Missions and Mantles

Monday, February 25, 2013

I hope my next companion loves studying as much as Elder T and I do.  This morning I finished up my study on Mosiah chapter 2.  It took me 2 and a half days haha, but I learned so much!  I love King Benjamin.  Our studies always correlate super well, so we have awesome companion studies, it's sweet, we never have time to finish all we want to do.

We had some awesome miracles this week!

 

Mitch was baptized!  Everything about this man is a miracle, he's awesome.  His baptism was really special, the spirit was so strong.  When I get home, remind me to tell you about his new sweater and kicks :)  He has one of the purest hearts I've ever met, he is so excited about his baptism, I wish you could all meet him

(sometimes I pretend I write this email only to Mom, other times I pretend I write it to a few hundred people haha)

Chris got baptized as well, he's a great kid.  He loves the gospel, and knows it a whole lot better than I did at his age. Actually a whole lot better than I did until I went on a mission haha.  But he is NOT looking forward to primary.  Poor kid is 11, turns 12 soon, and thinks Primary is for babies :)

I only have a couple minutes left, I want to talk real fast about something. definitely don't have time to add the scripture references or go in depth or anything, but maybe some missionaries entering the field soon might want to hear this. 

 

Being a missionary is AMAZING for a lot of reasons, but one of my favorites is you get the mantle of a missionary.  It's an awesome, and frequently misunderstood, concept.  One way I like to think about it is like a huge, oversized breastplate.  When you first become a missionary, you have a lot of added responsibility because of your mantle, but the truth is you dont have the muscle (teaching skills, scripture knowledge, etc) to fill it out.  On your mission, your mantle gives you a lot of added grace to become more than what you were.  After your mission, you hand back the breastplate, and keep all the muscle you built while wearing it. Build all the muscle you can, it's priceless.

 

Missions are the absolute best.  Elder T and I talk all the time about it, and our consensus is the same.  My mission is the best thing that's ever happened to me, it's the best thing I've ever done, and I'm so glad I have 10 months left.  Poor Elder T only has 6.

"I love singing, and rapping, and all music, and I love the Gospel."

Monday, February 11, 2013

 

I can't believe I'm back in the library, time goes way too fast. 

 

I'm really not very good at expressing myself.   I want you to know though at least, that my heart is soooooo full right now. 

 

We had one final music fireside last night, in Puyallup :)  I got to go, and it was all I hoped it would be.  Bishop Daybell was there, Tony ( the 11 year old we worked with),  Mary came, and then people from Graham came, so I saw my favorite family from there, too.  All my mission buddies were there, and it was Sister G's last night and it was so sad but it was so happy, and we all went out in the hallway and had one last little acapella jam session before we had to go home.  Elder M rapped, Elder C beatboxed, and G and I sang the theme from the Testaments, and it was sweet.  I love missionaries.  I love the WA-TAC.  I love singing, and rapping, and all music, and I love the Gospel. I love the song Amazing Grace, It's my favorite.

 

This week we spent a lot of time helping out the other district in our zone, and did blitzes and exchanges and whatnot.  It was really successful, we helped out a struggling missionary, and helped a couple areas find new investigators.  To make up for lost time in our own area, we worked double time and the Lord blessed us like crazy, we had one of our must successful weeks. 

 

 

I love being a missionary out here, the WATAC is sacred ground, and I'm so lucky to serve in the blessed land of Btown. (Bremerton)

 

 

Love you!!

Introducing Elder Carlos

Another week happened!  I think I'm starting to catch the pattern.  Essentially what happens is I blink, and then I'm back here in the library, trying to figure out what happened.  So anyways, here I am again!

This has been our first week as empty nesters! (the young missionaries they were training have moved to other areas)  It's been a journey.

 

For the first few days, I really think we let ourselves go... We'd forget to take the trash out, the dishes would pile up, I think Thornton is putting on a few pounds from stress, and no one really needs a bedtime story now.... So yeah, it's hard. 

But a couple days ago we decided to snap out if it!  We decided to make a list of all the things we can do now that the kids are finally out of the house.  For one thing, we're probably gonna convert the boy's room into a bowling alley (or if that doesn't happen, just a workout room haha).  And now that we won't have to worry about public meltdowns, we can finally go nice places!  (I'm assuming that anyone reading this knows Chase well enough that I don't need to explain him. :)

 

Besides, we aren't really alone, we're still a threesome, we have Elder Carlos! I dont think I've mentioned Elder Carlos yet, but I suppose now is as good a time as any.  Elder Carlos got here when I did.  He's a really great guy, but he had some struggles with obedience and stuff earlier on in his mission.  But since he's been here, he's doing really well!  Elder Carlos is.... about 18 inches tall, and in some ways may resemble a stuffed orangutan, but he is definitely a missionary.  But yeah, he's doing well.  We got him a white shirt, and a nice tie, and he really looks very nice when we help him part his hair.  He's been an active participant in our companionship studies, although he usually tells either me or Thornton what he wants to say, and we'll say it out loud because he's still shy.  We really like him.

What else....

Oh yeah! we have our first 19 year old sister missionary!  Her name is Sister E, she's great.  She's in our district, being trained by Sister D, and the other companionship in our District is Sister J, training Sister T.  It's a fun little district.

 

We've been trying to get our zone off to a good start this transfer, so we've done a lot of blitzes and such, to give specific areas a boost.  It's stressful trying to worry about your own area, as well as 6 others,  But I think it's a good kind of stress, we don't really grow unless we're being pushed. 

 

That being said, Pday has been a huge relief today, I love just playing ball and hanging out with my friends and stuff, it's really nice. 

 

hmmmm what else... Oh!  So I'm on 2 Nephi ch 14!  I love the Book of Mormon so much. 9 oclock (end of personal study) comes too fast every single morning, Elder T and I are always both caught off guard, and we never get to finish what we're studying.  I really like 2 Ne 10:24.  I've studied grace a lot these past couple weeks, and I feel like it really clarifies 2 Ne 25:23.  Reconcile basically means to make 2 things compatible that otherwise would not be (or something along those lines)  and so when we reconcile ourselves with the will of God, We have to make ourselves compatible with him.  In a relationship between 2 men, you'd find common ground, and compromise, but with God we know his will is perfect, just, and unchanging, or he would cease to be God.  Therefore our goal, or "all we can do" is to do our best to align our will with his, and that's what it is all about.  Then we have the pure love of Christ, and we bring forth charity. 

 

I dont feel like I can explain this very well in an email, and especially without the scriptures in front of me.... But I really love the Book of Mormon.  Helaman 12, Alma 42, Mormon 9, Moroni 7..... Highly recommended if you are looking for some sweet chapters to study :) 

 

Ooh!  Also, this Sunday is the LAST Fireside (they decided to do 2 more- I went to the last one, keep your fingers crossed that they call me to come to this one!)  It's in Puyallup, and in addition to me just loving firesides to death, a lot of families that I love from Puyallup will be there, and I want to see them!

 

Which reminds me, transfer meeting was so sad!  A lot of missionaries who were in my zone with me when I was born (started his mission), died (went home) :(  

Also Sister G gave her final testimony.  I'm gonna miss her.  But she got a two week extension, so her last day will be next Monday, so she can conduct the last fireside :)

 

Well, I gotta go, I'm out of time and stuff.

 

Love you!