What Else has Elder Livingston Been Doing??

In honor of ONE YEAR in the mission field (Yes, you read correctly, today is the 1 year anniversary for Isaac entering the MTC.) we thought it was time you saw what else Elder Livingston is up to. Although these do not represent his day-to-day work as a missionary, they are very typical of what missionaries do. Or so I've been told. Here is a synopsis in pictures:

EATING RIGHT- Or perhaps well is a better word.

Shopping

Receiving Packages

Service Projects

Making New Friends

Getting Plenty of Exercise

Continuing to Fight the Dark Side

Avoiding Loud Music

Growing!!!

Performing on Stage

Staying in Tandem with his Companion

Knocking on Every Door

Getting His Hair Done

I hope you enjoyed the time spent up in Idaho with extended family. I'm sure it was exciting to see Britney come home, but I still can't believe that her mission is actually finished! Heck, I'm the only one serving from the family right now! Oh well, no pressure at all. :) 

The Lord continues to bless me in Wilmington! What a great ending to a week that started out really slow! Sunday was an especially good day, which is always true because we get to attend Church and feel the Spirit even more. And when your investigators show up, it doesn't get much better than that! We had 5 there yesterday!! Jim and Mary along with their son, Randy; and Judy and Shawn Weatherford. They have been coming for a few weeks now and are very interested in the Church! Jim and Mary are being fellowshipped by the Fear's, who have been bringing them to Church even before we met them, so of course that's a bonus! We helped them move into a new home this past week, which greatly increased the level of trust. That is absolutely essential to successful missionary work, building a bond of trust with members and investigators. Pres. McKay said once," To be trusted is better than to be loved." 

Having the privilege of spending this much time in one area, I have seen the trust people have for us as time has gone on. It is indeed a tremendous advantage when working with members to build their confidence and courage to share the gospel with others. As for Judy and Shawn, they are receiving the message very well! We're looking at September 19th as a possible baptismal date, and they don't seem to have any problems that we know of. We had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation last time, but after listening to some minor concerns Shawn had, we felt impressed to watch the Restoration with them. The Spirit was there and we were able to resolve Shawn's problem, and they came to Church again and enjoyed it. The members have done a great job making our investigators feel welcome, we don't even have to tell them to go and say hello. They just do it! This is something I want more than anything for the members to grasp, and that is doing missionary work without our help. I know that members are the best source for finding new investigators, and as we help them integrate the principles found in Preach My Gospel, GREAT things will happen! Miracles continue to occur here in unforseen ways, and I'm confident the Lord will keep blessing us so long as we put our trust and strength in Him, and in Him alone! 

To think I will hit the one year mark this Thursday is just nuts, but it's only going to make me work harder because they say the second year is even faster!

Nothing I have is as valuable as you all, and what a tremendous thing to know that we belong to the only true church of Jesus Christ on the face of the earth! I pray that we can continue to share that testimony with a world that desperately needs it right now. I know that God lives and that He has given us living prophets and apostles to teach us and help us become more Christlike. I know Christ's Atonement is the only way by which we can become clean and qualify ourselves to live in His presence forever! I hope my prayers are with each of you daily! Have another excellent week!

Transferred to...

I am grateful beyond measure to still be serving in Wilmington. Many people, mostly missionaries, assumed that I'd had enough of this area and was WANTING to be transferred. However, the Lord's will mandates that I stay here. What a privilege it is, I really am enjoying this area and am seeing God's promises fulfilled. I'm not in any hurry to leave!! For the first few months I was here, we struggled to see people attend Church even one time! Now, we have some solid investigators who are coming on a weekly basis, thanks in large part to the loving friendships provided by members. I can testify of the speed with which investigators can progress when they feel welcome and wanted. I know that our willingness to serve others unselfishly is a representation of our desire to do the will of the Lord. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. once said, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how." To me, the spirit of service does not come by assignment, but rather as a feeling that accompanies a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I want with all my heart to serve the Lord continually by serving His children any chance I get. I know this will open doors for us to teach the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ and be forgiven of their sins.

