The Peaceable Followers of Christ

Dear Family, Thank you for your continued prayers, emails, and letters. I really do feel the power of your prayers and often if I am going through a hard time I just think of the many prayers that are offered each day in my behalf. That seems to empower me and give me the extra endowment of faith that I need. So thank you for your prayers. Last week in my email I talked about becoming like a little child and shared the experience of teaching Christian (Saul and Sofia's six year-old son). This week we were over there and as we were leaving Sofia told us that that morning Christian told her about the dream he had had the night before. He dreamed that he and his father went to church with Elder Larson and I and what's more, in the dream Christian and Saul were wearing white shirts and ties! What a sweet little boy. I don't think he has ever been to a church in his whole life but we are hoping to be able to help his parents be able to finally come. We stopped by to teach the Padilla's on Monday night. They are doing really well although they didn't come to church because they were out of town. We taught them the Word of Wisdom. All the kids said it would be no problem giving up coffee. The dad said he could give up drinking alcohol (he said he hardly ever drinks) but that coffee would be just about impossible for him. We talked with him and he committed to fully live the Word of Wisdom until our next lesson on Wednesday and we promised to bring all sorts of hot chocolate. He said he doesn't like normal hot chocolate because it is too sweet. On Wednesday, we kept our end of the deal and he kept his. He proudly announced that he hadn't had any coffee. We then heated up water/milk and made three different kinds of hot chocolate. We also threw in some hot apple cider (I fell in love with that stuff at BYU) and it was a blast! He kept trying the different kinds but when he tried the apple cider he said, "Wow! I am never drinking coffee again!" We were so happy. Once we all settled down we read Mosiah 2:31-41. Eva made the comment at one point that the verses are very intense. She was right but after we read verse 41 the Spirit came really strongly. We bore our testimony of being obedient to the commandments of God and promised them the blessings they need in their lives. As we did so, the began to cry. The Spirit was just so strong. They bore their testimonies of the Restored Gospel and how they knew this was the true church. They all then accepted a baptismal date for the 7th of December. The dad and young man still want us to help them overcome the doubts about not praying to the Virgin Mary, but said they still wanted to be baptized that day. What a great blessing! Elder Larson and I left the lesson full of the Spirit and overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity we have to serve the Lord and His children. On Wednesday and Thursday, Elder Johnson and I spent some time with President Ashton setting our mission goals and focus for 2014. That was a really fun and good experience. I always enjoy learning from President Ashton and to see how he thinks. Being around him so much has been a great blessing for me. On Wednesday we began with a study on charity. We spent an hour on Moroni 7:1-11. I didn't know that there was an hour's worth of study material there but it is. We spent a lot of time talking about what it means to be a peaceable follower of Christ. We learned that it means we are kind and patient and full of love. It was a really good study that just made me want to be kinder to people but I still didn't understand it too deeply. Then in correlation on Sunday, Hermano Perez (our Ward Mission Leader) shared Moroni 7:1-4 as his spiritual thought. He focused on what it means to be a peaceable follower of Christ and how part of it is that we are kind to people even when they reject us. Then today in my studies I was reading in Matthew 20 and read about how Christ teaches His apostles about the greatest being the least and the servant. What struck me so powerfully though is what happens immediately after in Matthew 20:29-34. 29 And as they departed from Jericho, a great multitude followed him. 30 ¶And, behold, two ablind men sitting by the way side, when they heard that Jesus passed by, cried out, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 31 And the multitude rebuked them, because they should hold their peace: but they cried the more, saying, Have mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David. 32 And Jesus stood still, and called them, and said, What will ye that I shall do unto you? 33 They say unto him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened. 34 So Jesus had acompassion on them, and touched their eyes: and immediately their eyes received bsight, and they followed him. So after teaching the apostles about being humble and being a servant, Christ then shows them this principle. As I studies this morning I began thinking about the multitude from verse 29. These people were followers of Christ. They were sacrificing to follow him. I am sure it was hot, they walked a lot on dusty roads, they didn't eat very much, and they were giving up all aspects of a normal life to follow him. Needless to say, they were fairly converted followers. I also thought about the fact that within this multitude I am sure many had already been healed by Christ. He had lifted their hands when they had hung helplessly down and given them strength to walk for maybe the first time in their lives. And so for whatever reason they followed Him. And yet following Christ is not enough. When this multitude saw the two blind men crying out for the help and healing that they knew only the Savior could offer, the crown turns them down, rebukes them, and tells them to hold their peace. They were followers of Christ but not peaceable followers. They too were blinded but in a much more dangerous way. They were spiritually blind and refused to look past the rags and lack of wealth and status. This multitude was refusing the very same blessings of help and healing that many of them had probably sought at one point. But then there is the Savior, the Redeemer of the world, the Prince of Peace. He stands still and lovingly asks how he can minister. He asks what can He do to lift the burden of these two blind men who are so weighed down yet filled with faith. He sees them with spiritual eyes and recognizes their potential. He knows that they have great faith because they continue to call out to him after being rebuked by the multitude. He knows that they have sufficient faith to be healed and that after receiving their sight they will follow Him and be true disciples and walk peaceably before Him and their fellow men. And so he has compassion on them. I am so grateful for the Savior. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I know that His is the only name given under heaven whereby we can be saved. He is my friend, my example, and my guide. I love Him and I want to be like Him. I want to walk peaceably before Him blessing and ministering to all those that may be in my path. On Saturday the Bishop called and Elder Johnson and I ended up speaking in Sacrament Meeting yesterday. He taught the Restoration and I followed him and taught about the Atonement. What a special gift it was to stand and testify of Jesus Christ. The Holy Ghost bore witness to my soul yet again of the Savior. I know He lives. He loves us. He guides this work through His living prophets. As we repent we can access His mercy and grace and we are forgiven and made clean. I have felt of the power of the Atonement in my life so many times and now have the wonderful privilege to help others feel of the same power and blessings. Could there be anything better than that in the whole world? I love you. Elder Case P.S. Happy Thanksgiving! P.P.S. The picture is Ramon Padilla. He is ten. I walked out of the front room to find him for the lesson and he was hanging upside down on the pull-up bar with a nerf gun aimed at me. I love that family!

