Everything here with me is going just spectacular :) This last week we had a baptism and on Sunday we were able to get her confirmed. That was where all the excitement came in. We went to Simoca early to be there for church and while we were starting the meeting the cell phone rang a few times. I didn’t bother to look at it until the confirmation was over because there was no way to call back or anything. After the confirmation turns out that I checked to see who it was and it was the number of the branch president’s office in Monteros. So I called back and the branch president asked us to come to Monteros to preside in the meeting because he had to go to work. That was fun. So we took a remis back to Monteros and I had my first experience with presiding over Sunday meetings. Luckily it was fast and testimony meeting so I didn’t have to wing it with talks or anything, but it all went rather smoothly. Luckily a family invited us to eat lunch with them since the lunch we would have had in Simoca was an hour away and it would have been hard to get there and back and not waste a ton of time. So anyway, it was a fun day.
There is an ex-missionary that served in the mission that was here yesterday because apparently he is getting married to a girl from the branch, haha; kind of weird right? Anyway, so yeah that was a fun day.
This past week Elder Barraza and I have been hitting it hard, working 100 percent and trying to get things going once again. My comp is a stud, he is a way better missionary than I am and I am glad to have him. I’ll try and get some pictures to you from some of our recent adventures. We have a blast together and I hope I get to be with him for at least one more transfer after this one.
Things in the branches are going well and I have been learning a ton about how the church should run and a lot of the little things like the unwritten rules and such through all the experiences that we have been having. Speaking of which, I believe that in the package I mailed home right before I left the MTC I put a talk in there that was called "the unwritten order of things". If you could find a digital copy of that and email it to me or make a photocopy and mail it or something of the sort that would be spectacular. I just would like a copy of it because it is way good.
As for the investigators that we have of the moment, they are in that first stage of seeing what happens for the most part. We have one investigator in Simoca that is doing well but his family is separated and travels a lot so it is difficult for him to go to church sometimes. We are working with a lot of less active families to get them activated since these branches really need their help, especially priesthood holders. So that’s what we are up to lately. Taking the approach from all sides and trying our dandiest to get things moving. If you all have any suggestions or comments, they are very invited. I love you all and I hope that you are doing awesome. Take care and don’t forget to try to be perfect. :)
ha-ha, dad, thanks a ton for always reminding me to smile, it really came in handy yesterday while directing the meetings. It was kind of stressful and I tried to keep smiling the whole time and it really helped out. Now I understand why there was a bit of a struggle with the smile while you were bishop and I don’t blame you at all. I was only there for a couple hours and I got a taste of it :) I love you.
Elder Rose
p.s. Could you tell Brother Heath thank you for the letters that he has been sending and I would absolutely love it if he keeps sending them. If it is too expensive to mail them tell him he can email them too me since they are already typed up.
07 June 2010
01 June 2010
New Companion
Hey Everyone!
How are all of you guys doing? I hope you’re spectacular. I am doing well. Yesterday after church in Simoca we had a baptism of a girl named Loudres Medina. It was really cool. She’s nine years old and she was kind of freaking out a bit because she was afraid of the water. It didn’t help that there was no hot water and it was a cold winterish day, but it all turned out well. We had a lot of help from the branch and had a good time. So the baptism was way cool and the confirmation will be next week.
We lingered around a little bit so that Elder Castro could say goodbye to some people since he was the one that received his transfer this time. He is off to Salta in an area called La Loma. He will be living in the same apartment I lived in when I was in my second area. That will be cool for him. My new companion is Elder Barraza, also from Santiago de Chile with the same time in the mission as Elder Castro. He is a cool kid. He speaks super duper fast but I’ll get used to that.
So today will be a busy p-day. We have spent the whole day so far in the terminal and when we finish writing I think we will be heading back to our area. Today in the terminal I got to see some people I haven’t seen for a long time. I saw Elder Wade again and he brought me a letter from Rodrigo, our convert. I saw some old missionaries that I haven’t seen in more than a year, it was really fun.
We have found some really cool people this past week that I hope will really have the opportunity to progress. We found one single mom of three kids and then another family of four and then we have a couple of other opportunities to teach some people that we have been working with for a while. Things seem like they will all be going good. It’s a bit of a new beginning with a new comp and I hope that we can get some stuff done, get down to business and just work super hard. As for that, that is pretty much all, everything here is normal. This transfer we are planning on doing some cool activities.
