Weak Things Made Strong

     The work progresses well here. I have been struggling lately understanding the "why" for why don't people want to go to church or progress in the gospel. I was talking with one of the assistants one night and he was just talking about random things and he brought up what he felt was the key to baptizing. what he expressed was exactly what I had been praying for, and the answer that I needed. He told me that the way to baptize is through the heart. gaining the trust and confidence of the person. He said as soon as you get a person to tell you all of their problems is when you know that they trust you and they are willing to accept your help and guidance. that has been something a little difficult for me to do on my own mission. I'm not sure if it was something you had to learn as well. As I have been in the process of changing and growing, I have seen more weakness in myself than ever before like it says in Ether 12:27-
"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble, and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
     The Lord shows me weakness that I might know my strengths and therefore, make weak things become strong unto me. This principle leads me straight into the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Repeat. This process leads us to perfection and self-dignity. I know that as I work and strive to become a better teacher, as I come to know the people I teach, who they are, their hopes and dreams, I know that I will overcome my weakness and learn something that will help me through my entire life.
     Strive to have the spirit in your life. listen closely to the feelings and impressions you have. He will guide you through all things. Come to know better the life and works of Jesus Christ. If you have never read the New testament through completely I exhort you to read and meditate on the life, example, and teachings of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I know as you do he will lift and inspire you to newer levels of growth and development. May the Lord always be with you.

The Way to Eternal Life

I cannot express in words the amount of love and joy that fills my heart in these moments. The Lord in His great mercy has seen fit to extend His loving hands and pronounce more blessings upon us. I hope you feel the same way. Recognize the Lords hand in your life and you will never doubt that He is there and mindful of you. Yesterday, the spirit was strong with me. I could feel His power within me, working to guide me in my daily labors. We taught some really good lessons and I know that the people we taught felt the spirit strongly as I did. We ended up placing 6 baptismal dates.

I know that through faith, all is possible. The Lord gives us trials to show our faith and devotion. On one occasion a lawyer came to Jesus as He was preaching and asked him how he could inherit eternal life. We see the answer in Luke 10:25-28 

"And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live."

What does it mean to love our god with all our heart, soul, and strength? The answer lies in John 14:15,21

"If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them,he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."

The way to eternal life is through keeping and sanctifying of the holy commandments. God not only desires but expects our obedience. As we obey, we gain christlike attributes, we perfect ourselves by obeying the will of the Lord as Moroni explains- Moroni 10:32

"Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God."

I know God loves us. I know that eternal life is possible through the merits and mercy of Him who is mighty to save. We promise our best and He promises us the rest. I know that we can be perfected, shaped, and sculpted as long as we are pliable and humble. Don´t forget to trust in Him. As we put full trust in Him, we will feel peace and calm within the storms of our lives.

He Knows Our Needs

     The Lord and His mercies never seem to cease. As I have come to know the Lord and His will through my service as a missionary, I have seen countless miracles in my life. Both great and small. I contemplate the week and my experiences. It seems that as a missionary when I teach, i not only teach, but the Holy Spirit teach me in the process. I recently taught a man who struggles with many worldly issues, principal among them being financial. This man expressed doubts and concerns about the mercy and grace of God, believing but without applying. We know that faith is based upon not only the belief but the action, through action we demonstrate our belief unto the gaining of light and knowledge. This man had fallen so far from the concept of faith that he began to think that simply asking God for what he wanted was too much, that God did not have patience for complaints doubts and wants. One of my favorite scriptures that apply to this concept is found in Matthew 6:31-33:
"Therefore, take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
     The Lord knows of our needs, therefore, do not worry about the things of this world, for the Lord God will bless all those who seek after His righteousness first. I know that this man will find peace and joy in this life after he seeks first God and His Kingdom.
     This week has been a very interesting. My companion Elder Hughes is a very good missionary and works very hard. I like the way he focuses on following the spirit. I feel I have gotten into too much of a routine with my teaching. It feels good to not only see people as numbers but really focus and take to heart the spiritual welfare of these people. As I come to draw power from and rely on the spirit, I find a new wealth of knowledge and spiritual blessings. Truly I could not be able to work the way I do and teach the way I do without the guidance and fortification of the Holy Spirit. One day this week I came home just completely worn out from all the spiritual work of the day and said, "man, if i didn't have the spirit with me right now, I would be dead tired." I know that God is real and keeps His promises. Yesterday, as we taught a man who was struggling financially, I felt the impression to share Dad´s story, how through the gospel he was able to overcome all and become a prosperous man with innumerable blessings. I began to ponder in the reality of the Lord and His almighty goodness, that, because of Him and the faithfulness of our father, we are here, given the grand opportunity to share the gospel with the world, changing lives and becoming who we need to become.
     May every righteous blessings be found upon you as you seek after Him. I know miracles are real and will occur so long as we show our faith through action.

