Welcome Home Elder Remington!

He will give a report on his mission on Sunday, May 25th at 11:00am, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel on 4300 Dale road. You are all invited to attend.

The Opportunity of a Lifetime

Dear Family & Friends,

It's hard to believe Jacoby's missionary service has come to an end.  I will admit, I cried through this whole letter.  Tears of joy to have the honor to be his mother, tears of joy that he will be coming home soon, yet tears of sadness that this wonderful experience has to come to an end.  This is the last email you will be receiving from him as a full-time missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  It has been a wonderful two years of watching our son grow and mature (through emails) in ways that he couldn't have experienced anywhere else.  We appreciate your letters and prayers and support to him throughout his mission.  As most of you already know, he will be returning next Tuesday, May 20th at 11:25am.  He will give a report on his mission on Sunday, May 25th at 11:00am, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel on 4300 Dale road.  You are all invited to attend.

Thank you again for all you have done for Jacoby, we truly appreciate each and every one of you!

Sincerely,

Darlyn Remington family

Family and Friends,

Last week I went to my last leadership conference. It was incredible. They are usually just with the zone leaders but this one was with all the district leaders too so I got to see and chat with a lot of great friends for the last time. It was a blessing. In the middle of his training, as he was teaching important principles of working with members, President Amaya gave a little pause smiled and said that we all need to remember the training that Elder Magill and Elder Remington gave in October about the three keys of working in unity with members: image, communication, and attitude. He then asked Elder Magill and I to come up and give that training again. Very surprised but happy and ready, we both stood up and (although we hadn't given the training in over 7 months) without even skipping a beat we gave the training together and it went super well. President has NEVER done anything like that before with any missionaries. That training of the three keys with members is the only training of assistants that he has asked for to be repeated a second time back in October with the new missionaries so we were super surprised then but THREE times asking for the same training is something insane so we were both shocked. We weren't sure how much time he wanted us to take up of his training so just in case we gave a much briefer version and skipped over some parts at first. Haha but then we we finished he just kept staring at us and said, "Continue please." So we both smile and nodded at each other and went over the other parts in greater detail with quotes and analysis from PMG. We finished with our testimonies of the importance of these principles, backed up each other's words, taught smoothly and in unity, and promised blessings to all who applied these three keys. President thanked us. We sat down. My buddy Elder Strang gave me a fist bump and whispered, "Killed it, great job man." I then looked over at Elder Magill and he gave me a wink and smiled. Good stuff. 

At the end of the conference all of the missionaries from my group and I gave our last testimonies. President told us all to keep it just to 2:30 minutes and we did and it was much more direct and powerful that way instead of some Elders who go on and on and on. It was one of the most spiritual and powerful moments of my life. Several missionaries were in tears and the Spirit was thick. I felt a strong burning in my heart and happiness and joy. Elder Garzon shared a brief experience of how he had practiced preparing the Sacrament when he was 10 years old and compared it with the fact that his whole life he had prepared himself for this moment... to be a missionary and serve the Lord and how wonderful it felt to have done so these last two years and to have done it well. His feelings were mine as well. Elder Maddock shared a great testimony of how he suffered a huge injury that prevented him from going to the Olympics but lead to him deciding to serve a mission and testified of how trials and pain can lead to growth and blessings. Elder Randall gave a tender and sincere testimony and started to cry at the end. You could feel the love and sincerity in his voice. He shared that a good attitude will bring you success in all that you do. Then it was my turn. I shared my testimony of the love our Heavenly Father has for every single one of us, that we are His children and thus we all have divine gifts and talents and the divine potential to become like Him one day. I know that Jesus Christ died for me and saved us all from sin and redeemed us and through His atonement we can become clean and be born again and have joy in sharing this glad message with our dear brothers and sisters (Alma 36:23-25). I know that Joseph Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration and that he translated the Book of Mormon. I know that it is the word of God and truly changes hearts and changes lives. I know that Thomas Monson is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and that if we apply his teachings in our lives we will be better and be safe. I know that this is God's true church. These last two years have been the happiest and best two years of my life. I know that with marriage and children even better years are to come but I know that these two years will always be the best two years for my life. I know that it is a privilege to be a missionary and that anyone who serves with all his heart, might, mind, and strength will be blessed more than you can possibly imagine. I closed my testimony and then heard a powerful and moving testimony of my dear friend Elder Magill. He testified of the three lighthouses of President Amaya and of what a privilege it is to be a missionary. He said that he wasn't going to cry yet. Then we sang the last hymn "Called to Serve" with all our heart. When we finished before the last prayer, President Amaya stood up and called up Elder Magill and I and thanked us for all that we had done and said that we were like Nephi because we had been born of goodly parents and were exemplary men. He said how much he loved us. It was very moving. Elder Magill cried. It was a very tender and spiritual moment. I am so thankful to have had such a wonderful mission president and to have served by him for six months with an amazing companion. 