My Grace is Sufficient

Dear Family,

Attached is a photo of Elder Larson and I that I just took so that you would have an idea of what he looks like. Sorry I am such a bad photo taker. I am always trying to repent of that but the change of heart has just not occurred yet.

It has been another good week. I learned so much from zone conferences. Each day seemed to teach me new things as the Spirit kept on working with me trying to help me apply the doctrine and principles to myself. It was a wonderful experience.

We continue to work with Saul and Sofia and have made a little bit of progress with them. Sofia has been reading the assignments that we leave her and asking questions. She also committed to come to church at some point, just not yet. Elder Johnson and I were doing a role play for her the other day trying to receive revelation about what is holding her back from progressing even more. I had the slight feeling during the role play that we needed to include her sons. Her sons are named Christian (6) and Bryan (2). Elder Larson an d I decided to try and teach the boys and it was a great success. Normally what happens when we get there is both the boys go back and play. If they come out, there parents send them back to their rooms. On Friday we stopped by to drop of a CD for Sofia since we were close and she wants to learn English. It has some hymns on it and so we figured that it couldn't hurt. They invited us in and we decided to teach Christian. We called him over and began to talk to him about prayer. We asked if he knew what prayer was and he explained that he kind of did. We had a wonderful little lesson with him and he prayed twice on his own for the first time in his life. He loved it and said that it made him feel so good. We then committed him to pray every night and help his parents pray with him. He said he would. We came back the next night and asked everyone if they had prayed. Christian immediately answered, "I did!" He was so proud of himself. His parents had not prayed but he promised to help them. We then taught a very simple Plan of Salvation lesson while drawing with crayons on the lids of pizza boxes. Sofia payed better attention and learned more than she has from any other lesson.

