Welcome to the blog of Elder Redge Ballard!

Redge has gone from planning to fly to the Brazil MTC, to driving to the Provo MTC, to the Houston Texas Mission, and now finally he has arrived in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We hope you'll enjoy following his adventures in sharing the restored Gospel to those he meets!



Saturday, April 21, 2012

Obedience is the best thing ever! :D

Really great hearing from everyone this week! Glad to hear that all's well.

   Dad - So the other day I was randomly walking down the street heading to an appointment and started chuckling out loud, my comp asked what it was, and I was laughing cuz I randomly remembered that ChristmasEve talent show where you conducted that Big Band sound file :D Haha, even though it's a good 8 months away, I'm excited for the good old Ballard Christmas Eve. It's funny cuz I think every companion that I talk to about you, every one of them says they want to meet you. Another really good memory, remember that one sunday when my belt broke? So I ended up grabbing one of those black tie down straps in the garage and used it, and that day at church it just happened to be the day when the Priesthood lesson was about personal appearance and we both just looked at each other and I tried to hide the "belt"? Hahahaha... man that was classic.

  Family - I was thinking the other day, remember how funny Austin's farewell was in the IF airport? The way that we all stood there with our faces against the glass just sobbing completely uncontrollably :D Hahahahaha... so funny. I'm glad that mine wasn't so painful and tearful haha. Goooood times.

  So this last week President Parrella, as he was doing interviews with all the missionaries on the mission, started finding some slackage in some of the rules, little stuff like leaving the house at 10:03 instead of 10:00, staying at a member's house for an hour and 5 minutes for lunch instead of just an hour, and he advised everyone to just buck up and keep ALL the rules with exactness, and it was such a cool wakeup call. Not that we were having any major problems, but it was just so cool seeing the difference that a more conscious effort is making. Just as the scriptures say, little things bring about huge differences. The Spirit is way more present in our work, we're seeing amazing changes and miracles in the lives of our investigators, and this week is going to be wonderful. I don't have a lot of specifics to report this week, but man... I just love obedience. I'm learning so many important lessons out here. Me and my comp were talking about rules where we don't understand the purpose, and I realized that many times the Lord will give us commandments that we won't understand the "why", simply because He doesn't want us to have any way of justifying! In 1 Nephi 3:7, Nephi never used the word why. He isn't worried about the "why", he's just worried about him doing his part and fulfilling the commandment. If the Lord clearly explains the 'why', yes it can be a big motive for us to obey. But, if we aren't needing that motive at the moment, we'll justify and not obey! We all know that temple attendance will help our families be more united and happy, but if we think, "Ah, my family is doing really well right now. Everyone's firm in the chruch, everyone's getting along, so... I think I'll go to the temple next week, cuz we're doing ok ourselves." Ehhhnt (<- imitating a buzzer sound), wrong. It all makes a lot more sense doesn't it? Obedience isn't just to gain blessings, it's to follow the Lord. Thanks for your prayers everyone, things are great here. Sorry to not have a lot more to report, but HURRAH FOR ISRAEL!!!! -Elder Ballard

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