At the end of the prayer, dozens and dozens of missionaries asked to take pictures with Elder Magill and I. We were astounded by how much each of them remembered things we had done for them or things we had said so long ago. They thanked us and we likewise thanked them and complimented them for specific and important things they had done. These were very tender moments. The recognition wasn't what really mattered, what most mattered to us both is that we knew and felt and the Spirit confirmed to us that we had done a good job and that the Lord accepted our offering :) a wonderful feeling. I am happy to be in an amazing area with such a wonderful companion like Elder Galvan.

I love you all. 

Elder Remington

The Three Lighthouses

Next week will be Jacoby's last email from Ecuador as a missionary.  If you want to write him one last email, send it before May 12th, because that will be his last day to check emails.

Also, if you would like to hear Jacoby report on his mission, he will be speaking in church on Sunday May 25th, at 11:00am. It will be at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 4300 Dale Road, Modesto, CA.

Thank you for the love and support that you have shown him throughout his mission!

Elder Remington's Mother

Family and Friends,

We had a tender baptism this week of Alejandrina Loor. She is the mother of two less active sisters and grandmother of several less active children. Her family was a referral of a ward missionary and when we first met them all she wasn't interested at all. The first few times she wouldn't even join us in the lessons or is she did she'd hardly say a word or just tell us that she was Catholic and wouldn't change and that was that. We pretty much wrote her off and focused on other people. Then one we went to their house to teach her daughters to reactivate them but they had left and Alejandrina was the only one home. My seasoned, calculating, and efficient mind told me that teaching her would be a waste of time and her odds of progressing were very low thus our time would be better spent teaching other investigators with greater odds of progressing.... but the Spirit gently touched my heart and I had the subtle feeling that we should stay and give her a chance... so we stayed. We listened to her. We showed genuine interest, love, and concern. She opened up to us. She shared that her husband had been unfaithful and left her for another woman several years ago and that she was sad and lonely. We also detected that she greatly lacked confidence and felt timid about participating in our lessons not because of a lack of interest but because she didn't know how to read and felt embarrassed about it and nervous that we might call on her to read and she wouldn't be able to do so. We shared our love for her and taught her of the love our Savior and Heavenly Father have for her and that they're always there to help her as she turns to them. We read and analyzed the doctrine of Christ in 2 Nephi 31 with her and I felt the distinct impression (I had never done it before) to testify to her and promise here that if she was faithful and obedient to God that in this life or the next He would bless her with a good and faithful husband that would love, cherish, and respect her and she could be with him for all time and eternity. We taught that God is merciful and just and He won't rob her of any of the blessings of exaltation if she is faithful and does her part. A gleam of hope brightened in her eyes as she listened to us teach and testify. We set a baptismal date for May 3rd in that very first lesson and she accepted tentatively. Day by day she became more and more comfortable with the idea and after a week she was excited to be baptized. It was a lovely experience and lovely baptismal service :) I love this work and I'm grateful for those gently promptings of the Holy Ghost to guide us to the elect of God because we'd be lost without them.

Last week, my great friend Sister Walker sent me some wonderful advice that I felt inspired to share with you all, Now you are approaching the last leg of this part of your life. In track, when you run a distance, there is something to be said for pacing yourself, for keeping yourself strongly in the race, but remembering you needed to save something for the end.  Now you are to the point where you thought you were already giving it all, but you can dig a little deeper and give a little more.

