Hi Everyone!
Wow. This has been the longest week of probably my entire
life. It has been crazy!
So I woke up at 3 AM last Tuesday to go to the airport,
called family, etc. etc. and got to California at like 11 AM. We were picked up
by the mission president- President Wright- his wife, and the AP's. We had lots
of in field training and a couple of devotionals and slept in the most
comfortable bed ever at a hotel and... It was all just so rushed! Unfortunately
I don't have my journal with me right now, so I will try and remember the
important things of the last week. My trainer's name is Elder Adamson- he likes
sports and hunting, is like 6'3", and is a pretty good guy! I am in the
Fairfield area of the California Santa Rosa mission, and we serve in the
Rockville YSA ward. Haha oh man. The work is rough! Because we are in the YSA
ward we can't teach anyone who isn't between ages 18-30 or married, which is
like 1% of everyone here! So finding people to teach is a bit difficult, and
the ward doesn't help the missionaries a ton because they are all, like, single
adults between 18-30... haha it is just so funny to me! I love serving here! I
feel like there are a lot of opportunities to improve and ways to help; I just
need to find them! We taught Thomas Day, a less active guy who has this disease
which makes the nerves on his body always receive pain signals, so I guess he
is always in pain, but he has medication for it which gives some negative side
effects like rashes and tiredness... It was really interesting to meet him, to
say the least! We read from the Book of Mormon with him and asked if we could
help him, but he wasn't super responsive or anything. Haha it is an interesting
situation!
Oh yeah! something super cool- we got done shopping for food
(which I have NO IDEA how to do!!! Haha! Oh, man. It's gonna be rough!), and as
we were putting stuff into the car this guy pulled up to us and started
speaking in spanish to us, and I could totally understand what he was saying!
He wanted to know where our "Mormon church" was and wanted to have
some missionaries talk to him, so I was able to tell him where to go, talk
about the bible for a little bit, and give him the Spanish elders number! It
was super cool! I got to use my portuguese in Cali!!!
We have a lot of service opportunities like moving people
and helping at a food bank and such, and, oddly, it reminded me of a
"parable" I heard from a conference talk in 1990 by Elder Lybbert. He
said“An enterprising turkey gathered the flock
together and, following instructions and demonstrations, taught them how to
fly. All afternoon they enjoyed soaring and flying and the thrill of seeing new
vistas. After the meeting, all of the turkeys walked home.”
I thought this was cool because we can learn all we want,
and have the knowledge, but what good does it all do us if we don't act? My
favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon is 2 Nephi 31, which describes in great
but very simple detail the doctrine of Christ. Faith, repentance, baptism,
receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. How often have
YOU applied these principles in your life? What does it REALLY mean to have
faith? Do you partake of the Atonement daily, relieving yourself of sin and
striving to be better through our Savior? Do you remember the covenants we make
at baptism, outlined in Mosiah 18? Do you know what enduring to the end means?
For me, enduring to the end is not just "living" life. It is
overcoming the trials we all have, with faith that Christ is there for us, to
improve ourselves through learning and experiencing all that we have here on
Earth! We are here to progress, and become more like our Savior Jesus Christ.
We can't do that if we don't act on what we know! Following the parable in
Matthew 7, "Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them!" So I would
encourage you to seek to improve yourselves based on the testimony and
knowledge of the gospel you have. As you do this, and do it with a sincere
desire to better yourselves, through faith, repentance, prayer, heart, might,
mind, and strength, I promise you that you will see a change for the better. I
promise that Christ will be there with you in every step you take. If you reach
out to Him, He will do as He did for Peter in Matthew 14:31: "And
IMMEDIATELY Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him." Christ will
carry you. I know He will! I love our Savior, I love this gospel, and I love
serving! Thanks again for supporting me in my calling as a missionary! I will
talk to you all next week!
-Elder Valentine!
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