Week 36

"...a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation...” - Joseph Smith

Our President has compared the time we spend alone in our apartments to the time Moses spent in Mount Sinai.  Though to the Israelites, he seemed to be gone longer than they could handle, the spiritual refreshment and guidance he received while in the presence of the Lord dictated the rest of their journey in the wilderness and was eventually the step that led to the form of worship applied by their people for centuries.  Like they in the book of Exodus, we have been asked, "Who is on the Lord’s side?".  As we choose diligence and obedience like the sons of Levi, we can be strengthened and deepen our relationship with our Father.  

Monday and Tuesday were great as we scheduled appointments and taught some friends, we had a district council as we sat in a spacious circle, that was alright.  We continued to teach and call friends, however, we found that many of our missionaries were getting called to return home.  A large group of our Elders and Sisters were sent home over the next couple of days.  Our zone in particular was hit pretty hard, we gathered to take the sacrament on Sunday and found that our zone was split nearly in half.  Luckily, both Elder Greene and I are fine.  We are in good health and we have not been sent home or reassigned.  I've thought a lot about this situation and have been really grateful for the opportunity to remain in my station.  I know the Shepherd watches over his sheep.  There's not too much to update on, we got lots of hotdogs on preparation day so I am training to be a grill master in our backyard.  It's been great, I'm not too fond of being stuck inside, but we're excited to find new ways to be productive.  I'm sure the Lord has in store for us new means of spiritual growth and gospel sharing, All is Well!

I decided to be a little more careful with the scriptures I shared, considering how my last email hit a little too close to home, if you know what I mean.  

...The keys of the kingdom of God are committed unto man on the earth, and from thence shall the gospel roll forth unto the ends of the earth, as the stone which is cut out of the mountain without hands shall roll forth, until it has filled the whole earth...

Elder Gneiting