I love you all a ton. Talk to you next week.
Elder Rose
How are all of you guys doing? I hope you’re spectacular. I am doing well. Yesterday after church in Simoca we had a baptism of a girl named Loudres Medina. It was really cool. She’s nine years old and she was kind of freaking out a bit because she was afraid of the water. It didn’t help that there was no hot water and it was a cold winterish day, but it all turned out well. We had a lot of help from the branch and had a good time. So the baptism was way cool and the confirmation will be next week.
We lingered around a little bit so that Elder Castro could say goodbye to some people since he was the one that received his transfer this time. He is off to Salta in an area called La Loma. He will be living in the same apartment I lived in when I was in my second area. That will be cool for him. My new companion is Elder Barraza, also from Santiago de Chile with the same time in the mission as Elder Castro. He is a cool kid. He speaks super duper fast but I’ll get used to that.
So today will be a busy p-day. We have spent the whole day so far in the terminal and when we finish writing I think we will be heading back to our area. Today in the terminal I got to see some people I haven’t seen for a long time. I saw Elder Wade again and he brought me a letter from Rodrigo, our convert. I saw some old missionaries that I haven’t seen in more than a year, it was really fun.
We have found some really cool people this past week that I hope will really have the opportunity to progress. We found one single mom of three kids and then another family of four and then we have a couple of other opportunities to teach some people that we have been working with for a while. Things seem like they will all be going good. It’s a bit of a new beginning with a new comp and I hope that we can get some stuff done, get down to business and just work super hard. As for that, that is pretty much all, everything here is normal. This transfer we are planning on doing some cool activities.
I love you all a ton. Talk to you next week.
Elder Rose
25 May 2010
Things here are going well
The areas are progressing. The baptisms that we have for the future are still progressing as well. We are not sure if they will be able to be baptized this transfer because of issues with permission from the parents, but they will be baptized nonetheless.
These past couple of weeks have been good for my own progress as well since they have been somewhat difficult. Elder Castro and I had a good talk last night about what we can be doing better. We came to some good conclusions and we will be working on those things. We are growing together and the worries that I had at the beginning of my time with him are dispersing. I feel that we are progressing. There is still a ton more that we should be doing though. But all in all with where I am at I have been making some major progress. I know that it is thanks to your prayers and I ask you to continue praying for us that I can meet my goals and that we can have success. Any encouraging words and tidbits of wisdom are also helpful.
This week we were going to have zone conference but the president's wife is sick so they have canceled it. That is a bit of a bummer because conference is one of the things that we always look forward to the most. We'll get over it though :) haha. This p-day was pretty cool. We played soccer in one of the other areas with some of their members and a couple of investigators. It was super fun. I love you all a ton and I have you in my prayers and I wish you all luck in whatever you are taking on at the moment. Talk to you next week.
Elder Rose
These past couple of weeks have been good for my own progress as well since they have been somewhat difficult. Elder Castro and I had a good talk last night about what we can be doing better. We came to some good conclusions and we will be working on those things. We are growing together and the worries that I had at the beginning of my time with him are dispersing. I feel that we are progressing. There is still a ton more that we should be doing though. But all in all with where I am at I have been making some major progress. I know that it is thanks to your prayers and I ask you to continue praying for us that I can meet my goals and that we can have success. Any encouraging words and tidbits of wisdom are also helpful.
This week we were going to have zone conference but the president's wife is sick so they have canceled it. That is a bit of a bummer because conference is one of the things that we always look forward to the most. We'll get over it though :) haha. This p-day was pretty cool. We played soccer in one of the other areas with some of their members and a couple of investigators. It was super fun. I love you all a ton and I have you in my prayers and I wish you all luck in whatever you are taking on at the moment. Talk to you next week.
Elder Rose
17 May 2010
Brrrr....It's getting cold!
Well as for the things here, yesterday they hit a little bit of a roadblock. They are still in motion but yesterday, it was raining in the morning and it had been raining all night long and when we got up for church on Sunday, the city was just dead. We left the apartment early to go pick up investigators for church and we didn’t have any luck. And the investigator who was supposed to get baptized this Saturday didn’t go either. So that was a bummer.
