Introduction
Ok, so this week was the week of transfers, and just guess that means you can't have P-day on Monday, because they changed it to today! I put it as 12.5 because its been 1 and a half week. I will not be moving for transfers, so I'll get to work some more in Abilene, and try to help the Spanish group grow more.
Teaching the Pros (the Council)
Lol, so the stake president wants the members of the stake to be more united with missionaries in the work. It's a good thing, but how they decided to help make it happen was a little scary. The ZL's asked Elder Rochelle and I if we could teach the 3rd lesson (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) to the stake high council during their meeting. (blank stare emoji) Ngl, that was really scary. However the morning of, when planning how we were going to teach it we made some goated cutouts of the steps of the gospel, and the lesson was actually amazing! We talked about each principle and how it fuels the other ones, and it was really cool. When we talked about enduring to the end, I had a thought that I felt I should share about thinking celestial. We've been told that salvation is a personal matter, and exaltation is a family matter. And I shared how that means once you've found the Gospel you can't just hunker down and wait it out till the second coming. When you're on the covenant path, you have an obligation to stay on it, and hold others onto the path too. When they say a family matter, that means first your immediate family, but then also your ward family, and literally everyone. When you've found the Gospel, you have an obligation to teach it. If you've found the path, bring others to it and hold them on until they have the strength to hold on for themselves and hold others onto it with them. And if you haven't found it, go find it.
Family
So I wrote about the eclipse last week, and it was awesome. A lot of my family drove down to Dallas for the eclipse, and if I chose to I could've seen them. My mission president said he discouraged it, especially this soon in my mission, and so I chose not to. When they sent pictures of them coming, I honestly started to regret my decision, but it was the right move. I need to be focused. I think I could've handled it tho. It just would've been nice to give Peter, Katherine, Daniel, Owen, Natalie, Sophie, and Mom all a hug. I love my family. Anyways, we had zone conference, and during our lunch break, my Mom sent me a picture of Peter standing next my apartment DOOR! I was like what the heck!? So that was awesome, and all my little bros left me crafts that they made during conference, and I'll share Peter's because it's seriously adorable! I look sort of like sid the sloth and it is so funny. I love it. Anyways, my family drove through, and saw the area that I've been serving in. What's funny is our apartment was unlocked at the time so they literally could've walked in and seen everything. It was sweet tho, and it was nice to be like, "Wow, Peter was standing right here." He and Katherine took pictures in front of one of the water towers here, so I'm gonna get a picture in the same spot as soon as I can.
Swahili
So we met a swahili family. They're amazing, but really struggle with English. The Mom and Dad gave one son, and he speaks a little bit of English, and so does his Dad. Emanuel (the son has been our gift of tongues tho). Moses (the Dad) is amazing too. He's got an insane fore inside him, and they all came to church in the same week we met them. They're also reading the Book of Mormon, and we taught them the plan of salvation, and Moses said he's going to ask God if it's true. It was hard to teach them though because we don't speak Swahili, and part of me was like "you should learn swahili," but also I'm trying to learn Spanish right now. It's tough, but they're amazing, so we're gonna keep teaching them, also because we don't have Swahili Missionaries here (yet).
Spiritual Thought on Bings
So things have been going a lot better than at first on this transfer. Our mission president told us to listen to the Bings, and listen to the first one, not the second one that comes right after. Because when you have a positive thought, immediately right after, there is a thought that's just like "nah, don't do that." For me they haven't felt like Bings, because that implies you feel something or hear a little ding. Some other missionaries talk about "glowing doors" or how they just felt like "we NEED to go talk to that person." I haven't really felt anything like that, I've just been like, "well I guess we could knock that door, it's not a bad thing." That's how I've been deciding whether to follow through with my random thoughts or impulses. If it's a good thing, then let's just do it. No harm done, if anything comes out of it, it'll be good. So we have been a lot better especially this week at following those first "Bings" even though they haven't really felt like Bings to me. But God knows I'm trying, and I can't type all of everything right now, but too many things have just fitted so perfectly that I'm pretty sure that it was God planting those random thoughts in my head. He doesn't make certain thoughts really stand out though, it always feels like a "well its up to you decision." But why does God need to make a door glow, or need to make a person pull you in. If it's a good thing, just do it, and let what happens happen.
Spiritual Thought 2: GO FORWARD
Sorry, it's been a good week. When I called my Dad, we talked about some of my struggles, and then he mentioned how God's able to help us more, the more we try to do on your own. And even though I've supposedly already learned this lesson, I had to relearn it again so I could understand it at a deeper level. This week I've been trying to just go forward even though I feel like there's nowhere to go, and during one of my studies, I found myself in exodus studying Moses leading the people through the red sea. In Exodus 14:14-16 it says
14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
Just think about it, they are currently being chased by the Egyptians who are trying to kill them, and they are trapped in between a pillar of fire and the Red Sea. And what does God say "Wherefore criest thou unto me?... go forward." Basically "what are you looking at me for!! Keep walking. Where are they supposed to go? They are stuck, and God just tells them to go forward? At the MTC, someone sent me the Prince of Egypt movie, and I downloaded it, but I haven't watched it because I learned that it wasn't allowed. Its an amazing movie though, all of you should watch it this sunday. But anyways, I did watch the scene where they were trapped. And what I LOVE about this movie was how Moses started walking into the water. When he went forward, people were looking at him all weird, likely thinking "Wow, this guy's an idiot. Where does he think he's going? Does he expect us all to swim across?" But this is what God wants. He wants us to reach our breaking point and then some, because that is how we become true disciples of Jesus Christ. He didn't know how he was going to keep going, but God said "Go Forward." So he did. He started walking and then with the power that God gave him, he parted the Red Sea. I think that's so beautiful, and that power is in all of us. The question is are we willing to go forward when there is no where to go? Do we trust God as much as Moses does? We talk of miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, but do we really believe that God has that same power today. I'm trying to believe it. If God is the same today, yesterday, and forever, then we have that power in us too. If we are willing to trust in God and go forward, especially when there is no where to go, THAT is when God parts our Red Seas.
Pictures:
- Amazing quote, think about what it really means
- Siblings and water towers
- General Conference crafts, and Peter literally at my door!! Love them
- the Cats name is Kyle. She is a girl, but we keep forgetting cuz she's one of the guys
- our run the other day in a coole trenchish thing. We also found a homeless people village in a small forest nearby but I forgot to get a picture.
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