As we have taught Christian it has helped me to understand better why Christ was continuously commanding us to become like little children:

19 For the ^anatural ^bman is an ^cenemy to God, and has been from the ^dfall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he ^eyields to the enticings of the ^fHoly Spirit, and ^gputteth off the ^hnatural man and becometh a ⁱsaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a ^jchild, ^ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. 

How true that is. Little children are so humble and open minded. Their hearts are soft. I just want to become like a little child. Like MJ, Katie, Andrew and Allison and Parker and Miles and John and Kimball. What great examples little children are to us. There is a talk by President Packer entitled "And a Little Child Should Lead Them" that I just love.

We had a miracle at church yesterday. We had been trying to get in contact with la familia Padilla the whole weekend without much success. We spoke with one of the members that is really close with them and asked her to call as well. She didn't have any success either. We were planning on stopping by before church but weren't able to so we just sat in Sacrament Meeting saving them a seat. I was frustrated that they weren't there and that there was nothing I could do about it. Then we took the Sacrament and I had the opportunity to reflect on the Savior and His atoning sacrifice. After the Sacrament, I was thinking about what I had learned from President Ashton during zone conference about doing all we can and then relying on the Lord and His grace to make up the difference. We can never do enough but if we do our best then he promises to make our five loaves and two fishes sufficient to feed the thousands or to touch mere stones and turn them into brilliant globes of light. As I thought about this, I decided we had done our best to help them get to church and while it still wasn't sufficient, I decided to stop worrying about it and put it in the Lord's hands. Within seconds of deciding this, la familia Padilla walked in and sat down right next to us up front. It was a miracle! I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father. And what's more, just as President Ashton taught in zone conference about the five fishes and 2 loaves not only being sufficient but being more than enough (After feeding the multitude there were twelve full baskets left over. See Matthew 14:20.) they not only came but stayed all three hours and loved it! In Priesthood, Hermano Padilla introduced himself and said that he would be coming from now on. I love this work!

Anyways, all is well here in Houston. It is Elder Larson's birthday this week. I am trying to figure out a way to throw him a party in the apartment. We will see how it works out.

Thank you for your love and prayers. I sure need them and appreciate them.

Love you all!

Elder Case

The Lord's Elect

Dear Family,

Sorry I never wrote you last week. With transfers we were pretty busy and I am no longer in a trio so it was hard to find an opportunity to get away from the area since I was the only one that knew what was going on! Elders Ayala and Jarvis were both transferred. I will miss them both. Especially Elder Ayala. He and I spent four transfers together and he is quite an incredible missionary.

My new companion is Elder Larson. He is from Mesa. Went to Mountain View. He is the youngest of 5. We are great friends. This is his third transfer but he is already speaking Spanish extremely well. It is fun having him and we get along great. We were both really excited about the transfer.

We went to the Natural History Museum a few weeks ago and I finally was able to get some pictures to send to you. And of course another sunrise picture.

These past two weeks have been full of ups and downs. Johnny Perez (the most prepared investigator I have ever taught) was supposed to be baptized on Saturday but his parents didn't let him. We had talked with his mom the previous Sunday about his baptism and she told us that she thought it was too fast and that he needed to wait a little longer but that it was his decision and she would support him. With transfers I couldn't be there Monday or Tuesday to follow up with her and by the time we finally taught him Thursday, he still had not talked with his parents more in depth. Friday night we spoke with his mom and she said it was too soon and that it would have to be a different week. Johnny then texted us later Friday night and said "you were right, Satan really doesn't want me to get baptized". It was so sad. As we spoke with his mom, he was almost in tears. He wants to be baptized so badly. He reads the Book of Mormon every single day, has a testimony of the Restoration of the Gospel, and is so prepared to be baptized! We fasted with Johnny on Saturday that Heavenly Father's will would happen and that helped him to feel better. His mom did bring him to church again on Sunday and he had another wonderful experience. The ward has really accepted and loved him and now it is just a matter of time until he will be baptized. We began teaching his mom and have another appointment with her tomorrow night. Please pray that her heart will be softened.

