Hello!
It was another great week
in Hermosillo, I must say. Due to a few minor changes in the mission, I now
have another companion whose name is Elder Pineda! So there are now 3 of us. I
thought it would be kind of annoying because one guy would always be like a
third wheel, but its actually really fun. We joke around a good amount and Its
fun to be with 2 other Latinos. They teach me a lot of Mexican slang so I can
fit in a little more.
This week, I finished the
Book of Mormon once again. What a blessing it is to be able to read such a
book. As always, I put to the test the promise that is made to all in the final
chapter, which is to "ask God, The Eternal Father, In the name of Christ,
if these things are not true" (Moroni 7:4). I can testify to having
received answer, and it wasn't for the first time! I know that the Book of
Mormon is the Word of God, and that the work that I am doing, truly is the work
of the Lord.
So this week, I read an
article that really, really inspired me. Kind of changed my mission/entire
life. A theme that I have taken away from this experience is the phrase "I
fear no man." Fear has always been a topic that I have enjoyed talking
about, because I simply love conquering my fears. Fear is also one of the most
powerful weapons of the adversary, and is a tool that he uses to simply prevent
us from reaching our potential. This week, after receiving the inspiration that
I needed, I wanted to give God the reassurance that my loyalty is to him and I
truly "fear no man." In the mornings when we were about to leave, I
followed the advice from the article I read, and I would look myself in the
mirror and say to myself several times, while pretending to look tough and
changing poses, "I Fear No Man!" It would give me a good boost, and
of course gave my companions a good laugh,
Now lucky for me, I do
feel that in just about all areas of my mission, I show the Lord that I am not
afraid. But shouting to a bus full of people a couple times did give me a rush.
So this week, I decided to do it on every single bus that I boarded. It didn't
matter if there was music playing, or we had just barely caught the bus and
were puffing for air or whatever excuse i would normally come up with, I put
myself in the middle of every single bus and time after time presented our
message of the Restoration of The Gospel (even if some thought it was a little
annoying!). There were moments when I felt a little bit of fear, but one time,
I had an impactful realization. I was shouting for everyone to hear me, and everyone's eyes were fixed on me and it kinda got me nervous. But then, as I
looked into the eyes of the people, I realized something. These are people,
each one is a Child of God. As made eye contact with each person that was
looking at me, I was no longer talking to a bus full of people; I was talking
to each one of them individually. The light in the eyes of each person reach so
deep into depths of mine own, and in that moment I understood more the
scripture that says, "The light of the body is the eye." The nerves
went away, and the words came out. Because we had boarded a ton of buses this
week, we had A TON of references from our efforts. And maybe the best part
about the whole thing, was that I got my companion to do it too! After a few
pushes, Elder Pineda took his turn to "fear no man" and shouted on a
bus as well.
One of my favorite
scriptures is found in 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit
of Fear, but of love, of power, and of a sound mind." Fear is a product of
the adversary, it is not sent from God. When we feel fear, regardless of what
the situation may be, we need to recognize that it is the Devil playing games
with us. The best way to go face to face with Satan and win, is to face our
fears. This week, I can say I won, and I will continue to do so, because I Fear
No Man.
I love my mission. I love
every single minute. I think how I feel about my mission can be described in
the words of CS Lewis in an awesome quote that I have heard throughout the
years. "I believe in God as I believe that the sun has risen, not only
because I see the sun, but because by it, I can see everything else." I am
a witness that God lives, and that He loves each one of us, and all that I have
witnessed in my mission is the evidence.
Have a great week!
Elder Bernal
P.S. Please Pray for the
Familia Torres Ibarra. If all goes well, this Saturday the whole family will be
getting baptized on Saturday!
No comments:
Post a Comment