put more things unto it.  To my surprise it was not in the place where I last had seen it.  I was truly devastated, that flash drive had very important moments that I couldnt get back without it.  So the day went by and I could not find it anywhere.  I looked from the bed to the closet up and down and even sideways...that flash drive was gone.  The next morning I woke up and felt the need to pray, "I'll give it a shot," I thought.  after praying I felt that it was going to be at the library somewhere.  When we arrived to the library I immediatley went to the lost in found with a smile on my face ready to grab it out of the box.  But to my disappointment it was not in there. 

So as we began to online proselyte an investigator saw me and came to say hi. As we began to talk with eachother he pulls out a flash drive and started to play with it. I hurried and asked "where did you get that?!" He said, "well to tell you the truth I found it at my house in the couch." As we talked we came to the conclusion that I left it there weeks ago. Without that prayer this morning I would have not recieved that guidence from the Holy Ghost to go to the library. My testimony has grown so much since that incident.  Brothers and Sisters, He..Is..Real, he knows our wants and needs and he is waiting...patiently...for us to ask. I testify that these things are true and that they can benefit your life, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

CALLED TO SERVE OUR KING

"Called to serve our Heavenly King of Glory chosen".... We all know that amazing song, as a missionary I sing it quite often because for me it motivates me even when times get tough, to go outside and proselyte!  One thing I have learned while being on a mission is that talking to people is tough! I remember when I was home talking to my friends would be the hardest thing I thought so I never gave it a try.  Wrong mistake on my part, Heavenly Father wants all of his children to hear the gospel not just certain people so why not your closest friends.  I now 100% believe that you DO NOT need to be set apart as a missionary to bring the gospel to the ones you love.  A wise man once told me "ya know, we all were latter day saints once, we just need a little reminder." Brothers and sisters that statement is true, we all once dwelled with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and WE ALL accepted his plan.  So let me give you guys a few tips:
1.  Make a mormon.org profile and share your testimony
2.  If a person asks you a question that you dont have the answer to, DO NOT BE EMBARRASSED!  There are many questions that I have come across that i dont have the answer to, just simply tell them "well I dont want to give a wrong answer so do you mind if I find out for you and tell you another time?"
3.  If you are on facebook, add the missionaries, then as your friends go onto your page they will see what the missionaries have to say.
4.  Do not worry before hand if they will say yes or no or if they will totally ignore you all together, want some help on that?  Heres a great scripture that I always turn to when I'm in need of help!  Its Joshua 1:9 and it reads, "Have not i commanded thee?  Be strong and of good courage, be not afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."  So that scripture right there is a promise, Heavenly Father wants us to test him, test him that he will always be by your side in any situation!

5.  Last but not least..INVITE!  So heres an example.  Lets say that there is a ward activity tonight and they are going to have games and food and activities.  All it takes is a, "hey john, are you busy tonight because if not then come to this activity tonight with me, it will be a blast!"  Four words to describe that.....EASY PEEZEY LEMON SQUEEZY!  I know as you do this your Father in Heaven will know how much you are trying, and he will deliver.  With work comes wonders!        

Skating To The Finish Line

SOOOO you're probably thinking "hmm skating to the finish line?"  Ah, i'm glad you thought that question because that is exactly right folks, the title says it all.  This story is based on somewhat true events, maybe some exaggeration here and there but the message still stands.  So about 10 years ago, a boy by the name of Braden was walking one day when he came across a couple of skate boarders and found that it looked quite exciting, I mean come on its skateboarding what could beat that!?  So he pleaded with his dad to get him one and on that very same year he got one for his birthday!  So now it was time to start skating, a little scary huh, "course not!" laughed the boy.  As he started skating he seemed to lose balance and kept falling off, "maybe I should just relax for awhile." he said, so a few hours later he got back on and started riding again.  As time went on his balance increased as well as his skills with tricks.  One thing he knew what would work for him is as he fell he knew to always get back up and try harder next time.  Skateboarding is the perfect example to the power of repentance. Heavenly Father knows that as we live our lives were going to be making a few mistakes here and there and thats why he sent down his only begotten son to take away our sins.  Is that awesome or what?! for me personally i think without the power of repentance, my shoulders would be so weighed down from all the sins I have committed it would be hard to be at peace and happy like our Heavenly Father wants us to be.  I promise that as you go throughout life and you come across some things that your not proud of and you repent of those things you will feel more happy then ever.  Alright so you have repented and now what should you do? ENDURE TO THE END!  So keep on going no matter if you have made a mistake here and there get back up on your feet and try again.   "Wherefore, ye must press forward with a ^asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of ^bhope, and a ^clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and ^dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have ^eeternal life."- 2nd nephi 31:20

So Much Good Stuff!

