2. She is a natural at relating to people and making the gospel personal.
3. She is from Chile.
4. So yeah, the term "language barrier" has taken on a whole new meaning.
5. But that's okay.
6. Cause I'm going to learn Spanish and she is learning English.
7. Also, she is one of the most patient people I've ever met.
Seriously, Hermana Soza is the best! We knocked a lot this week and she never complained. Her testimony really is incredibly powerful and her Spanish is already the bomb. ;) I am really excited to be with her until Thanksgiving!
I discovered the blog on Mormon Channel last week and really love it. There is a series called "His Grace". You should all watch "From Gang Member to Good Man". It is a really cool story! Also, I really like the article "Do Good of your Own Free Will".
But sanctification is not the result of disengagement and withdrawal from the world. This earth is overflowing with the good and virtuous, and it is our responsibility to seek out these things. Hugh Nibley writes, “If every choice I make expresses a preference; if the world I build up is the world I really love and want, then with every choice I am judging myself, proclaiming all the day long to God, angels and my fellowmen where my real values lie, where my treasure is, the things to which I give supreme importance.” We craft our own lives. This is an empowering and ennobling truth. Yet even in our best attempts to do so, things can fail miserably. In every interaction with the world we are exposed and vulnerable, but it is in these moments God’s grace is made available to us.
The reverence I feel toward the Savior is an acknowledgement of my own fragility. I know I need Him. I know through Him I can receive the strength I need to live abundantly. How can this not humble me? As I acknowledge the Lord’s mercy in my own life, it becomes easier for me to extend a human-sized portion of that same mercy to the people around me. With an acute awareness of my own weaknesses, judging and criticizing the people around me seems an absurd thing to do.
There isn't much I can add to make this better. This is something I am definitely learning from my mission. I am grateful for the fact that God knows all of our hearts and what our desires really are. He also knows if we are really working towards our desires or not too. But we don't know where other people are, so all we can do is offer our support and example.
I love all of you and miss you like crazy! I hope school is going well! (And Lacrosse and Water Polo, of course!)
-Sister Bren Scadden