Dear Everyone,
It's been a crazy few weeks! The office is great but it takes up a lot of email time so you can all forgive me and it'll be great. :)
Transfers happened, and I'll be with Elder Judd! He's one of the missionaries that came into the country with me a whole year and a while ago, so he's just one transfer younger than me since I served in California for my first transfer. He's a hard working missionary and is not excited to be in the office, haha but I'll convince him it's a good thing! He's going to be another finance secretary, so I shall continue my work as the lonely executive!
We've had some great opportunities to teach lately, and we will just have to keep teaching and practicing and following the Spirit until the end!
I had an cool realization whilst reading the Book of Mormon; I just got done reading the Isaiah chapters of 2 Nephi in Portuguese, and I laughed when, in chapter 25, Nephi says that he delights in the plainess of the words of Isaiah. I mean, lets be honest, it's a struggle in English, let alone a second language. But then Nephi says the following:
" 4 Wherefore, hearken, O my people, which are of thehouse of Israel, and give ear unto my words; for because the words of Isaiah are not plain unto you, nevertheless they are plain unto all those that are filled with the spirit of prophecy. But I give unto you a prophecy, according to thespirit which is in me; wherefore I shall prophesy accordingto the plainness which hath been with me from the time that I came out from Jerusalem with my father; for behold,my soul delighteth in plainness unto my people, that they may learn."
This scripture applies to my mission because investigators won't understand God's doctrine the same way I will struggle to understand Isaiah, unless we have a spirit of prophecy, which to me means that we have to be open for the Spirit to "prophecy" to us, and that as a teacher I need to be worthy of teaching with the Spirit to allow that process to take place. Nephi later says, in the same chapter, that the purpose of his writings is to prophecy of and rejoice in Christ, that his children might know to what source they might look for a remission of their sins. In all honesty, my good friends, what good will all of the school books and classic novels and interesting reads to for us if we don't know where to look for a remission of our sins? Or, in other words, what is more important; our worries about life and the world, or Christ? I understand here more than ever that people really do struggle with hard problems, many of them people that I know personally. I am sorry for all who have these times - but they are not forever, and Christ is our source for true happiness! The moment that you go through a hard time, do something for Christ. Serve someone, read a scripture, say a prayer, whatever. But look to Christ. Because without Him, we have nothing, and with Him, we have it all!
Oh I thought I would pitch in my two cents on the #lighttheworld campaign - do it! It's so amazing and inspired! I'm loving inviting people to follow Christ this Christmas and you should too! Anyway, y'all have a great week!
- Elder Valentine!
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