This week, the Spirit decided to take
me on a journey of self-discovery...and Elder Prestwich acted as my tour guide.
To be short in words, it was definitely a period of progression over the past
seven days, filled with blessings and discouragements of a spiritual magnitude
that rocked the scales.
Promised blessings are beginning to
sprout and bud here in Guatemala City, all the sowing that was done over the
past months is finally paying off as my companion and I have been thrusting in
the sickle.
I have seen a lot of change and
miracles in this area. And this week was no different.
Sunday was the start of a long line
of blessings that came to follow, Ana came to church with the Pascual family
and enjoyed it. And Elder Prestwich and I went out in the morning to wake
people up and get them to the chapel, we then took the 8:30 TransUrbano bus
that would drop us off at a two minute walking distance from the chapel.
The only problem was that there was a
marathon going on and a boatload of traffic out on the streets and the bus took
a wrong turn on the way to church. 8:45 rolled by...8:50...8:55 and we were
still stuck in traffic. At that point I was just frantic, a headache carved
itself into my brain and about a thousand stressful thoughts filled the empty
space: What are the members going to think? Why me? Why us? Why on my
companion's first Sunday in Montufar? What if a General Authority shows up to
church today (it wouldn't be the first time in my ward)?
With my mind racing, I willed the Bus
to go faster so that we could at least make it before the Sacrament. Ten
minutes later at 9:05 we were dropped off at the bus station and my companion
and I sprinted down the street in our suits to the Chapel three blocks away.
What do you know, they were singing
all 4 verses of The Spirit of God as an opening hymn and we were able to
slip in the back during the chorus.
Count your blessings.
That afternoon, our ward mission
leader gave us Lunch...and it being his birthday, he served us his favorite
dish: Masacuata (or, fried serpent). Yes, my friends, I ate a snake. It tasted
like a mixture between chicken and fish...I wasn't a huge fan, but at least I
can officially say that I have gotten over my "picky eater stage."
That afternoon we tried a two hour
experiment in our area. Deciding that it was time to increase our faith, we
started to knock on doors until we found a chosen family. We got about 20
minutes into our labor when, lo and behold, we found new investigators,
Mamfredo and Lucy, a married couple with a little 2 year old daughter. Playing
the lesson by ear, we talked about how the Gospel of Jesus Christ blesses our
families. The conversation was lively and I feel like we can help this family
to progress during this change.
The rest of the week had it's ups and
downs, but the biggest highlight was the Zone's trip to the Temple this last
Tuesday. As a mission we go to do an endowment session every 6 months...and
seeing how the last time was in February...it was time for another excursion to
the house of the Lord. I absolutely love to go to the Temple, and it's even
more meaningful to me now as I am older. Everyone should have the mutual
goal to be able to go to that holy place. There is a spirit there that just
fills you up and makes you feel like everything is okay. And there is something
about being able to be in the Celestial Room that is without comparison, it is,
without a doubt, where heaven and earth make contact.
So I was motivated for the whole rest
of the week to help Manuela and the Franco's to put the long-term goal of going
to the Temple and to be able to participate in the same ordinances that have
blessed my own life more than anything else.
And with such a spiritual
high...Satan decided to attack me with an equally hard trial.
The whole week I felt like I was
insufficient, like I was trying my very best to work as hard as we could..but
could never be successful. Like on Sunday, I was striving for perfection in
worrying about things that are out of my control. At the end of the day I would
feel self-pity for the things that we weren't able to do instead of seeing the
blessings that the Lord gave us during the course of the day.
It wasn't just once either...it was
many times.
Now I have a testimony of how every
missionary companionship is inspired by God, because Elder Prestwich helped me
to see that in myself, and had the patience to help me recognize the good
instead of the bad. He said that "Sometimes we put higher expectations for
ourselves than our Heavenly Father has for us, and when we don't live up to our
own goals, we forget to see how God has a higher will. Don't stress yourself
out if our appointments fall through, I am perfectly happy knocking on doors
all day."
It was so true. I had been
striving for perfection in my own area and in the offices as well, and
neglecting to see how becoming perfect is a process...nothing that can just
happen all at once. The Lord knows that we will make mistakes, and will help us
to become better day by day, principle by principle.
Elder Gerrit W. Gong, of the Seventy
said in this past months Ensign: "For those who may feel chronically
burdened or anxious, sincerely ask yourself, “Do I define perfection and
success by the doctrines of the Savior’s atoning love or by the world’s
standards? Do I measure success or failure by the Holy Ghost confirming my
righteous desires or by some worldly standard?”" (www.lds.org/ensign/2014/07/young-adults/becoming-perfect-in-christ?lang=eng Awesome
article...read it!)
Christ is the only perfect one. And
if we follow him, and do our best, he will make up the rest.
See you next week!
-Elder Monson
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