Week 100: "Good Tidings to all!!"

Good Tidings to all!!

Because of Christmas day and other matters, my preparation was switched to today, so I get to write out a little Christmas card!! I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Christmas day and I loving the Christmas spirit, the Spirit of Christ.

I would like to leave you all with a thought for Christmas this year. Whether you read this Christmas day or after, consider this. When it is someones birthday, what do we do? We immediately think of what present we are going to give this person. We ask, "what does he or she like? What does he or she not have that they would want?" In this Christmas season, many of us may have thought more in what presents we were going to buy, than in why we are celebrating in the first place. This is the birthday of the most important Being who walked this earth, it is the celebration of the Saviors entrance into mortality. This Christmas, on the day of the Saviors birth (whether the exact date is accurate or not), what can we give to Christ that he would like? What can we give to Christ that he does not already have? Thinking about these questions, it is obvious that materialistic items are not on this list. No, Christ wants something more valuable, more precious, more important than that. He wants us. He wants us to give him ourselves this year, and for ever year that comes. The things that He likes are when we follow his commandments, when we love our neighbor, when we serve those around us, when we remember Him in the good and the bad. All that we really have in life, family, job, money,house, is because He gave it to us in the first place. The only thing that He doesn´t have is our agency, he does not have control over what we decide to do. When we give ourselves to him, when we follow what he asks of us, that is when He really has everything. That is the gift that He wishes for. Can we give those kinds of gifts this Christmas? How much would these kind of gifts cost us?

Being in my mission has given me the opportunity to enjoy Christmas like never before, for the simple reason of being closer to the Savior now more than ever. I hope that all of us can really reflect more on the importance of His birth, and come to not only know, but to feel the beauty of the Christmas spirit, The spirit of Christ.


Feliz Navidad a todos!
Elder Bernal

Week 99: FELIZ NAVIDAD

HELLO EVERYONE!

ITS ALMOST HERE!!! CHRISTMAS TIME IS NEAR!!

We had a great week. It was great. Really Great. Did I say it was great? Here is a list of what we did:

1. Went to Nogales. IT WAS -7 DEGREES CELSIUS and after being through 2 sonoran desert summers I almost froze to death. 

2. Saw the Dedications of the temple in Tijuana, which was awesome. Hosanna!

3. Had great great studies.

4. It is now officially cold in Hermosillo as well. It is a strange feeling to be cold again. 

5. Many other great things that will be told in an email at another date because i gotta go.

I hope all of us can really take advantage of this christmas time to think about our relation with God and His Son Jesus Christ, and show our love for them by serving others. There is no better time to help another than now. Dont let it pass by!

Elder Bernal

Week 98: "Walk with Me"

Hello everyone!

What a crazy week! We had transfers, and we said goodbye to a generation of 18 missionaries, one of the being my companion Elder Vandenbosch! I had the opportunity to be with these missionaries the night before they went home, and we listened to them bear their testimonies after two years of dedicated service. The spirit was very strong and I was so humbled to hear from these departing Elders and sisters. 4 of them had previously been my companions, so I got a little emotional seeing them leave.....

My new companions name is Elder Campuzano and he is a stud! He is from Monterrey Mexico, and he played Football in his high school! We both have very similar personalities so i think this is going to be a great transfer.

Our ward got together this week and we had a big Christmas dinner! The put together a really cool slide show of all the cool events that happened this year, and it was so legit I was blown away. It was easily one of the cooler things that I have seen here in a ward. The little primary munchkins and the nursery kids performed a little Christmas dance dressed up as reindeer with antlers and omg it was adorable. It was a huge turnout and a blast! I was honestly so impressed with how well and organized everything was, probably the best ward activity I have had in my entire mission! It got my SO pumped for the Christmas season.

So this week I was stalking through some of the pictures that my companion has of his mission, and I came across a poem that is called "Walk with Me" (see picture attached). I started reading it, and it started off really good. Then it got better. Turns out that I liked it so much I wanted to share it with you all. Here it is:

"Walk with me," I heard Him say,

"Walk with me awhile today."

"Talk with me," I heard Him speak,

"Talk with me of things you think."

Share with me the things you feel,

Share with me so you can heal.

Cry with me through your heartbreaks,

Cry with me when your soul aches.

Look with me, a new sunrise!

Look with me through opened eyes.

See with me the world anew,

See with me my point of view.

Laugh with me in pure delight,

Laugh with me, its all alright!

Sing with me we stroll along,

Sing with me I love your song.

Learn with me your wondrous story,

Learn with me your prior glory.

Know with me just who you are,

Know with me we`ve traveled far. 

Create with me and dreams come true

Create with me I create through you.

Walk with me on Heaven`s shore,

Walk with me forever more!

Love you all, hope you have a great week! Do something nice for someone every day to spread the Christmas spirit!

Elder Bernal

Week 92: A Savior is Born

Hello!

Crazy crazy week that went by super fast. One of the best parts was that we got to go to the temple! There are 18 missionaries that are finishing their mission this transfer, and one of them is my companion, so we all went to the temple together on Tuesday, and it was an incredible experience. Just the second time that I have been able to enter in almost 2 years, so it was very special once again.

