Last Monday we had an awesome P-day that we spent as a zone
at President Ayre's house. We had a taco fest that Elder Seda cooked for us,
and we played games and jumped on the tramp with President. It was a lot of
fun.
Last week we also started waking up earlier to go running
every day. Today I ran 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). It's fun and all... but I'm
pretty tired. The problem is that 3 of the 6 of us Elders here have put on
quite a bit of weight, which is why we all started running… haha.
This week we worked really hard to find new people to teach
and we have quite a few possibilities for baptism in the weeks to come. Ana is
progressing really well to be baptized this Saturday and she is really excited.
She came to the Christmas dinner on Saturday, church on Sunday, and the Family
Home Evening at the church last night. She loves it all.
Andrea is doing really well and this week brought two
friends of hers for us to teach. After teaching her what missionary work is,
she has really gotten into inviting her friends to learn about the gospel.
This week I have been studying a lot on the life of the
Savior and the Plan of Salvation, putting emphasis on the Atonement. I have
learned so much. It must have been a hard decision for our Heavenly Father to
create the plan that He did. Not only did He know that not all of His children
would be able to come back to Him, NONE of them would be able to come back to
him because none of us are perfect. He had to make the very hard decision to
allow His Beloved Son, the only one who lived a sin free life, suffer for all
the sins of all of His brothers and sisters in order to enable us to have the
opportunity of returning to Him, if we will accept said sacrifice. God must be
just. If He were unjust, He would cease to be God. Thus it is only through
this atoning sacrifice that we can receive the mercy that we need to
return. I imagine that the Father suffered just as much as the Son in that
moment. He suffered so much that He commanded Abraham to sacrifice his only son
Isaac so that at least one person would be able to know how He would feel. I'm
so grateful for my Savior and for my loving Father, especially in this special
season of Christmas. I love Him so much for all that He has done and is doing
for me. My best Christmas gift was one that was given over 2000 years ago, and
what a privilege it is to share this message of hope as one of His official
representatives. This is what Christmas is about. Not the lights, the tree,
Santa Claus, Papa Noel, or presents. The best gift has already been given. I
wish each and every one of you the very best Christmas yet.
Que la fuerza les acompañe.
Love,
Elder John William Garrett
No comments:
Post a Comment