As for church though, it went well. Sacrament meeting was one of the better ones we have had. We had a couple visitors from the district and there was also a missionary who came back and gave her report in sacrament meeting. She is the sister of the branch president and a way good friend of one of the families that he has a problem with so maybe with her being back things will settle down just a little bit.
We ate lunch with the familia Orellana and afterwards we used their oven to make some stuff for the activity. I made banana bread and my comp made a white cake. They turned out rather well if I do say so myself. Ha-ha. The activity turned out good too. There were probably about 15 to 20 people there and we taught the lesson again and had refreshments and sat around and mingled for a little while. The home we did the activity in is of a member with a son who has a child with a girl who is not a member. They want us to work with them to get them married and see if she is willing to get baptized. So we will see how that turns out.
This last week was one of challenges, but it was good, cuz I learn a lot more from challenges than I do from the good times. As for me personally, I think I am improving in good ways. Still a lot of work to do and I still have the whole rest of my life ahead of me, but things are going well. I was reading a part of the book, "infinite atonement" today and there is a chapter called the blessing of repentance. It is super good. I encourage you all to read it if you would like to. One of the things that it says is that the principle of repentance isn’t just for sinners, but for the good and the great people in the world that want to be better. It is for all those who have not yet reached the point of perfection. So I think that includes all of us. That is what I have been thinking a lot about lately and wanted to share that with you. I love you all a ton and I look forward to hearing from you. Transfers are coming up in two weeks, so it’s time to put the bets in on where I’m going or if I’m staying. Talk to you all later. And take care.
Love
Jeff
As for church though, it went well. Sacrament meeting was one of the better ones we have had. We had a couple visitors from the district and there was also a missionary who came back and gave her report in sacrament meeting. She is the sister of the branch president and a way good friend of one of the families that he has a problem with so maybe with her being back things will settle down just a little bit.
We ate lunch with the familia Orellana and afterwards we used their oven to make some stuff for the activity. I made banana bread and my comp made a white cake. They turned out rather well if I do say so myself. Ha-ha. The activity turned out good too. There were probably about 15 to 20 people there and we taught the lesson again and had refreshments and sat around and mingled for a little while. The home we did the activity in is of a member with a son who has a child with a girl who is not a member. They want us to work with them to get them married and see if she is willing to get baptized. So we will see how that turns out.
This last week was one of challenges, but it was good, cuz I learn a lot more from challenges than I do from the good times. As for me personally, I think I am improving in good ways. Still a lot of work to do and I still have the whole rest of my life ahead of me, but things are going well. I was reading a part of the book, "infinite atonement" today and there is a chapter called the blessing of repentance. It is super good. I encourage you all to read it if you would like to. One of the things that it says is that the principle of repentance isn’t just for sinners, but for the good and the great people in the world that want to be better. It is for all those who have not yet reached the point of perfection. So I think that includes all of us. That is what I have been thinking a lot about lately and wanted to share that with you. I love you all a ton and I look forward to hearing from you. Transfers are coming up in two weeks, so it’s time to put the bets in on where I’m going or if I’m staying. Talk to you all later. And take care.
Love
Jeff
03 May 2010
Still learning and growing
Hey Family!
It has been good to hear from you. It actually didn’t even faze me that this next Sunday is Mother’s Day until the other elders started calling me and asking me about phone cards and phone numbers and all that good stuff. I’m excited to talk to you. It will be weird though since it is the last time that I will talk to you until I actually see you again. Weird, right? I don’t like thinking about it. I almost feel afraid to finish the mission because I know that I still have so much to do.
Things in the areas are looking up. We had one of our investigators that we have been working with for a long while finally go to church this Sunday. We also pulled off a pretty sweet activity with some members and investigators in the home of a family in Monteros. The familia Orellana is so cool, they help us out in every way possible, not just with the work but they look after our health, make sure that we are eating good, and all in all just help raise the animo. The activity we did with their help was a lesson from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph F. Smith manual. We talked about supporting leaders, both general and local, and for the investigators we spoke about the importance of the power of the priesthood in our lives and the effect that it has on us as we pay attention to the prophet and heed his words. I think that it turned out really well actually. Then afterwards we played a little game and did caramel corn for refreshments. I successfully burned my figure with boiling sugar, but luckily one of the daughters in the family is a nurse so she fixed it up. Don’t worry, it’s nothing. They also have a son/brother that is serving a mission in Chile.