We have another investigator named Yomara that is about to move to California in a few weeks. She came to church last Sunday had the best experience. We asked what she liked about it and she talked about how wonderful the members were and how they made her feel so welcome. She said that she felt at home with family and that everyone greeted her and talked to her and made her feel loved. When we asked how her three year old son had liked it she said, "bastante, bastante!". I was so proud of our ward. In the time that I have been here, they have completely changed. We have a new bishop that meets with our investigators regularly and is a wonderful missionary on top of that. He is always inviting his friends to meet with the missionaries in his home. I am truly amazed at what he does and don't understand how he has the time. But we are being extremely blessed to have such a wonderful ward. I just wish that every ward could feel like ours. People that visit our church really should be able to feel that it is the true church just because of the love of the members. 

La familia Padilla is still progressing wonderfully. They all want to be baptized and have very strong testimonies. Bishop met with them on Thursday and asked us to work a few more things out with them before their baptism. We gave the whole family Priesthood blessings the other day and the Spirit was so strong. After we gave Ramon (the 11 year old) a blessing he said that he had felt vibrations running down from his head throughout his whole body. A little bit afterwards he asked if we could give him a blessing every day so that he could feel that way again. Please pray that the whole family will feel ready and continue to repent.

So we had transfers on Wednesday, then Mission Leadership Council (MLC) on Friday and we have Zone Conferences starting tomorrow for the rest of the week. After that life calms down and we start exchanges three or four days a week with the zone leaders. In MLC on Friday, President Ashton taught about the Doctrine of Christ. He then talked about what the focus will be as a mission for the rest of the year. As he explained the process of receiving revelation for obtaining this focus, he talked about the Brother of Jared taking his stones to the Lord and asking Him to touch them. As he spoke about this, the Spirit came powerfully into my being. I learned that I need to go to the Lord with my problems and the solutions that I think will work and then ask Him to "touch them" and bless me with the reassurance that He will bless my efforts.

The Lord is blessing us. We are praying differently. We tell Heavenly Father that we are going to talk with every single person we can about the Gospel and ask Him to guide us to those who are prepared (the elect) or to guide them to us. It has been amazing as we have done so. A few day ago we talked with a lady outside her apartment and asked when we could come back to share our message. She set an appointment for yesterday night. We showed up to the appointment and her dad answered the door. Within the first minute he told us that he had talked with the other missionaries that lived in his complex and that he already had a church but that he had stopped going. We asked why he had stopped going and he invited us in. After explaining to us that he had been in leadership in one church and then switched to another and finally stopped going he said he just did feel God's love in church or unity in his family. He said that as a result of not going to church he had recently begun smoking and drinking again and that he knew he was setting a bad example for his family. He said he had been praying to find the truth and be able to change his ways and be happy. We looked him in the eyes and said, "We are representatives of Jesus Christ. God sent us here tonight in answer to your prayers. We will share a message with you that is true and that will bring peace and love into your home and life." At that point he stood up and said, "Let me get my wife, she will want to hear this". He went and told her that she needed to get off the phone (which is why she had previously declined joining us) and come listen to us. We were there briefly, felt the Spirit, and set a return appointment to which they promised to invite some of their friends that they think will be interested. I walked out in amazement. I echo the words of Mormon when he said, "Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life" (3 Nephi 5:13). We are just two young men that are extremely inexperienced struggling to speak a foreign language and yet "[we] have been recommended as...worthy to represent the Lord as [ministers] of the restored gospel" (Missionary Call Letter). I know that this work is true and that the Lord is involved. Angels are preparing the hearts of the people to receive this glorious gospel. I am eternally grateful to be able to represent the Lord during this sacred time of my life and be an instrument in His hands in bringing salvation to His children.

I love you all and am so grateful for your prayers. Please keep praying. We need all the help we can get. God is kind and merciful and wants to bless us with miracles. I am a witness to those miracles. 

Love,

Elder Case

Binding up the Brokenhearted

Dear Family,

Attached are some photos of recent. There are two different towns in the mission that have "This Way" and "That Way" streets. They both intersect of course. It reminds me of "Who's on First". Also, as far as church billboards go, I was pretty impressed when I saw this one.

