I went on exchanges with my district leader this last week and served in his area in Burlington for a day. It was nice to have just one companion and work that way. We had soooo much fun! The best part is that he reminds me of Nick - I mean E l d e r P e r r e n . He laughs the same, talks the same, even tells the same kind of jokes! So really, it felt like I was just serving with my best bud for a day and I was sad to leave.
Something interesting happened this week that really touched me. We were over at a members house for dinner and had just finished sharing our spiritual thought with them. We got up and started walking towards the door and Jose grabbed my shoulder, shook my hand, and said, "Don't go to Argentina, okay?" (in Spanish, of course). That really gave me some drive for the rest of the week. I'm here in this mission for a purpose!
I realized something really important this week. Put your whole heart into the work! Just throw it out there and pray that someone picks it up and listens. Not everyone is going to accept what I have to offer. Sometimes they are just gonna kick my heart to the gutter and continue to be unhappy, but that doesn't mean I should selfishly keep what I have. In Proverbs 15:13 it reads: "A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken". Think about the kind of heart you have. If you aren't cheerful, there is something wrong with your heart. Purify it if you need to, and BE HAPPY! It's a choice. Remember Batman: "We always have a choice". Verdad!?
Okay, okay so something stinkin' hilarious now... Y'all have seen Napoleon Dynamite, verdad? So this last week we were going through the baptism stuff with Dina and we were showing her the process of baptism and how to hold the arm and plug your nose and cosas. And so I was standing there and E l d e r W o o d s came up and I just couldn't resist... I was all "Grab my arm, the other arm, MY OTHER arm". Bahahaha! Man, I was crackin' up for like a minute. :D
Also, my companion shaved my hair this week and nicked my ear and that hurt... Just so y'all know... And I forgot to say that a few weeks ago, I got a mild rash from poison ivy on my ankles. Gotta have the whole North Carolina experience, right!? Man in one spot I scratched so bad I have a huge scab. Livin' the dream!
So P r e s i d e n t C r a v e n came to train us this week and it was dope! He had a big jar of beans and then like 4 walnuts and he pushed the walnuts to the bottom of the bowl. Then he shook it and the walnuts rose to the top. He likened this to us and how we can be either Shaken UP or Rattling DOWN. It's super true. No matter where we are in life, our "size" will determine where we go. However, we can ALWAYS change our size. When those bumps in life come (shaking the bowl), if we are bigger, we will rise up. We can be placed at the bottom of the bowl with all the other beans, but if we are strong and have grown big spiritually, we will rise up! The biggest thing we need to be, is have a huge capacity to be teachable. In my opinion, if you can't be taught and have a desire to learn from others, you aren't being a man. P r e s i d e n t C r a v e n always says, "Knowledge brings Confidence, Confidence brings Power". Sometimes you just have to focus more on being impressed upon by the Holy Ghost, than being Impressive to others. That was a tough one for me to learn.
Also, I learned about Eternal Progression this week. Once I hit the "top" I have to keep going. The top is the bottom of a new ascension. Pretty Neat, huh? Life isn't about gaining "stuff". It's about shaking up into the man or woman you want to be.
I love y'all with all I got! Missions are the hardest, yet most rewarding thing ever!
"I'm watching you, Wuzowsky. Aaaalways watching..."
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| Livin' it up in McDonalds |
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| ELDER WAY |
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| My district leader and I |
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| A note Elder Briggs left me from my district on my whiteboard. |
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| GIJose! LOL! |
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| The tropical Storm that rolled through. :) |
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| A cool picture. Ha. |
