Love motivates change...

MOM!

You will be happy to know there IS something knew and exciting.  I got transfered. hahahahahaha!  Today I traveled to Guzman(in Jalisco)....a new place with new people:)  So that is why I am responding a little late...and not very much....but this last week, was great. A wonderful week to tell you the truth.  We talked about love.  Sometimes as missionaries, at least for me, after a time, I fall into a rhythm...a way of doing the same things or asking the same questions.  It doesn't happen all the time, but on occasion.  I share many of the same things, the same principles...but the difference in every lesson is the love we have for the person.

We have been talking about the doctrine of Christ, of how to be better representatives of Him.  With that study, what has come to my mind is, how many people understand the love the Lord has for them?  How many people understand that their Heavenly Father LOVES them unconditionally?  How many people have felt that love?  Of the 7 billion million trillion people here...I am sure very few.  At least the percentage is very low.  It has changed my desire to share, once again, the wonderful message we bring to anyone and everyone:)

This week, there are two things I loved and I just wanted to share them real fast.

1. That the Lord, doesn't have to SAY I love you, so that we know... He shows it.  He helps us FEEL it.  He helps us little by little, understand the infinite love He has for us.  The more we look for it, the more He gives.

2. That if my first priority is the Lord, and I love him with all my heart might mind and strength, I will in turn, learn how He loves me. 

I have seen those changes this week. I have seen them in me, in my companion, in investigators, in less actives members... and it has changed everything. 

As we shared with L... the love the Lord has for her, she decided to become more like Him. She is more reverent.  She is an example.  She is starting to study.  She loves Him and she is understanding the love He has for her.

As we saw little C... get baptized, she felt that same love.  She came out of the water smiling like crazy because she FELT the love the Lord has for her.

And my favorite, was a brother named G.... He got baptized this week, and he understood that love, the love our Savior has for him.  That is why he changed.  That is why he has become a disciple of Christ and decided to follow his example, because he loves his Father above.

I know this is short.  I am sorry...but I want you to know how much I love you.  I love each of you so much--  Mom, Dad, Faye, Ash, Dai, and Liz--but, I love my Father more.  What I do is for Him.  I live for Him and I love Him.  That love will never die.

I hope you have a great week. That this could help just a little bit....maybe not:/ hahahahaha!

love you tons!

Elder Goodman!

 Our zone...

Futbol!!!!

Only to remember...

ok mom...I will try to answer everything! :) I know...I am not perfect...but I am writing the best I can.

1.  Do you know how much I love you? 

 I think so....maybe not totally to tell you the truth, but I do feel it, and I hope you know I LOVE YOU TOO.  But in a way, I don't believe you understand either:)  You are amazing... Everyone... In the family... And I LOVE you.:)

2. How are you? 

uh...what kind of question is that?  I am good-- hahahahaha!  I AM GREAT.  Seriously, we are having a lot of progress..a lot of answers to prayers..a lot of revelation...a lot of work...what more can you ask for?  Really, I love it.  It was interesting mom...you talked to me about the work remember.....it is something I have been studying...and I love it.  Sometimes, we believe that if we knew everything we knew before this world...we would be better...we would make better decisions.  But also, if we made wrong decisions, it would be greater condemnation...so the Lord helps us.  Elder Bednar said that when we are talking with someone, we are teaching them things they already know.  Their spirit knows it, and they FEEL it.  If we can only remember.  If we ALWAYS remembered Christ...it would be much harder for Satan to attack and to tempt us.  So that is why Satan works....on how we can "forget" what we knew....two of the most important words- remember and forget.  This week, I wrote to Dad....  we have Spirits that want to remember.  Our spirits feel the difference.  And just to remember, that is what helps people change.  We as missionaries have to remember so much more of Christ, learn more of Him, because we are representatives of Him.  Through that,  we change...everything changes.  Prophets, scriptures, ordinances, covenants, people, angels, revelation, Preach My Gospel, songs... everything, helps us remember the plan that God has for us, and how much He loves us.  I love it.  That is what we have seen.  As we increase out point of view, to see the bigger picture, our point of view changes.  As I have changed my point of view, it has changed the way I look at things:)

3. Let me know about what is going on, with the new building...

 We divided the wards...everyone is working hard, and we have a lot of new missionaries in the zone.  They are excited, and working hard.

