The
subject line says it all, this week I hit my 1 year mark and also the same day
my companion hit 101 days in quarantine (wowowow). There are so many thoughts
and lessons I have learned looking back at this 1 year, BUT to spare you guys
from reading those all, here is a summary in a 3 word sentence:
God is good.
What does that mean?
It means that God gave us his Son Jesus Christ who suffered tremendously to pay
the price for MY sins and give me a second chance through the resurrection. It
means that I have grown up in SUCH a blessed home, environment, city, and with
amazing friends, neighbors, and family that I am so in debt to Him. It means
that God still speaks with his children today and that the "Heavens are
open." I'm so grateful. Although I have hard times...every day in fact, I
have found strength in the unknown and trusted it's an opportunity to learn.
So...some highlights
of this week included Zone conference. Honestly, just giving an hour training
with the STLs over zoom in English was almost too short! That was so amazing
and zone conference was amazing. The theme was DILIGENCE which, is the key word
for missionary work, growing a relationship, becoming converted in the gospel,
and enduring to the end. To make this theme stick, I was reminded of a poem my
dad shared with me in Brazil that we ended up printing out and giving to
everyone in my zone...It goes something like this:
"Have you heard of tiny Melinda Mae,
Who ate a monstrous whale?
She thought she could,
She said she would,
So
she started in right at the tail.
And everyone said, "You're much too small,"
But that didn't bother Melinda at all.
She took little bites and she chewed very slow,
Just like a good girl should...
...And in eighty-nine years she ate that whale
Because she said she would!
This poem personifies
diligence and Mosiah 4:27 which ultimately testify that "it is not
requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength...it is expedient
that he should be diligent...that thereby he might win the prize."
While many
missionaries were weighed down by self-isolation (will there be an end?) and
wanting to see fruits of their missionary labors. It's a promise that if we are
diligent, we will gain the prize. Maybe the prize isn't exactly what we want or
how or when we want it, but the prize will come! If it's God's will to
baptize, through your consistent diligent efforts, he will make it happen (insert
any word for baptize that makes that sentence applicable to you!).
Moral of the story is
that the energy and excitement of the entire zone has SOARED and everyday
people send random pictures of whales, whale emojis, and even have pictures of
drawn out whales hanging on their walls in the back of Zoom calls hahaha!
CHALLENGE: Go read
President Russell M Nelson's talk "Hear Him" from this
past conference...SO GOOD. Before almost any instance God introduced his son
and said "Hear Him," it was proceeded with some type
of opposition! The world is getting ready to HEAR HIM.
Love you all, keep
chewing at that whale ;)
Elder Gardanier
No comments:
Post a Comment