Iorana!
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| Packages from the family |
Where'd all the time go? It is crazy to think that this week has just flown by within a blink of an eye.
Listening to the spirit:
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| Getting a little colder |
One of the biggest teachers that has allowed me to progress while here in the MTC is not a physical teacher but rather the Holy Ghost and the promptings that it provides. Every time I pray I seek to have the Holy Ghost as a constant companion. As I stay in tune with the spirit, thoughts, impressions, and scriptures always pop into my head. An experience we had with the spirit was during one of our teaching appointments. Me and my companion had everything planned out. Who was going to talk when, the key points we were going to cover and everything in between. During our lesson I had a feeling that we needed to talk about the importance of families even though we planned to talk about prayers. At the same time my companion also had that same feeling so he started to shift our conversation from how to pray to how families can be together forever. We were able to bear our testimonies to her about families and how through prayer and faith she can come to an understanding for herself that families can be together forever. I also shared with her how I found peace through spending time outside, and how I am able to feel of the love my family that has passed on has for me.
Devotional:
This week we were privileged to hear from Elder Teixeira, and his wife. Something Sister Teixeira said that really stuck with me was, "By holding our own hands instead of Gods we are keeping our burdens heavy". Before she shared this she mentioned how it was a rule for one of their granddaughters to have someone hold her hand when she is crossing the street. Her granddaughter found out that she didn't "need" someone to hold her hand because she had a second hand and she could hold her own. We can all cross the street holding our own hands but as we hold the hand of our savior our burdens and stresses in life can be lifted from our shoulders and we can have a sense of peace, protection, and love in our lives.
Change:
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| Jenga before class |
Change is inevitable, change will occur no matter what we are doing or where we are heading. Rather than trying to fight change we should embrace it, because through change we are able to develop ourselves. We can't control the direction of the wind but we can adjust our sails. Sometimes light winds will come our way and other times we will find ourselves going through heavy winds. But through having the right sails up we can make sure not too much stress is placed on ourselves and we can make it through anything. When the light winds of life come our way we can put up a sail with more surface area and take everything in, and when the strong winds of life come our way we can change sails and create a smaller surface area so we can better handle the stresses we are faced with. After adjusting our sails for the stresses of life we can adjust our course and get ourselves back onto the track line towards our desired destination. But adjusting our trackline and keeping ourselves on "autopilot" isn't enough to get us to our final destination. We must trim our sails to effectively and efficiently catch the wind and make it to destinations safely. By not accepting change we will find ourselves stuck in the same place. A quote my brother always put in his email was "forward ever, stopping never". This saying and the thought of sailing through change has been a big thought throughout this past week. How am I accepting change so that I can always continue forward and do as the olelo no'eau says and "kulia i ka nu'u" or "strive for the summit". When I find my thoughts start to drift from my purpose as a missionary I close up sails, tack and reposition myself and trim my thoughts so I can stay in tune with the spirit.
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| Hawaiians at the MTC |
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| My District |
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| More of the District |
"Vents favorables et mer suivante"
"Fair winds and following seas"
Standing by,
Elder Ellis