4. Are you still in Colima?

    you know it:)

5. What was your favorite part this week?

Any and all of it!!  I love it all!  I know Mom, you love it all.  I do too...but I can't explain it all....you will have to read my journals when I get back.  EVERYDAY is a special experience...and to try to explain it in 720 words is a little difficult.  But I want you to know I love it.  It is a spirit you can never forget here. The Lord shows His loves to so many children every day.  It is incredible.  I love Him and I want you to know I love Him above all other things.   I will always love Him that way.  He is my Father.  He has a perfect plan, and when I love Him first, everything else goes well.

I love you.

Love,

Elder Goodman

Answers...

AT TIMES. I FEEL LIKE THIS.

'And now I, E. Goodman, cannot write all the things which were taught among 
my people; neither am I mighty in writing, like untospeaking; for when a man 
speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it
 unto the hearts of the children of men.'

BUT.... here it goes.

This week, was all about answers to prayer.  The first thing we teach as missionaries,
 is that God loves us.   He shows it when we pray, and He answers our prayers. "He
 will help us to make correct deciones."  And seriously, here in the field, it is a game
 changer.

I don't know if you remember, but when I talked at Christmas, I talked about three
 things... 1. prayer. 2. read the Book of Mormon. 3. go to church. 

I also talked about how, if I wanted to teach someone else a principle, I had to 
have a testimony of that same principle. 

ok...so...the week started out this way-- We had a less active member named C... 
He is from Utah, but he had to come here...(for uh....unforotunate reasons) and 
he couldn't go to church, because he was working.  He prayed for 4 weeks to help 
his boss soften his heart and let him go to church.  This week, THE LORD 
ANSWERED.  We had two investigators (L...and M...) trying to make life
 decisions.  Their first source of inspiration...the missionaries...BUZZ... Wrong!
  We went and we taught them those three things.  Well they prayed and
 guess what...THE LORD ANSWERED.

We had an investigtor named L.... and her parents wouldn't let her come to
 church.  She had been praying that her dad would let her go.  This week...
THE LORD ANSWERED..

And last, we had a change in our area...a little bit, and we had to look for a
 new house.  After looking for an hour, we prayed.  Twenty minutes later...
THE LORD ANSWERED. 

ok...I know....not much.  But here is the thing.  I still am not perfect at 
things.  I could have probably prayed for help before searching for a house,
 but the thing I DO know is this, "...ask, and ye shall recieve. Seek, and ye
 shall find."  It is a promise, it is an invitation, it is a phrase the Lord repeats
 BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT. 
Hope you have a great week.  The Lord loves you.  He wants to answer your 
prayers.   You just have to look. 

I love you guys.

Elder Goodman

Come Follow Me....

This week, I learned about the phrase "Come, follow me." 

As a representative of Jesus Christ, sometimes it is hard to understand the BEST way to invite others to come unto Christ.  There is a stinkin book on how to do it, and to tell you the truth, I have never felt perfect in even one chapter...(Preach my Gospel).  But, the best I can do, is to say that same phrase, "Come, follow me."  I have seen the difference in my teaching, in the spirit, and in the way people progress, as I start to apply that phrase in my life.  I can't invite somebody to do something I am not doing.  I cannot try to help somebody with something if I myself don't understand, or have a testimony of that same thing.  We are working with the stake and we are working in the work of Salvation.....therefore, my "focus" has changed....it isn't just investigators, like before...now, it is investigators, less-active members, active members  and recent converts.  It is EVERY child of God here on this planet.  THAT IS A BIG FIELD OF FOCUS!  And I don't know if I have ever told you that. But the thing is, I can't teach them all.  I don't have the time, nor the skill, or anything, to do it all.  So, I have to apply a way of teaching the Lord used more that anything else...  My example. 

This week, we had some investigators, L... and M....  They are going through some hard times, and they don't know how to get out.  They have to do it without work, without family, without support.  We invited them  to CHANGE THEIR LIVES FOREVER.  And they are working on it, but my companion nor I would have been able to do anything without saying, "Come, follow me."

We had a class as a zone and we taught various points of teaching, about our work as missionaries, and of how to change our way of being "robots" at times.  But we couldn't have changed anything without saying, "Come, follow me. " 

We have seen many differences, as that has become our main way of teaching.  It has changed the way the people see us, as missionaries.  They know that we won't teach something we don't know personally, through individual application.

The way the Spirit works, when we are working in that way, has changed us completely. Seriously...that is why I wanted to share it with you...ok...so it just erased half my letter...bummer...but , know that it is true.  I love you.  The best I can say is, "Come, follow me:)  Just so you can feel what I feel! 
LOVE YOU TONS!!!
Elder Goodman :)