This week in our area could be called "Plan of Salvation Week," since we are teaching it on at least 3 separate occasions to our progressing investigators. I know that our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, but we can't do that unless we cleanse ourselves, or in other words, repent. So perhaps the overarching purpose of all our missionary efforts is to warn people of the consequences of sin, and of the blessed gift called repentance. And we can't repent unless we have faith in the one who can forgive us, even the Lord Jesus Christ! Those are the first two fundamental principles of the gospel for a reason. To quote Pres. Packer, "Repentance is the escape clause in it all. Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. Had agency come to man without the Atonement, it would have been a fatal gift." As we prepare to teach these great eternal truths this week, I feel especially grateful for the knowledge and understanding I've gained about the Plan of Salvation and of the remarkable power of the Atonement. I know that if we rely on the Spirit to help us teach and testify, our investigators will see the need to repent now, and thus they will continue to progress towards eternal life....for that is the ultimate goal, not just baptism. I appreciate this opportunity to serve a mission, I can scarcely believe that it is halfway finished! There are many things I'd like to see happen before I go home(obviously), and if it's what the Lord wants, then I know it can be done.

I am glad to hear that your trip to Oregon was enjoyable and that you are all safe and sound. I send my prayers for Grandma McClellan as well. That is hard to believe that Caleb is already in second grade and that Ellie will be in preschool! They are going to be giants when I get home! And how in the world can Britney already be done with her mission? My goodness time flies by! This is going to be another great transfer, I can just feel it! It will also be Elder Remington's last one, so there's a good chance I could STILL be here next transfer! That's several weeks from now, though, so I'm not going to think about it. I pray for blessings to continue flowing in from on high. Seems like every week I get the privilege of feeling the Spirit as I read your letters. God loves us SO much!! Have a great week!

Faith is work

I don't know if another week can go by without being informed of a new addition to the family! Congrats to Leslie and Eric! It's gonna be exciting to see all these new faces, and also see how much everyone else has grown! I always remember to thank the Lord each day for the many ways that everyone back home is growing, especially spiritually. Hard to believe that Kenz is done with another semester of college! She's definitely a lot more diligent about learning another language than I was! I just find it remarkable how quickly missionaries at the MTC are able to learn another language.

I'm sure it's no different anywhere else, as long as you have the faith and the desire to accomplish it. The work in Wilmington continues to move forward, and great are the blessings we have received thus far. I don't know where I'd be without faith! It's not a stretch to say that every good thing is based on faith! Everything! This is a topic that is brought up every day, particularly in missionary life. The Lord's thoughts and ways are not like ours; the key is to trust Him enough to know He will always open a way for us to do His work, but on His timetable. That's an attitude I have tried hard to develop lately, and it has definitely shoved doubt and discouragement aside. Those two D's are tactics of Satan designed to make us think only of ourselves, which will absolutely kill missionary efforts if we allow it to fester. I have received assurance multiple times in the last few weeks that God answers the prayer of faith, but only after we do our part. The teachings I've learned from Alma 32-34 will help tremendously in the days and weeks to come! The scriptures are so rich with eternal truths, I'm just getting started!