As for Elder Castro and I, we are doing well. We have realized that we are running out of things to talk about a bit when we are in the street, so sometimes we walk in silence. That gives me some time to reflect and think about what I am doing and things that I need to improve on. I feel like I have learned a lot in the mission, but it is still my problem that I forget about things easily in the moment and don’t realize or remember until later. For example, every time I do something that I should do, in the moment I say to myself, “no, don’t worry about it” and then later I think about it again and say to myself “why did I do that if every time I do that I feel bad afterwards.” We are like that sometimes as humans, no? We are a bit slow on the learning curve. Things are good though, there are still things that I am working on improving and I have the goal to have dropped certain bad habits or developed certain attributes before the end of the mission. I guess that is why the thought of ending the mission scares me when I think to myself that maybe I won’t be able to meet those goals in the time I have. Six months really is nothing when it comes to life goals. I took a lot of the lessons that Mom and Dad taught me as a kid for granted and am coming back to learn them now only this time it is a little harder. I like that scripture though and I think that Mom and Dad did a spectacular job, the scripture in Proverbs 22:6 that says “Train up a child in that way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I think about the future and say that I hope such and such a thing doesn’t happen or I hope I can do a certain thing in my future, but it all depends on now really.
There is no better time than the mission to improve your character as President Northcutt told me last conference. I want to take advantage of all the time that I have. I ask for your prayers on my behalf in being able to meet the goal that I have set for myself because I feel that it really will be the turning point in my life. I know that in the end it depends on me and my desire to fulfill my objective, but I know that your prayers have worked miracles in my missionary service and I know that they still will.
The talk that was given in conference about priesthood blessings was way good and I think the principle applies in this case; that the ordinance (let it be a priesthood blessing or a prayer on behalf of a person) may be performed with all the faith possessed by a person, but if the one on the receiving end of that ordinance does not have reciprocal faith or it is not the will of the Lord, the thing won’t be fulfilled. I know that the goal I have set is the will of the Lord for me because I have asked him and I want to do it. I ask for your help.
As for everything else going on here, things are just chipper! They are tearing down the place we live wall by wall and building it up again :) so that is fun and I am trying to keep the smile on. Every time I see that written in one of your emails I smile, it brings back memories from when Alyssa Dickson told dad that she would stop using flip flops in church if he would smile and many other fun memories. I Love you all. I miss you. I am doing well so don’t worry about me too much. Keep on praying and reading the scriptures. I never heard dad’s update to see if you ever finished the Book of Mormon. I’m sure you did. Well. Talk to you later.
Ciao
Elder Rose
It has been good to hear from you. It actually didn’t even faze me that this next Sunday is Mother’s Day until the other elders started calling me and asking me about phone cards and phone numbers and all that good stuff. I’m excited to talk to you. It will be weird though since it is the last time that I will talk to you until I actually see you again. Weird, right? I don’t like thinking about it. I almost feel afraid to finish the mission because I know that I still have so much to do.
Things in the areas are looking up. We had one of our investigators that we have been working with for a long while finally go to church this Sunday. We also pulled off a pretty sweet activity with some members and investigators in the home of a family in Monteros. The familia Orellana is so cool, they help us out in every way possible, not just with the work but they look after our health, make sure that we are eating good, and all in all just help raise the animo. The activity we did with their help was a lesson from the Teachings of the Prophet Joseph F. Smith manual. We talked about supporting leaders, both general and local, and for the investigators we spoke about the importance of the power of the priesthood in our lives and the effect that it has on us as we pay attention to the prophet and heed his words. I think that it turned out really well actually. Then afterwards we played a little game and did caramel corn for refreshments. I successfully burned my figure with boiling sugar, but luckily one of the daughters in the family is a nurse so she fixed it up. Don’t worry, it’s nothing. They also have a son/brother that is serving a mission in Chile.
