Well my camera will not give you pictures... so here are a few from my USB. One is the Christmas Devotional, just our zone, and the other is of the huge leadership conference we had this week. We'll play '¿dónde está Waldo?' on that one haha, see if you can find me amongst the DL y ZL in the mission.
Glad to hear you are all well! And that is a crazy picture about the happenings with the Canal, that'll be fun to see. Also strange to really see how fast time flies... a year ago Allie was telling me about the birth of a creature Cohen, I was in Vinces, oh how time flies! I will have to send you a picture of me in my brown suit, it is sweet lovin'.
As for me... we didn't travel so much this week. We had a few conferences, one with all the leaders in the mission and it was a lot of fun and very edifying to participate in that training. It got to direct the meeting. We also got with the new group of trainers to follow up on their progress. It is fun to see their excitement, it is also very uplifting to feel God's support during these past few weeks. I am having a blast with Elder Hancey, we are making a difference out here in the mission. We are getting along well and learning how to cope with differences here, our work and personality styles. We have been learning, both in the companionship as in the rest of the mission, to see the good in others and help them progress personally. It's fun, we've got the whole mission house up early doing push ups and pull ups with us, this week we are going to run too and everyone is having a blast (in spite of the soreness). Even in the smallest things, it is fun to see personal progress and congratulate others on it, making them know you are observing.
In our sector we are working like crazy, though it is tough. We have a few people preparing to be baptized here in February, it'll be crazy with our time limit and their busy schedules, but we will see some miracles out here!
I want to share a cool experience, though small, that strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon and needing a Supreme Being in God. We contacted a guy the other night and he began to speak to us in English, we ended up contacting him in English. He didn't speak English or Spanish all that well, but he made a good effort and we understood him. As we got talking, we found out he is going to the US this week and he has been having family issues. He has been tough and supporting all the issues with a smile, but it hasn't been easy. He wanted all to work out between the family he was leaving behind and his personal life in the States. There was such a power as my companion and I pulled out a copy of the Book of Mormon and bore testimony of its vital importance in our daily lives. We gave it to him with our testimonies written inside, we read a scripture with him, and said goodbye. It was a small contact, yet it was amazing seeing how people open up to us WHEN they see us as Representatives of Christ. How do they see us that way? We are loving, we listen, and we apply the most important message man could ever come across to his daily struggles without doubts in our hearts. We left him with the Book of Mormon that has changed and still changes my life. We left him with the assurance of a God that knows him personally. We left him with desires to contact the missionaries as he arrives in the states. I pray he finds them and pray he is baptized. We planted a huge seed. We are here to harvest, but we won't harvest it all, we might as well plant GOOD seeds on our way.
An important principle has been reinforced the past few months in my mission as I finish my letter to you. Ether 3:4 I think... haha. Bro. of Jared KNEW God was all powerful and could do all things, so what does he do? Instead of depending on Him to save he and his people, he uses his God-given agency, finds a solution, and goes to God to approve his plans and bless them. Let us be like the Bro. of Jared. Let us trust in God completely, use our Agency to solve problems and always turn to God for guidance along the way. He is a being who hopes we become like Him. Becoming like Him does not come by depending on Him. Becoming like Him comes by trusting in Him always and falling to His guide when we truly cannot move any more.
I love my God, I love my Savior, I love this mission and know that there is no other way to reach my Heavenly Home save Jesus Christ.
Love you!
Elder McGinn
No comments:
Post a Comment