Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

Dear Family and Friends,

This has been a great week for us in the work of the Lord and we have been seeing much progress here in the San Antonio East Zone. I am so very thankful for the opportunity to learn and progress into who the Lord needs me to become as a missionary and as His disciple. I am truly thankful to be here on a mission and to help others find the joys of living the gospel and feel of the peace that our Savior brings into our lives. It is comforting to know that we have a true source that we can turn to that can help us through our afflictions. I love the scripture in Mosiah 24:13-14 : “Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage. And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions.” It is amazing to know that our Savior will always be there to lift us in our afflictions, that we will be able to endure them. Though our Savior may not take all of our afflictions away, He will ease those burdens and we will be able to feel of the comfort that comes through His infinite atonement.

This past Wednesday, we had the opportunity to have our Zone Meeting with President Slaughter along with our Zone Leaders. President Slaughter talked about the sacred calling that has been extended to us as well as the process in which a call is given. All of the mission calls in the world are made by inspiration through any of the apostles and the missionary board. They in turn are guided by the Spirit as to where we should go. It's pretty neat to think that an apostle personally assigns us where the Lord would have us go. We are then set apart from the world by our Stake President and are ready to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. President Slaughter also talked about Patriarchal blessings as well as the endowment as ways in which missionaries are able to receive strength, guidance, and spiritual power even before coming out on missions. It is amazing to think about the importance of this calling that we have and the duty to live worthy of it every day. It is such a blessing to be a missionary.

This past week has been such an amazing opportunity for us to extend the temple invitation given by President Monson to the less-actives of 10th Ward and Las Palmas.  It was very neat being able to see their desires to attend the temple grow and strengthen. How special it is to know that we can be eternal families as we make and keep the covenants that we make in the temple. We can have that added strength and power to overcome the temptations of the world as we go to the temple and ponder our divine potential as children of God. I can't wait to see the progress of the members here and to see the strength of the wards grow in the gospel.

We have been able to meet with Maria Banda from the Las Palmas Ward in teaching her the gospel and preparing her for baptism at the end of the month. It was a blessing to hear that she will be able to get Sunday's off from work this coming week to go to church! We are hoping that she will still be available throughout this week that we can be able to continue going by her and teaching her more about the church. We know as we exercise our faith in the work and in being obedient, we will see those miracles and blessings in the work and that she will experience the blessings of being baptized. We have also been able to visit with the Maria and Damian Ochoa who have the potential to be baptized at the end of the month as well! The only obstacles that we have found is that Maria needs to get married to Bro. Ochoa and strengthen the family in scripture study and family prayer. It will be special to see the family united as they live the gospel and continue to learn and progress. We continue to work with the Oliveira family as well as with Juan in helping them overcome their challenges with the word of wisdom. We know as Juan exercises his faith in the gospel and in the enabling power of the Atonement that he can be ready to be baptized and receive the blessing of the gift of the Holy Ghost. It will be exciting to see their family grow and overcome these trials and challenges through the gospel.

It has been a blessing being able to hear from you all back home. I love you all so much! I am truly thankful for amazing family and friends. Hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Munro