27 March 2017

Am I an uncle now? (nope)

The week was good, kind of normal. I actually don't remember anything that happened right now...

OH WAIT! That's right- we went on exhanges with the AP's this week! Right now, there's actually a trio of AP's and two of them are from my group- Elders Haskett and Einfeldt. It was really cool to see them again and how we've all grown on our missions. Warsaw is really different. There's a lot of crazy people there, too, but that makes it fun! 

Also, we started up this service project where we we're working with Kamila's mom at her work where she works with kids with mental disabilties. It looks like mostly Autism and Down Syndrome. This last week we played ping pong and bocce ball with them and it was so much fun! It's also really good because Kamila's mom is able to see us do service and not just preaching ;). But it made me feel bad that I didn't do more stuff like that when I was back home becase I totally had the time to do that and just didn't really care enough... Tell Sam Nielson that I say 'hi'

ALSO. Remember how about five months ago we went to the Motor Cross championships?! Just last week was the Diverse Night of the Jumps! A jump competition that was just as awesome as the races were! That's all I really have to say about that one. Just an awesome time of awesomeness.

In answer to your question, I would say it's on the positive side, but I'm not sure if it's love. It's difficult to get there. And I think I found out why. I've sent an email about this before, but I figured out some more things, so I'm going to explain once again: In my studies I've come across a few scriptures where either a prophet or God himself is saying that his prayer is that all God's children will be saved in the last day, or that God is waiting for the second coming because he's waiting and desiring all his children to repent and come unto him. 

Now, the problem I saw in these scriptures is that these prophets and God KNEW that that was impossible. They all knew of the end of the world when God would come down and cleanse the earth of all wickedness. Meaning that there would be wicked people in the last days. But despite that knowledge, they prayed that all would come unto Christ. 

Here's the first reason I think of- Saints don't give up. It's as simple as that. We just keep on trying because we know what is awaiting all who come unto Christ. The second reason explains why I said what I said at the beginning of this paragraph. Ezekiel 33:11 says this "Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?". When I read this I just felt such a personality in God, that I realized that he just absolutely does NOT want any of his children to suffer. Like the sons of Mosiah even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment causes God to shake and tremble. He does not want it. 

And as missionaries, lots of sad things happen (along with the good, of course). I've heard it said that so many bad things have happened, that they've just become dead to the feeling of sadness, though. And the easiest way to cope with it for many is exactly that- don't allow yourself to feel that sadness. But in doing so, you keep yourself from feeling the opposite. Without sadness there cannot be happiness. That's how God and the Prophets have so much hope for the children of God- because they have so much fear of what happens when there are bad choices made. Because they allow themselves to have the full range of emotions. 

So I realized that the way to be able to love someone and to have that hope and faith and charity towards them is to allow yourself to be subject to sadness. Allow yourself to have emotions in general. A scary thought, but how else are we supposed to have a broken heart and contrite spirit? But yeah- to deny yourself any possibility of being sad, you're denying yourself the same possiblity of happiness. If we let ourselves experience and truly go through some of our trials, all we're really doing is allowing us to be more happy when the end of the trial comes.

That was long... I hope you understood all that.

I'm trying to love the people more and more each day.

I love you all very much! Have a great week!

(I told one of the members that sometimes we compare newborn babies to potatoes (at least both me and Elder Pettit do), and she thought it was the weirdest thing. I guess they don't do that in Poland.)

Elder Liechty