HI!!
LET'S GO MERCER ISLAND LACROSSE LET'S GOO STATE CHAMPS THAT'S WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT!!!!!! I AM SOO HAPPY!!!!! JACK VASSAU YOU MY HERO MAN WAY TO GO OUT SWINGING!!!!!
If any of you have not witnessed the photo of Jack Vassau with his little stud of a brother Max following Mercers state championship victory, give it a look. It is the greatest photo that has ever been captured since the Mona Lisa (see attachment).
So today has been A GREAT DAY. It was full of lots of great great great news. I am so happy write now I cannot even begin to describe. Ok well here are a couple of awesome things that happened this week:
1. There is a member who lives in our area whose name is Adrian Cota. He and his family live in very humble circumstances, and are amazing and incredibly people. Despite a lack of economic necessities in a family of 9, they have always been willing to do anything for the missionaries. This Sunday, they invited us for dinner later that week. When we got there, we found that Adrian was alone with his 4 little boys, and his wife and her daughters had left the city to take care of some errands. We shared a message with them about the Law of Tithing. It was a very powerful lesson not because of what we said, but because of what Adrian told us. This man, living in a house of cardboard that he built with his own hands, and with the dusty earth as their only floor, began to tell us of how incredibly blessed he is by the Lord because of his obedience in paying his tithing. He bore us his testimony of times when he didn't even have enough money to buy dinner for his kids, but chose to pay tithing first. He told us of how grateful he was for this opportunity that God give us so that He can bless us. It was incredible. He closed with a prayer, and for the first time in a while, tears flowed to my eyes in humility for this incredible and faithful man. His humbleness and perspective of life is truly an example for all. He is what the Savior describes as one with "treasures in heaven" because "he who has eternal life is rich."
2. We are teaching a man named Ruben, who is also incredible. One of the greatest parts of the mission is seeing the changes that occur in the lives of these people. Ruben is one of those that had many changes in his life that we never realized until this week. He is going through a rough time since he and his wife are separating, but he has found much peace and happiness in the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. He told us that since we started meeting with him, everything in his life has changed. He was able to cope more with the divorce, he was able to overcome health problems that he was having, and he even saw a drastic change in his economic life when he stopped working on Sundays and started to come to church; his income nearly doubled! People like Ruben are why I am so happy to be a missionary.
3. Speaking of why I love being a missionary, teaching people about the Gospel is also one of the greatest things. As missionaries, we are promised that the spirit will guide us in teaching situations to know that to say. Many times when I teach, I wonder where I get some of the stuff that comes out of my mouth. When we were teaching someone named Luz, she was telling us that she wanted to know more about the love of God, because she didn't really feel much love in her life. It was in this moment that I told her something that did not come from me. I told her that If she wanted to understand how much God loves her, then she should let God forgive her. When we go through the process of repentance and we feel forgiven, we begin to understand how great Gods love really is for us. Think about our relations with our friends and family. When we forgive others, and when they forgive us, these are moments when we feel true happiness and gratitude for one another. A favorite poem says the following:
O man, forgive thy mortal foe, Nor ever strike him blow for blow; For all the souls on earth that live To be forgiven must forgive. Forgive him seventy times and seven: For all the blessed souls in Heaven Are both forgivers and forgiven
I left that appointment learning from what I had just said. I knew that those words were not my own, but rather words that were given to me by the Holy Ghost, as promised to all Missionaries and servants of the Lord. And thanks to that promise, I could come to the important realization; that the beauty of love is epitomized in forgiveness.
Have an EXCELLENT WEEK, and may you all feel as happy as I do today.
Elder Bernal
Inspiration for the Week:
"EM EM EM EE ARE,
SEE SEE SEE EE ARE
EM EE ARE
SEE EE ARE
GO MERCER GO!!"
No comments:
Post a Comment