Zone Conference
That aside, good morning! And happy Halloween! Man. It was a year ago today that I got my mission call.
Feels like it was forever ago haha. Weird to think I am where I am now though. Before the mission, everything in life for me felt like that's what it was leading up to, and now I'm here! And that only makes me want to use my time better, because I know it won't last long.
Anyways, we had a super good week this week! I'll talk more about the actual week towards the end, but there was a big theme and a lot that I learned about myself this week that I'd like to write about first.
I am very independent...or at least I like to be. That's something I've always known about myself. I've never liked having to rely on others or being a burden to them because 1) I didn't want them to deal with my problems and 2) I didn't like relying on others because it made me feel weak. It showed that I actually wasn't able to make it on my own. This is still a trait I carry around out here sometimes. While being independent it nice and good in certain situations, there's also such a thing as being independent to a fault, and that's where it becomes a hindrance to our progression.
This past week though, I read through some of the letters I'd received before the mission from family and friends. I can't even begin to explain the joy, strength, love, and peace that they brought to me. From the inspiring words of my older sister to the happiness in the words of a new friend, I realized I'd been trying too hard for too long on my own. This all initiated a study that also ties in with a topic from zone conference this week. I took some to read and pray about the purpose of our dependency in this life on those around us and more importantly, on the Savior. Here's what I learned!
"Sometimes before we go to bed I dress up in normal clothes. Ees for fun."
God never meant for us to go it alone. We have weaknesses for a reason. All those around us have weaknesses for a reason. Their purpose is not so we can throw a pity party, but so that we can draw from each other's strengths. In exodus 4, God talks to Moses about how his brother Aaron will be a spokesman for him. God has given us the people around us so we can work more effectively together. There is always something we can do to help those around us, and there is always something to learn from them as well. The Lord also commands us in Luke 22 by saying
"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."
Sometimes though, we are the one who stands in need of strengthening. And that's okay. So! I first just wanted to say thank you for everything you've done for me. You have all been a great support, and I've failed to express enough gratitude for that. I promise to try harder from here on out!
Ultimately, however, we must rely on the Lord. Helaman 5 has one of my favorite scriptures.
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)
His foundation is the only foundation that is everlasting. And it's not that we only turn to him when our strength runs out. We rely on him always. I know that's something I need to work on. I've tried for a long time to try to do this work without him because I feel like he's already done enough and I want to show him I can do good things. But every time I try, I seem to fall short. And there's a reason. We cannot get to heaven on bridges built by our own hands. We cannot reach his standards on our own. It has always been and will only ever be possible with Christ, and that's something to be happy about. Why? Because he loves us. It's okay to be independent to a point, but we must never allow our pride to get between us and the Savior. It's difficult admitting that I cannot do it on my own, but when I know when we embrace that truth, love and strength come pouring into our lives.
Also, like I said, we had zone conference! We went up Thursday and came back Friday afternoon. There were a lot of good things said, but my favorite was the thought that God has literally given angels charge concerning us. We talked about the scripture in D&C 84 where it talks about how we'll have angels on our right and on our left to bear us up. That is a literally promise. It reminded me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible, in 2 Kings chapter 6. There's a war going on and it's Israel vs. Syria so it's already a scary time. Elisha keeps telling the king of Israel what the king of Syria will do and it gets to the point where the king of Syria things he's got a spy or traitor amongst his servants. He finds out it's actually the prophet who's telling the king of Israel what's going on, and he sends an army - an entire ARMY - to get this guy. The encamp the city by night, and this happens:
"15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? (Btws this is us in our moments of panic and despair when we feel like hope is lost)
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha."
The big point for me here is that we can cover our eyes with the cloud of doubt and fear all we want, but when the day comes that we are ready to see, God will show us the heavenly hosts that have always surrounded us. Just know that in whatever moment or situation you may find yourself, as long as you're doing the right things, you're never alone. He's with you always. So don't fear to do good, but actually do good with the confidence that He's watching over you.
Yeahhhhh this is long so I'm just going to wrap up with a few quick happenings of the week.
"A really terrible picture of Rome I took from Villa Borghese when we were there for the Nelson conference. That bigger building in the distance is the Vatican"
"When you're taking longer exposure pictures
"you have to be really good at keeping your hands still
"but I'm really terrible at it"
We also went to Bari on Monday for p day and played zone soccer! Ah man I miss soccer so much😭 anziano Young and I also only spoke Italian this week, and it was so much fun! Italian is such a beautiful language. You all should learn it😉
we also had stake conference yesterday!
Again, it was in Bari. Yup. Went to Bari three times this week😂 Saturday was a really hard night for both me and anziano young, and we didn't seem to be having much success. It got to the point where we stopped trying to talk to people for a few minutes. We were near the church anyways, and that's where we were trying to go. A thought came to my mind again though to keep on trying. We tried talking to a family, and they actually stopped and talk to us for awhile! Yeah a crazy guy came and distracted us and the family ended up walking away, but we did have enough time to just explain that families are extremely important to us as members of the church. Keep trying even when you don't feel like you can! Also read a super good talk this morning called "Finding Joy in Life" from April 1996 by elder Scott.
If you have a few extra minutes, give it a read.
We were also walking home one night when we could hear someone watching Harry Potter in their home.
Man I love Halloween.
Don't forget that today can be something special, aye?
Vi voglio bene! Sempre e con tutto il mio cuore!
May the glory ever be to God
Anziano Hansen
Dear Anziano Hansen,
ReplyDeleteMay the Lord continue to bless you and watch over you and your companion as you serve in the Rome Italy Mission. Arohanui from the fam in Brisbane Queensland Australia. :)