It's Monday Again!

February 4, 2013

Dear Family & Friends,

It's Monday again!  How is it that it always seems to be Monday?  Transfers ran smoothly and all the missionaries are where they need to be. This week is always especially quick.  We get a little less sleep, especially on these weeks and four of the new missionaries that came in had varying degrees of colds.  Unfortunately, four of us in the office caught it, including myself.  Lots of vitamin C, Orange Juice, and some other neat little things you sent out with me Mom should kick it quick.  This transfer of Missionaries that just came in is a great group.  They will all do well.  It's always a cool experience to see all the new ones come in one day, see a bunch of the mission the next, and then see and say goodbye to the departing missionaries.  We get to see each phase of this as assistants and it is cool to see the transformation that takes place between the arrival of a missionary and a departure of a missionary all within one day.  It's amazing how inadequate we may feel at times, but how the Lord qualifies and strengthens us.  We change, almost imperceptibly at times, and over the course of these 2 years it amazes me the growth that occurs.  I can clearly see how these 18 months to 2 years amplify your spiritual maturity and ability to build God's kingdom for the rest of your life and into eternity.  The things you can learn and acquire in a mission field would take years and years to accumulate elsewhere.  Something that I think is really cool is that even though it will be different back home I can still learn and apply the things I have learned here through studying Preach My Gospel and continuing to look for opportunities each day to be a missionary.  What the mission trains you to do is not just stop after these short few years.  It teaches you how to structure and discipline your life so that you can be an instrument in God's hands wherever you serve.  That is what God asks of us.  That is what we must do.  We can't just spend these two years serving God and then fall off.  That isn't what He asks of us anywhere that I can find.  Instead, He tells us to lose our life for Him and then we will find it.  He tells us to feed His sheep and save His lambs.  He invites us to follow Him and lets us know that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  That is conditional on if we do the things He asks of us.  It really is the easier way.  If we do all that He asks of us we will never regret it.  We will be happy, have peace, and live a life that we can have joy in.  Stark examples and lessons learned here in the field have taught me this.  Thank you everyone back home who helped me get here.  I am eternally grateful for the examples, testimonies, and loving correction that have blessed my life and helped me to become more of what my Heavenly Father desires and knows I can be.  I love Him, my Heavenly Father, and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I know that they live.  We have a Prophet and Apostles today to lead and guide us.  They teach us the doctrine of the Kingdom of God.  I know that the gospel and The Church of Jesus Christ have been restored by the power and authority of God through Joseph Smith.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the word of God and it works in perfect harmony with the Bible and each of the other standard works.  They teach us eternal truth so we can clearly understand our purpose and potential.  I know that the promises found within these sacred texts are true.  I know that this is the way to return to live with our God and family.  I know these things by the power of the Holy Ghost.  I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Elder Weaver