We taught an awesome new family this week. I have only talked to them once but it went great as far as I could tell. It is a part member family and the husband was very close to being baptized because of an awesome experience that he had with his family. We Invited him again to read the Book of Mormon and be baptized. I told him that since I have been on my mission I have never felt more shaken in my faith and felt so weak. People say that we are supposed to be out here as spiritual giants but I have never felt so small. Inst it supposed to be the other way around? I told him that that the closer you get to God the harder it will become. Those walls are there to show see how bad you want it. When those walls get rough and times get hard you are going to need something to desperately grip. What do you have to hold onto? It is going to be the things that you know from your heart that will get you through. Dont let go of those experiences that you had with your family and that you know are true. I also believe there is a redemptive power that making a choice has and the actions that follow that decision. That is because There are so many oppositions and different opinions in the world, that if you don't know where you are going then you will end up some place else; that some place might not be where you want to be if you are not careful. It is important to decide.. Just decide.. Where you want to go. That foundation of beliefs (the things you KNOW) will weather you and your family through the storms. Remember those powerful experiences.
I am at 8 months now! time flies. I have goals for before I come home. I have been amazed looking back at my past and I do not know what to expect for the next 8 months. Life is full of mysteries and experiences. I don't know what to expect but I know that I don't feel like the same person. I have a new perspective of life and how I want to react to situations. I look forward to the future and the opportunities that it holds. I received a call from Fernando this week. It meant a lot to me. It is hard to see your progress out here and has gotten me very discouraged. But he told me how much It meant to him for me being out here. He called the mission the front lines of the world. He is now clean from drinking and is planning on getting remarried with his wife since she left him earlier because of drinking. He said he is driving a bus for a church now during the week and every Sunday. He has strong faith in God and I am very happy for him.
It has been raining a lot these past few days. I guess the cane farmers are really worried about their crops right now. Especially if a hurricane comes through then all of their crops will be lost for this year if they haven't all ready plowed yet. All that you see around here lately has been cane trucks, cane tractors and clouds of smoke from burning the fields after harvesting. It always smells like camp fire... I love that smell. I love the rain and stuff like that.
We went to the temple the other day to do sealings for a man whose wife died. He is very happy to have the names done and we also had some names from our ward mission leaders family. I saw a huge group of people from my favorite area in the mission also. It was awesome seeing them. It was the same family that I made the knife for.
We do a lot of things throughout the week but It is usually the same old. Let me know if you want me to write about anything specific. I love you fam and friends.
Elder Cooley
No comments:
Post a Comment