Que pasa campos!
Alright I drowned you guys in paragraphs last week, and I’m running low on time today, so this email is almost guaranteed to be shorter. You’re welcome, or I’m sorry in advance!
This week was pretty uneventful, we’ve learning lots of Spanish all the time (I only really understand present tense though) since this is our last full week in the CCM until we are out doing only spanish but like all the time. Some fun events from the week:
-The much smaller Elder Hadley out ate 6’4″ Elder DeGraffenried in pizza for a grand total of 11 pieces of Little Caesars and 2 plates of canteloupe, so DeGraff had to get a buzz since he lost the bet.
-Elder Hadley out eats Elder Chatwin another night, who also got buzzed.
-Elder Hadley buzzed himself for fun anyways even with a perfect track record.
-Fast Sunday! Which meant 4 hours worth of naps for me, but before that, fast and testimony meeting where I got to bear a little bit of my testimony on faith and the power of the Priesthood in almost all Spanish (I forgot two words, I was trying to tell my Chamonix stomache ache story and past tense Spanish is too complicated for me at this point.) It was a great day!
-Today on the way back from the temple (which was awesome) I talked to a Senior missionary from Mexico City in only Spanish, and turns out she has lived in the Northwest mission for the last ten years so she told me all about the 8 different stakes/areas here and which are her favorite! She also recommended the best place to get street tacos (that is a massive win), the best place to get groceries, and made me promise that when I was in her area that I’d come get free ice cream at their ice cream parlor. It was awesome to learn more about my mission and now I am even more excited to head out the gates into the city here pretty soon! That means I’ll have to nail down that preterite and imperfect conjugations here quick though.
On that note, I swear half of these grammar terms that they are teaching us were never taught to us in the states. I had no idea what imperfect, future conditional, preterite, indirect object pronouns, or relfexives were before I came here. That could also be because I didn’t pay attention so good thing I’m learning now!
Other than that, this past week has been a lot of push ups, a lot of pretty decent food, and lots of Book of Mormon study. Wow what a segway, that brings me to my spiritual thought this week! How unintentional!
Alright I have a few ideas again but I think I am going to focus on what I studied and learned this week about receiving revelation and the power of prayer. This one may be all over the place, so prepare yourself.
This past Sunday we listened to a devotional from Elder Renlund where he likened using a stethescope to receiving personal revelation. Just a couple analogies: you need to know what you are listening for, you need to practice often to know how to use a stethescope (I am not certain if I am spelling that right), you need to be in good spiritual order to recieve revelation, you need to be familiar with the voice of the spirit (like cardiologists are familiar with the sound of a heartbeat) and you need to remove distractions that can prevent you from hearing the whisperings of the Spirit.
Our Father in Heaven wants to answer each of our prayers.
“O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.” (2nd Nephi 9: 20).
As the most loving and knowledgeable being in the universe, He has the best timing and manner to answer our prayers in.
In 2nd Nephi Chapter 32 verse 9, Jacob teaches about the power of prayer when he says:
“But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul.”
Sometimes, and maybe even often, this life can be exceptionally hard. But know that the God of the Universe listens to, answers, and hears your prayers. Pray to Him always, and he will consecrate even the hardest things in your life unto your good. He knows exactly how and when to answer your prayers, and He hears each one of them. In 3rd Nephi 20, the Lord teaches the people to pray always in their hearts. He also promises them that if they do this,
“the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel shall be your rearward.” (Verse 42)
Through prayer and trust in the Lord, you will receive the answers you are meant to receive to all of your questions. They may not come now, they may not come in this life, and they may not come in the way you want or expect. But the most loving of Parents hear your prayers, feel for you, and will answer them in the best way there is. Through faith in them, you can have the Savior as the head of your army and the God of all as your support in the back. You will be surrounded by armies of angels on chariots of fire as you seek to trust in God’s will and do His work on this earth. He will support you.
So, pray always. Trust in God’s timing and answers. Trust that He loves you and will help you. This is why He sacraficed His only begotten Son for you. He will consecrate all things for your good, He will lead you into battle. You can receive answers from God through the Spirit as you seek to stay worthy of His presence, as you practice receiving revelation, and as you earnestly seek after the greatest gifts. I know that God knows and loves you.
Guess what, I love you too! I love you all and have appreciated each of your emails so much. I promise to respond as soon as I can. If that means I end up writing a draft to you later tonight without wifi and sending it in the morning, I’ll do my best. I appreciate each of you, and really apoligize for sending you an essay once more, even if I definitely wanted to send you more. Go read Doctrine and Covenants section 11 to learn more about the Holy Spirt and revelation!
Alright, that’s all for this week! I love you all and miss you, go Buckeyes, remember that the worth of souls is great in the eyes of God, and seek after revelation and answers to your questions from Him. Those answers will come!
Much love!
-Noah
Pictures!