Even better though, easily the highlight of the week, was that the entire district of Peñasco came to the temple today, which meant that I got to see everybody again!! I saw a ton of the members that I worked with and all the people that treated us so nice, and they still remembered my name! Yahoo! Amongst them were two of the people that I was able to teach and baptize there, Omar and Abril. They went to the temple to do vicarious baptisms, and seeing people that you taught go to the temple and being able to participate in the ordinances that are realized there is such a comforting and satisfying feeling. I was so happy to see the they continue strong in the church and growing spiritually. That is one of if not the greatest joys of being a missionary. 

Another coool activity was that our ward here had what we call the Dessert night, were a ton of members brought different kinds of dessert for all to taste. We, the missionaries, were in charge of doing a couple of games, so we divided everybody up in to teams and we had a pictionary competition. Yours truly ended up being the game show host and definitely made a fool of myself trying to make some funny jokes that nobody laughed at..... 

Lastly, one of the more humbling experiences happened this last Saturday, when we went to a small little city in the mountain part of the sonoran desert called Nacozari to visit to two elders working there. We joined them for their Sunday services, and in Nacozari, there is no chapel there, only a small house where the members get together and host their Sunday worship services. In Spanish, they call them a house of worship. Being there, seeing a group of only 20 to 30 or so people still come together in such a small and remote city in the mountains and be able to take the sacrament and be blessed by the blessings of the gospel and the restored priesthood was so humbling to me. Like Sister Bernal said in her latest email, many members across the world make such big sacrifices to do little things that we often take for granted like going to church in a chapel, with comfy benches, heating, and structured and functioning organization. We should never ever take things like that for granted, we should give thanks for those little things, because in life we are about as happy as we are grateful. And so, for me so see that Latter day saints could still gather together in a small and humble setting and do the things that other Saints across the world do, was a very beautiful thing.

Hope you all have a wonder wonderful week, and are getting excited in this Christmas season!

Elder Bernal



Inspiriation for the Week: A Savior is Born


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_TEOyhy7Bg

Week 91: Happy Thanksgiving

Hello all!!

Is that just the biggest sign of ungratefulness or of being in Mexico? Either way, I completely forgot it was Thanksgiving until the day of. But we did get spoiled this time and we got to enjoy a lovely huge thanksgiving meal prepared by the lovely presidents wife. Turkey, mash potatoes, yams, cranberries, corn, stuffing, rolls, ("well they were actually croissants" says a fellow companion sitting next to me). Oh my it was delicious.

It seems that the mosquito that gave me dengue fever last year somehow survived and was looking for my blood, because it bit me and gave me dengue again.... I went to bed Sunday feeling perfectly fine, and woke up Monday morning feeling like I had just stepped in front of a bus, or like if Adrianna pushed me down from the top of the stairs again (she actually did that one time....). Luckily, my body somewhat learned from last time and I got better a lot faster. But I still am pretty ashamed to say that in my two years, dengue fever hit me twice!

And even though its almost a week before it happens.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ON THE 4TH OF DECEMBER TO THE BEST SISTER IN DA WORLD ADRIANNA!!!!!! AND MY MAN PARKER SCOTT!!! Have a great one!

I Hope you all have a great one!
Elder Bernal

Week 90: "God´s grace is not only what ultimately saves us, but it is what truly changes us"

Hello everyone!

What an awesome week! I just looked over my wittle sisters letter from her first week in Tegucigalpa and it made me so happy! I thought back to my first few weeks in the mission and I can sooo feel for my little sister when she talked about being so exhausted at the end of each day, struggling to cope with so many new aspects of life. The first few weeks fly by (actually the whole time does) because you are forced to be engaged in every aspect of every day. How jealous I am of where she is! AND her companion is from the Dominican Republic! They are the best. I have met a handful of people in my mission that are from there, and they are the most loving, humble, and hard working people. Izzy got reallllly lucky. 

Speaking of the beginning of my mission, this last week I was able to go make a quick day visit in Guaymas, the city where I started my mission. I was working with two other elders for the day, and unfortunately it wasn't in the same are that I had started in, but just being in Guaymas again brought back so many good memories. I had a funny realization though. Everybody says that the mission flies by, and its true it really does (see above), but when you go back and think about all the things that happen, you realize, "woah, I have been gone a long time!" Honestly, when I left, Frozen had just barely came out in theaters..... Anyway, so you realize that a lot of time has gone by since the beginning, but then after I went back to Guaymas, and seeing the things I had seen a year and a half ago and being in places I had been prior, I thought to myself, "Well this is all the same. I feel like I was just here." So even though more than I year had passed by, everything was brought back to my remembrance and I suddenly felt as if I had never left. That same kind of feeling, I imagine, will probably happen when I come back home at the end of my mission. After a few days of all the excitement, I will realize that I am back to the same place I was at before, and it will all go back to being normal. When that happens, I will have to look back on what I have done in the time that has passed. As Sister Bernal has said it in her last email, missionaries have the rest of their life to look back on 2 years of service. So it is up to me decide how I want to feel when I take that look. Will it be one of gratification and pride for what I did, or of regret and shame for not doing what I could have? If these are to be the determining factors, then I look forward to such a moment, for I believe that I have lived my mission experience in such a way that this reflection will be for me one of the most gratifying and satisfactory memories of my entire life. And indeed, this same example can be applied for all of us, when one day not too far away from now we will all return back to our heavenly home.

