Well, there's no sense in waiting until the end. I have a change. And I have a pretty good feeling that I'm going outside of the cap...
I really don't like beating around the bush, and really I just want to talk about the last two days by quoting my journal. It comes out better and quicker. As for the email last week and the weather change with the "canícula", I was totally wrong. Just like a normal weatherman :) So, the weather has been pretty normal. Turns out that Elder Flores is going to have surgery after all here in Guatemala. Moving on, I'm just going to quote my journal from Saturday and Sunday. Beware, there is a LOT of content!! Just a quick overview of Friday, it was awesome. Moving on.
"It's interesting how our days don't always turn out to be what we expected, but I truly believe that if we follow the Spirit it is the day that Heavenly Father expected of us.
"This week we have been sharing a message about the Liahona from 1 Nehpi 16:10, 28; Alma 37:43-45; and 2 Nephi 32:5. The Liahona was a compass, but not a normal compass. A normal compass, regardless of circumstances, always points north and thus we have a rough estimation of which way to go. How would we like to have a compass that told us everything we need to do to get to our destination? Well, physically it exists - GPS. The wonderful thing about this modern day compass is that if you stray off course, it will try to redirect you. If we choose not to follow it, well, we may not end up where we hoped to go. Well, spiritually our Father in Heaven has given us guides that tell us step-by-step what we need to do, temporally and spiritually. However, just like the Liahona of Lehi, our current day Liahonas require 3 things mentioned in the scriptures in 1 Nephi 16:28: faith, diligence, and to heed its counsel.
"Our current day Liahonas are 1) the Scriptures and 2) the Holy Ghost. 2 Nephi 32:3-5 says, '...the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do... and... the Holy Ghost... will show unto you all things what you should do.' What an incredible promise. I know that what the Book of Mormon teaches is true. If we have faith, are diligent, and heed the counsel of the Scriptures and the Holy Ghost they will tell/show us all things that we should do. However, when we fail in one of these 3 conditions, such guidance is not promised.
"The Lord loves us. He desires our salvation and just as He gave Lehi a guide through the wilderness, He has given each and every one of us a personal guide through our wilderness called life and 'unto a far better land of promise.' Let us take advantage of that which God has made available so that we are led, as Lehi, not only to a physical land of promise, i.e. temporal things, but the spiritual promised land, i.e. the Celestial Kingdom."
"Today was one of the biggest blessings of my mission. The Lord loves me a lot! Church itself was a huge blessing. We had 9 investigators in Sacrament meeting... Stuardo Polance... came to church and talking to me in Priesthood asked, 'If someone wants to get baptized, what does he or she have to do?' I then asked him if he wants to be baptized and he said yes! I have waited so long to hear that, but knew one day I would. The only small problem is that he live sin the South mission right now... Once he decided to read the Book of Mormon there has been a big change in him, but it always came from him. That is something I feel is very important. As missionaries we teach correct principles and extend commitments, but the desire must come from the investigator, and it has been exactly that for Stuardo...
"After church while we were waiting for coordination a member came over with someone and started asking about English classes, so I explained the problems with giving the classes. The woman then explained that her daighter had been born in the U.S. and realy only speaks English. I looked down at the 8 yeard old girl and asked 'Where were you born?' She said shyly, 'Idaho.' I replied, 'I'm from Idaho! What part of Idaho?' She responded, 'Idaho Falls.' Can you imagine my surprise when she said that? I responded with excitement, 'I'm from Idaho Falls!!!' This woman is named Hermelinda and her daugher is Jimena. They lived on Tiger Ave. right behind the football stadium. Literally a 2-3 minute walk from my grandparents' house. I explained to Hermelinda where I live and she started to ask me about people I know; John Murdoch, Mary Hart(daughter-in-law of Pam and Brent), Melanie Dawe, the Steeles, and Annette Perez, wife of Ralph Perez. Once again, can you imagine my surprise? She knows several members of my ward, and the most shocking is that Hermelinda is not a member of the church. She worked in the cafeteria of Dora Erickson where Jimena was in kindergarten-2nd grade. The connections have been absolutely mind-blowing. lso, she lives in our ward boundaries! I felt a very special connection with Hermelinda and Jimena. It would be the most incredible thing to teach them and baptize them."
The connections with Hermelinda and Jimena went on and on. However, she was asked to voluntarily leave the country 7 months ago and is thus living here in Guatemala, but she didn't break any law. I was heart broken for this woman and her daughter Jimena who feels completely lost in this world and country that is not hers. The Lord truly watches over each and every one of His children and has shown love to several of them upon making the 3 of us meet! I know that God is our Father in Heaven and that He watches over and cares for each one of us and is constantly working for us to return to his presence.
