Hey All,
Things are great here. It's currently 80 degrees outside. It's been like that since I got here. I hope it keeps it up for a long while. The baptism on Saturday went great! They are such a prepared family and the Lord has truly prepared their way to be able to come and partake of the gospel of Christ and have it in their lives as a family. They were so so happy Saturday and Sunday. On Wednesday they are going to the temple with the branch. Even though they can't go in they are still super excited to be able to go which is rather impressive. The Lord is really going to bless them for so actively seeking after Him.
Things with my comp are good. Last night we were taking a short cut on a dirt road in the middle of no where and I started to feel just awful inside. Rather unsure about our way and I honestly felt scared. It didn't help that it was getting dark too. So I mentioned it to my comp and he said we should keep going so we did. Then he started to sing Let the Holy Spirit Guide. He's really not that great of a singer at all. But. It helped me so much. I am so grateful that my companion was willing to invite the spirit with a hymn. Nothing happened to us. We got to where we needed to be safely. But I know that in that moment, I felt a little bit more of the Saviors love for my companion. If we had turned back, perhaps I never would have been able to learn to love my companion a little bit more.
Luis and Anna have pretty much disappeared....that happens a lot in this country. Their baby was born and is fine but they didn't come to church on Sunday. We'll see this week what we can do for them.
I went on divisions with Elder Nuffer on Wednesday and Thursday. He's
an elder that I was in the MTC with and he's my zone leader out here.
I've always really respected him. Turns out we get along great and we
had a blast. So while i was there, there was a rat in their house. And
it kept us up all night long. Not kidding. It got trapped in the
bathroom but every time we got up to go try and trap it, it would go
hide. It doesn't help that Elder Nuffer is also very very afraid of
rats. Which is kinda funny if you see him. He's like 5' 10'' and weighs
probably 200 pounds of sheer muscle. He's HUGE.
Yesterday a member of the high council spoke in sacrament meeting. One thing that he said really stuck with me and I thought I should share it with you. Service is the way we grow as people. And it's true. When we serve, we learn so much more about who we are and how to love others. The Lord, when He was distraught about the death of a dear friend, went and served others. And then something that the stake president said that I really enjoyed was that in this life it's not why did this happen to me? It's for what did this happen to me? How can I learn and benefit and grow from what is happening or has happened? Like I've said before, the Atonement allows us to change. Let us take advantage of every chance we have to grow.
I've been focusing a lot on teaching about the atonement and gaining a
testimony of it's power. That was one thing that I noticed about Elder
Nuffer when we were on divisions. He spoke of and testified of the
atonement in every single visit we did. When I told him I'd never seen
an elder do that before he looked at me and said, "We'll that's why
we're here isn't it? To teach and testify of the atonement." And that
really is why I'm here. Everything we teach about, the restoration, the
gospel of Jesus Christ, the plan of salvation, the commandments all of
it, is thanks to the atonement. All of it. We're here to show others how
to apply the atonement in their lives and live happily as a result. I
know that's why we can live as a family forever. The Atonement is so
earth shakingly vital and we treat it with almost a trite simplicity far
too much. It is EVERYTHING! I know that Christ lives. I know that He
suffered it all so that we can change who we are to become more like
Him, and thusly, become happy. HE is the reason for this life. Wouldn't
it make sense that we all live a little more for Him...
Well, I think that's about all for now.
Beware of the Jabberwock!
Have a stupendous week
Elder Andy
Elder Andy
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