As for Elder Castro and I, we are doing well. We have realized that we are running out of things to talk about a bit when we are in the street, so sometimes we walk in silence. That gives me some time to reflect and think about what I am doing and things that I need to improve on. I feel like I have learned a lot in the mission, but it is still my problem that I forget about things easily in the moment and don’t realize or remember until later. For example, every time I do something that I should do, in the moment I say to myself, “no, don’t worry about it” and then later I think about it again and say to myself “why did I do that if every time I do that I feel bad afterwards.” We are like that sometimes as humans, no? We are a bit slow on the learning curve. Things are good though, there are still things that I am working on improving and I have the goal to have dropped certain bad habits or developed certain attributes before the end of the mission. I guess that is why the thought of ending the mission scares me when I think to myself that maybe I won’t be able to meet those goals in the time I have. Six months really is nothing when it comes to life goals. I took a lot of the lessons that Mom and Dad taught me as a kid for granted and am coming back to learn them now only this time it is a little harder. I like that scripture though and I think that Mom and Dad did a spectacular job, the scripture in Proverbs 22:6 that says “Train up a child in that way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I think about the future and say that I hope such and such a thing doesn’t happen or I hope I can do a certain thing in my future, but it all depends on now really.
There is no better time than the mission to improve your character as President Northcutt told me last conference. I want to take advantage of all the time that I have. I ask for your prayers on my behalf in being able to meet the goal that I have set for myself because I feel that it really will be the turning point in my life. I know that in the end it depends on me and my desire to fulfill my objective, but I know that your prayers have worked miracles in my missionary service and I know that they still will.
The talk that was given in conference about priesthood blessings was way good and I think the principle applies in this case; that the ordinance (let it be a priesthood blessing or a prayer on behalf of a person) may be performed with all the faith possessed by a person, but if the one on the receiving end of that ordinance does not have reciprocal faith or it is not the will of the Lord, the thing won’t be fulfilled. I know that the goal I have set is the will of the Lord for me because I have asked him and I want to do it. I ask for your help.
As for everything else going on here, things are just chipper! They are tearing down the place we live wall by wall and building it up again :) so that is fun and I am trying to keep the smile on. Every time I see that written in one of your emails I smile, it brings back memories from when Alyssa Dickson told dad that she would stop using flip flops in church if he would smile and many other fun memories. I Love you all. I miss you. I am doing well so don’t worry about me too much. Keep on praying and reading the scriptures. I never heard dad’s update to see if you ever finished the Book of Mormon. I’m sure you did. Well. Talk to you later.
Ciao
Elder Rose
26 April 2010
Not much new
As for the work here, we are keeping on with the daily grind and trying to keep our investigators going strong. The biggest challenge is getting them all to church when we cannot be in both sets of meetings. And this week it seems like the branch president threw in the towel for sacrament meeting. When I called up a member to see if there were any investigators in church she said that there were a couple but that sacrament meeting only lasted about 25 minutes. The branch president spoke for a minute after the sacrament and then ended the meeting. I’m not sure what the reason behind that is, but I hope the investigators had a good experience. We had a good sacrament meeting in Simoca and we had a couple of good visits. The district president invited a couple of his friends to church and we were able to talk with one of them that came, but we won´t be able to teach her for a while. She has a lot of problems, mostly with her husband, and she is afraid that it will cause even more problems if she starts to take the discussions.
As for the rest of the week, it has been pretty good. Our apartment is kind of falling apart and since we have a contract and cannot find somewhere else to live, we have to live in a construction zone for the next couple of weeks. That will be interesting. It’s kind of creepy having people in your house while you’re not there, but I’m going to take all of my valuable stuff and put it in a suitcase and give it to one of the other elders to hang on to it.
As for everything else here, things are good. We had a super good zone conference and I feel better than ever after having a good chat with the mission president, he really is super awesome and gives really good counsel. There isn’t a whole lot to tell, just a peaceful week here in the mission. I wish you all the best in everything that you do and I will keep on praying for ya all.
Elder Jeff Rose
As for the rest of the week, it has been pretty good. Our apartment is kind of falling apart and since we have a contract and cannot find somewhere else to live, we have to live in a construction zone for the next couple of weeks. That will be interesting. It’s kind of creepy having people in your house while you’re not there, but I’m going to take all of my valuable stuff and put it in a suitcase and give it to one of the other elders to hang on to it.