Love,
Elder Andrew A. LaPray
I really don't like beating around the bush, and really I just want to talk about the last two days by quoting my journal. It comes out better and quicker. As for the email last week and the weather change with the "canícula", I was totally wrong. Just like a normal weatherman :) So, the weather has been pretty normal. Turns out that Elder Flores is going to have surgery after all here in Guatemala. Moving on, I'm just going to quote my journal from Saturday and Sunday. Beware, there is a LOT of content!! Just a quick overview of Friday, it was awesome. Moving on.
"It's interesting how our days don't always turn out to be what we expected, but I truly believe that if we follow the Spirit it is the day that Heavenly Father expected of us.
"This week we have been sharing a message about the Liahona from 1 Nehpi 16:10, 28; Alma 37:43-45; and 2 Nephi 32:5. The Liahona was a compass, but not a normal compass. A normal compass, regardless of circumstances, always points north and thus we have a rough estimation of which way to go. How would we like to have a compass that told us everything we need to do to get to our destination? Well, physically it exists - GPS. The wonderful thing about this modern day compass is that if you stray off course, it will try to redirect you. If we choose not to follow it, well, we may not end up where we hoped to go. Well, spiritually our Father in Heaven has given us guides that tell us step-by-step what we need to do, temporally and spiritually. However, just like the Liahona of Lehi, our current day Liahonas require 3 things mentioned in the scriptures in 1 Nephi 16:28: faith, diligence, and to heed its counsel.
"Our current day Liahonas are 1) the Scriptures and 2) the Holy Ghost. 2 Nephi 32:3-5 says, '...the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do... and... the Holy Ghost... will show unto you all things what you should do.' What an incredible promise. I know that what the Book of Mormon teaches is true. If we have faith, are diligent, and heed the counsel of the Scriptures and the Holy Ghost they will tell/show us all things that we should do. However, when we fail in one of these 3 conditions, such guidance is not promised.
"The Lord loves us. He desires our salvation and just as He gave Lehi a guide through the wilderness, He has given each and every one of us a personal guide through our wilderness called life and 'unto a far better land of promise.' Let us take advantage of that which God has made available so that we are led, as Lehi, not only to a physical land of promise, i.e. temporal things, but the spiritual promised land, i.e. the Celestial Kingdom."
"Today was one of the biggest blessings of my mission. The Lord loves me a lot! Church itself was a huge blessing. We had 9 investigators in Sacrament meeting... Stuardo Polance... came to church and talking to me in Priesthood asked, 'If someone wants to get baptized, what does he or she have to do?' I then asked him if he wants to be baptized and he said yes! I have waited so long to hear that, but knew one day I would. The only small problem is that he live sin the South mission right now... Once he decided to read the Book of Mormon there has been a big change in him, but it always came from him. That is something I feel is very important. As missionaries we teach correct principles and extend commitments, but the desire must come from the investigator, and it has been exactly that for Stuardo...
"After church while we were waiting for coordination a member came over with someone and started asking about English classes, so I explained the problems with giving the classes. The woman then explained that her daighter had been born in the U.S. and realy only speaks English. I looked down at the 8 yeard old girl and asked 'Where were you born?' She said shyly, 'Idaho.' I replied, 'I'm from Idaho! What part of Idaho?' She responded, 'Idaho Falls.' Can you imagine my surprise when she said that? I responded with excitement, 'I'm from Idaho Falls!!!' This woman is named Hermelinda and her daugher is Jimena. They lived on Tiger Ave. right behind the football stadium. Literally a 2-3 minute walk from my grandparents' house. I explained to Hermelinda where I live and she started to ask me about people I know; John Murdoch, Mary Hart(daughter-in-law of Pam and Brent), Melanie Dawe, the Steeles, and Annette Perez, wife of Ralph Perez. Once again, can you imagine my surprise? She knows several members of my ward, and the most shocking is that Hermelinda is not a member of the church. She worked in the cafeteria of Dora Erickson where Jimena was in kindergarten-2nd grade. The connections have been absolutely mind-blowing. lso, she lives in our ward boundaries! I felt a very special connection with Hermelinda and Jimena. It would be the most incredible thing to teach them and baptize them."
The connections with Hermelinda and Jimena went on and on. However, she was asked to voluntarily leave the country 7 months ago and is thus living here in Guatemala, but she didn't break any law. I was heart broken for this woman and her daughter Jimena who feels completely lost in this world and country that is not hers. The Lord truly watches over each and every one of His children and has shown love to several of them upon making the 3 of us meet! I know that God is our Father in Heaven and that He watches over and cares for each one of us and is constantly working for us to return to his presence.
Love,
Elder Andrew A. LaPray
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