Elder Christensen Mission Conference

       This week has been filled with much spiritual direction and counsel. I direct my thoughts to the mission conference we had this last Monday with Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy. This great servant of God directed this devotional to the meaning and purpose of the worldwide missionary training broadcast that was held this last Wednesday. He expressed the divine importance of "Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts." As missionaries we are inclined to sometimes get caught up in the whims and woes that are the gospel doctrines and truths and forget the meaning of helping others turn to Christ in true repentance and conversion. We find that many of the people we teach and baptize soon fall away from the church and its teachings. Why is that? because we as servants of the Lord and instruments in His hands forget to teach the Key Doctrines of Faith and Repentance focusing only on that which is baptism and confirmation. although very necessary parts of the Plan of Salvation, if we do not teach our investigators to repent not only before baptism, but afterwards and for the rest of their lives, they cannot reach the plains of what is salvation and perfection through the Infinite Atonement of Jesus Christ. I know that as I strive to keep my gospel covenants and strive to help others realize it as well, I will not only baptize more, but increase the quality of those that are baptized. I know that these are divine promises of the Lord given by His true servants.
     Other news, three of the investigators I was teaching in my old area got baptized this week! What a miracle! Their names are Cristian, Jennifer, and Lucia. All were references given to us by recent converts! Just goes to show that you never know who is ready to be baptized no matter how young they are! So all the youth out there who arent sure if they should introduce their friends to the missionaries, dont be afraid! The Lord works in miraculous ways!

New Beginnings

     This week has been a little interesting as we had transfers this Wednesday. I got a new companion and a new area, but I am still here in the office. With transfers and new beginnings, my heart is saddened at the thought of all the awesome investigators I'm leaving behind. I had many friends in that area, but I am also excited for the opportunity to start over and do things well. My companion was actually trained in this area and a year later he is back. so we have lots of motivation to "throw fire" as they would say.

San Juan del Sur, Welcome 2016!

        This last week has been as crazy as possible. With San Juan del Sur on Wednesday, things have been so crazy here in the office. We spent pretty much all of this week running around doing errands for the activity. The activity was a huge success and the whole mission had a wonderful time. I got the chance to flip hamburgers and set up all the games on the beach for the activity. it was really cool to be on the beach but also really weird because we couldn't dunk in the water and it was really hot! For those of you who don't know, at the beginning of the year President Russell put a baptismal goal for the mission at 2,060 baptisms. Many doubted and said it was madness. never ever has this mission baptized that many in one year. Well, the end of the year came and we ended up with 2,158 baptisms for 2015! what a miracle! all of our hard work paid off. So, as a reward President took the whole mission to San Juan del Sur, which is the place with the best beaches.

        He also announced the new goal for 2016. The new goal for the mission is 2600 baptisms! It sounds crazy but I know that if we have faith and trust in ourselves and our leaders that the Lord will bless us! There are so many people out there in Nicaragua who have been prepared by the Lords hand to receive the gospel at this time. I know the Lord is merciful and good. I know that the power of the holy priesthood is real and that we are directed and guided by Jesus Christ himself. 2015 may have not been the funnest year of my life, but I have grown and matured to greater lengths. The Lord has seen fit to challenge me, and I hope to be able to rise to them all and overcome. Thank you all for supporting me this last year. So bring it on 2016, im ready for you!

Elder Alejandro Lim

Hello Friends and Family!
This is John speaking. I've updated AJ's blog all the way up to this week as part of a project for one of my BYU classes. I also plan on making some kind of visual message (Picture or video) to go with his updates every week. The weeks that he doesn't send an email I will use a simple message from one of his previous messages. Thanks for loving my brother and I look forward to what he will teach us in the next year!

12th December 2015
I know things may seem hard right now but don't be sad! We have eternity! A lot of times I get caught up in the moment and don't think about the bigger picture. It's hard to have that vision, but I know if we have a vision we can get through anything. Just hold on to the joys and blessings of life!

The Lord Leads Us

     This week we had a cool little miracle. We were walking down a street one day at about late afternoon and this street we usually dont go down very often but that day we decided to take that route to another lesson. as we rounded the corner man came running out of one of the houses and called us over. we came over and he told us that he wanted to hear from us, that he had an uncle in the states who was a member and that he had told him to look for the mormon missionaries. so that night we talked with him and placed a baptismal date with him. that night we also met the rest of his family who were all interested and very open as well. a few days later we came back and taught the whole family this time and they all accepted baptismal date. there were about 5 of them. and there are some others who live there who we havent been able to talk to yet. but thats the miracle of the week!