Thank you Sister Walker! What a great thought and solid analogy. To be completely honest two years of working hard all day really does tire the body, mind, and spirit haha a LOT! Of course it is a good tired, a happy tired in a positive way but its tiring nonetheless and there have been days where my body begs for rest and a long nap seems so appealing... BUT that's when we really show the Lord what we're made of and just how much we love Him and just how dedicated we are to His work. Anyone can work hard and positive when they feel well rested and there's a nice breeze and there are lots of investigators progressing and things are going great. Its when you're rejected, all your appointments fail, you're tired, hungry, and the sun is blazing hot... that's when it really takes diligence and heart to keep going with a smile and faith and hope in the Lord. When we do so the Lord helps us and when we kneel and ask for the strength to keep going, He hears and answers. Its not always the answer that we want but its always the answer that we need. As we trust in Him and work our hardest things work out. Several times this week these words from Sister Walker came to mind and helped me work even harder.

There are many of you who are probably wondering why I put the title of Three Lighthouses and if that means I went to the beach or something like that haha lighthouse is faro in Spanish and it has a bit of a different meaning in Spanish. Our beloved President Amaya has three "lighthouses" (that's the literal translation but it'd be more like the three keys or three fundamentals) of the mission that are the key to success that he always teaches us. I'd like to share them with you all. 

1. Concentrate your mind on the mission. Don't have a girlfriend to distract you, don't think about home, don't get absorbed in thinking about what you're going to buy or do or see on p-day, avoid all distractions, and stay focused always 100% on your investigators and your work as a missionary. Have a balance of being fun and happy yet focused and obedient. 

2. Submerge yourself in Preach My Gospel. There are many good things to read and study and focus on during the mission but the most important, most relevant, and thing that will most help you grow as a missionary is PMG. Love it, study it, live it. Every single day study it for at least 20-40 minutes and if you want for the whole hour. Do the activities. Look up and ponder on the scriptures. Watch and analyze the videos. Be a PMG missionary. President teaches that you know you're a PMG missionary if the Holy Ghost whispers parts of PMG to your heart and mind at times. Its happened to me on several occasions and its a great feeling. PMG really is the most important and it sets a foundation for the rest of our life. 

3. Have your Mission Purpose in between your eyebrows. In all that you do be focused on bringing souls unto Christ. Put baptismal dates in the first lesson without fear. Always think about how to better improve your sector and bring more souls unto Christ. Every lesson and everything you do should be focused on completing with your missionary purpose. 

Many months ago in a car ride with President Amaya I asked him for specific feedback on how I could improve as his assistant. He chuckled and repeated to me the three lighthouses and said "Elder if you have the three things down then all the rest will take care of itself. Focus on those three things and that's all." At that time I was a little bit let down because I wanted something a little more specific but I now realize that his answer was very wise and that those three lighthouses really are key and as I've developed and perfected them more and more during the mission since that car ride its brought me more and more success. 

I love you all!

Elder Remington 

More Families Can Be Together Forever :)

Jorge Luis's baptism from April 2013

Family and Friends,

This Saturday we had the tremendous blessing of attending the sealing of three families from the  Andres de Vera ward in Portoviejo where I served a over a year ago with Elder Carrillo and Elder Tibanlombo. A young couple, a family of less actives who were reactivated, and my great friend and convert Jorge Luis Briones and his wife Johana Solorzano were sealed together for all time and eternity. It truly was one of best days of my life and such a blessing to see old friends, converts, and hear about how well many converts are doing :) wow! 

In February 2013 my first Sunday in Portoviejo, an active and wonderful member Johana Solorzano brought her nonmember boyfriend Jorge Luis Briones to church and we taught him with her and put a baptismal date. He didn't accept very well and said that he was Catholic and needed much more time to think about it. A week later he fell off the map and no matter how many times we called or tried to visit him he never answered and we didn't see him for over a month. 

Fortunately, his girlfriend Johana was very strong in the gospel and very determined and insistent that he would be baptized and they would be married in the temple one day :) every time she saw us she asked how Jorge was doing and always tried to make things happen and bring him to church and never gave up no matter how uninterested or tough he was. She wasn't overbearing, rude, or pushy but she wasn't timid or lazy about it. She applied what Elder Scott and Elder Ballard taught in their excellent talks last conference. She was bold and persistent and gave a good follow up (Alma 38:12) in many ways. For example we told her that he never answered us, she asked him why, he said he never answers unknown numbers, she gave him our number and had him save it in his phone, then she told us to call him again. Finally at the end of March she brought him to an activity and we taught him again. I'll never forget the awesome lesson we had with Elder Tibanlombo when we read and analyzed Alma 32 together with him and he totally "got it" that he had to do his part with diligence and patience and faith to make the seed grow. He went to General Conference. The seed grew. And he was baptized on April 13th 2013. As they say the rest is history. 

