hi mama,
kumusta po nay.
i’ll start this letter by sharing a funny experience then i’ll share a juicier one later.
so pops and i were on our way to bagumbayan for some following up. and in the court i see an american! the first thing my companion says quietly to himself is "hey joe". classic. i run up to him to see what the heck a white person is doing here. he’s from Connecticut, married a filipina and is here visiting family. as we were talking i would actually reply in tagalog and quickily revert to english. good guy. not interestred :/ but a cool convo none the less. we passed the court again shortly after and i asked my comp if we can stop and look at him for a while. super creepy right?? i was just so intrigued to see a white person. quickly realized the irony and how flilipinos feel towards me. i often forget i’m white because all i see is tan!! oh man maybe i am filipino.
other then that we had an amazing oppurtunity to hear from a visiting General Authority. Elder Evan A. Schmutz of the 70. spoke in the sunday pm session of confrence and talked about trials there. at the confrence we heard from him, his wife, the mission president and his wife. i’ll try to share what i loved most about there talks. all were about obedience and chastening us for very good reasons and something our mission needs.
Sister Hiatt started and shared a powerful quote "its better to be trusted than loved”.
President Hiatt talked about hope and asked us to ponder what our hopes are for our missions and if were doing what is necessary to achieve them.
Sister Schmutz talked about looking back at your mission on your last day and if you would feel ashamed or confident with your service. she then challenged us to make the mission a hightlight of our lives.
Elder Schmutz talked about the covenant we made when we accepted our call and the seriousness of honouring the standards set for us. he said something very blunt, but very powerfull. "if you feel like your mission is a chore, repent or go home." he compared us to consecrated oil. we were a regular thing before we came out but now we are set apart and different. would you consider using consecrated oil for cooking?
all these talks were very straightforward, to the point and necessary. they were filled with love and i have never felt more humbled in my life. its time to set it up a notch and recommit myself to this work. im happy to say my companion and I are very obedient already but we have felt re-energized to change our natures not just our behaviours so after our missions we will be different but stronger than when we left. we are working harder, becoming happier and trying to make our parents and the Lord proud of our service when its all done. this self refinement isn’t east but i can’t help but appreciate it.
i’ve decide to start sharing a weekly scripture. this week it corresponds to a photo.
Mosiah 8:23
Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.
LOVE YOU ALL,
ELDER KEARL
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