Hey
Guys!
So this week was
pretty cool. Today for P-Day we went to a really cool river called Las Escobas
(which means the brooms; I'm not sure how they name things out here, because
whenever the name isn't the name of a Catholic Saint or some Keq'chi name, it's
something simple like the Doors or the Brooms). We explored there a bit and had
a barbecue, so it was a great P-Day.
This week, we found
and tried two weird fruits that I had no idea existed. One is called masapan (breadfruit)
and tastes like as bland potato when it's fried. The other is called nuni (I
don't know what it's called in English) and it looks like a potato, but is the
most horribly bitter thing you could ever eat. Supposedly it's a Cure-All, but
I never want to try it again...
Recently, the mission
has put a lot of emphasis on the importance of the Book of Mormon. The Book of
Mormon is the key to our religion. If you want to know if everything is true,
just read the book. From there, if you know this book is true, you know that Joseph
Smith was a prophet, and that the church actually is everything it claims to
be. AND the book has a lot of spiritual power, too- just reading it helps your
faith in our Savior grow.
For example:
Mosiah 3:17,19
And moreover, I say
unto you, that there shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means
whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the
name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent.
For the natural man (meaning the sinful man) is an enemy
to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever,
unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the
natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and
becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing
to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a
child doth submit to his father.
Super cool.
This week, Elder
Elkins and I (Elder Santos was away on divisions) were reading this book with
an investigator whose wife had died a year ago. He really misses her, and
wanted to know where she was. So we read Alma 40:11-12:
Now, concerning the
state of the soul between death and resurrection- Behold, it has been made
known unto me by an angel, that the spirits of alll men, as soon as they are
departed from this mortal body, yea the spirits of all men, whether they be
good or evil, are taken home to that God who gave them life.
And then it shall come
to pass, that the spirits of those who are righteous are received into a state
of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a state of peace,
where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all care, and all
sorrow.
We talked about the
promise of this scripture with the man. Jesus came to earth to pay the price
for our sins. Even if we cannot comprehend the difficulties, the deaths, or the
terrible things that happen to us, we CAN comprehend that this life is NOT the
end. Christ has many great things in store for his followers, and the peace and
happiness promised in this scripture is only the first blessing. In this
moment, we promised to that man that his wife was a good person, and, for
having tried to follow Christ all her life, she was in that paradise of peace
and happiness, and she was waiting for the new life promised by Christ's
resurrection.
The man listened
intently as we talked, then read the scripture again and again. He then looked
up at us and said, "Elders, this scripture is wonderful." Those words
were all we needed to hear- knowing we had brought a little comfort to a man
who had wanted it for a long time.
The work is good. The
food is good. The beach is good. The people are good. What more could I want?
Love you guys! See you
next week!
--
Elder Jeffrey Reed
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