A good follow up, persistence, and never giving up really paid off for my dear friend Johana. At the end of the sealing she had tears of joy that poured down her cheeks as she stood by her eternal husband hugging and shaking hands with everyone who passed by to congratulate them. When it was our turn she gave me a huge smile and said "Thank you so much Elder Remington for teaching and baptizing him!" Truly, that was one of the tenderest and sweetest moments of my life. 

It was also quite fun and entertaining to see all the members and converts. I don't have time to write all the details but literally 90% are strong and active especially the Gonzalez family, Michele, Cesar, Walter, and many many more. One of the members that is now the boyfriend of Michele thanked me sincerely for the work I had done there and told me the details of the lives of all the converts we had and the progress they're having in the church... he smiled and said you did a good job there! Few things make a missionary more happy than hearing about the progress and achievements of his converts in the church. 

I am very grateful for the wonderful leadership that the Andres de Vera ward has. I know for a fact that 90% of the converts wouldn't still be active if it weren't for the fantastic Bishop they have there. He truly is a saint and a stud. He is loving, kind, patient, strong, and he never tolerates gossiping or criticizing others in his ward. He knows that gossip and getting offended are some of the biggest reasons that people leave the church or that a ward doesn't function well. I testify that such is the case. He is a wonderful example to me of what a leader and father should be and I plan to follow his example in my life. What a blessing to have served in such a strong, happy, and united ward :) there are many friends for life in that ward for me :) 

There are many more things I would love to share but there isn't enough time... 

I love you all with all my heart and hope you are happy and well.

Elder Remington

Families Can Be Together Forever

Family and Friends,

I've been humming that lovely primary song all weekend. This Saturday April 19th, 2014, the Cortes family was sealed together for all time and eternity. For those of you who aren't members of the church, one of the most precious truths we treasure as members of the church is that when a couple is married in the temple by someone who holds the authority of God, that couple will be sealed together with their future children as a family not just "til death do you part" but for all time and even after death they will be together as an eternal family. After a year of being baptized and learning and growing in the church you have the opportunity to go to the temple and be sealed as husband and wife and if you already have children to be sealed to them as well and thus sealed to all future children that you may have as a forever family :) 

Jonathon was baptized on December 22, 2012 and he baptized Maria Fernanda on February 16, 2013 [Elder Remington mentioned her baptism and was sent a picture in previous post entitled "Exciting News! :)"] and ever since then my old companion and great friend Elder Ayala (He's not an Elder anymore but thats how I remember him and he's still Elder Ayala to me ahha) and I have been following up on them through letters, occasional visits with President's permission as an AP, and facebook on Elder Ayala's part. As with all new converts, they had some trials but with our help, the help of some wonderful members in that ward, the strong testimony and consistent example of Jonathon (he really is a rock, he finished the Book of Mormon in 6 months, magnifies his calling as young men's counselor, goes to church always, shares the gospel, and has been constant in work to achieve his goal of going to the temple),  and above all the divine help of the Lord :) they made it to the temple :) wooooohoooo!!! Honestly words can't fully describe how happy I am :) this is a dream come true that I've been praying and working for over a year and it finally happened! Even if all other people in Ecuador rejected me and I didn't baptize a single other person in my two years here....it would've been worth it to find Jonathon and Maria Fernanda, teach them, baptize them, confirm them, and see them endowed and sealed as a forever family :) 

I had the privilege of being Jonathon's escort in the temple and Elder Ayala and I were the witnesses of their sealing. The temple worker explained to us that the two witnesses aren't just there in that moment but that their signature will forever be on the certificate of marriage and that they commit themselves to be guardian angels and look out for the family that sealed and always be an important part of their lives :) we both smiled and said that we had already been doing that and already had planned to continue to do so and that now with even greater dedication and with even more motivation and duty we would do so :) I'll always be there for this wonderful family and I'm so grateful that the Lord trusted us enough to put them in our path and help them. 

