Week 23: It was a good week. Can't think of another title.

Apartment update

So, it's been hot as heck down here. It's been over 100 degrees all week, and our AC unit has been broken for a long while, and our apartment reached a new high at 91 degrees. We've been really pushy with the maintenance guys here recently, and a new guy just came and brought a huge new AC unit, and now our apartment is cool. The whole time I've been here its been broken. And also, we're not totally sure why, but the cockroaches have pretty much all died down. I still kill one here and there, but they've pretty much all disappeared, and it's so nice. I hate roaches. This apartment is starting to feel more like a home.

Church

Elder Ball and I have talks this last Sunday. He asked for a topic, and spoke about patriotism, and I didn't have a topic. So I spoke about the fruits of the Gospel, and I talked a lot about my Brother Joe who just got married this week to Eliza!! I also talked about my family, and how the little things we do really do make a difference, and how crucial it is to protect the private times of your life. As my sister once said, "Just keep living the gospel without expectations or timetables. Just live it and do your best and see what happens down the road. I haven't reached the end of the road yet, but I know that I like where it's going and how I feel as I'm on it." Just live the gospel, and sing along the way. There's a lot to be happy about. Yeah, I quoted a lot of my family in my talk. Love y'all, you're the best. Anyways, also a cool thing happened this week with the Spanish group. The whole time I've been here, we've been working trying to get the Spanish group to grow and become self-sufficient. My first week with Elder Ball here, we had 2 people come. And they were just the members. But this last Sunday, there were 25 of us, which is the most there's ever been in the history of the Fort Phantom Spanish group. So that was pretty cool.

Divine add-on

Sorry if this is a bit of a repeat from last email. After I sent my last email, I relistened to the song, and I remembered another line that I wanted to talk about. It just said "You can shine so bright!" And the girl just signs it beautifully and powerfully that the meaningfelt more meaningful than usual. Listening to it with headphones hits different. We hear a lot about a divine destiny, how special we each are, but although its usually easy to hear that stuff, its a lot harder to feel it. After my Mom read the email from last week, she said:

"Wes, along with what you said about a baby learning to walk, I’ll add that as parents of the child, you also do not have any doubt that they ARE going to learn how to do it, there is no pressure, no rush, they will learn how to walk, then run, bike, ski, dance, and anything else they want to do. And we feel such JOY as we watch them learn it."

I thought that was really powerful and I wanted to share that too. God knows each of our potential, and it's incredible. You can shine so bright. God knows you can do it. God feels the same way that a loving father does. He feels joy when he watches you grow, and even when you fall, because he does not doubt your ability. He knows where you will one day be, and he knows you can make it there. You don't always know you'll make it. I often don't think I'll make it, but God knows. God knows where you belong, and he knows you'll make it there. He just wants you to see what He sees in you. There is a power inside you. So don't keep it inside. You could shine so bright.

Some pictures from the wedding. We went biking on my b-day cuz some other elders wrecked their car and needed ours for a bit. Daniel playing happy birthday, lol. And a few iconic pictures I found from back home that put a smile on my face.

I LOVE YOU ALL, feel free to email me anytime. I won't respond until P-day, but I love hearing from you.

- Elder Wride