Monday, December 10,
2012 10:26 AM
Hey family. Well today is Monday. I am here writing you. The computer freaked out on me so I had to switch. Let's see. What to tell you. The weather here often doesn't feel much like winter. I received an un-numbered letter from mom, one from grams, one from Holly and a package from Uncle Dan and Aunt Zuleica I'm getting better from my sickness; however, I still have a runny nose and a cough every so often and high notes are a no go right now, singing wise. :)
Question: ask Ricky +
Chuck if they know an Elder and Sister Stroud. I don't know them but they
are serving from my stake here in NC.
Ok. Last week
we had a Christmas party at the church. Let's just say they aren't as big
as ours back home. It was good though. We had 3 investigators
there and 2 potential investigators, a man and his daughter who we did service
for a while back. We called and invited them and they came. Good
stuff. Food was good though. It was dinner, a push for 100% home
teaching by the bishop, and then Santa came.
One area of myself
that I see has improved a lot since the beginning of my mission is being able
to talk with complete strangers. I'm not saying it's easy, but I'm definitely
more comfortable at doing it, which has been a huge blessing from the
Lord. I think it'll be interesting when y'all see me in a couple of years
for you to see how I've changed. I know I'm changing but it's gradual,
whereas you will be looking at it as a start to finish type perspective more
so, minus the part about the letters and such. Anyways, I know it's
change for the better.
Recently, I have been
studying and thinking about the Plan of Salvation and it, by far, IS THE BEST
PLAN EVER!!!!!!! Holy smokes. The more I learn about it, the more
it makes sense. I love this gospel so much, and I know that it is the one
and only true doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The
great thing is that things that are fabricated by men, the more you delve into
and look into them, the more holes and flaws you find. Hence, farm boy
Joseph Smith couldn't even have dreamt up what he restored. The Plan of
Salvation is so beautiful and so simple, yet so deep all at the same
time. And it all is there for our benefit -- for our eternal happiness
and salvation. Alma 34:32, "the day of this life is the day for men
to perform their labors." What labors would he be referring
to? Our house chores and 40 hour work week. Probably not.
These may be temporarily important, and maybe even have a spiritual effect on
us, but the true labors we are to perform is found in the Doctrine of Christ
and in the ultimate goal of becoming as our Savior is. I've been reading
through the conference issue of the Ensign and I'm almost done because it is so
dang good. And there are SOOO many talks about true discipleship, true
conversion, being a true Christian. Too many people, both in and out of
the church, are becoming simply apathetic and insouciant when it comes to
spiritual matters. "This is eternal life!!!!" (to quote Elder
Holland) Anyways, I love this gospel and my Father in Heaven and my
Savior. What a great time of year to remember 2 of the most amazing gifts
ever. A Father who gave his Son, and a Brother who gave his life so that ours
could be spared.
Thank you all for your
support (any and all who read this and who support me :) and thank you family
for being the best family in the whole wide world (I"m not biased or
anything, of course). :)
This week will
probably go by fast, and next time you hear from me, you'll know where I'm
going.
Love,
Elder Patty
ps. I don't have
details on Christmas chit chat yet. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment