Elder Jeff Langford's Missionary Blog

 Clam Chowder Rocks! Crying Babies! & Awesome Sister Missionaries!!

Elder Langford's Update: May 20, 2013

 Oh man! I’ve got plenty to say and talk about!!  It’s been a great week down here in FayetteNammm!!!  As some call it. There’s been a lot of small miracles adding up, and I feel, now, greater than ever before, that I’ve been truly able to recognize the Lord’s hand in more of the small things, and the Big things. I’m understanding that to more fully see the potential we have to have the same if not more faith in Christ than those who saw him and felt the prints in his hand.

Elder Pettitt is doing great! It’s been a blessing to see how much he’s been able to change as the weeks have gone by. We’ve really been consecrating ourselves, and trying to understand how we can both personally work more efficiently. I’ve found that sometimes the best way you can help, is by being the example. We were talking to a member, and He said that one of the greatest gifts we have is agency, and the best thing that you can do for someone, is to show them how they can do it for themselves! We talk all the time as missionaries about the way that people can learn to find their own answers and help themselves as they go through their tribulations. Sometimes when the baby cries at night, you just let it cry, until it realizes that it has to go to sleep on it’s own. I feel sometimes Heavenly Father  views us as little children sitting two feet away from a bottle, crying because we don’t want to crawl two feet to get the thing we desire… but he knows that eventually we’ll stop crying, and realize that the only way that we’re going to get there, is if we start showing faith, and act.

At this point, I’m trying hard to understand how joy is found in the everyday seconds of our everyday lives. Even through the hardest of scenarios there’s always a way that we can find some form of Joy. Sometimes that form of joy takes the form as a knowledge that showing sufficient faith now will progress to joy. Faith , hope, and charity are so essential! We do all these things to gain a hope in our Savior, in hopes that it turns into action of faith. It is in our progression, that we’re able to find happiness in our lives, for we are that we might have joy, we’re here to perform our labors, and we’re here to learn how to progress.

We also ran into this guy that let us in, read us some scriptures from the Bible  about how we weren’t qualified to be bishops yet, and how “Satan, is one Shrewd Dude!” isn’t he? Man. Always looking for trouble. I was able to learn a lot from this man.

My mother will be so proud of me. I’ve noticed that on the mission, I’ve conquered a lot of my fears of different foods I have to eat. I had some clam chowder a couple days ago and loved it! It was soo good! Especially the clams! Ever since the Morehead City feast I’ve been craving some good seafood!

We’ve been out on the bikes a lot this week. I can honestly say that my legs are a wiii bit sore… Elder Pettitt used to bike 30-40 min. to work in the hot Arizona sun all the time, and would bike for fun before the mission… It's hard to keep up w/ him but I’m getting closer! The only thing that slowed him down was his bike braking!  But we’ve been able to talk and share the gospel to vast amounts of people on the street. We’ve been able to testify about the restoration to so many hungry souls, (and some not as hungry), and we’ve seen how the Lord’s been guiding us. We’re looking towards trying to use the members more efficiently, and gain closer relationships so that we can help and assist them.

I want to take the remaining part of the time I have just to say how proud of I am of Kaitlyn, Katie, and Erin already going out and serving!!  That was so crazy last night just thinking how right now, they’re preparing to enter into the MTC… It still feels like yesterday!  I know though that with their hard work and effort, that they’ll be able to succeed on their missions in helping the people in their areas come closer to Christ. They’ve already shown their light to so many people in their lives, and now they have the great chance to refine, and understand that light they have more, so that they can use it as a tool to change the lives of the people that they teach. I have a firm belief that we are all called to our specific areas for specific reasons. They have a purpose where they’re going, and I can promise that as they learn to walk by faith, that they’ll be able to see and understand that reason. Sometimes I think why the Lord would trust us going out so young in the gospel, with such a smaller portion compared to the older and the wiser members of the church.  Then I remember how the church was restored. It was through a 14 year old boy, humble, meek, submissive, ready to learn, and young in the ways of the spirit, and the world. This is a time where the Lord is able to take us under his wing, and allows us to grow in his way. This is an allegory of our life on earth, and can be treated as such. We must strive daily to become all that we can become as missionaries, so that when the day comes that we have our interview with our mission president on that last day, we can say that we have given our full service, love, will, and devotion to the master. I pray that as you prepare to go out, that you’ll pray daily for his strength and aid in this great work you’re embarking on  I love you!

Love everyone else as well that’s reading this! Thanks for your continued support and prayers!!!