Caught Up in Myself

Caught Up in Myself

 

 

I can´t believe that I have already been in Brasil for three weeks. I think the days are going by faster and faster!  I have been picking up the language so fast! I still have a hard time understanding somethings but it will come in time. I love the food and I am having a great time here. I am learning so much! I am also remembering things I have learned in the past. I have realized that as the past few weeks have gone on I have been so caught up in myself. So many things have been I,I,I or me,me,me. For example, "I am new or I am still learning the language." I have lost sight of why I am really here. I am not here so I can learn a language. I am here to serve my master the Lord. I had forgotten the true importance of selflessness but I have once again remembered. I know that if I put the people and the work of the Lord first I will learn faster than I could ever imagine. It doesn´t matter if I say something incorrect or sound wierd. The people may not understand me but the will understand my spirit if it is in line with the Spirit of God. That is what matters most because the Spirit will teach and testify more than correct grammer and pronounciation ever will. The Spirit of God is like a fire burning!

He Will Strengthen Me

He Will Strengthen Me

 

 

I am so tired!!!!!!! I have done so much walking this week that I think that my feet are completely worn out. They are no longer there. I can´t feel them anymore!!! All I eat are rice and beans and nothing else! Not really but it sure seems like it. I am in a city called Itapira and it has so many hills. I am constantly walking up, down, up, down, up, and down these hills constantly. With the walking I am constantly studying the language trying to speak with the people. I can normally communicate what I need to say but when it comes to understanding what they are saying.........well, that is another story. I look wierd enough walking around in a white shirt and tie with a name tag. Lets add that fact that when people talk to me I look like a confused and lost dog. Ha, but it is all good. Although this week has been rough and tiring I have learned so much. I have only been here for two weeks but yet it seem like it is so much longer. No, it is not because I am bored or hate it here but because of all the things I have learned. I have grown in the language and I am able to understand more and more each day. I don´t look so strange when I talk. My legs are getting stronger and the hills seem to be getting smaller and easier. I love the food especially te rice and beans. My love for the people here have grown so much. I am able to see the as children of God even more and how special each person is. There is so much more but I know that it is all because of the Lord. I know he has been here with me every step of the way. Even up those annoying hills. I know that all the weaknessess I have right now are only here to help me. I know I will grow in strength from them. Those that don´t kill me can only make me stronger! He is here with me and he will only strengthen me! 

Similarities in Our Differences

Similarities in Our Differences

 

 

Wow! I can´t believe that I am finally here in Brasil! There were a few brief moments when I thought I wasn´t going to make it. Oh well, what matters now is that I am finally here! It is so beautiful here! Everything is so green and there is so much wildlife. When I say wildlife all that I have really seen is just all the bugs in my house. Spiders, ants, and others that I have no clue what they are! The people are great and really friendly! The food is amazing and people weren´t joking when they said that you really do eat rice and beans everyday. There is so much that is different but there are somethings that will never change no matter where you are. One is that we are all children of our Heavenly Father. No matter what language we speak or color we are he loves us just the same. Second and most importantly the the gosple is exactly the same. The love people have for our Savior and his church are amazing. Even though I am now reading the Book of Mormon in a different language, it contains the same truths. I can still feel the same spirit with me and I have to same knowledge that the message we share as missionaries is true!

I Will be Kept Safe

My life is like this road. I have reached a blind corner where I am not sure what will be coming up. I am unsure of the things which lie ahead of me in Brazil. Is there tragedy or is there greatness? Where will it lead me too? Will I slide off to the side? I am not sure. However, I know that there is one thing which can help me to stay on the road. The guidance of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is like the guard rail. If I follow it's warnings and directions it will lead my way. I will be guided around the blind corners of my life. If I stay worthy of the constant companionship I will not lose my way. I know that as I will be kept safe.

Only One Track

 I am walking down the road with a big smile on my face. I feel good! We hear the phone go off. Oh no! It is the big man, President Hutchings! If he is calling to transfer me I will promise I will do better. I will work harder. I promise next time I wont eat the last slice of banana cream pie! I am praying in my heart that everything will be ok. Maybe he just needs to ask me something. Yeah, that is what it is. He just has a simple question to ask me. I am thinking these things but no, I was wrong. He has good news for me. I received my visa! I leave for Brazil this Monday. I have been waiting almost a year for my visa and now it is finally here. It is a good thing but... I feel torn now. Of course, once I feel like I know where I am going something like this comes and throws me off track. I finally felt like I knew where I was going with things. I was getting the hang of being a District Leader (the one who oversees a few other missionaries). I was really enjoying training a new missionary. I was finally getting the roads of the area down and finding many great people to teach. I was seeing many great miracles happen. I had come to love my district and area more than I ever thought I would. I have given my heart to the area and mission. I have lost myself in the work of the Lord. The Nashville, Tennessee mission has become a part of me and now I will start all over again. I have no clue where I am going anymore. I feel lost and I will have to find myself all over again. I feel myself falling.... No! I wont let myself fall again. I had just learned from my district the importance of staying positive and being grateful for the blessings in which I have received. I have to treasure these memories that I have made. I know that as long as I am grateful and follow my Savior I will be on the right track. There is only one correct way and it is his. I have realized that as I pass by the scenery and events will change but the destination will not. There is only one track to our Heavenly Father and it is the way of his son. I know that if I am following the Savior's tracks I will never be lost. I will be on path. I will make it to the end. I love my district and people of my area! I am grateful for the things in which I have learned from them. The friendship that have been made the the love that has been shared. However, I must go the way the Lord wants me to! I know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God! He suffered and died for me so he could show me the way! I will follow him and do all I can to help others follow him. To help them receive the restored gospel. I love my Savior with all my heart and I will do his work. There is none who can deny me of my testimony of the Savior. There is none that can stop me from doing his will. There is none who can stop me from sharing his love.