I spent a good deal this week thinking about Grace. I reread an amazing talk titled "His grace is sufficient" by Brad Wilcox, and I sure got a lot more out of it this time. I have come to realize that grace really is what moves everything in this world. God´s grace is not only what ultimately saves us, but it is what truly changes us. As said in the talk, Christs sacrifice "is not only a huge favor he did for us," but also "a huge investment he made in us." Grace is what allows us to love as God loves, it is what allows us to be patient with the imperfections of others as God is patient with our imperfections. Even though he expects us to be perfect (Matt. 5:48), his grace is what compensates for our deficit, and he can do that because he has already paid the price for what justices demand on imperfection (Alma 34). And since that is done, he can be completely merciful and loving with us, and in turn, we can be the same with everyone else. The scripture I chose to "ponderize" this week is in 2 Corinthians 12:9:

"My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most Gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

It seems that if we really can get a hold on grace, we will never have a need to be down. Every weakness or imperfection is simply a chance to see the power of God. 

Les amo a todos!

Elder Bernal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogxLNlgKM8c

Letter From Hermano Bernal to Hermana Bernal

Hello all,

This was a letter I sent to izzy and I felt the interest to send it to you all as well...not forget to remember.

HOLA QUERIDA HNA BERNAL!!!!!!

REPORTING REPORTING HERMANA BERNAL HAS TOUCH DOWNED IN HONDURAS!!!! OPEN THE DOORS, POUR OUT THE ANGELS, MAKE WAY FOR MIRACLES, HERMANA BERNAL IS COMING TO PREPARE THE WAY FOR THE SECOND COMING!!!!! ARE YOU READY!!!???

This week Izzy, I want to talk to you about something I have been thinking about lots. Once you wrote me about how you loved that Alma told his son to remember the captivity of his fathers. I want to focus this email on the importance of this word: remember.

Spencer W. Kimball once said that maybe the most important word in the dictionary is remember. Why? Because a big weakness in the human nature is that we are so forgetful! And right now, we aren't just talking about the little things, like taking out the trash, or doing a homework assignment. We are talking about the many ways that we forget about the Lord. 

When somebody gains a testimony of the church, they have a special moment in which they cannot deny that they received a confirmation of the truth. But as the time passes, they forget about that moment and the feelings they had, and that leads many to become inactive. All because they forgot the joy they experienced prior. They stopped doing the little things in the gospel, and that led them to forget. We sometimes do that too. Sometimes I find myself thinking, "Well, in my mission, I haven't seen a whole lot of crazy miracles." Think again Connor. I am forgetting. I am forgetting about all the little miracles that the Lord as done for me. I forget about the past. A quote says that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." That may be why Alma told his son Helaman to remember, so they wouldn't fall in the same pride cycle:

 " I have always retained in remembrance their captivity; yea, and ye also ought to retain in remembrance, as I have done, their captivity. (Alma 36:29)

What are some other ways that we forget about the Lord? Lets look at the Sabbath day. Why do we have to dedicate the whole day? If you look at the definition of dia de reposo in spanish, it says something that just blows my mind. It says that the Lord set apart this day so that his children "se acuerden de el." are you saying that it is possible to forget him!?? How? How do we forget our creator, our savior? Mormon says,

And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions, yea, except he doth visit them with death and with terror, and with famine and with all manner of pestilence, they will not remember him.

Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths! (Helaman 12:3,5).

Do we really need God to punish us just so we can remember him? Actually, forgetting what he has done for us is a huge sign of ungratefulness. When you forget the nice actions of others, they feel as if it wasn't important to you. How do you think the savior feels when we don't honor the sabbath day? How do you think he feels when as MISSIONARIES IN HIS WORK  we don't give our "heart, might, mind, and soul"? 

That must be why Helaman started the legendary scripture  in helaman 5 vs 12 saying "Oh my sons, remember, remember".

This idea is not only seen in the scriptures. When Simba chased rafiki into the woods in hopes of seeing his father, he was upset that he did not find what he was looking for. But when the clouds stormed in and Simba spoke with a disappointed father, Mufasa said "You have forgotten who you are and so you have forgotten me." Can you imagine God saying the same thing to us when we forget about him?

Do you see izzy, why it is so crucially important that you remember the Lord, in every little thing that you do? do you see that when you remember all that he has done for you, you truly show your gratitude and appreciation?

It would not be a foolish idea to keep a log of all the miracles, both big and small, that the Lord has done for you, so you can remember. The Lord does not want to have to punish us to get us to remember. It is better for us to remember simply because we love him.

I love you! Sorry for the long letter but I thought a lot about that this week. Having a good memory may be one of the most important human traits of them all!!

Elder Bernal