Only one more week

Last full week here!! I leave on the 30th and am very excited. On Saturday we played Ultimate frisbee for the last time with our best district friends. It was so fun. I had a pretty unreal catch haha. I gave a talk in church Sunday, like 2 minutes maybe haha.  I had awesome studies that day and the devo. was awesomeeee. Monday was the last day with our friends. It was sad but okay. I had some pretty unreal cinnamon sugar french toast for breakfast. The maple syrup is fake and flavoured. Everyone makes maple syrup jokes and Canada jokes. I love it. It is so funny haha.







In class we went over animals in Spanish and someone (I don't remember who) said I am like Melman from Madagascar. Very funny haha. On Tuesday me and my companion got haircuts! It was a little scary but turned out fine haha. We had pizza on Tuesday and it was so good. The usual devo Tuesday night but it ended an hour early. Not sure what happened. It has rained like everyday haha and it pourssss. Kind of cool.


We have been teaching our fake interested friends and our last one went so good! I don't need to write any phrases down in Spanish, just a few words. My spanish has definitely improved exponentially this week, it has been awesome to see. I love my district, we laugh all the time.


And my afternoon teacher is my favourite. He is so good. It is cool to be the oldest in the MTC, especially now that all of the fresh outta high school people are coming. Today we went to the temple again and it was sooo good. I love it there. 





So much spiritual stuff this week! I have learned so much. I'll share a few thoughts. 

1.
"When there is contention, the spirit of the Lord will depart, regardless of who is at fault." - James E. Faust
"Where people have the spirit with them, we may expect harmony...The spirit of God never generates contention." - Henry B. Eyring
I like these two quotes together because it doesn't matter if I have contention towards someone else or someone else has contention towards me. The spirit will still always depart . As a missionary, and as a member, we all need to have the spirit with us. The spirit will keep us safe, will teach us, will convert us, will bring things to our remembrance, will comfort us, and so much more. The spirit, however, is not always with us. As it says in the sacrament prayers, we must be "...willing to take upon [us] the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given [us]." Francisco J. Viñas said, "The moment we begin to remember him and keep his commandments every day - not just on the sabbath - is when the remission of our sins begins to gradually take effect, and his promise of having his spirit with us begins to be fulfilled." I am so grateful for the spirit and for everything I feel when I have the spirit with me. 

2. 
"The people around us are not perfect. People do things that annoy, disappoint, and anger. In this mortal life it will always be that way. Nevertheless, we must let go of our grievances. Part of the purpose of mortality is to learn how to let go of such things. That is the Lord’s way." Dieter F Uchtdorf

This goes along with the first two quotes a little bit. A lot of the time when we have hard feelings or grudges towards others, there is some form of contention in our hearts, and therefore, the spirit of the Lord is not present. Forgiving others and keeping the sacrament covenants will bring the spirit. Forgiveness can be one of the hardest attributes of Christ to obtain. We might have the most negative thoughts towards others, but God commands us, "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men."(Doctrine and Covenants 64:10) Through charity (Moroni 7:45-48) (and a few other things haha) we can forgive anyone! Remember, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

3. 
I was talking one night with an elder in my district about spiritual reserves. He shared 2 Nephi 22: 2-3 which says 
2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also has become my salvation.
3 Therefore, with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
We must always be drawing water of salvation into our lives to keep our tank full. There have been many talks on constantly filling up your spiritual tank but one recently was from Elder Renlund. He talked about a spiral road up a mountain . If we ever stop moving forward in our spiritual life, we will start to roll backwards. Of the many ways to accomplish this constant refill, the central most fundamental way is to consistently live the Doctrine of Christ. Enduring to the end and consistently and willingly rely on the Doctrine and merits of Christ. 

4. 
The people of the Lord are those who wait. Blessings may not come right away. Help may not come right away. But the people of the Lord wait and have faith that those things will come. "Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." Jeffrey R. Holland 

Some Talks:
The Merciful Shall Obtain Mercy - Uchtdorf April 2012
An High Priest of Good Things to Come - Jeffry R. Holland October 1999


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