We
have been getting some crazy weather up here! Pretty abnormal, I hear,
but whatever. Saturday morning we woke up to almost 4 inches of fresh
snow. That presented a great service opportunity for us to help some
people in the two wards we serve in and make some more connections.
Then that night it got down below zero I think, although exactly how
cold I'm not sure. Here's one picture I took from our car's data:
And
that was Sunday night, too. I think Saturday night it got a little
colder than that. Brrr!! It hasn't been too bad though with a good
coat and a good car. :) I am still alive, although I might be buying
some thermals today just to help a little.
We had a ward Christmas party this past week for one
of the wards, and it was a great opportunity to meet people! We got to
help serve food, and I loved being able to meet members and nonmembers
in that way. These wards are quite a bit bigger than the last one I
served in for sure! I am excited to draw from the potential that is
here. There is work enough to do ere the sun goes down!
And as a side note, I still am surprised at how many
people I have met here that have El Paso connections! In the past week
I have met 3 or 4 people who lived in El Paso, with a few more who have
relatives that have lived there! Most of them were there a while ago,
but it's still fun to find those connections.
The big miracle for the week was in meeting with one
of our investigators James. We had talked about how we wanted to set a
baptismal date for him this lesson. We walked in and started the
lesson, and he said "Yeah, I'm thinking I want to get baptized somewhere
around Christmas." Haha, he pretty much set the date himself! So it's
looking like we're going to have a white Christmas in more than one
way..... No pun intended..... Just kidding....
In other news, the first night I got to this area we
went to the ward mission leader's home to meet him and his wife. She
was super excited to learn that I played piano and sang. She had me
play something for her, and I was happy to do so on her phenomenal 10
foot grand Steinway. Turns out that she used to be the head of the
music department at BSU, and honestly that doesn't surprise me from how
she wasted no time in getting me involved with this and that and telling
just about everybody in the ward that I am musical. Those music people
know how to get you and get you QUICK! (cough cough MOM cough cough)
Haha I am pretty stoked though! Music is the BOMB! And it is a great
missionary tool. More updates on that later. It has already helped us
build relations with one part-member family in the ward.
The thought for the week comes from 2 Nephi 31. It talks about how "the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water."
After thinking about that, I can really agree! The process of
repentance and baptism is designed to jumpstart us onto the path of
discipleship. If we only get baptized without repenting, it is just
like walking up to the gate, going through the motions of opening it,
and not actually going through. If we view baptism as the end-all, we
just stay inside the gate, leaning on the fence without going anywhere.
However, if we view it as a beginning of a journey, then it serves its
true purpose of helping us come to Christ. And oh boy, what a journey
that is! Sometimes I look back and think "Man, if I only knew what I
was getting into when I got baptized...." And then I think of all the
great joys and blessings I have received, and of course it is all worth
it. Following God is always worth it.
Love
you all! Have a fantastic week. Hopefully you're not as cold as it is
up here, but I guess if you are then we can just enjoy the cold
together. Yay for winter! :P
--Elder Usevitch
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