This week was really good. We found out on Tuesday that my companion will have to go to Lusaka to get his kidney stone lasered out of him. His flight left on Wednesday and that is when I got my new companion. His name is Elder Kane and he is from Nigeria. The best part is he is a new missionary and I am his trainer. I have been praying for this experience for a long time. He is a great missionary. He grew up in the church and is 18 years old. He reminds me a lot about me when I was in training at the start of my mission. Very outgoing and understands the doctrines of the church and the Gospel. But just like me he doesn't have the understanding that only experience can give. I have really enjoyed this week. I wish I could include every detail. But someone we are teaching went through some hard challenges and the branch president and the church was able to offer some help through the members. Things are still being figured out, but I thought about how you are doing missionary work right when you not only desire the salvation of souls but desire the salvation for specific souls.
I had a cool revelation about revelation(While I am typing this I am having deja vu) I was thinking about what the prophet Brigham Young taught concerning the temple. "What has been received by revelation must be understood by revelation" I was thinking about that and thought about how everything about the restored gospel has been received by revelation. The only way to understand anything the church teaches must be understood by revelation. That is why Russell M. Nelson said "In coming days we cannot survive spiritually without being able to receive personal revelation"
My time is short today.
I love you all,
-Elder Smith
-Baptism pic
-"My area is on fire!!" Zambia going through the burning of the garbage part of the year
-Watermelon
-My 1 1/2 hour walk to Twapia
-Spider in a tree at night
From Dad - Changes
Dear Sam,
It's been another great week here at home. The days are getting longer and we anticipate warm weather in the coming week. This last week, we had snow every night of all things! Josh got a couple of weather days off so that was nice to have him around, but not so good for the paycheck. It also meant we had to postpone the highway cleanup a week out because we woke up to an inch of snow on Saturday morning!
Quick update on everyone starting from the youngest:
Amelia: Mia is super excited to go busking next week but had to settle for a performance with a local concert at the Peace Lutheran Church in Leduc. There was some mixup and we though she was playing just as background for the intermission, but in the end performed as a special guest. Some quick adjustments and she did amazing! See for yourself in this video I took. She also continues to look for Geo caches at every occasion!
Abigail: Abby continues to prepare for her play this week-end. She is really enjoying the process and the opportunity despite the stress. I almost fell out of my chair today when she told us she can't wait to get back to regular piano lessons! Should have had our tape recorders on as it has been a struggle in the past.
Ben: Ben is agonizing about what university/college to attend in the fall. He's already partially accepted at U of A pending his final transcript, but lots of people he knows are going to Grant Mac and he is realizing he's running out of time for auditions for music programs. He is balancing things pretty good and today had the opportunity to go visit a friend in a mental hospital from school. Good thing to do on the Sabbath I thought.
Joshua: Work, work work, well, except when it snows. Also there is a girlfriend he's trending towards over the last few weeks and he's enjoying that process. Mom and I are still adapting to having adult children.
Stephanie and Tyler: haven't heard much directly from Steph personally this week, but the girls pass along regular updates from her about her babies progress. 2 months until your an uncle! I also heard that Chris and Ashlyn came to see them for a visit.
Mom: Mom is still recovering a bit from all the busyness of April but continues to serve others and mentor the girls through great books. She's hoping to carve out some more writing time this week.
Dad: Biggest priority this week outside of work is to keep working on the garage. Some good progress this week on the drywall and I was able to order all the siding this week. Step by step!
Another fun activity that has sparked some interesting conversation in our house was watching the documentary film "Free Solo" about Alex Hunnold, a 33 year old rock climber who climbed El Capitain, a huge cliff face mountain in Yosemite national park.
Crazy but inspiring, it chronicles his journey to deciding to climb the mountain without ropes and it was all filmed. It took incredible preparation and skill, not to mention amazing bravado. One of the lines he mentions is this when talking about what drives him to do these kinds of things. "Great things never happen when we are cozy and comfortable". I used that in my testimony today as we're all adjusting to the ward boundary changes, but it is certainly work pondering. It's not bad to be cozy and comfortable sometimes, but ultimately, we don't really grow and become in that mode, we only really recover. So when things get uncomfortable, embrace and lean into those moments and allow them and the Lord's saving grace work together to mold and shape us into who we are meant to become.
Today I enjoyed teaching primary. We discussed the scripture John 8:32-34
32 And ye shall know the truth
34 Jesus answered them, Verily
34 Jesus answered them, Verily
We had a good discussion of the purpose of the commandments and how, though they seem restrictive initially, ultimately, keeping them will free us both from major consequences and free us to return safely home to be with God and our families forever
We love you lots Sam. Keep working hard and being obedient and watch for how the Lord is shaping you through uncomfortable moments.
Love,
Dad.
No comments:
Post a Comment