Fourth Transfer!

Hello Everyone!

Wow i don't know where the time went but I'm running low on time today so this email might not be as long but I'll try to get as much out as I can! First of all i forgot to thank Anna for that pillowcase you made me!! That is the best thing ever and I've been sleeping with it for the past couple of weeks! Thank you so much Anna! Let's see what happened this week. Oh transfer calls! so i'm staying here in Talibon but i am going to be in a threesome now! my companions are Elder Andres (filipino), and Elder Johnson (from Montana). they will get here tomorrow. Anyway I know them both a little bit and I love them both so it should be fun. I'm really excited to see what a threesome will be like. Anyway I will let you all know how it is next week! We had district conference (stake conference) this last saturday and sunday which was fun. President Tanner spoke a few times in the different sessions and he is just the man. Seriously I can't say enough about how awesome he is and Sister Tanner is. President Tanner's talks are so simple, so sincere, and so powerful. He really teaches and leads us by example. Just by watching him you can tell and see the types of missionaries we should be. He is so intune with the Spirit and follows the the promptings he receives. It's an amazing thing to watch and I wish all of you could be here to see him. I love President Tanner and Sister Tanner. Sister Tanner is just hilarious and so nice. anyway so one of the things that President Tanner talked about in priesthood session was our greatest responsiblity we have as priesthood holders is our family. and then he said the most important person in the family is the wife and mother. He told the priesthood that she is their most important person and priority in their family. Well he said this to all of us but Im not married yet so yeah but when I get married then she is my most important priority. anyway you all know what i mean. But he just said that she is the only one that will walk into eternity with us. Our children will have their wives to walk in to eternity with. I wish you all could have been there to hear him speak and talk about this becsue it was powerful. But one of the things i am so grateful for is for you mom and dad and for your example that you have set for me. I couldn't ask for greater parents. I can't ever pay you both back for all the things you have done for me and taught me. Ican't express my love and appreciation for both of you. I sit and wonder why I was so blessed with such an amazing family, with such amazing parents, and the best little brothers and sister in the world. I love you all so much and if there's anything I can ever do for you then just ask! I love and pray for you always. I hope you know how much I love and am grateful for all of you. I'm out of time now but I love you. I testify that our Father lives and loves us. That His Son Jesus Christ suffered all so we wouldn't have to suffer if we trust in Him and follow His example. I know that through Him and His Atonement we can be healed of any sin, sickness, affliction, or heartache that comes our way. I love Him and will be forever grateful for Him. I love you all! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Elder Fox

I am a child of God

Hey everyone!

