So, this week, my dear mother worked incredibly hard on extracurricular activities, and thus did not send me any questions to answer. So, as my mom said in her email, I will attempt to "shoot from the hip" and see how my email writing skills have developed (or decreased) over time. So, just note that if there are any complaints about the quality of my current email, please direct them to my mom (love you mom! ;). So today I will cover two experiences from the week--one humorous, the other spiritual.
First off, our tracting experience of the week. So, we were tracting down the glorious banks of the 67 Ha river, basking in the sun and taking in the gamma rays wafting up from the congealed water to our side, when we decided to go down a small side path and see what houses and people we could find. We talked with a few people who didn't want anything to do with the lessons when we all of a sudden found ourselves in this weird garden in front of a very haunted-mansion-looking house. But we thought, "ah, why not?" and knocked. The occupant then called and invited us in. So we stepped in and found an older lady sitting there. Since she was the only one home, we couldn't really talk to her inside for a long time, but we tried to strike up a small conversation about the restored gospel. But as soon as we do that, she starts going off. Not yelling, but talking about how she is the greatest prophet and also talking about the church that she established in the name of her family. She then started talking about her twin sons, who apparently I reminded her of. At that point we politely asked to leave. Well, she then got all quiet, then said something in French, and promptly started to weep. Yes, by weep I mean cry. Come to find out, afterwards (because Elder Reynolds is somewhat good at French) I discovered what she said. She said, "You are so beautiful (referring to me!). I wish I had children like you." And at that point, she began to cry...... Long story short...what a crazy experience!
Now for a more serious, spiritual experience. Or rather, experiences. I have found that now with Elder Reynolds, we have been having incredibly spiritually uplifting companionship studies, talking about gospel doctrine that will help us progress and thereby help our investigators gain a greater understanding of the restored gospel. Just the other day, Elder Reynolds shared some scriptures from the Isaiah chapters in Nephi, and I really enjoyed them, because of their boldness and clarity, as well as doctrinal importance. The scriptures were 2 Nephi 13:16-26, in which Isaiah calls the people of the church to repentance, due to their focus upon worldly lusts and wants. Please read those scriptures at this point.
All right, did you read the scriptures? If you didn't, you're lazy ha. But really, read them. But, having read those scriptures, some may think that it is a little harsh. But this has relation with the way for our obtaining eternal life, as outlined in Matthew 16:25, which reads, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." How can we truly lose our lives for Christ's sake if we aren't willing to give up our lusts, worldly wants, fads, and personal desires, for Him? It is literally impossible to do so. "A man cannot serve two masters." Why would we even think that God would give us everything HE has, if we are not willing to give Him all that we have? This is one thing that I have truly gained a testimony of out here on the mission field: self-sacrifice is essential for exaltation. And included in that self-sacrifice is sacrifice of wants, lusts, desires, and EVERY SINGLE THING that is not in harmony with God's will. So, my question is, are you willing to do so?
This teaching should not make us depressed or discouraged. But it should push us to work harder to get to that point of discipleship to Christ, where we truly are willing to give Him all we have. And I know for a fact that the blessings that will come if we do so FAR outweigh those things that we give up.
Anyway, that's about it this week. Thank you all for your love, support, and prayers. I love you and pray for you, and hope you have an awesome week.
Am-pitiavana,
Elder Snell
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| Cute kids! |
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| Lots of kids! |
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| Picture of our area |
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| Picture in our area |
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| A picture of Elder Reynolds next to the glorious river of 67 Ha. |
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| Pictures of our house |
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| This is a taxi be that said "Urim and Thummim" on the front of it, but in Malagasy spelling. Thought that was kind of an interesting scripture reference to put on a public bus... |