Jonathon's two children Domenica and Santiago (James in English) are normally very rambunctious and noisy and frankly I was nervous that when they entered the sealing room that they would be loud and distract from the Spirit. But when they entered the sealing room all dressed in white like little angels with big smiles and a glow in their eyes... the Spirit filled the room so strong that I couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear the entire time :) I looked at Elder Ayala and we smiled and didn't say a word... words can't describe what we were both feeling. The two children happily, quietly, and reverently took their place around the altar with their parents and when the sealing was finished the four of them all gave each other big hugs and kisses and everyone in the room was smiling and a sweet heavenly exquisite peace filled the room. The temple worker said that this was a taste of heaven for all of us.... this was one of the best and tenderest moments of my life and utterly unforgettable. As the saying goes, missionaries leave their families for two years so that others can be with their family for eternity. 

Elder Ayala and I were reminiscing and remembering the good times when we did companionship studies and practices dedicated to Jonathon and helping him finally accept a baptismal date :) and how much we had to work with Maria Fernanda before she finally opened up and went to church with us :) it was awesome seeing Elder Ayala and being with him again and he and the Cortes family will be lifelong friends :) it was also wonderful seeing many of the members from Albonor again and remembering the good ole days haha they will be lifelong friends as well :) After the sealing, the Cortes family invited us all over for lunch and we had a great time together at their house and I had a flashback remembering when we first contacted their house over a year ago and how much one contact has changed our lives forever (Alma 37:6-7). 

After the lunch we were able to go to the terminal and return to Quevedo just in time for the Stake Conference that night and good thing too because I had to give the first talk! (By the way, we had President's permission to attend just in case you're wondering hahah President has always said that we need to focus on families thus the motivation is that all missionaries who baptize families will get to go to their sealings :) yay! Thanks President!) I love public speaking. My talk was on the Work of Salvation and how we can work even better together as members and missionaries :) based on Elder Ballard's last two conference talks especially "Put Your Trust in the Lord" that I definitely recommend reading and applying. We made a little PowerPoint sideshow of some of the baptisms we had in the stake the past few months through members giving referrals and it was great it really invited the Spirit in the room and motivated the members. One of the last pictures was of Carlos and Cristina's baptism and I had his brother Ricardo Romero share his testimony at the end of the joy he felt while sharing the gospel with his brother and the happiness he felt as he baptized his own brother and saw him baptize his wife a month later :) I know a good opportunity to invite the Spirit when I see one :) it was awesome he did a great job! There were 3 key points that as members we need to do

1. Pray asking specifically for missionary opportunities and be looking for those opportunities.
2. Share the gospel in a normal and constant way (first presidency message by President Uchtdorf that is great on that; "A Firmly Set Anchor")
3. Give a quality referral to the missionaries at least once every three months (quality means that you help teach them and support them look up PMG quote by President Hinckley [Found in Chapter 13]). 

I love you all very much and hope you are enjoying life :) remember thats why we're here (2 Nephi 2:25) 

Elder Remington

Celebration

Family and Friends,

I loved General Conference :) I especially loved the talk by Elder Scott about being gentle and loving with people yet firm in helping them be better. Also I loved the talk by Elder Zwick about effective communication and being a peacemaker. Elder Ballard was great in his talk on the Work of Salvation and committed all of you to study PMG and share with your missionaries what you learned... therefore I am waiting to hear from all of you what you learned! You can do it! For all you future missionaries out there I can testify that reading PMG from start to finish before my mission was one of the best things I did before that most helped prepare me. I strongly recommend it and for those who aren't future missionaries remember that we are all always life long missionaries and we have to know what PMG teaches to work in unity. Just do it. 

In these last few months we have been keeping an extra clean and tidy house and trust me that it greatly helps the Spirit be there and makes you feel so much better when you get home. Keep a clean and organized house and you'll be happy. 

One of my questions before going to conference was, "How to best be in the world and not of it?" As our Prophet taught at the beginning and announced the temples that are being built, the Spirit reminded me of a great habit I had developed while at BYU that really helps us be in the world but not of it. That habit is regular temple attendance. While in Provo living so close I had the blessing of going to the temple every week and I remember often times remembering that I would be going to the house of the Lord that week would help me walk away when an inappropriate joke was said or spend time with other people when I remembered that I'd be going to the temple. Going to a little piece of Heaven regularly helps us not be of this world. 

Remember the wise words that my father always taught me, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." 

