Que onda gente!
Hey! What’s going on? How have you been? How’s summer going? Tell me about life! I hope you’ve had a fantastic week, you’re enjoying summer, and that you’ve been making the most of every moment!
We had a great week. I’d even say it was a fantastic week!! It was spiritually heavy-hitting week; full of miracles and especially joy! I hope you know that I’m still praying for you, and I hope you are doing so well! I love you!
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– Finally self-discovered a budget protein shake hack. One liter of Lala protein milk, Nesquik chocolate milk mix, boom you get like 100g of protein in a 1 liter bottle of deliciousness. I’m certainly proud of myself. You are welcome all you misioneros mexicanos. It has been delicious and the only bummer is that I figured it out so late.
– We walked around Liverpool (the department store) after lunch and my companion and I were thrilled to see they had an exclusive Colnago dealer. Oh heck yeah. We even saw a Colnago replica of the pink Pogačar Giro bike, which nearly brought tears to my eyes hahaha! Too bad it wasn’t my size or I probably would’ve put myself into a lifelong debt.
– The quality and quantity of our morning park gym / runs has been so good and I’m hoping it’ll give me back even a little bit of lung and quad. Keep your fingers crossed.
– Our amazing friend Josefina accepted the invitation to be baptized and will make a covenant with her Heavenly Father in a couple of weeks!! Please keep her extra in your prayers, she is amazing and has such honest desires to understand God’s plan for her. I love this!
– We went on a hike this morning, visited the waterfall, and had a great time. The morning fog was super cool and the hike was lots of fun! Its so soothing to be out in God’s creations with great people. Go give it a try!
– Walked around with a soccer ball on Thursday and challenged them to juggle it 5 times so Mexico would win. Super fun and funny way to contact, nobody got it but they all asked what we were doing! Despite the many failed attempts, Mexico still won. Let’s gooooo
– Father’s day!! I am so thankful for my Dad, his incredible example of joy, service, love, and diligence. He’s my hero!! I’m also so thankful for a loving and perfect Heavenly Father who is perfectly aware of me. I love you Dad!
– The absolute highlight of the week was Mariana and Yael’s baptism yesterday!! It has been a roller coaster of a process but it was so amazing and taught me quite a few life lessons. They were so excited and at the end, the baptismal program ended up going perfectly. They were so set on fulfilling commitments this week and their determination to follow their Savior was so special. I was brought to tears in their baptism, it was so special!! Congratulations Mariana and Yael!
So yeah! How could it have possibly not been a fantastic week with all that joy? I am having so much fun and I’m so grateful to be part of such a joyful and life-changing work!! It has changed my life forever, and I have been so blessed to see how it changes the lives of others too. What a blessing it is to serve God and His children, and be changed in the process!
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Oh man. There is SO much going through my mind that I’ve learned this week. It was a particularly special week for me and I was brought to tears of joy and gratitude many times. At least the mission has taught me how to find and recognize pure joy, and how to cry haha!
It’s been harder and harder to keep my mind focused during down time, which I think kind of comes with being a few weeks away from wrapping up. So many things seem so urgent right on the otherside of the wall that marks the end of my time as a missionary and the start of the rest of life. So many things like “hmm where should I go ride my bike” and “man how the heck am I going to find time to ride my bike” and “wait, will I even have a bike waiting for me?” hahaha and all the likes!
Mostly joking.
Anyways, this week was full of some really needed spiritual experiences to help me refocus on what’s most important: the here and now, and President Monson taught.
This week I listened to his General Conference talk titled “Finding Joy in the Journey” and dang, what an incredible talk. Definitely slid it’s way into a top 5. Here’s a quote I absolutely loved:
“This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now.
Among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.”
That is some good stuff and something I really needed to hear. I think that’s something we all need to hear. Sometimes, we get so caught up planning for tomorrow or next week that we get stuck in a mindset of “ahh tomorrow I’ll…” and instead live with a bunch of dull, wasted “yesterdays”.
Don’t let that happen! Live in the here and now. If you have a goal, great! Make a plan and start it in the moment. Tomorrow never really comes, so don’t let your stress about the future leave you with a bunch of “what if yesterdays”. Find joy today. Go change the world today. Go live a life worth writing about! Go make memories and live with no regrets!
Among those things that matters most is something we talked about in District Council this week. Moroni mentions seeking “this Jesus”, and Nephi, in his final testimony, writes about “my Jesus”.
So, what kind of relationship with Jesus do you have? Is He a Savior in your life? Is He the Savior? Is He some Savior? Or is He your Savior?
Whoever He is, go seek Him. Go understand why He is yours. He wants to be yours. Do you want to be His? What do you do to change, transform, and deepen your relationship with Him? How can you improve?
Anyways, I could keep talking about a million other lessons I’ve learned this week, but I’ll leave you alone for now and let that sit. What are you doing here and now to discover your Jesus? How are you finding joy in the journey?
Remember, these really are the good old days! Every day can be a day worth remembering if you choose to make it so. So, choose to, and go do it here and now!
I sure do love you all so much. I hope you know that! I hope you can feel my prayers. I hope you find and feel joy! I hope you seek after your Jesus.
Go have a great week! Go find joy. I love you, talk soon!
Elder Crockett 🫂
