Trial of Faith - Trust in The Lord
Well this week was incredible!
Full of amazing ups and some difficult downs. I am in the middle of training Elder Tillman, however I am being transferred along with all of the other missionaries in the valley who were training. They are trying a new program where they put greenies with greenies and are going to see how it works out. I will be transferred to Pueblo West which is about 2 hours away from where I am a now. It is about 2 hours northeast. I have absolutely loved serving in the Valley and more specifically in La Jara. It is such a wonderful place and I almost started crying a little bit when I found out I was leaving. This area is doing so well, we just had an interfaith council with all the leaders of the other faiths in La Jara and were discussing how we can solve common problems in the area. We are putting on a community Potluck for the area and I wish I could be there for it. This interfaith council is going to continue to meet to discuss and solve problems in the area. Everyone we are working with is doing so well and we were picking up many more people as well! I am going to miss La Jara so much. Good News! (or Bad News - depends on how you want to look at it) Pueblo West is a biking area, so I will not have a car. I love biking and I can't wait to be able to bike everywhere. In La Jara, we biked to a lot of appointments and I absolutely loved it. I'm not sure if the next few weeks will change that opinion or not.
So funny story from this past week:
We were teaching a guy who had been taught about a year back and we were teaching him the Restoration, and I felt this prompting several times to extend a baptismal date, and so I did, "Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ, and be baptized by somebody holding the proper priesthood authority of God on September 17th?" His response? "I'm already baptized into the Mormon church." HE WAS ALREADY A MEMBER!!! He was just an inactive member. Pretty funny, but I know that I was supposed to extend that date, maybe it brought back memories or something, I'm not sure if it helped him or not, but he did ending up coming to church on Sunday for the first time in a couple years!
Fun Story:
Saturday we went to help Bishop Coombs (One of my favorite people in the valley... I have a lot of favorite families) (You're welcome Bishop) sort some cattle as well as take out a fence so the T-post wouldn't puncture a hole in his pivot tires. We also tore down a building by tying a chain to the wall then to the truck and we brought it down. (Shoutout to his daughter who drove the truck when actually pulling it down.) It was a great day and I can't say enough how much I like farm and ranch work, it's fun to me. I've thought about coming out here to farm later in life. I absolutely love it out here, the people are so nice - it is a different kind of nice than the south, (Still love the south so much more) but they are still nice.
Spiritual Thought:
So when I got the call Saturday night that I was going to be transferred out of the Valley, I'll be honest with you guys, I was a little upset and did not want to leave. I had to pace around my room for a few minutes and almost started crying. It was very difficult to find out that I was leaving. I am in the middle of training an incredible missionary and I love this area! We are picking up the work and having many quality lessons that are helping bring people closer to Christ - we are trying to help the community become more united. I love the people in this area and absolutely love the beautiful surroundings. It's been very difficult saying goodbye to these people and trying to pack everything up at the same time. The reason this is my spiritual thought is because at dinner Saturday night, about 3 hours before I got the news, I shared a spiritual thought about "Trust in the Lord." Yes I was upset, but that kept coming back to me and kept me calm because I KNEW that this assignment to serve in Pueblo West was what Heavenly Father wanted me to do. I trust in him and know that he knows me best and he knows that people in Pueblo West and I can't wait to visit with them and help them come closer to Christ.
I want to bring up one more thing that touched me on Sunday. I knew I was leaving at this point, however in sacrament meeting in church we sang a song that touched me a lot. The Hymn we sang is Hymn 293 from the LDS Hymnal titled, "Each Life that Touches Ours for Good." Here are the lyrics of the hymn:
1. Each life that touches ours for good
Reflects thine own great mercy, Lord;
Thou sendest blessings from above
Thru words and deeds of those who love.
2. What greater gift dost thou bestow,
What greater goodness can we know
Than Christlike friends, whose gentle ways
Strengthen our faith, enrich our days.
3. When such a friend from us departs,
We hold forever in our hearts
A sweet and hallowed memory,
Bringing us nearer, Lord, to thee.
4. For worthy friends whose lives proclaim
Devotion to the Savior's name,
Who bless our days with peace and love,
We praise thy goodness, Lord, above.
This hymn as we sang it almost made me start to cry because of all the friends I have made here and how all those friends have helped me to come closer to Christ as well. It reminded me of all my friends from back home as well as the ones I have made on the mission. All of these people have in someway helped me become who I am and helped me become closer to Christ.
Proverbs 17:17 says, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
A good friend loveth at all times, and by so doing has a 'brother' to help him through adversity. I have so many people that have helped me through so many tough times and I am so very grateful for them all!
I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week! I hope we all can find ways in which we can be better disciples of Jesus Christ.
Here is an article for you to read that discusses friendship and this Proverbs scripture: A Brother is Born for Adversity
I will send pictures in a separate e-mail. I don't have my cord with me right now and will have to come back a little later to upload those.
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Warmest Regards,
Elder Levi Snow Soller
"Knowing Christ is so much more than knowing his doctrine and teachings."