A new start and a renewed vision

We got to meet President and Sister Samuelian last Tuesday morning. It was a great calming experience. As soon as I shook their hands, I felt an overwhelming peace come over me and I knew that all the stresses and things we have been concerned about would work themselves out. The assistants, Elder Covey from the OEM and Elder Buhler from the OPM, taught us about the need and reality of change and repentance through the Atonement. It tied in beautifully to what President and Sister Samuelian taught us about creating a new mission from the background and families they come from.

They seem like really neat people and made some really impressive promises to us as a mission. He promised us that we would see thousands rather than hundreds of Spanish speaking people come into the fold. That we will have no limits to what we can achieve. I was impressed by how his focus and measure of success is on how successful our lives turn out not just on our mission but on into our future lives.

We drove down to Newberg Friday morning and arrived at the mission home around 10 am. That's when we started our Mission Leader Council with 26 total missionaries (six of them sisters) and aside from two intermissions for lunch and dinner, we were learning and talking from our mission president all the way until 9:30 pm that evening. It was amazing! I think it's an understatement to say that we were all "exceedingly astonished" by the teachings we received. That day we took time to consider the old mission cultures - both good and bad - that we brought from the OPM and the OEM. Then President Samuelian helped us council together to seek inspiration for what we wanted in our new mission culture. That was probably one of the most spiritual times in my life that I've searched through the scriptures between Elder Hatch and I.

"When Christ-like Culture and inspired Vision combine, mighty miracles occur. With the byproduct being a people knowing where they are going, and also understanding how they will get there." -President Samuelian

After we understood that we were the ones as leadership to make or break the Christ-like culture we wanted to achieve, we discussed how we need to go about things with a more strategic pattern rather than tactically. We learned that under our former missions, we were going about things tactically by simply going out and tracting and thinking too much about methods and policies to guide us, when we should be more focused on the Spirit.

After wrapping up for the night, we briefly transitioned to what we would learn the next day - Vision. 7am the next morning after sleeping at the mission home, we all got up and jumped into a couple vans in our P-day clothes. We weren't told where we were going until we got there, but were graced by a beautiful drive through the forests of Oregon as we finally arrived at Pacific City right off of the Oregon Coast. There, President and Sister Samuelian led us to a spot on the beach where we sat in the short grass and sand to be taught just as the Jews of old were taught by Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount. It was a moving experience.

After helping us learn that we needed to seek the vision that he had for this mission, he unveiled the new logo and theme for our mission culture - Build Upon the Rock - and he pointed our view to a large haystack rock located a distance off in the ocean.

"Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail."  -Doctrine & Covenants 6:34

If each of us build upon the Rock, which is Jesus Christ and His Gospel, we shall not fall. President Samuelian explained that the way he was going to start having us work is by helping us catch our own visions of what our strengths are and what we want to become in our lives. He wants to call a counselor soon who can work with and counsel with us for what we want to do in our education and college. It's a very radical approach to training missionaries, but he is confident, as am I that this will improve our success as missionaries, members, and children of God.

One other major focus that Elder Hatch and I keyed into was the emphasis on having faith rather than fear. A lot of us as missionaries have been too fearful to reach our true potential. We are limited by our view of what we think we can accomplish and not allowing faith and God's vision to enter into our hearts.

"If we're afraid God can't help us." (President Samuelian)

Not that He won't, or that He doesn't want to, but He can't. If we choose to fear rather than to trust and have faith, God cannot infringe on our agency to compel us to have faith. Faith is a desire and a decision more than anything and Elder Hatch and I are witnesses of these truths just by what happened yesterday.

Sunday, we fasted and prayed to help us remember and take in what we have just been trained on and our first inclination was a worry that we couldn't do it and that we would just go back to doing the same old missionary work we always have. In the Work of Salvation broadcast two Sundays ago, the video started with scenes of the dawning of a new day. And that's just what this is. President Monson, Prophet of God, has seen a vision that this is a new day. We need to realign our focus with what God wants. Each of us needs to repent now. President Samuelian reminded us of Einstein's definition of insanity:

"Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -Albert Einstein

We can't keep embracing insanity and fear if we are going to do this the Lord's way. I know that it works because I've seen it. After choosing to overcome the doubt and fear that came after sitting through Sacrament Meeting, I saw wonders as many people came up to us telling us about potential people who they want to share the Gospel with. One young woman, whose family we had dinner with this last week, brought her friend to church and actively participated in teaching in the Gospel Essentials class second hour. All the primary kid's lessons were on Missionary work and they each wanted to shake our hands as we passed through the hallways. That was only what we saw in church.

That afternoon, we saw people's hearts change who just last time we met were upset and offended by some members of the ward. Now they have a strong desire to recommit to living the Gospel, sharing it with others, and strengthening their own family and testimony.

Other investigators we went to go visit agreed to pray about dates on which they would be baptized. Miracles happen when we have faith. But:

"if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them" - Ether 12:12

I know these things are true. "O be wise, what more can I say?" (Jacob 6:12) Have faith. Start today. Start now.