Family!
This week has had a lot of crazy good times already. It was really sad to
leave Choctaw, but it has been a great experience so far here in Enid. There are
12 missionaries serving in the city, but 4 are Spanish missionaries and 4 are
Marshaleese. The ward here is amazing and I'm learning a lot from Elder
Manwaring. He's from Rexburg and he's a pretty amazing guy. He's already been
out for 21 months, so he knows his stuff pretty well.
We have some pretty cool investigators that seem committed to the gospel as
well. Ha we visited one guy on Saturday and talked to him about coming to
church. He kept saying "maybe" and "I'll try", but we told him he needed to say
yes, so finally he looked at us and said that he would absolutely be there. Well
we were there at church, but he didn't show up so we stopped by his apartment
again and he said that he wanted to have a lesson. He felt bad for not coming,
and we had a really amazing lesson about repentance and coming closer to Jesus
Christ. I think the spirit threw down a little bit and let him know what he was
missing out on, so he's going to come from now on and then get baptized.
It's so fun to be surrounded by so many missionaries here. They really
bring the spirit into our lives. There's a brand new Elder here from Orem and he
is always so excited about everything! He's got the greeny fire that the rest of
us are jealous of. It's pretty amazing to see his excitement about every little
success and he's always trying to help us out with different scriptures. His
example has led me to go back to the basics and try to be amazed by the simple
workings of Heavenly Father. We miss out on so much because we become accustom
to the way he leads our lives. I guess the principle is continued gratitude.
Writing spiritual experiences each day has been the perfect reminder for
me.
Leaving Choctaw gave me many great experiences to feel the spirit because I
was reminded how much I loved those people and how much I was going to miss
them. The spirit has given me the gift and ability to truly love them, and I
can't wait to see them again. Leaving some of those homes for the last time was
painful though. I just want to be with them and help them, but I trust them in
the hands of God. I did absolutely everything Heavenly Father expected me to do
for those families and I left without a single regret. I can't wait to see the
future baptisms and sealings.
One insight I had this week was as I studied the topic of desire. I wanted
to learn how to grow desire, so that my intentions became more pure and I grew
in faith, hope, and charity. Alma 32 had the answer. In verse 27 "awake and
arouse your faculties... experiment upon my words... exercise a particle or
faith". Desire is something that constantly leads us to good or bad, but
sometimes we don't really have a lot of desire either way. We're kind of just
sitting there. However, one of the greatest gifts we've been given is agency. At
some point down the line we have to act. We have to go seek something better and
follow the knowledge and understanding that we do have. Our positive experiences
will lead us to grow in desire. It is a deep topic, but I realized that I
intellectually understand what I need to do for the most part, so I need to
follow what I've been taught and the spirit will give me the rest. Ha it's so
simple.
Anyways life is good. Real good. Thanks for all the support. I love you
all! HFF!!!
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