Dear Everyone,
So this week was transfer week, and I thought I was going to stay with Elder Kiki since we had only been together for one transfer, but alas! He left me! I stayed here in Gaia, now starting my 3rd transfer here, and I am training again! Whoopdeedoo! Hahahahaha oooooooh no. :) My new companions name is Elder Karthigeyan (say cardigan with an extra ey in the middle) and he is from INDIA! He is the first missionary from India to serve a mission in a language other than English in the history of forever, so that's cool. I'm making history by training the first of many Indian missionaries around the world! My missionay posterity will be full of Indians mwuahaha! He is very excited to serve here! He speaks a total of 13 LANGUAGES and he used to be a professional soccer player for the National Indian team but he broke his knee in a motorcycle accident so he can't play anymore. :( We have eaten Indian curry stuff with our hands because that's how they do it, and I am totally a pro. He also has 342 ties. He's pretty cool.
I may or may not have left my camera at home. Sorry you can't see any indian pictures today! :)
We are also starting to teach a guy named Ricardo, who is the son of Fatima, a recent convert in our ward who is helping the missionaries baptize the whole world! He has a baptismal date marked for the 16 of July already, and we are so excited! He has as lot of work to do to leave behing the "natural man" parts of his life, because he is a partyer, but we have lots of faith that he will make big changes in his life for the best!
I have come to realize the term "natural man" in a very different way here on the mission. this is the scripture in Mosiah 3:19 -
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.
God expects us to change, and leave behind everything that is out of line with God's will. I have seen how blessed I have been by putting a side a lot of worldly habits, attitudes, interests, whatever - and how close to the Lord I have felt. But I couldn't have done it alone - only through Christ's atonement can we acheive that level of perfection. I have seen it work in myself and in other people here on my mission, and I am so grateful that God asks us to do partake of the atonement and leave behind the natural man! Being a latter-day saint is so awesome! I feel so much happiness all of the time that other people just can't feel without the gospel and commandments like this one to help us reach perfection. I love the gospel! Have a great week everone!
- Elder Valentine!
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