Another aspect of faith I've understood more lately is that faith isn't really valid until it has been tested, as Dad pointed out today. In regards to our investigators, we are finding and teaching many who are receptive to the gospel and have no hesitation to ask any questions that are on their minds. This, I believe, is a way to know that investigators have real intent because they aren't shy about asking questions or bringing up any concerns they have. They really want to know the right way, and we have the sacred obligation of making sure they understand our message...but also that they don't MISunderstand. I am once again excited to see what lies in store for this week, and I will continue to put my faith and trust in the Lord to see His purposes fulfilled in their season. Missions aren't about seeing people get baptized, although that is important. The greatest successes in the Lord's work is seeing people develop and then exercise faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance. In short, it's seeing people change, even if they don't join the Church. That can be especially difficult to understand why they would do that, even if they've received a spiritual witness that the Church is true. People have their agency, and we need to always respect it. If I can know at the end of each day that I taught so clearly that people couldn't possibly misunderstand, then I know I've done the best I could. From Alma 32: 41 (surprise), I learned more about what exactly enduring to the end means: "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life." From this verse, I came to the conclusion that enduring to the end involves exercising our faith, and being diligent, patient, and optimistic. When we do this, then our faith becomes firmly rooted, or in other words, our TESTIMONY becomes anchored deep within the gospel soil. All of us that have joined the Church, even some who haven't, have gained a testimony that it's true. The rest of our lives are then spent weeding out our brains of doubts and fears and continually GROWING our testimonies.

I know I've covered a lot and hope that this makes sense to all who read it. I guess to sum it all up, true conversion is something that takes all of our lives to try and accomplish, but the Savior has promised us this from the scriptures: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:13) I pray with all my heart that each of us will seek to become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of the best ways to do this is by living it and then sharing it with others. Every day I ask the Lord to give you missionary opportunities, and I hope that your prayers on occasion ask for the same thing. May this week bring continued happiness and success for each of you! Have faith, things will always work out the way they're supposed to!

Hot, humid and happy

Zone Conference was a lot of fun, I really liked being with missionaries and just relaxing. Then again, I spent the whole time running around and sweating like crazy, so I was anything but relaxed when it was over. It was fun to see Pres. Robbins playing basketball with other missionaries, he wore them out! He said we'd have to play one-on-one sometime, although I don't know when we'd get the chance!

We had a great experience of answered prayer this past week, due entirely to the fact that we put our faith and trust in the Lord. We had failed to get any appointments with our investigators, so we faced a day that was extremely wide open. We were in desparate need of getting at least one member present lesson, but we didn't have any appointments. As we were planning, a member called us and said he was off work the next day and wanted to come teaching with us. That was the Lord doing His part. Now we needed to exercise our faith, which we did. We decided to stop by each of our investigators with him in a 90 minute period, and hopefully get a lesson or two out of it. One by one, we went to each of our investigators and found them home! In fact, each of them were outside almost as if they were waiting for us! The last ones we stopped by, Ryan and Kim, invited us in. We had found them at the park the week before playing basketball, so of course we went over to talk to them. They had many questions for us, and they accepted a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. The day we stopped by with the member was our first real chance to get a lesson with them. We spent the whole lesson answering Ryan's questions from 3 Nephi 11 and the pamphlet, both of which he had read thoroughly. The pamphlet had questions written all over it, and he had written his questions from the chapter on a notepad. He told us that he stayed up one night until 4 in the morning reading what we'd assigned! When we initially gave them the materials, I asked them to pay attention to their thoughts and feelings as they read, and then afterwards to get on their knees and pray to confirm those feelings with the Lord. Ryan told us that the same question came across his mind when he read and then when he prayed: "Could this really be true?" They, along with Kim's brother Britt, are seriously investigating now. In fact, Ryan and Britt came to Church yesterday!!

I firmly believe that this all started with the faithful prayer of two missionaries seeking the Lord' s guidance, all the while trusting in His purposes. I don't think it was a concidence that we found them playing basketball, and not simply knocking on their door. We had a similar experience by doing service at the Taylor's these past couple weeks. They have a construction company remodeling part of their house, and they were surprised to find a couple 20 year olds who wanted to help for free. To make a long story short, the company owners (father and son) both have copies of the Book of Mormon now. Elder Remington and I have discovered that our best contacts have come through means other than tracting. President Robbins asked us to use our talents, and I'm finally realizing that you can do that and still keep the rules. You can talk about the gospel no matter what you're doing, as long as you create the right environment.

