¿Como va todo? I hope you're all enjoying the frigid North American winter. Not sure I miss it.
This
week, we lost the light in our apartment. My old companion always paid
the bills and it kinda slipped my mind. So yeah, we were just straight
studying and I get up to turn the light on and boom, nothing. Hahaha so
we go down to the owner of the building, and she asks if we've checked
the mail. "Uhhh, no." Turns out we had gas and electric dating back to
Dec. 600 pesos. That, we went to RapiPago, a place to pay bills. Not
sure there's an American equiv because we pay by mail or internet. Here,
its straight cash. Well, the RapiPago in our area wasn't able to
reinstate the light, and they sent us to the RapiPago downtown. Anyways,
2 days later, after losing an afternoon of teaching, let there be
light!
The 2 days sans luz were pretty crummy. The freezer
and fridge died obviously, and now thanks to the various perishables we
were keeping that have since gone nice and warm, the whole apt smells
like Brigham (j/k - Brigham only stinks after football). When we planned for the following day, we had to use the
piece of junk flashlights we brought. Wasn't really that bad, but the
combo of a bad day of teaching and no light, I was kinda down Thursday.
Another brief, seemingly unrelated exp: We taught
Rita Wayar and her fam 2 times this week. We'd basically given up on her
for now, even tho she's come to church 4 times, because shes so freakin
hard hearted and knows it. She wants to know "why." Why do we have to
suffer? Why did we have to come to earth if we lived with God before? We
helped her guide herself to some answers, concluding with the
preposition that the Church is true and exists to guide us back to God
better than we were before and that she must know for herself.
Why couldn't we have just stayed with God? The
answer: we wanted a body so we could live like God lives. (When this
doesn't make sense, call the local missionaries - they'll fill in the
gaps because they're not typing this profound doctrine on a crappy
Argentine keyboard with 27 mins left on the email clock). We knew it was
gonna stink on ice at times, but also that it'd be necessary to learn
and grow. We also knew that we would each be sent to a different
apartment with a different degree of light, but that these circumstances
and knowledge of the Plan would shape the person we'd become for the
best.
The great challenge of life, the great blessing of
the Plan, is that we are given our agency to decide what we want, what
we'll do, where we'll go, and who we'll be.
We often go along sitting in our apartments, subconsciously enjoying the
light. We take it for granted and really don't even think about it.
Life is good. The challenge, thus, is that we really don't comprehend
that we have the ability and opportunity to have so much more light.
Perhaps for some, we've just never been to Home Depot and seen the dope
50000w light bulbs marketed by God Inc. Maybe it doesn't matter to us
what kind of light it is, as long as there's light. Perhaps we're just
content with the light bulbs we have now. The point is, unfortunately we
almost always wait for our lights to go out to go to Home Depot or
RapiPago to get it back on. We only then realize how freakin lost we
are. When times get tough and we can't see, we then go to the source. In
reality, this fall or trial really stinks. It humbles us, changes our perspective, and opens the door to much more light.
So in the grand scheme of God's Plan, where are you?
Who cares right now. Don't wait for the lights to go out, whether for
your own ignorance or forgetfulness, or for some natural consequences.
Trust me, if they aren't already flickering or out now, they will be
pretty soon. We all pass thru our own personal "valley of the shadow of
death." Don't wait to go to Home Depot. Don't wait to go to the light.
Jesus said:
"I am the alight of the world: he that followeth me shall not bwalk in cdarkness, but shall have the light of life." - John 8:12
Jesus Christ established his church, but it was lost
when he was crucified by man. This Church has been restored again in our
time, by Jesus himself. Joseph Smith is the prophet that Heavenly
Father and Jesus Christ chose to organize this restoration. He received
and translated ancient plates written by American prophets into the Book
of Mormon. This Church is the only true way to receive all the light
God has for us.
That sounds kinda far-fetched; I recognize that.
It's either true or its not. I know it's true, and I invite all to get
to know all that the Church has to offer, and then go to the source,
asking with faith if it's true. Don't wait for your light to go out.
I love all of you. Thanks for the many emails I got today. Keep fighting and go to the light!
Elder Blake
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