What a week, what a week!
(The Fun Part of the Email........)
I could've sworn P-Day was yesterday, but the calendar says it's already Monday again, so I'm willing to trust it. Life is good here in Greenville. We've got a double baptism coming up on on Saturday for Betty Sherman and Cassie Elder (Both investigators I've taught from the beginning, and have invested a lot of effort and love towards.....), so we're pretty excited about that! (Look for pictures next week!) In addition we've spent a lot of time on exchanges over the last week. (An exchange is a period of 24 hours when you go with another missionary to learn from them......) So we had exchanges with the zone leaders and then later in the week we went down to Rockwall for an exchange with the elders there!
Now for a story......... A couple of weeks ago Elder Sanchez (One of the missionaries in Rockwall) found a broken pair of sunglasses on the side of the street. He picked them up, popped out the lenses and started started wearing them around. Little did he know what he had started. Soon missionaries started noticing his fake pair of glasses, and now it has caught our district and zone by storm! (For example....... Our zone leaders called us this morning wondering how they could get a pair of these fantastic glasses!) Someone ordered a bunch of these glasses, and now it's up to us to distribute them. #fakeglasses
Before we started our exchange in Rockwall we were in desperate need of some District pictures before the the end of the transfer, which happens to be next week! So we spent ten minutes and this is what we got........ Enjoy the results below.
Besides that it's been a pretty normal week. We've had splits nearly everyday, and we're teaching a lot. Greenville is doing well. My Spanish is slowly improving despite not having anyone to speak it with. Hopefully that will change someday. (But not too soon........ Transfers are next week and I want to stay here!)
(The Spiritual Part of the Email.........)
I'm don't have a grand, spiritual insight for this week, so I'll leave one of my favorite spiritual thoughts which I enjoy sharing at dinner appointments......... This from the story of the Jaredites when they cross the sea.
5 And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters,towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind.
6 And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind.
This was no pleasure cruise for the Jaredites. They were on their barges for nearly a year. Can you imagine being trapped inside one of these barges full of people and animals (Including BEES for crying out loud!!!) for an entire year with the only access to the outside world being a small port on the top and bottom of your barge which you can only open when you're not buried in the sea........ Speaking of which what has to happen to have these waves described as MOUNTAIN waves........ Yikes!
7 And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters.
8 And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind.
I know in our lives we may not have literal mountains of water crashing into us, and we may not be literally buried in the depths of the sea like the Jaredites, but each of us have our own mountain waves which we're dealing with. We all have times when we feel as though we're buried in the depths of the sea with little hope of ever reaching the surface. Life gets difficult, it's the truth. But just as the Lord provided barges for the Jaredites to cross the sea, he has done the same for us today. I believe these barges could be many things, but the thing that jumps out to me the most is the family. The Lord knew what he was doing when he gave us families. That's why families are one of the first things we teach about as missionaries. When our families are tight like unto a dish, no matter how rough the storms of life get we will always see the surface again. It may not be easy, just as I'm sure it wasn't easy for the Jaredites to stay in their cramped barges for an entire year, but it's always better inside the barge than outside. Imagine if when the Lord had commanded the Jaredites to cross the sea they had each built an individual little kayak. How many of the Jaredites would have survived when the mountain waves rolled in? My guess, not many. The Lord knew what he was doing when he gave us families. I would to invite each of you to strive to keep your families like how the barges of the Jaredites are described. Tight like unto a dish. That may take work. A lot of it. But I can promise you it's worth it. So do what you can, whether that means being kind to your siblings, respecting your parents, or simply striving to not cause problems. It's better inside the barge than outside. And I want to leave that with you in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Love ya'll! I'll try to get around to some birthday emails today!
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