Gooooooood morning boys and girls!  Well Ive been thinking a lot lately about what i should write about on my new blog and then it hit me.  wWhat is something elder lee cannot live without?.....FOOD!!!!  One of my favorite is MONGOLIAN BBQ! It just has too much good stuff to choose from and that is exactly why I love going there.  Instead of just choosing one item off the menu I can choose many different items that i think will go together and they usually do.  So close your eyes...and no peeking! alright now imagine you just came into mongolian bbq and you get to the first set of items(meat), now ask yourself these questions, do you want it? Is it worth adding it?  Are you going to want more?  okay figured it out, good! now on to the next set of goodies(vegetables).  So what would go good with all that meat you put on, maybe some carrots, some celery and ahh ha some cilantro.  You want this to be the best bowl ever!  Me personally, I try and put as much in the bowl as possible because its too good to only have a little bit at a time.  Alright your bowl of perfection is almost ready now onto the last ingredient....SAUCES!!  Do you want it more sweet or sour, or hot or mild?  there are many choices to choose from, but what the heck add them all!  Alright....its done! time to hand it over to one of those guys whose arms arnt sensitive to heat and thats why they can stir food over a 1000 degree grill.  Its finally cooked and ready to eat, and as you take that first bite it is so good you think its christmas morning and your eyes start to tear up.  bite after bite goes down and you can now say "wow that was delicious, i want more later!"  Eating an excellent bowl of mongolian bbq is just like reading our scriptures, for me personally when I get home from a hard days work I dont want just a small plate of food but rather something I can keep eating because its so delicious!  Thats how the scriptures should be taken.  As we read and ponder the message it contains we will begin to want more and more, and it will become a great habit to have.  I know that as i have started reading the book of mormon my testimony has strengthened so much and I can really understand more and more of what it pertains.  so take the challenge, start by reading a verse at a time, I promise heavenly father is going to bless your lives so much as you follow his teachings.  Last but not least, think of the Book of Mormon as a treasure map to eternal life.  In them it tells what we can do to have that happiness we all long for! "If ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, behold thus saith the Father :  Ye shall have eternal life"- 2 nephi 31:20 

Around The World In 80 Days

Well I think it’s safe to say to all of you that I love to travel. I’ve been anywhere from Puerto Rico to New York and from Hawaii to Alaska. I LOVE TRAVELING! I think my goal is to go to South Africa and Bermuda for my honeymoon but I’ll get to that later if you’d like to hear more, give me a year and a half! Okay so enough about honeymoons and what not; let’s get on with the story! So I know all of you have heard of the story of Around The World In 80 Days right? Right! Great story! I have read it and read it but never really understood what I thought it could mean. So I read it again and this time I pondered as I was reading the pages I noticed that the ENTIRE book they’re trying to get somewhere and as they go about their journey many things happen to them to try and stop them from getting to their destination. Wow! I always thought when you travel you are going to get there perfectly! Man was I wrong. When I look back to when I traveled frequently, I remember the layovers, waiting in the plane for the fuel to be in, and the angry customer in line that you just want security to come get and take away so you can buy your ticket! Things will always come up no matter if you like it or not but the best way to get through it is to find a way to accept it and be happy with it. So, back to the story on Around the World in 80 Days.  Well as the story starts a professor . . .you know what to be honest I don’t know the whole story; but in my interpretation it was about a professor who wanted to show that he was good in his company so he told everyone he could make it around the world in 80 days. Well that sure got their attention so they agreed and if he did it they would make him head professor. So as he’s getting ready to go he finds a person who is looking for some adventure, I couldn’t agree more! I love adventures! So off they went and not only did they leave on time . . . they had an unusual ride, can you guess what it was? A HOT AIR BALLOON! If you guessed it then ten points. If not, oh well. I don’t know this story too much. As they were traveling they made a few stops here and there, but made sure they would stay on course because one degree off could take them to who knows where! Well its coming close to day 67 already and they are on the right course but they needed to pull over so they ended up in Paris! (*Aww*) The town of love. (*hmmph*) Anyways, while they are getting supplies, something happens very unexpectedly . . . a gang of wild feigns try and rob them so now the professor and his sidekick are on the run. "Why do they want us?!" (in an English accent) 我不知道，跑! (Its Chinese for....I don’t know, run! Don’t believe me, go to word translate!) So they are running as fast as they can and seem to gain some distance between themselves and the robbers. So they pull over to a nearby alley and hide in the darkness waiting for the robbers to run by. As soon as they do they run to the balloon and off they go! Well time is almost up they have one day left until they lose the bet! But what looks to be a bad ending they make it and the professor and sidekick are rewarded for their journey. But as I read that I noticed how they had to be exactly on the right flight pattern because if they were off just by a little bit they would have lost the bet. That is very similar to the gospel in that aspect because we need to be exactly obedient not just say "Hmm, I think I’ll be obedient to only some of the commandments."