Not a ton to update you all on this week. Still just plugging away as a missionary. We have a lot of great people we are teaching. I love them so much. They are the best people in the world. But yeah they are all great but once again church is the problem. They don't ever come which can get frustrating if we let it be frustrating. I think I forgot to update you on our investigator last week but he is doing better. We gave him a priesthood blessing we told him that if he prays, reads the Book of Mormon, and goes to church he will receive the strength he needs to stop smoking. So far he hasn't read and hasnt come to church. He's cut back on his smoking which is good but I think he thinks that he can just stop on his own. Hopefully he realizes that he needs the Savior and will start doing those things to allow the Atonement to work on him. He is awesome and his family is awesome too. I love visiting them. Also we have another investigator that suffered a stroke a while ago and can barely walk. We've visited with him and talked about how the priesthood that allowed the apostles of Christ's time to perform miracles has been restored and that miracles continue to happen in today's time. he believes he can be healed and he keeps telling us each time we invite him to come to church that if he is healed and can walk again then he will come to our church. We've told him that he needs to show his faith by coming to church before a miracle can take place. We know he is able to come to church becasue he was able to take a trip to cebu the other week which is a lot further. I don't know I've been praying for guidance to know what we need to do, or what the Lord would have us do. there's a member that comes to church every sunday who has a similar problem. I want to get her to one of the lessons with him so she can testify as someone with a similar problem. Anyway so that's a couple of updates on a couple of people we are teaching. I love them and I love all the people we talk to. I can't say it enough. One of the things I've been studying and trying to get better at is recognizing the Spirit and letting it guide me in all things. The chapter on it in PMG is so awesome. But yeah that's one of the things i've been working on and studying. We are promised and have been given the gift and companionship of the Holy Ghost and we have been promised that it will alwyas be with us and guide us in all things as we remember and keep our baptismal and temple covenants. The scriptures say that the Holy Ghost will show unto us all things what we should do. That's an amazing promise and a promise that I've done a horrible job of comprehending and taking advantage of. It will tell us all things what we should do. It doesnt matter what things they may be. Whether it be school, or work, or the gospel, or friends, or family, or whatever, we can receive guidance from our Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost. I know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us. That He is constantly working and constantly waiting for us to ask Him for help and guidance. Last night we were teaching these three little girls and we had one of them say the closing prayer. She wouldn't do it at first becsaue she was shy and then she finally did it. The prayer was so simple so cute and during the prayer I just pictured our Heavenly Father listening to her pray and I just thought of how happy He must have been that she was praying and talking to Him. and then I thought of how many people don't know they have a Heavenly Father they can talk to and so they haven't ever talked to Him. I thought of how sad Heavenly Father must be when we don't pray and talk to Him or when we say the same things over and over again. My testimony of how much He loves us and how He always listens to us and answers us was strengthened so much in that moment. I love Him and testify that He lives and loves us. This is also something I've been trying to work on is being completely sincere and following the Spirit to know what to say in my prayers. I love Heavenly Father and I'm so grateful for the love and mercy He shows me each day. I love "I Am a Child of God." I would encourage all of you to sing that at least once a day and let the words sink in. We are children of God and we are here to be tested and tried so that we can become like Him. That is the purpose of life and the only purpose of this life, to do all that we can to become like He is. How grateful I am for this knowledge that we have been blessed with and how grateful I am to have the chance to share with the people here. We must share this plan, which is a plan of happiness, with all we can. I love this work and I love the Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Father in Heaven whose work this is. I love and pray for you all! I hope you all have an amazing, happy week!

Love, Elder Fox

Back to Tagbilaran

Hello Everyone!!

Another week has come and gone. This was a great week too! The highlight of the week has to be that I got to go back to Tagbilaran for the past couple days! We had a meeting for all bohol missionaries there so we got to go spend a day down there! It was so sweet. I felt like i was back home, my mission home. I got to go with Elder Murdock too which was sweet and we had dinner with the branch missionary that always worked with us, and yeah it was so fun. I got to eat at all the good restaurants again and sleep in the tagbi house again. It was a really fun couple days. So yeah on Sunday, we traveled to calape for a choir practice for district conference. Then we stayed the night at Elder Murdock's house which was fun. Monday we went to Loon for a service project with the whole zone. We helped clear a house that was destroyed back in the earthquake. I think I might have told you about this lady but just in case i didn't i'll tell you. It was her house that went down and she is 75 and she lost her grandchild and i think maybe a daughter too in the quake. So she's left all by herself. She has also done the missionaries laundry in Loon for 19 years. She is amazing and she told someone, I can't remember who, but she said I am willing to go through anything the Lord wants me to go through in my life. How amazing is that? her faith is just amazing. And it reminds me of President Kimball. I know i've probably said this but I've heard it a lot and it never gets old for me. Just about when he missed those two conferences in a row because of how sick he was and the conference he came back he said, "give me another mountain to climb." I just get chills when I hear that story and when I think of that. Then i think of all the pioneers and how they counted it a privilege to sacrifice and suffer along the trail becasue they were able to know our Heavenly Father and help in His work. I think of Joseph Smith and all that he suffered. I love those verses in the first part of D&C 121 and the last part of 122. I love the prophet Joseph Smith and I love and am forever grateful for him and for all he sacrificed. Also of course the Savior suffered all despite being the best of us even in the beginning. He was perfectly obedient, perfectly loving, perfect in every way yet He suffered all things temporally and spiritually. And we being imperfect, constantly making mistakes, suffer so little when in comparison with the Savior. And not only do we suffer so little, the Savior has promised us help and strength to push through our trials and suffering. Life can be brutal it's true. our suffering can seem endless and torturous but the Savior suffered all things so that He could know how to succor us when we would endure our tests and trials. Oh how great the wisdom and the love of our God! I love Him and can't express my gratitude for Him. Not only for His sacrifice but His example of how to sacrifice and how to endure suffering. I am so grateful for His mercy and grace. I'm so grateful for the Atonement which allows joy and good things, all good things, possible. Which allows me to do good works and others to do good works as well. We truly can do nothing without the Atonement. I know that the powers of the Atonement are there for anyone who humble themselves and ask for them. I love our Savior Jesus Christ I know He loves me. I know He loves you. I know I've probably emailed something like this before but it's important and that's the one of the thing's I'm learning about the gospel. We can never study, hear, or learn things enough. It's by repetition that we progress and learn. I love this gospel and know it's true. I love praying and asking if it's true and each time I do pray and ask the Spirit confirms to me that it is true. I love and pray for you all! Hurrah for Israel! Hurrah for the time we live in!

