Week Two

Hola otra vez,

This past week, I've been trying to be like Ammon.  This past week during studies, we read from the book of Mosiah that after the sons of Mosiah had been converted they desired no more to do evil but to do good continually, and the very idea that just one soul should be lost did shake them to their cores.  I'm not there yet, hence the words I'm trying.

I've realized that the first step to successfully teaching the gospel is to love the people you serve.  And while I'm not petrified of my investigators not receiving my message, I've begun to love the people that I serve.  I think that this can especially be seen in the way priesthood blessings have been done here.  Just two days ago, one of the Elders in my district was feeling ill, and had to skip much of classes that day.  That afternoon, my companion and I went over to his apartment and offered him a priesthood blessing.  If I can notice one big difference about that experience compared to others, It would have to have been the magnitude with which the spirit testified to us about what we were doing. It was so much stronger then than it was before my call.  

I've also leaned a lot more about faith.  My district leader told us earlier this week that we need to remember that while we need to have faith in Christ, and his power to lead us, we need to remember that he has faith in us.  I found that to be inspirational at the time, and decided to write that down in my journal later that night.  As I started to write though, the spirit testified to me, and caused me to remember the words of Alma 32.  I was reminded that God doesn't have faith in us, because being God, his faith has been replaced by a perfect knowledge in our abilities and our potential.  In other words, God doesn't have faith in us and our abilities, he has prophesied concerning what we can accomplish through him.  It is then that we place the same level of faith in Christ that he has in us that miracles happen.  

Just a quick summary of this past week: I've been progressing in the language really well.  Last night, I was able to have a conversation with one of my Latino roommates about my trip to Guatemala two years ago.  I received my long term visa today, so I'm officially here to stay.  All of the food here is still great, and I'm making friends with the chef to get the best cuts.  If anyone want to know more, or wants me to add more information, feel free to email me, and I'll try to get back to you by next week.

Elder Gooden