No, be exactly obedient and as we do so our Heavenly Father will pour blessings out to where we won’t be able to contain them.  Heavenly Father gives us commandments not only for our benefit but for us to trust in him and gain a friendship with him.  I bear testimony that as I have kept the commandments and have tried my best to stay on the right course of direction and yes sometimes i have been a degree or two off course but with Heavenly Father, Ive made my way back to the straight and narrow path.  Its undeniable that he is out there brothers and sisters waiting for us to ask him for help.  So go ahead, test him, what is the worst that could happen?

The Great and Dreadful Journey to Paradise

This is a story, a true story i might add about a boy.  And all that boy wanted was to find his paradise.  He did, however there were some bumpy roads, a few mistakes and TONS of temptations.  Well i guess you have to go through these steps to be somewhere great right?  Right! Now on to the story shall we?  A little description about the boy, well whats there to say.. hes from sacramento, about 6 feet high, loves eating and oh! He loves the Beach, loves loves the beach.  so where do you think his paradise was?  You got it, THE BEACH!  One day this boy was sitting at home, too hot to walk outside so he decides its about that time, a trip to his paradise.  The boy starts planning, throwing things in a bag and tries his best to fall asleep... at 7:00pm!  Alright saturday morning is finally here! The boy gets up, races to get everything together, and out the door!  He jumps in his 88' faded red color mustang v4 engine and races down the street at 15mph!

Things are going great so far, but uh oh! What was the boy thinking not eating breakfast, well there goes 10min out of his time.  "Great! im fed and now back on the road!" the boy starts to drive, drive and again drive and he comes to a point of thinking, "wow im never going to get there," so he decides to pull over to look for some entertainment.  "A movie! yes thats what ill do maybe i can regain my strength for that terrible ride ahead of me." So the boy did what he thought would work but sadly it just took more time out of his way.

  "Nothing is going to stop me this time no way no how!!" laughs the boy.  So the journey continues down the dreadful roads.  Five hours down, three more to go. "aww three more, this is murder driving this far why cant it be easier and we can just end up there when we wanna?!"  well its simple he thought, the reason why we have to go down this road is for us to learn.  "I would have gotten there easier if I just wasnt falling under temptation every time the opputunity arose."  He continues down the path, hes almost there and then oh no....maybe i should leave this part out, well okay ill tell you.  He finds a theme park, terrible i know!  "ohh it looks so much fun but if i go to it i will lose all that progress that I made on getting there, snap out of it! Youre going to continue on this road till you get to paradise, got it?!"  His mind was made up, he did it!  He resisted temptation and about an hour later he arrived.  It was the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.  "The road was long but in the end it was all worth it for this, im finally at peace." As the boy gets out of his car he marvels the scenery, smells the ocean, feels the breeze and..."what am i waiting for?!" As he runs into the water.  He made it, it was hard but he came out alright and now he can have the joy of being in paradise. 

We all have our own paradise, and we know how we are going to get there.  The question is CAN we get there.  Well heres your answer....YES! Heavenly Father knows that there will be hard times and challenges throughout your lifetime but he wants all of us to know that he will be with us every step of it.  The only thing he asks of us is to test him, ask him, believe that what you need help on will come and as you do so you will find that he will bless you for your faith.  "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and ^ahappy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are ^bblessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out ^cfaithful to the end they are received into ^dheaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it." -Mosiah 2:41

Footprints in the Sand

Footprints in the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low periods of my life,

when I was suffering from

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints,

is when I carried you."

Mary Stevenson