Love, 

Elder Fox

You Are Capable of Something Better

Hello Everyone!

Well another week has come and gone here in Talibon. time just keeps on flying. things are going well. There's not much to update on the week. we had a full day csp with the district last friday which was fun becasue I got to see elder smith, my comp from the mtc, and elder murdock! it was so fun to be with them and talk with them while serving. the service was basically we put fertilizer soil on a huge dirt field and then planted some stuff. It was fun but we got fried! I know what your thinking mom and dad did you put on sunblock? haha and yeah i did but we all thought we were going to be out there for an hour or two but it was the whole day. it was brutal but the sunburn is better now. that's crazy to hear about Ukraine. I had no idea that was going on. I'm glad they are safe and I will definitely be praying for them. I hope everything is going well back at home. It sounds like they are and people are just plugging away at school and work and stuff. I can't believe it's the start of spring time there. quick update on our investigators. they are doing well. I love visting them. They are such an awesome family. Our investigator is still struggling with cigarettes but i think it's getting better. I know that he will be freed it's just a matter of when. We try to visit them more than other people to just help him and support him through this. they are a great family though. Oh Dad that talk you sent me about being a consecrated missionary by Tad Callister was amazing and like you said, is a must read. It was so powerful and was exactly what i needed to hear. I realize that i've been a good missionary but I haven't been a consecrated one. It really inspired me to become one though. After reading the talk i listened to the Inconvenient Messiah by Elder Holland and it was icing on the cake. I love those talks and all of you should read and listen to them. It's good and great to good and great members and disciples of Christ but as President Hinckley said, "Mediocrity will never do, you are capable of something better." We must become consecrated members and disciples of Jesus Christ. We must give all that we have to Him and allow Him to change us. One of the things I liked in the talk by elder Callister was he was talking about a disobedient missionary and in one of his meetings with him the elder said " you are not asking me to change my behavior, youre asking me to change my nature." Elder Callister said he was so right. I love that and has made me ponder about why i do the things I do. If i'm doing them just do them or am I doing them becasue I want to become something, becaue I want to change my nature. I'm almost out of time and there's so much more I could say about this. This talk really hit me hard. I encourage all of you again to read it. I know that if we give everything we have, everything, to the Lord and His work, that we will become someone we didn't think we could become. I know that He lives and loves us. I know this gospel is true and that this is the true gospel and church of Jesus Christ on the earth. I love you all so much and pray for you always! Hurrah for Israel!

Love, Elder Fox