Que onda vatos!
How’s life treating you this week? What’s up? Tell me all about what’s been going on! It’s almost summer break already, which is crazy, which means I keep getting dangerously close to being home, which is even crazier!!
Life goes by quick, don’t let it pass you by! Make every moment worth it and live with no regrets!
Anyways, I hope you are doing so great today! I hope you’ve had a great week. I hope you’ve found joy by serving others and yielding your heart to Christ! I love you!
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– On Wednesday, we had our interviews with Presidente Brady! It was so nostalgic to hang out at the mission home and chat with Hermana Brady, and it was so good! I got some amazing advice from President Brady and felt the spirit very strongly!! Now, the job is just to take that advice and put it into practice. I helped Hermana Brady remember how to send out her weekly email and we did a couple practices with the APs. It was a great day and a great time, pulled together by a couple delicious air fried hot dogs. Thanks Hermana Brady!
– We met 3 people who lived in Utah for 10 years or more this week. It was crazy! We’d be walking down the street and hear someone speaking in English so we stopped and talked to them and it was so cool! They were all very friendly and very familiar with the church and the missionaries, of course. That was cool!
– Had District Council this week and figured out how to build it off last week’s! I think it went okay! It was a lot more interactive than last week and it was fun. We talked about how to help our friends make Christ their priority above all else, and the efforts we can do that will help them remember and understand. Go read Alma 21: 23!
– We met some great people last week, and two of them came to church with us yesterday!! Carla and Gia both loved church and said they felt so loved and supported there!! Our ward was super good about going and greeting them and helping them feel welcome, it was awesome to see.
– Yesterday was Mother’s Day!! Aww such a special day. I am soooo thankful and impressed by my Mom and so many moms all over!! Keep up the hard work moms, you are loved and seen! Got to call Mom and say hi, what a great day!
– We went and visited Janette and Luisa from Cuauhtémoc today and it was so fun!! I haven’t seen them in over a year and they are so sweet and sooo funny. They fed us all sorts of fun and exotic stuff (pata de res officially checked off the list) and their company is always fantastic. It was so awesome to catch up and especially to know that they keep on progressing and that they are living the gospel to the fullest!! I hope to be able to go to the temple with Luisa soon!
– We (all 4 elders) were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting yesterday and it was so good!! I’m actually starting to really like speaking (which I really hope doesn’t mean that I drone on and on about who knows what) but I think it went well! I talked about remembering what matters most, which is something that I especially need to remember during this last 2ish months. It is so easy do get distracted on a mission, in a calling, or just in life in general with little things that really don’t matter, or don’t matter right now. As Elder Ballard said more than once, the things that matter most in life are things that last.
On that note, time to move along to the next section! It was a great and a pretty quiet week full of miracles!! I’m excited to focus this upcoming week on what matters most and help people change their lives forever through Jesus Christ!
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So, I really love what Elder Ballard says about the things that matter most. It goes along great with an idea mentioned a fww times throughout the scriptures: focus on the things you can bring with you. Lay up treasures in heaven, not temporary stuff down here.
That is, your relationship with your Heavenly Father, your family, all the lessons you learned and your most treasured memories. You can take spiritual experiences with you, you can’t take national championship trophies with you.
I think that’s why I particularly loved two verses from one of my favorite chapters of scripture ever. There are a billion great lessons and there’s plenty of doctrine in Helaman 10, but I particularly learned from the Lord’s response to Nephi’s hard missionary work (in that he worked hard, and the work itself was challenging)
“Blessed art thou, Nephi, for those things which thou hast done; for I have beheld how thou hast with unwearyingness declared the word, which I have given unto thee, unto this people. And thou hast not feared them, and hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments.
And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever;”
Oh daaaaang!! That sounds to me like Nephi focused a lot less on himself (being hungry, tired, rejected, lonely, frustrated, even losing his life) and focused a lot more on what matters most. He kept preaching even when he was rejected or the people tried to kill him. And after his conversation with the Lord, he stopped, didn’t go to his own home, but went back out to work.
That’s a great example of living with your priorities set straight. Nephi’s focus was doing exactly as the Lord asked him to, to the very best of his abilities. For his work and his diligence, the Lord promises him the greatest blessing there is (remember, treasure up things in heaven!) and promises the blessings of eternal life to Nephi. Why?
The Lord knew that Nephi wouldn’t “ask that which is contrary to my will.”
So, how are you going to make Christ your priority this week? How are you going to put Him above everything else? How are you going to earn His trust? How are you going to remember what matters most?
Set a goal, make a plan, and get it done. The Lord loves efforts. He loves to see your love, youe sacrifice, and your change of heart. You will be blessed as you sacrifice time, money, comfort, fun, sleep, or whatever it may be to show the Lord that He is your priority. He is what matters most. Lay up treasures in heaven instead of planting cool, temporary stuff down here!
Anyways, I’ll get off my soap box for the week. It’s a good lesson that I’ve needed to learn this past week. I can give more of my whole soul to the Lord and to His work and His children. I can yield my heart more completely to Him. I can show Him what matters most to me.
And I will! Let’s do it together. Let me know how it goes this week! Set a goal, make a plan, and review at the end of the week! You can become a more devoted disciple of the Savior this week.
I love you! I hope you have an amazing week and that you know that I really do pray for you. I care about you and I want you to be well and to find joy! Go have an amazing week and go make good happen all around.
Talk soon cuates míos. Se cuidan!
Elder Crockett ❤️