As for everything else here, things are good. We had a super good zone conference and I feel better than ever after having a good chat with the mission president, he really is super awesome and gives really good counsel. There isn’t a whole lot to tell, just a peaceful week here in the mission. I wish you all the best in everything that you do and I will keep on praying for ya all.
Elder Jeff Rose
19 April 2010
Sound Advice!
How is it all going? Wow, what news! Thanks for letting me know about the baptisms of Sean’s parents. That is so cool. I was hoping that that would happen sometime. And all the moves in the family; everything is going to be completely different when I am back huh?
Well, things here are going good. Transfers came and went peacefully. Nothing really happened. A couple of things changed but everything in our district is almost exactly the same. There was only one elder who left because he finished his mission and so he was replaced, that´s all. As for that everything is going fairly well. Monteros and Simoca are still there and still moving along at their own pace. We are looking for new people and having success here and there; trying to get the members involved in order to get more fellowshipping and references. It is the key no matter how big or small the area you are in. Even in a place like Gilroy you could have so much more success if the members would just do a little bit of missionary work. All it takes is a few minutes and a couple questions and a listening ear to be able to share the gospel and, who knows, perhaps change the course of someone´s life. I hope that all of you are willing and actively engaged in doing the Lord´s work. If not, there is improvement to be done.
One of the quotes that mom sent me about how if we are judging people, we don´t have the time to love them is so true. That hit deep after some things that have happened this past week. In the area Elder Castro and I are in there are quite a few issues between members and leaders and all sorts of stuff between the members. Sometimes, I don’t know why, but we let other people´s issues become our issues when they really shouldn’t get that far. I am not talking on a level of helping other people out and resolve those issues but rather on the level of allowing the reason for their problem to give us the same problem. I hope I am getting this off clearly. I’ll try to explain. I was doing some pondering after church on Monday and realized something. There is a family who is super good with the missionaries in the branch, they have their own son on a mission, they are all ex missionaries... you get the picture. Well anyway, for some reason, some misunderstanding, some offense, something personal with the current branch president, none of them have callings in the branch. It doesn't make sense, but that is that. Now this is where the lesson comes in. I started letting that bother me on a personal level because of the friendship I have formed with that family and before I realized it, I started to have a somewhat standoffish disposition with the branch president. We are all imperfect, but instead of looking for the good, it became so easy to find his character flaws. And it began to have an effect, not necessarily a bad one, but nonetheless it had an effect on the things in the branch. It never became a topic of conversation, nor something that either of us commented, but nonetheless, it was there. Now I realize that it was exactly what President Hinckley (I think it was Hinckley spoke of when he related the story of the wedge left between the tree branches that eventually weakened the tree to the point of splitting it into pieces. Those are the things that we have to self reflect on and get out of our lives before they even start to have an effect, before others even notice that they are there. Perhaps a small rock in our shoe doesn't cause a need to amputate at the knee, but the nagging blisters and calluses will eventually cause discomfort and lead to a growing pain if we do nothing to remove the root of the problem. And when that day comes that we have let things go too far and it I necessary to amputate, what are we going to say to ourselves? "I wish I had taken just one moment to stop, examine the problem and take out the small pebble."
It is so much easier to take care of things earlier than to wait and wait. Take care of the stuff in your lives on your own with the help of the Lord before you have to get another one of his servants involved. Because once we let things go too far, the doctors keep charging and there are lasting scars. The best form of repentance is a solemn, personal private repentance between us and the Lord. And why do I say that? Because if we can carry out such a repentance, we are being humble and submissive to the will of the Lord and we understand his gospel. "Greater the joy of he who repenteth of his own accord, than that of him who is admonished by the servant of the Lord."
That was the lesson I learned and had to teach myself through prayer and meditation this week. Though it may have come late and I would have avoided many problems if I had stopped the problem at the source, I have learned a life lesson and for that I am grateful. I love you all. I hope you keep on progressing in the gospel, I hope to be with someone someday who´s testimony makes me want to grow mine own, someone whose spirituality exceeds mine own, someone who love´s the Lord as much as I do, someone who is worthy of entering the temple, someone who has learned this same lesson and applied it not only to those difficulties with other people, but to every sin or transgression in their life and can stand before a representative of the Lord and witness for their worthiness to enter the Lord´s temple. And I strive to be that same person, so that when someone else says that same thing, I know that I am not expressing impossible wishes. I always hope for someone far better than I am to bring me up and I constantly strive to be that same person who excels in spirituality and love of the Lord. Take care. Till next week love you all chau.
