Semana 46
Olá minha
querida família!
Another week
here in Sousa.. It´s still dry (and without water as always) and hotter than
heck but the blessings are rich, especially during this beautiful Christmas
season!
You know it´s
funny because I was about to write, "we didn´t have much success this
week" but then I realized that EVERY week of the mission is successful.
Sometimes we just have to measure our success differently. This week maybe
wasn´t marked by baptisms or numbers of investigators at church, but sometimes
we have to stop to take note of the little experiences and whisperings of the
Spirit, and these are the moments that help us grow and measure our success.
For the past few
weeks the mission has been preparing for our Christmas Conference in Natal
(TOMORROW - we leave Sousa tonight at 11:30pm and will arrive around 8 am) and
as part of our spiritual preparations we were recommended to study the
"doctrine of Christ". I thought a lot about why President wanted us
to study this specifically, and wanted to share my thoughts.
Applying the
principles of the doctrine of Christ helps us resolve ANY problem in our path.
When we have nothing - we must develop faith. Developing faith can be as simple
as having just a "particle" of a desire to believe (Alma 32) but is
sufficient to develop into a "tree of life", rooted firm in the
knowledge of the gospel. With our faith firm we have the strength to withstand
the blowing winds of the adversary when we enfront our problems. The next step
is to apply the Atoning blood of Christ and repent, which means to change our
ways. Sometimes in our moments of weakness and trial we are actually doing
something wrong, a small habit we can change through repentance and dedicate
our lives more fully to the Lord and really show Him that we are in need of His
divine help. The quality of our offering to the Lord can make all the
difference. Then we need to be baptized (if we are not already) or keep our
baptismal covenants that we made with God - promises to take upon ourselves
Christ´s name and follow Him. Then we must listen to and follow the guidance of
the Holy Ghost - the Lord promised us that accompanying our baptism that He
would give us His Spirit to help and guide us through the obstacles of life,
and we have to believe in that promise and use this gift that we have! Lastly,
we must continue strong until the end, repeating this cycle until we have
become perfected like Him.
I truly believe
that THIS is the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what He taught, what He lived.
What we must live in order to return to Him. There is no other way that we may
be saved, no other name by which we can overcome the bands of death. This was
Christ´s purpose here on Earth - He was born to fulfill all justice. Luke
2:10-11 says,
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I
bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
Elder Holland,
in his talk "Missionary Work and the Atonement" proclaimed, "The
´good news´ was that death and hell could be escaped, that mistakes and sins
could be overcome, that there was hope, that there was help, that the insoluble
was solved, that the enemy had been conquered. The good news was that
EVERYONE´S tomb could one day be empty, that EVERYONE´S soul could again be
pure, that EVERY child of God could again return to the Father who gave them
life."
These truths are
so simple but so profound that we must dedicate our lives to understand them. I
love the gospel. I know it, I live it, I love it. I have never felt such a love
for Christ like I have developed on the mission. I hope that this Christmas
season we can all give back to the Lord what He has given us - that we can
resolve to become like He is.
Até próximo. Amo
vocês e só falta 18 DIAS até Natal!!!! Also just realized that I come home 7
MONTHS FROM TODAY. I´m starting to freak out.
Com meu amor,
Sister Brown
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