Thank you for your continued to prayers. They are being abundantly answered here in the mission and in my area. This has been one of the best weeks of my entire mission! Last Wednesday, we were on exchanges in my area. It was Elder Ayala, Elder Larson and I and we went and visited a man named Hermano Duran. I think I have mentioned him before, but a month ago he was completely less-active and had been for years. He grew up in the church and his mom is a temple worker right now in El Salvador. Anyways, he has been coming to church, reading the Book of Mormon every day and participating in all the YSA activities. We began talking to him for a few minutes and then he asked if we could say a prayer. He said a beautiful prayer and upon finishing looked at Elder Larson and said, "You're new. I want you to know that I have a testimony and I am going to share it with you right now". He then proceeded to bear one of the most powerful testimonies of the restored Gospel I have ever heard. He testified of the Book of Mormon, the Prophet Joseph, the Plan of Salvation, the Savior, and repentance. It brought tears to my eyes as I thought of this man and the miraculous change that has taken place in his heart and in his life. He then told us a story about a man at work looking at him and asking what had happened and telling him that he looked different and happier. When Hermano Duran said it was because he started going back to the Mormon church, his friend responded, "No, that can't be it. Mormons don't believe in God". Hermano Duran had a heyday with that and taught the whole Restoration and invited the man to come to church to feel the Spirit. It was a neat experience to listen to him testify of the Gospel and tell of missionary experiences. 

After that lesson, we went to teach Saul and Sophia with Hermano Portillo. It was an incredible lesson and the Spirit was so strong. They still don't want to pray about Joseph Smith but are reading from the Book of Mormon pretty regularly. We went back and taught them again Monday night and finally gave up on them praying about the truthfulness of the Gospel and just tried to help them to pray at all. Saul prayed at the end of the lesson and they committed to pray nightly as a family. I love them so much and just want them to have the blessings of the Gospel in their lives. They will come around, I just know it. Please keep praying for them. And pray that they will have a desire to pray about the Book of Mormon.

Thursday night we taught an active family about tithing. There husband just won't pay tithing and the wife has been asking us for a while to teach and commit him to pay his tithing. We had a wonderful lesson and he committed to pay. We fasted with him on Sunday and he payed his tithing. I was grateful that I could testify of the blessings that have come into my family as we have diligently paid tithing all these years. It was eye opening for the hermano when we read these words in Malachi 3:

9 Ye are ^a

cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

We then asked if he wanted him and his family to be cursed or if he wanted Heavenly Father to "open [him] the windows of heaven, and pour [him] out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it". The answer was obvious.

On Friday things just got better. We stopped by Johnny's house and talked with him about his baptism. He is so excited to be baptized on November 10th. He came to church again. It was the primary program. I asked him what he liked about it and he said it was heart-warming. The young men in the ward are really fellowshipping him and he loves the church. After church we followed up with him about his reading assignment. We had left him with 2 Nephi 31:17-21 with the question, "What do we have to do after we are baptized?" He pulled out this note card with the best answer possible on it. He did his next reading assignment yesterday while at school when he had some free time and just loved it. It is incredible to see how quickly he is becoming converted. As it says in Alma 13:24

 24 For behold, ^aangels are declaring it unto many at this time in our land; and this is for the purpose of preparing the hearts of the children of men to receive his word at the time of his coming in his glory.

How true that is. On Sunday night we stopped by la familia Padilla. It is a dad, two boys and one girl. We still aren't sure why there is no mom. They came to church on Sunday as well and loved it! We watched the Restoration video with them upon their request and after the video, Elder Ayala began to testify. He said, "I know that Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I know that he was called to be a prophet and I know that the feeling that you feel right now is the Holy Ghost." The dad then spoke for a while and shared that he too believed that everything portrayed in the movie was true. Then the 15 year old girl, Eva, rose her hand like she had a question. She looked Elder Ayala square in the eye and asked, "Como sabia? Como sabia que lo senti?" (How did you know? How did you know that I felt it?). She was so perplexed that he had told her how she was feeling. She then described the feeling as not only touching her heart but she said it was as if her soul was opened and she was filled with light and warmth. He older brother then testified of the Holy Ghost and how he knew these things were true. We then asked the little boy. His response was really cute. He said, "the only things I felt was cold" (he was shivering). Anyways, la familia Padilla accepted to be baptized the 23rd of November. They committed themselves to come to church and were asking if they could come to a baptismal service first just to see how they were. The Eva and Tony (the two youth) came to mutual last night and just loved it! The youth all committed to begin only speaking Spanish so that they will feel more included (la familia Padilla just moved here from Mexico and only speak Spanish).