Jeff
Well, things here are going good. Transfers came and went peacefully. Nothing really happened. A couple of things changed but everything in our district is almost exactly the same. There was only one elder who left because he finished his mission and so he was replaced, that´s all. As for that everything is going fairly well. Monteros and Simoca are still there and still moving along at their own pace. We are looking for new people and having success here and there; trying to get the members involved in order to get more fellowshipping and references. It is the key no matter how big or small the area you are in. Even in a place like Gilroy you could have so much more success if the members would just do a little bit of missionary work. All it takes is a few minutes and a couple questions and a listening ear to be able to share the gospel and, who knows, perhaps change the course of someone´s life. I hope that all of you are willing and actively engaged in doing the Lord´s work. If not, there is improvement to be done.
One of the quotes that mom sent me about how if we are judging people, we don´t have the time to love them is so true. That hit deep after some things that have happened this past week. In the area Elder Castro and I are in there are quite a few issues between members and leaders and all sorts of stuff between the members. Sometimes, I don’t know why, but we let other people´s issues become our issues when they really shouldn’t get that far. I am not talking on a level of helping other people out and resolve those issues but rather on the level of allowing the reason for their problem to give us the same problem. I hope I am getting this off clearly. I’ll try to explain. I was doing some pondering after church on Monday and realized something. There is a family who is super good with the missionaries in the branch, they have their own son on a mission, they are all ex missionaries... you get the picture. Well anyway, for some reason, some misunderstanding, some offense, something personal with the current branch president, none of them have callings in the branch. It doesn't make sense, but that is that. Now this is where the lesson comes in. I started letting that bother me on a personal level because of the friendship I have formed with that family and before I realized it, I started to have a somewhat standoffish disposition with the branch president. We are all imperfect, but instead of looking for the good, it became so easy to find his character flaws. And it began to have an effect, not necessarily a bad one, but nonetheless it had an effect on the things in the branch. It never became a topic of conversation, nor something that either of us commented, but nonetheless, it was there. Now I realize that it was exactly what President Hinckley (I think it was Hinckley spoke of when he related the story of the wedge left between the tree branches that eventually weakened the tree to the point of splitting it into pieces. Those are the things that we have to self reflect on and get out of our lives before they even start to have an effect, before others even notice that they are there. Perhaps a small rock in our shoe doesn't cause a need to amputate at the knee, but the nagging blisters and calluses will eventually cause discomfort and lead to a growing pain if we do nothing to remove the root of the problem. And when that day comes that we have let things go too far and it I necessary to amputate, what are we going to say to ourselves? "I wish I had taken just one moment to stop, examine the problem and take out the small pebble."
It is so much easier to take care of things earlier than to wait and wait. Take care of the stuff in your lives on your own with the help of the Lord before you have to get another one of his servants involved. Because once we let things go too far, the doctors keep charging and there are lasting scars. The best form of repentance is a solemn, personal private repentance between us and the Lord. And why do I say that? Because if we can carry out such a repentance, we are being humble and submissive to the will of the Lord and we understand his gospel. "Greater the joy of he who repenteth of his own accord, than that of him who is admonished by the servant of the Lord."
That was the lesson I learned and had to teach myself through prayer and meditation this week. Though it may have come late and I would have avoided many problems if I had stopped the problem at the source, I have learned a life lesson and for that I am grateful. I love you all. I hope you keep on progressing in the gospel, I hope to be with someone someday who´s testimony makes me want to grow mine own, someone whose spirituality exceeds mine own, someone who love´s the Lord as much as I do, someone who is worthy of entering the temple, someone who has learned this same lesson and applied it not only to those difficulties with other people, but to every sin or transgression in their life and can stand before a representative of the Lord and witness for their worthiness to enter the Lord´s temple. And I strive to be that same person, so that when someone else says that same thing, I know that I am not expressing impossible wishes. I always hope for someone far better than I am to bring me up and I constantly strive to be that same person who excels in spirituality and love of the Lord. Take care. Till next week love you all chau.
Jeff
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
