(Elder Slade)
To the best friends and family a person could hope for!
Sorry I didn't email last week. We were a bit busy. But we
have been seeing miracles! We've been finding several new people to teach and
we've been able to see tender mercies if the lord. We've been helping
reactivate a few people. One older man we are helping is named Doug, he's got
the friendliest dog named Rosco (who also sheds more than any other dog I've seen)
and has a pet parrot! It's been great to meet with him, because he is often
very lonely. This reminds me of a parable Christ gave to his apostles, talking
about a king telling his servants about how they had helped him and served him,
fed him clothed him, and visited him, and they asked, when did we did this to
thee? The king's response was: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of
the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." It seems so
simple to visit an old man when he is lonely, but when we do it for others, we
do it in a very real sense to Christ. I love me Savior and would do anything to
help him, and that's one of the reasons I am out here serving.
Other important things that have been happening:
-Transfers came, and I'll be staying here another 6 weeks!
-Today I got Elder Maunana to buy calf liver! I think he has
no idea what calf liver is. He asked if I knew how to cook it, and I said,
"Of course I do! Just throw it in a skillet and fry it!"
-It has been incredibly slippery here. My impeccable balance
has been tested nonstop. Never have I ever had so much adrenaline just walking
down the street, ever step leading to my potential downfall. Haha! Elder
Maunana and I have both fell a few times, but God has protected us from serious
injuries. Just bruised butts.
-And.....This Friday I'll hit my 1 year mark! It's crazy to
me that I've been out a year. Time seems to fly. This year definitely hasn't
been the year I expected it to be. But it has been the year God wanted it to
be, for me. As I've focused on humility and charity, and knowing what God would
have be do, what God would have me be, I've been more rewarded and changed then
I ever could have imagined. This last year has been the happiest of my life,
and also the hardest year of my life. Never have I felt such love and joy for
people, and such sorrow when some choose to live a life that prevents them from
having God with them to guide and bless them. Never have I felt so alone, never
have I felt so much love. I look to the next year of my mission with a little
trepidation of what it could bring, but with 100% trust that as I align my will
with God, that I will see more blessings than I could have ever expected.
I love you all! Thanks for the continual love and support.
My prayers are out for you!
Pictures:
1. A huskie followed
us home one morning. We seriously debated keeping it.
2. Elder Maunana with Rosco the friendly dog.
3-5. Taking pictures in the snow
6. I convinced Elder Holmes to fit 75 small Gumballs in his
mouth. I was seriously impressed with his jaw power.
No comments:
Post a Comment