Drop everything now

 (Elder Mackrory)

Bom Dia amigos e família!

This is my first group email and I am so glad you are all here to support me, it means a lot.

     I have been called to serve in the Rio de Janeiro Norte mission. My purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and His Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end.

     This first week I am studying at home, learning Portuguese and teaching methods. On Monday I fly out to Sao Paulo for my in person training.

     Although I have been at home, I have learned so much and have grown so much in my faith in Christ. He is our redeemer! The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true gospel. I know this to be true with every fiber of my being. I cannot wait to be in person. The zoom meetings are always edifying and I can tell everyone is united in the purpose of bringing others unto Christ.

     I got to meet my companheiro (companion) and my district this week. They are so awesome and were going to have a blast at the Missionary Training center in Sao Paulo. I am the only one from New Mexico so I get questions like "What goes on down there other than Breaking Bad and Aliens?" It's difficult why I'm so fond of New Mexico given that there really isn't much more than Breaking bad and Aliens. Maybe I can say we have sandstorms. Oh well.

     The subject line refers to the fact that I put everything in my life on hold for two years to serve the Lord. Education, Dating, movies, music (I'm gonna miss 1989 tv), and pretty much everything that I love because I love the Lord more. I know He will bless me for this service.

     Every email I send out will include a tender mercy. The phrase tender mercy refers to several verses in the Old Testament (Psalm 25:6; 40:11; 51:1; 69:16; 77:9; 79:8; 103:4; 119:77; 145:9; Proverbs 12:10) There's a lot of verses there but I encourage you to read them to gain a greater understanding of what a tender mercy is. For me, a tender mercy can be anything from a great miracle to just something that made me happy; anything to help me get through the day joyfully. This week a tender mercy was being able to teach a mock lesson. My companion and I taught a lesson to our MTC instructor which made me really happy. I love to testify of truth and to share the love of Christ to everyone. I invite each of you to look for the Lord's hand in your life and I can promise that as you look for ways to be joyful in Christ, you will find your burdens become bearable and manageable and life will run more smoothly.

     Thanks so much for reading! My next email will be Tuesday and then from there the updates will be weekly. I'd love to hear from you all, but be sure not to hit reply all haha.

Elder Lyman Mackrory