This promises to be a great week, and I am excited to see what can happen as we continue to have faith. We truly worship a God of miracles, but faith has to precede the miracle. Throughout the course of my mission, I have changed from someone who was frustrated at talking to so many uninterested people, to being someone who understands that they are not prepared yet. I am grateful to be a part of this mission, and to be serving in such a neat area at this time for as long as I have. I hope that my efforts will have at least laid a foundation that future generations of missionaries can build on.

I really enjoyed what Mom wrote about, boy do letters strengthen me! I imagine the basement is much more comfortable during these months, but just be glad you don't have to face Ohio humidity. It's crazy, even at 6:30 AM!! I loved your reading experiences from the Book of Mormon, there is so much we can apply from it. I am getting ready to start studying Alma 32-34 this week, really looking forward to it. A big thanks to Kent, Carol, and Co. for their letter last week. I don't know if that house can fit anymore kids! I think that's everything for this week, so I will leave my blessing and prayers on each of you as I always do. Keep the spiritual experiences coming!

I am only one

Well, the 4th of July was a little bit on the wet side, but there were fireworks nonetheless. Too bad we couldn't see them because we had be in by 9 PM, but we heard them pretty easily. It's always humbling to think of how much was sacrificed by those early colonizers so that we might have freedom. Such an environment was necessary for the Lord to restore His Church to the earth, so there's no doubt the Founding Fathers were inspired of God. We talk to so many people each day that lament how the country is headed in the wrong direction and in my mind I'm thinking, "Our message can solve those problems." I then do my best to present the restored gospel in a positive way, which will leave no doubt in their mind of the peace and happiness that it offers. Far too many, however, are not yet ready for it.

Well, this was a rough week as teaching goes, only 7 lessons taught. I think a big part of the problem was that we didn't take advantage of every opportunity to teach. I wish that the seeds previous missionaries had planted were ready to grow and harvest, but obviously it isn't the Lord's will. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not in charge, I'm just called to be a servant in the Lord's name. This has not been easy by any stretch, but not a day goes by that I don't learn something, and for that I am grateful. We did have several great experiences that came from giving selfless service to others, something I felt we weren't doing enough of the past couple months. Most of the service was rendered to members, which is a "piece of cake" way to earn their trust and confidence. We all have tasks that only we can perform, and all the Lord asks is that we give everything we've got and then wait. This was illustrated very well by President Monson in the most recent issue of the Ensign:

"Remember that you are entitled to our Father's blessings in this work. He did not call you to your privileged post to walk alone, without guidance, trusting to luck. On the contrary, He knows your skill, He realizes your devotion, and He will convert your supposed inadequacies to recognized strengths............I encourage you to reach out to those you serve and to love them. When you really love those you serve, they will not find themselves in that dreaded "Never, Never Land"---never the object of concern, never the recipient of needed aid. It may not be your privilege to open gates of cities or doors of palaces, but true happiness and lasting joy will come to you and to each one you serve as you take a hand and reach a heart."

Preach My Gospel teaches us that the ultimate measure of success is not in achieving goals alone, but in the service you render and the progress that others make. For me, this has been a great source of comfort lately. I realize that many people have in some way been positively affected by the message I've been called to share, even if they don't get baptized. With that mindset, I am confident that we can move the work here to another level, and our focus will be on helping the members join that cause. We have nothing to be afraid of! This is the truth, and those who choose to listen to us will never regret it. Lastly, here is a short poem that I keep in my journal to help me maintain a positive outlook when times are tough. It's called "I Am Only One":

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But I still can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do

