Saturday, June 14, 2014

Week 47: Spiritual Cockroaches‏

The offices of the Guatemala City South Mission have turned into a war zone.
In more ways then one I guess...
But principally because of a surprise-remodeling project that was ordered by our friends over at the Area Offices. On Tuesday morning, our Companionship Study hour was cut short by a call from the Maintenance Department, saying that there were 12 construction workers waiting for us outside of the mission offices, and that we should probably hurry up and let them in.
From there, the rest of the week followed suit. The workers wasted no time in starting their task, tearing out all the carpet from below our feet as we tried to work, and laying down tile in the vacant areas (we weren't too happy about that change, the offices are like the only place in the whole country of Guatemala where I've found carpet..). As the week progressed, we had to learn how to work around others as they worked around us (literally). It was especially interesting to see the number of cockroaches that had been hidden underneath the carpet as it was lifted out.
Cockroaches are the ultimate survivor...and the pest of all pests. The purpose of their existence, aside from wallowing in the world's filth, remains unknown. And yet, in spite of the fact that nobody wants them around, their Darwinistic sense of survival is inspiring, if not disgusting as well.
All I know is that they make me squeal like a little girl whenever I see one.
And this week seemed to be plagued by cockroaches of a spiritual race. Akin to the tangible type, these creatures hide themselves in the dark and dank places of your soul, dormant, until the moment when they bring themselves into the light.
Nephi warns us against pests such as these when he said, "Awake, my soul! No longer droop in sin. Rejoice, O my heart, and give place no more for the enemy of my soul."
Sometimes, the fiery darts of the adversary aren't slung by catapults, with fanfare or a cavalry as the armies of sin assemble in this spiritual War Zone...sometimes Satan destroys us from the wet and dreary places that we leave empty in our own hearts. There, we let him fill the space with a colony of Spiritual Cockroaches, ready to destroy us.
Things such as, bad attitudes, gossip, lies, or secret sin begin to eat us alive, destroying us from the inside.
But hope is found with the light of the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ, when our transgressions are made known to us, a change must be made. Thought the atonement of Jesus Christ we are able to squash these cockroaches and become better people.
Food for thought...I'm not really sure why I have Cockroaches on the brain.
Aside from that, all the remodeling, the week was pretty normal, my companion and I have started from Zero again, finding new investigators and trying to get them to progress. We had a Zone Council on Wednesday about how to become a Consecrated missionary. It was a really interesting topic, and made me reflection a lot on what kind of a missionary I truly am...
...am I consecrated? I would like to say so!
...yeah, I think I'm consecrated.
The highlight of the week was on Monday morning when President and Sister Stay invited us to their house to eat breakfast. The meal was incredible, Sister Stay went all out for us, making chocolate, chocolate chip waffles and french toast and...
A lot of really yummy stuff.
I’m glad that I’m starting to see some progress in my area and that I am able to see the way that the Lord is helping me to become a better version of the person I am!
The mission is great.
I sure love you all and hope that you have a great week!

And watch out for Spiritual Cockroaches.

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