We are just being so blessed here and we are so incredibly happy! We walk out of every appointment with an overwhelming sense of gratitude and desire to pray and thank Heavenly Father for the blessings and the miracles that are being poured out upon us.

On Saturday morning, the three Houston missions and the San Antonio mission had a leadership training meeting. All the mission president's, their wives, and the assistants got together and Elder Callister and his two assistants (Elder Foster and Elder Teh) as well as Elder LeSeur trained us on the role of an assistant and the role of a zone leader. It was a neat experience to be with them and learn from the Lord's chosen servants. Elder Callister taught about the difference between rules (the Law of Moses) and principles (the Law of Christ). We learned a lot from them and they really wanted us assistants to know that our role is to support our mission president, and then to find, teach, and baptize. They said they wanted us to get rid of the things we do that take us away from finding, teaching, and baptizing.

One last story. On Saturday after being with the General Authorities, I met up with my companions and asked where we were going. They said they didn't know. I felt that we should visit Denise Garcia, a less-active we are working with to come back and to baptize her nine year-old son. She lives in a trailer park that is just not the most pleasant place. When I think of what serving in the Latin American countries is like, I imagine this place but probably even worse. We knocked on her door and she answered with bloodshot eyes and a tear-stained face. I asked if she was ok and she said yes. I then asked, "Are you sure?" and she said no. She said she had been up the entire night and had been crying for hours and hours. We found some chairs and sat down outside. We said that we didn't know what was going on but that God loved her and that He had sent us there to comfort her and help her feel of and know that love. After a prayer, she explained how her boyfriend (one of our investigators) had cheated on her again and how she didn't deserve to be treated that way and so on. After 15 minutes or so she finished telling us and was silent. We just sat there in silence and I had an internal battle. My thoughts were, "I don't know what to say...the scriptures say open your mouth and it shall be filled...do I really believe God will tell me what to say...He has done it before...I don't think I will say the right thing...just have faith...". Finally, I looked into her eyes and felt the pain of her soul and said, "Denise, I don't know what to say but God promised me that He would tell me." The words that came were not my own. They were of comfort and love, peace and assurance. They were words that quoted Isaiah when he said:

 1 The ^aSpirit of the Lord ^bGod is upon me; because the Lord hath^canointed me to ^dpreach ^egood tidings unto the ^fmeek; he hath sent me to ^gbind up the brokenhearted, to ^hproclaim ⁱliberty to the^jcaptives, and the opening of the ^kprison to them that are bound;

 2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of^avengeance of our God; to ^bcomfort all that ^cmourn;

 3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them^abeauty for ashes, the oil of ^bjoy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called ^ctreesof ^drighteousness, the ^eplanting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

What a glorious Gospel this is! The Gospel of Jesus Christ truly does "bind up the brokenhearted" and offer the "oil of joy" instead of mourning. I am a witness to these things. I have seen the Atonement of the Savior Jesus Christ heal hearts that almost seemed too broken to heal, too shattered to bind up. I testify along side Elder Holland that "It is not possible...to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines" (The Laborers in the Vineyard). Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of our souls and the Healer of our hearts. I know He lives. I love Him. And because I love Him I will forever do my best to be His hands and to bring His love to these our brothers and sisters.

I love you all. Thank you for your examples to me. Please pray for Johnny and la family Padilla (Tony Sr., Tony Jr., Eva, and Ramon). Also, please pray for missionary experiences in your own lives. You will be richly blessed as you do so.

Elder Case