I am grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve the Lord in His vineyard for two years. If this Church is anything, it is service; for without charity we are nothing. It's time for the work to go where it has never gone before, and I intend to spend my remaining days in Cincinnati and elsewhere in life seeing that fulfilled. The elect will not only hear the voice of the Savior, they will follow it. People that choose not to listen are not yet the elect, so therefore WE CANNOT BE DISCOURAGED! It's wonderful to hear of the Lord's infinite blessings being poured out upon each of you, and humbling also to realize that some of them are coming simply because I chose to serve a mission. I am not deserving of all that the Lord continues to give me, but I simply plan to continue doing my best. As Steve Prefontaine, the famous Oregon track athlete once said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." The Lord has assured me repeatedly that those I love and pray for are likewise doing everything they can to give all to God. I will most definitely study those chapters in Alma that Dad suggested. Coincidentally, this is where I'm at in my personal study of the Book of Mormon, so the timing is definitely right. And congrats to Mike and Ashley on the newest addition to their family! The pictures are good! Sheesh, cousins are popping out of the ground like the corn fields out here!

This promises to be a great week, plus we've got our Sports Zone Conference on Tuesday and that will be awesome!! Amazingly, we have appointments w/members every day this week! We will help them develop FMP's with meaningful goals so they can boldly and lovingly invite others to Christ. In addition to that, our branch president has asked us to find out which members don't have Preach My Gospel, and then to help them learn to study it regularly! I know this will strengthen their understanding and testimonies of the gospel to the point where THEY will be finding and we can focus on teaching.

Great things are ahead in Wilmington, I'll keep you posted! God bless!

Some things change, some things stay the same

I send my love and greetings to you....once again from Wilmington! If I'm here much longer, they may have to change the name to "Livingston". Nonetheless, I was very excited when I found out that I'd still be here, and there must be something here that the Lord wants me to do. My new companion is Elder Remington from Kallispell, MT. I think that's how you spell it. He was actually my district leader for my first 4 1/2 months in Wilmington, so I'm very excited to learn from him and spend this time serving together. And he bought a GPS today, so we'll never get lost or have a problem with miles!

I'm very much looking forward to this transfer and seeing what we can accomplish here. Elder Remington has an enthusiastic spirit so I think we'll do real well together. I loved how Mom mentioned the Christlike attribute of patience, which coincidentally I studied yesterday morning. The part that stuck out to me was when it said that we have to wait for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. The great thing is that He ALWAYS keeps His end of the bargain, but it's conditional on whether or not we keep ours. And, considering all that He desires to bless us with, why would you want it any other way? I'm pretty excited for the next Zone Conference, because it will be our annual sports conference which pretty much means we play sports all day. Boy, would it be nice to have those all of the time. We're actually brainstorming new ideas to find people to teach, because I've basically tracted all of Wilmington since I've been here. We're going to draw up some kind of flyer inviting people to a scripture study class, a fireside, or something along those lines. We also are going to spend a lot more time walking around so we can talk to more people; I don't know about you, but it's hard to talk to people when you're in a moving car. I've definitely gained a lot more confidence in talking to everyone as my mission has continued, which is something I am very grateful for.

Glad to hear things are going well for all, and a big congrats to Kent and Carol on ANOTHER boy! Sheesh, there's going to be a lot more cousins trying to tackle me once I get back. I will try and find time to write Cal and Ellie today, it's been somewhat hectic because of transfers but I won't let that stop me.

Oh, I almost forgot! Anthony Ingersoll really enjoyed the Tabernacle Choir concert, I'm pretty sure he felt the Spirit on more than one occasion. Right now we're focusing on getting him to Church each week, especially on helping him to act on the promptings he receives. He reads and prays everyday, so the only holdup is in recognizing the Spirit, but with the Lord's help we will get through it.

And thanks to Kenz for those letters she sent, I really enjoyed reading them....even if one of them was from March! :) I am definitely not the only one that has grown since I left, it is absolutely remarkable to see what the Lord has blessed us with and still has in store for us. His Arm is most definitely sufficient for all, but it's up to each of us to "lay hold upon every good thing" and then we will become what God wants us to become. Thank for your love, prayers, and concern for me during this time of much spiritual growth. Couldn't have asked for a better family or friends. Have faith, the Lord is with us! God bless!