Spring Break

Hello World, I feel like I am in a bubble here sometimes the few times I see the news it is Nica news. Nica news is not for the faint of heart. I have seen people hit by trains, tossed by semis, drilled by a 12 gauge slugs.. it is quite graphic. Movies don't do quite the justice as a real bullet entering a human chest. My favorite after a drug bust is the police interview and the humiliation of the criminals on natioinal TV. Maybe with Trump now the US might do that!! We had several good baptisms as a district this week and we had them under a waterfall, it was pretty dope! The little girl I baptized didn't want to get near the waterfall though, haha. I am happy, despite my afflictions on the mission. I have opened two areas, one brand new one old, I have trained 2 new missionaries which is very hard, helped establish one branch, been district leader, gotten very sick, thrown up on buses, diharea more days than not, parasites, food poisoning, and so on and so forth, including in general just being a missionary!! But I have learned that the absence of opposition is not joy, but instead joy is best found when we overcome obstacles and opposition by applying the atonement of Christ, and therefore coming to know Him.  So yes, I have struggles, so has He, yes I have sins, but He can take them away, yes I suffer, but He did too, He holds the key to joy in this life. This gospel, the church, priesthood, temples, ordainances, organizations, covenants, doctrines, etc, are all to more fully understand the atonement and utilize the Atonement in our lives. With faith all things are possible. All sins taken away, and all pain can be replaced with joy and comfort. I am blessed to carry this message to the world. I have passed through these things and yet I still have 16 months to go!! I have grown so much and I am so excited to see what the next two thirds of my mission bring!! And what joy and growth I get to experience!! My only wish is that all of you, especially those of my family and  "adopted" family can come unto our Savior, which really includes all of you reading.  Love Elder Morrison

Staying in Ocotal, happily

Hello, 

Short on time, but I will fill ya in.

This week we had more success in my area and district, I really put the pressure on some of the missionaries and some of them cracked a bit, not gonna lie, but they are good now!! I even got to visit Jalapa again on splits and it was super cool to see the progress. There are some really good missionaries up there and they are taking care of my peeps up there good!!

We had a district conference, for those that don't know a district is to stake as ward is to branch, (those non members reading this can ask a member how that works haha). Anyway, the building was packed so the missionaries sat out in the hall. When I was in Matagalpa it was a district, it is now a stake. Esteli is the district here and it is close to a stake now too, if we can bump up Ocotal it can and will be a stake soon. As for the work, the missionaries here we are making some changes and we are super pumped to see what happens. We are all working hard to get this place back up and running there had been some set backs before but now it is running good!!

Parenthood is non existent here, it is quite sad actually. So many law of chastity problems, whether they are married or not, there are problems.

My comp is Dominican, today the reason I can't send pics this week because he lost my memory card, he is super disorganized, but we really do get along great. We have good talks and treat each other as equals, that was one thing I love from my training with Elder Diaz, I was his equal and we got stuff done! This week I had a huge change of heart, I literally asked in a prayer that I could be transferred out of Ocotal this change. I was done with it here, the members just were not having any of it. But I went to work and we had some good meetings with the other missionaries and the Branch President. And now I am excited and grateful to be here, and I hope I can help make a difference here. I realized I was being ungrateful and selfish, and now I am trying to improve because I know I am ¨here by design and not by accident¨ and I should appreciate that, that is in my patriarchal blessing, I took that to heart and got to work.

I am doing well super happy and working hard as always,

Love Elder Morrison

Learning to Endure in Ocotal

Hey y'all

Well good ole Ocotal, it is quite the relationship we have, kind of a frustrating place at times. Because the people are so nice and humble but they are soooo dishonest. I come to a house and the person yells "I am not here!" then I always say "Who talked?" and walk away laughing after two minutes of begging them to come to the door and talk. I don't mind blatant rejections, but dishonesty kills me. Especially when I know how important and amazing the gospel is. 

This Pday we had fun, this morning we rented a small turf field for two hours and had five on five soccer, it was quite a blast. I still am not very good at soccer, but I am improving and I even scored a couple of times today, and no longer in my own goal haha. It was a ton of fun and we have a really cool group of missionaries here. I learned humility when Elder Tax from Guatemala, and like 3 feet tall, crossed me over so good that I fell. That little dude can play ball. But I got fried by the sun today.

