Valentine's Day Special

"Ting! Ting! Ting!" I knock on the black metal gate of a whitish, well-kepts house. I take two at what I first think to be quite the ugly woman specimen. The face and figure just don't go with the femininely fitted, curvy-cut clothing. All makes sense as I learn the name: J*. He's a cross-dresser, and obviously on a date. My companion hasn't picked up on the "timely interruption" and thus asks, "are you enjoying your Valentines day?" After we all recovered from the awkward moment, we left him with a copy of "The Family, a proclamation to the world".

Had an interview with the Mission President. It was really special. I set a new goal to learn about and apply the principle of the sacrament more in my life. Honestly, it's kinda hard here. Every week we have to count attendance, we have to make sure our investigators come to church, etc. It's so stressful that many times that I totally forget about the sacrament. they do their routes and everything, I grab the bread, the water, eat it, drink it, and that's kinda it. I was invited to partake of it more seriously.

If we compare baptism to a contract between us and God, then we could compare the sacrament to the monthly payments. We review our status in the contract and offwer what we've prepared/saved up over the month to continue in the contract and toward our end having a home. It's the same thing with baptism. We can give ourselves the baptismal or temple reccommend interview every week to review our commitment and performance over the week. We can also review the blessings of said covenants in our lives, review its worth to us. In this way, I realized that in this way, the sabbath day becomes a PERPETUAL COVENANT (Russel M Nelson, may 2015), and we can thus participate in a PERPETUAL JUDGEMENT DAY.

Also, in D&C 59, found 10 commandments of this dispensation. :) that was pretty fun. Really enjoyed commandment number 7: Thou shalt thank the Lord thy God in all things. Pretty great, isn't it? Enjoyed that one. been practicing gratitude. it's actually pretty hard. In my study, I feel like I've found a good definition of gratitude, being more than just a list of things we're grateful for. gratitude: a heartfelt respect for what we have and are, recognizing its place as a representation of love and mercy from an all-powerful being, realizing how little we truly deserve it. I also feel like in order to truly enjoy what we have, we have to realize how little we deserve it.

fun little thoughts to chew on over the week.

Love you all! the work keeps progressing. I'm truly grateful for the mission, for my family, for what I've learned, for what I've been given and what's been witheld from me for a time. I know this work is the work of the Lord. I know God loves us. I know we can do this, notwithstanding its apparent difficulty.

Weekly Happenings

Of Relationships and Rights
In General Conference last year, someone said that in terms of welfare, the closer one is to its source, the less entitled he feels. for example, if I ask my brother or my parents for money, I'm not gonna feel to great. I'll feel like it's a really special gift and trust. if I ask some stranger on the street, It's whatever. If I ask some rich organization from another country to give me a leg-up, i begin to deserve the help I get. There are a lot of people here that are mad at the bishop because he doesn't pay their light bill. Many times it's the same way with God. The further we are from Him, the more entitled we feel to His blessings. When we truly develop a close relationship, we realize just how little we deserve, and how much we have.

Monday with M*
We had a frustrating lesson with a lady and at the end, her 10 yr old daughter, M*, raised her hand. "I have a question, not about the Bible or anything," she said, "but I was wondering if I could teach you how to draw." It was the sweetest thing ever. Definitely eased the tension. We then played our family drawing game. :)

M* the Muslim
We met a MUSLIM!!! I almost told him, "you're not from round these parts, are you?" He came from Morocco, spoke french, spanish, english, arabic, and another african dialect. He was super cool! Maybe we'll go visit him. He's a doctor here.

Pecking at the Piano
I started piano classes again! Super fun! LOOVE teaching piano.

A Flower for F*
We met this cute little old lady named F*. She's got a couple of knee problems, but she's fine with that part. Today is the 1st anniversary of her husband's death. We taught her about the temple and she broke into tears. She asked if it was really possible. We testified that it was. We're gonna bring her a flower today. :)

Valiant V*
V* is an investigator we met last sunday. She's been reading and doing EVERYTHING we ask her to AND MORE. Her husband was less active. They've been working really hard. They've already found and watch the work and the glory. Not sure how, but they did. :) She's awesome.

Not-so-decisive D*l
D* is her husband. He's GREAT!. But at the beginning it seemed like he was kinda riding on his wife's coattails. We can all benefit a little by someone else's diecision, but if we decide, and do what we decide heartily (colossians 3:23) we truly benefit.

Matamoscas Mexicanas (not to be confused with matamocas)
Mexicans don't have fly swatters. They just don't. They use a wash rag. CRAZY!

Scripture
John 15-1-8 (2) - He will clean it reading the parable of the vine, Christ says that if we produce fruit, He will clean it. maybe sometimes when we feel like we're working our hardest, we feel like were also being damaged the most, but it's so we can be ore fruitful. :)

Love you all.
BYE!!

Looking in the Mirror

James 1:23-24
I liked this scripture because it compares us reading the scriptures and then leaving them behind to looking at ourselves in the mirror and then forgetting about who we are. The scriptures were written to help us remember and recognise our divine potential. We essentially look our spiritual selves in the mirror when we read the scriptures. So often we leave it behind and forget who we are and what we are really made of.

We were contacting last week and came across this guy named A*. He said he knew that we taught that Christ had reestablished his Church. He said that he wasn't gonna come to church because he would feel hypocritical going to church like a saint and living his lifestyle that he wasn't planning on changing. I testified that repentance is real, and worth it. after that, he told us that he'd like us to come over to his house. He's a good guy.

Fast and testimony meeting is always quite the adventure as a misisonary.

That's about it! it was a pretty good week and I super enjoyed the opportunity of another transfer with Elder W*! love yall. thanks for your prayers! bye!

Transfers: I Stayed Right Where I Was

Elder Brown sent an email that told me his letter was being mailed home and I would get it in a couple weeks. He was however, kind enough to tell me he and his companion are staying right where they are and he did send a few pictures. He looks happy and healthy and loves his mission!

With my Zone