When the one in Canada says it’s cold, we probably should accept it! (When the one in Mexico says it’s cold, the eye rolls could give us whiplash.) And still his spirit comes through.
December 8, 2014
Merry Christmas to all!
Greetings to readers. This
week was much better than the previous. I’m fully recovered from my illness,
which is nice. It’s been pretty cold here, but all tolerable. I was out
shoveling snow, and I realized that my feet were frigid. I looked down and
started to consider that maybe my $40 Wal-Mart winter boots weren’t going
to cut it this season. They served me reasonably well last winter, but I
figured that the cold just wasn’t worth it this time around, Also, I wanted
some boots that I could use when I was home. I sold the jacket I bought last
winter because I didn’t wear it once (layers, people), so I reasoned that that
money could translate to keep a different part of my body warm. So, I started
looking. It just so happens that a member I know works part-time at Cabela’s. It
also just so happens that he gets a pretty impressive employee discount. It
also also just so happens that last weekend Cabela’s had a special event where
employees got an even bigger discount. It continued to just so happen that the
member I know sold footwear for 14+ years, so he knows his stuff. The
so-happenings didn’t cease when I found the perfect pair of boots after much
diligence in searching, and that that pair was the only pair available in all
of Cabela’s Canada since it was sent to that store by a fluke. And it just so
happens that they were my size. The stars aligned, Lady Luck smiled upon me,
and the Church must be true. I’ll send pictures next week.
The Christmas party is
tonight, so I don’t have any anecdotes yet. We don’t have an outline for the
program, so we’re just going to wing it. We’ve got some funniness prepared, but
we’ll just have to feel it out. I’m going to channel my best Dave and hope for
the best. I’m actually pretty confident that it’ll go over well. Maybe it’s my
wit and charm, or maybe it’s the fact that I’ll be wearing a Santa onesie.
Maybe we’ll never know! And that’s why so is mankind. Pictures to come.
None of the 3Js could meet
this week either! C’mon people. We’ve realized that we need to recommit our
finding efforts and branch out a bit. This week we’ve set a goal to get two new
investigators, so we’ll see how that works. Our less-active and recent convert
teaching pool are about the same, with varied progress and commitment. We did
meet with Xavier, but it turns out that he wasn’t even in our area, and that he
was already meeting with missionaries! The member who referred him to us failed
to mention that. We had a good visit, but we won’t be going back. Good luck to
the other missionaries!
Yesterday I bore my
testimony in sacrament meeting, and I thought I’d share part of what I shared
with you. We have the opportunity as missionaries to study Jesus the Christ.
It’s one of my favorite books. I’ve read it twice on my mission and it’s
brilliant. I gained an interesting insight about the Atonement as I studied.
Leading up to His crucifixion, Christ never questioned or doubted. He endured
and trusted in Heavenly Father. In Gethsemane He took upon Himself our
afflictions and bled from every pore, all the while submitting His will to His
Father. While on the cross, the agony from Gethsemane was repeated. It’s
interesting to note, then, that the worst part of the Atonement for Christ was
when Heavenly Father withdrew His Spirit. That was what frightened and shocked
the Savior the most. Only then did He question. Christ had to feel the results
of sin, and that to Him was worse than anything He had previously endured. He
had been persecuted, mocked, slandered, hated, falsely accused, beaten,
scourged, abandoned and crucified; yet for Him, the loss of the Spirit was the
most painful and agonizing consequence. If we really understood what happened
when we sin, I think we’d rather endure just about anything else than the loss
of the Spirit. But we are fallen and inclined to sin. We choose to lose the
Spirit every time we sin. How many of us make concessions to avoid
embarrassment or shame? How many of us lower our standards because what we’re
asked to do is “just too hard”? How many of us knowingly choose disobedience
because it feels good in the moment? Making mistakes is understandable, but
rebellion is unacceptable. I’m not coming from a position of righteousness,
either. I’m not sharing these things because I’ve mastered myself and repentance.
I’m just as guilty of rebellion as the next guy. I’m just grateful that I was
allowed this knowledge, and that I’ve got the opportunity to apply it. I know
that Christ atoned for each of us, and that He wants us to take advantage of
what he’s done. Otherwise it’s wasted. I’m grateful for the infinite
opportunities our Heavenly Father provides us to repent and be better. I know
this Church is true, and I’m blessed to be a part of it.
Thank you all for reading!
I hope you have a stupendous week. Merry Christmas! #sharethegift
Keep the faith,
Elder Eli
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