My companion is super cool, unlike many Dominicans I come across, he is humbleish, and works hard. I was dying though because the Sisters asked me to go teach their lady with them who is getting baptized this weekend, and Elder Aybar brought his A game. He brought out scriptures not even I knew, and shared a lot. It helps that both the Sister Missionaries with us are also Dominican... We get along super well though, he loves football, of the American variety, so I teach him some things when things are slow and the people are dropping, hiding and doing everything to avoid us. The Nicas think I am crazy when I line up and play press coverage on him in the street.

To answer some of Dad's questions:

Enduring to the end is easier with an eternal perspective on things.

It is so daggum hot here, but Ocotal is nice and not humid so I don't mind it here. In the capital and the coast line the weather absolutely sucks from the humidity.

The most uplifting experience this week was this couple I am teaching. They have had a rocky past and made some wrong choices like all of us, but they truly are changing and repenting and it makes me very happy to see the progress that they are making.

As for the branch here, it is rough, the people are cool they just lack honesty. If we had people complete with the simplest things they commit to do, it would be a ward already. I enjoy it though I have certainly learned a lot from them.

Other than that life is good, still skinny but love you all!

Love, Elder Morrison

March

Hey Everyone, hope you enjoyed your week,

As for me, I am doing well. this sunday wasn't that bad, we had a couple of investigators in church but always I will want more. Trying to be happy always and content never.

Pday we played soccer finally, and I enjoyed it even though it reminded of how bad I am at it but I am improving. The Latinos still run circles around me, even Elder Tax who is like three feet tall. 

Anyway I would like to share one experience in particular that I had this week. Once again I was reminded of the story of the currant bush (those who don't know that story you can look it up on lds.org currant bush in Mormon messages). I was very annoyed, here in Ocotal there are almost 400 members on roll but only 60 go to church and we as missionaries do everything. We give the talks, do the cleaning, do the gospel doctrine teaching etc etc. I was mad, I just wanted to go to an area with faithful members that don't depend on us, the missionaries, to do everything. I was annoyed because they weren't helping me and because I wasn't having success. I said a prayer that was very sincere and quite frankly a little angry, saying in effect, "How could you do this to me? If I was in a stronger ward I would baptize more, be happier, have more success, eat more food, etc etc, Here I have to do it all and I am only 18 years old. I should be in college and relaxing, or in a states mission eating with members and playing basketball "to get investigators" on Friday's (no offense to the thousands of amazing and devoted state side missionaries)". 

Then these words came to my mind, "Good for you, maybe I know what I am doing and I am preparing you for something in the future" almost seemed.. I don't know, not sarcastic but I am convinced that the Lord has a sense of humor, because how many thousands of times have I read and pondered about challenges and the refiners fire and what not? Shoot, I have seen the currant bush video like 30 times!?? The Lord has to see what a joke how stubborn I am! and how thickheaded I am!

But this little bit changed the way I looked at the work. I have prayed every day to be a consecrated missionary. This time of trial has been my opportunity to consecrate myself to the work and work hard and lovingly even when times are rough!! And I don't know what the Lord has in plan for me in the future but may I ever be conscious and have the faith and humility to submit to His will and recognize that He knows us loves us and will always do what may not be easiest for us, but certainly always best.

Love you All, hope you are doing well!

Elder Morrison

Also I found a new scripture that I fell in love with John 16 verse 33

Trevor had asked Logan some questions and these were his answers:

The food here in Ocotal: no good American food, it is all nasty. I live off of rice, bread, milk, beans and chicken with the occasional soda and pear juice!!

Teaching: they changed the indicators and we don't count lessons anymore, but normally about 120 menos activos and recent converts and investigators combined.

My area is pretty big and far from the church most of it and further from my house it is super dusty.

Door approaches: we yell and they come or lie to us and tell us no one is here, then I laugh and say who is talking and then they run to the back of their house, kind of annoying how much they lie.

Spanish, the other night I was so tired and I had to talk and call the missionaries in my district. I was so dead and forgot which language I was speaking, so I asked and they told me Spanish. I think I got it down. Out of the gringos I have one of the best accents and what not. I like Spanish a lot and I want to learn more languages and perfect Spanish in college.