Week #52

Hello!!

This week was another good one out here in the koewarasan jungle! I'm loving it here being th only missionaries in our branch! We had a pretty good week. We had to do a bunch of random stuff because my companion is a zone leader but we had some pretty cool experiences. I'll start with a very funny experience with Elder Hood. So we are going to make an appointment for our van and we get there, we close all the door and walk in and make the appointment. We walk out to leave and I see Elder Hood is banging his head on the window and I look inside and there are the keys on the center console.. We then make the walk of shame back into the dealership to ask if there was some way to help. So basically what ended up happening is two guys just tried to break into the van with a hanger and that didn't work so we had to get a taxi and go all the way over to another elders apartment and get the spare and then all the way back. Very funny time. 

We had a pretty sweet experience with our investigators Mieto and Marchinie. We had called them for church and Marchinie was all ready to go but Mieto had come home at 6 in the morning... and claimed he was too tired to come. So Elder Hood was very bold and said go get your clothes and get ready and your ride with be here very soon. they end up coming to church but that night we had an appointment with them and he said how he really just didn't want to. He sent marchinie with the ride that came but he said that he sat there to think and all of a sudden all his tiredness went away and he came on the his bromfiets to church. It was super cool. He is currently trying to overcome some word of wisdom trials but we fasted with him this last week and also shared with his the story of the anti-nephi-lehis and how they buried their weapons. I am confident he will bury his weapons!

Scripture of the Week 1 Nephi 19:9
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.

I loved this scripture. The thing that stuck out to me obviously to anyone is the intense suffering the savior went through but for me it was the long suffering. One of the foot notes was "Forbear" I looked up the definition for Forbearance and found "patience with something or someone troublesome, frustrating or tiresome" Who's grateful for the long suffering of the Savior? I know I am. It's so comforting to know that in the heat of trails and constant shortcomings and stumbling blocks that just seem like they will never get better, Christ never once get's frustrated or impatient, God our Father in heaven as well has the same attitude. Because they know that we are being shaped into the person that they want us to become. Becoming is my favorite aspect of the gospel. Christ invited us to become and that includes stretching, falling down and experiencing trials. But Christ is always there to lift us up. I am grateful for this restored Gospel that saves and offers hope.

-Elder Lewis