Love,

Elder Remington 

Mission Leadership

Family and Friends,

Last week we had the wonderful and interesting privilege of doing inspections with President Amaya and the Assistants Elder Rounds and Elder Curriden. As leaders we have a copy of the keys of every house in the zone and from time to time we show up unannounced in the morning to see if they are being obedient and to make sure they are taking good care of the house. Frankly, I've never been a big fan of doing inspections mostly because of what my dad taught me about not trying to be a police officer for your missionaries and I prefer to follow Joseph Smith's advice of teaching correct principles and letting people govern themselves. My dad taught me that it is much better to just motivate your missionaries and be a good example to them and love them and catch them doing good things and compliment them instead of trying to trying to always catch them doing something bad and lecture them about it. He's right. And there are definitely many leaders who sadly haven't learned that and they fall victim to pride (D&C 121:34-40).

However, occasionally when done with the proper amount of humility, maturity, and the correct perspective and trusting but verifying and wanting to help them not hurt them or make them feel bad... inspections can be important, wonderful, and necessary. Thus we went and inspected all of the houses with that attitude and it was awesome. There was one house where four missionaries lived and the week before President asked us to decided out of three of them had who we recommended as the new district leader (our other district leader is a zone leader now and very well prepared I might add). It was a tough decision and we took some time to think it through because two of them had a lot more time in the mission, had been district leaders before, and were very dynamic outgoing and talented. The other missionary had less time and is a little shy but he is super obedient, pure, loving, happy, a great teacher, and really has a great spirit about him. Despite that he was a little shy and had less time on the mission we both felt that he was the right choice and we told President. Therefore, when we arrived at their house at 7:58 to do inspections what we found brought a calm reassurance to my heart and I knew the Lord had inspired us to make the right choice. Two of the missionaries were scrambling to get their ties on and get to their desks. One missionary was just barely coming out of the shower. And the humble and obedient missionary that we had recommended as district leader was completely dressed, knelt down praying at his desk, and had a serene and peaceful spirit about him. It was awesome. The difference in power and spirit between those missionaries was palpable. 

The other missionaries received a loving but firm correction to improve and the obedient missionary received a big hug, big smile, and a big congratulations from President Amaya. I couldn't help but smile and think of what it'll be like when the Lord comes unannounced...how will he find us? Obedience really does have its rewards.

 There was a missionary who arrived in our zone a few months ago discouraged, disobedient, and a little lazy but WOW has he had a drastic change. You can truly see more light radiating in his eyes these days. We were persistent, loving, and patient with him and he has a great companion to help him and he has improved and transformed into a loving, happy, upbeat, obedient, smart, hardworking, direct, bold, brave, and wonderful missionary. I know that one of the keys was that when he first got here we didn't get frustrated or give up on  him and just classify him as a problematic and disobedient missionary and that was the end of it. Instead, we saw the potential he had inside and saw what he could become and helped him reach it. And when we arrived at their house unannounced early in the morning it brought a big smile to my face to find them both dressed, alert, diligently studying, and with the house clean...not perfect... but clean. Its wonderful to see what a change people can have :) 

Lots of leaders in the mission spend their time looking all over for tips and keys for success and they ignore or undervalue or forget to study and apply the divine guidance given by the First Presidency. Often times in my personal study or in my free time while in the bathroom or waiting for a baptismal interview, etc. I'll pull out my Missionary Handbook and go over the leadership section. I highly recommend it. I would like to cite a few pearls of wisdom on leadership from the Missionary Handbook page 60, "A leader helps other missionaries most when they feel a leader´s love. They should feel that a leader is motivated by a sincere concern for their welfare, not by his or her own interests." This is one of the most important and perhaps most underrated aspects of successful leadership. Everyone knows that you have to be strong, smart, efficient, have results, and reach the goal. But they often forget that if you just focus on the results and walk over people to get them then you won't have happy people nor will you likely have good results. Remember the following from the Missionary Handbook page 57, "A missionary leader must be an effective administrator in keeping order and carrying out the work of the mission. A leader's most important influence, however, comes through ministering to others in harmony with the Savior's teachings and example." You have to pray for them all by name everyday and really watch out for them and care for them and love them. Be willing to go the extra mile. If there is a companionship that is really discouraged and struggling be willing to go to their house listen to them, let them vent, love, give them kind advice with scriptures and PMG, and give them a blessing each one to improve and strengthen them and they will LOVE you for it and know and feel that you are there to help and serve them not just to use them to have better results for your own selfish reasons. When they feel that they will follow you out of love and respect not out of fear or for obligation and thus they will trust you and won't question your motives and they'll work better. Thus you will have happy people and happy results :)

Love,

Elder Remington