10/02/14 Christ Like Character

Yeah I've been emailing with Austin and Holden. Welburn, hmm I recognize the name but I'm not sure who he is. But that sounds like the same flight I will be on. (His mom is on the FB Missionary page so I asked Chad if he knew him) I don't know how many missionaries will be on that flight but we're supposed to have a lot. The temple isn't open until next year from what I heard so we haven't left the walls since last time we went and we definitely have not gone on the streets proselyting. That would be fun. We all wish we could leave the walls sometimes and just see what the city is like.

Haha, yeah we've talked about that scene in Best two Years here plenty. I can guarantee I will have trouble with the language, but it'll work out. We'll see if my first companion even speaks English haha

Well tell Ally and Atalie thanks for me. That's funny! (For remembering him in their prayers!)

So one thing that was funny...  earlier this week we were in one of the fake investigator lessons with our teacher as "Rodrigo" and when he asked "¿Cómo están?"  My companion, meaning to say ocupado (busy) accidentally said "preocupado" (worried). After we cleared up what he meant, I decided, because of how Rodrigo was acting to ask "¿está preocupado?" and he said he was and told us about a friend who was having some difficulty and we had him pray right there and it turned fairly spiritual and one of our better lessons.

Let's see... the most spiritual of the week was a talk by Elder Bednar (on video) wherein he was talking about the character of Christ and a certain relief society president who had such character. She had called him while he was serving as stake president because three girls were in a car crash and were going to a hospital near him. She was asking him to go identify them. He could hear that she was talking to a nurse on a second phone and and that nurse, during the conversation, positively identified her daughter as the one of the three who was dead. Rather than make any mention of it she simply asked him to go identify the other two and notify their mothers. Later on, the day of her only child's funeral, a member-- I believe Elder Bednar used the phrase "self-entitled member"-- of her relief society (unaware of her daughter) called her and chewed her out because she was sick (Bednar said a cold or something of that sort) and no one in the relief society had brought her food. Rather than get angry, she simply picked up some food for her on the way to her daughter's funeral (she being a single parent to that only child). Like Christ, she was thinking outward when most would think inward. This, as he referred to it, is true conversion: beyond having a testimony of the goodness of Christ and truly emulating him. 

Oh and as to my prayers they're certainly getting more real than when I first started doing them in spanish. 

I remember your cell phone number mom haha okay I'll remember to call your phone if we are allowed to call from the airport. 

How is Holland doing? when are they doing the surgery? 

I don't need anything. Umm I have a haircut appointment today. By the way, I never realized how soon after the people who would eventually be called Zoramites left jerusalem after the Lehites, about 11 years.

Here is a picture from this week.

Here is Chad's email to his dad:

I'm just glad I have Conference this week, if it were just a week later I'd have no clue what they're saying haha. Well I'd know some things but I would not be able to keep up with 2 hours of talking in spanish. Elected to donate platelets? By whom? I'm sure next week will be a particularly humbling week in the proselyting profession as well, but it'll be great. so we leave the CCM on Monday evening. I can't wait until such time as I kind of figure out what I'm doing. But in the interim I'll enjoy how much I'll be forced to learn.

Also I made my first tie trade this week. And here's another picture from the Temple, it's our whole district plus our teacher Hno. Gomez. Hasta luego.