It has been a while since I have taken a decent amount of time to write, so I want to do that today. See where I am at. It is funny how in the moment that I sit down to write this it is the time I take to reflect as well. It is so good and healthy to do that I think. Some of the biggest lessons we can only learn and recognize looking back.
Anyways, so a couple of funny comments to begin.
Today I did something I had never done before. To open the package I received from my family (thanks a bunch!) I did not feel like looking for scissors or a knife, so I used my pen. Something went wrong and I managed to stick it into my thumb pretty good. I just laughed, cleaned it up a bit, and proceeded to use the pen to finish opening the package. I had never drawn blood with a BIC pen before.
On divisions with some other Elders my companion saw that they had some of those little hand exercising grip things. He liked it a lot, so we bought a pair and have been using them the last couple days. I think we will have the most firm handshakes in the whole mission after another couple of weeks.
On a bus this morning we passed by a scene that looked a little funny. There was a car pulled over and surrounded by over 7 huge police trucks with lots of police running around. I figured it would be a pretty ugly scene, but when we passed by on the bus I looked over and just saw a young lady with her little baby in her arms. There was no one else around and so it just looked a little funny to see the young woman and baby surrounded by about 20 policemen. I am sure it was a situation a little more serious, but it did not seem to fit.
On a more serious note, it was a great week. We were able to work almost every day in our own area visiting and getting to know the people here. There is a lot to get done and much good to be done. In visiting different families and people we listened to several heartbreaking stories and histories. It certainly makes me want to be a simple, honest, and loving man and father. So much of the hardship and sadness could be avoided if that were always the case.
In a visit to Puerto Vallarta last week I had a really special experience with the Elders working there (taken from my journal).
"Estabamos enseñando una referencia de la Presidencia de Estaca.
Es un hermano mayor de edad con dificultades de escuchar y
ver bien, pero muy deseoso de aprender. En una de las
primeras lecciones tuvimos la oportunidad de enseñar como
comunicarnos con nuestro Padre mediante la oración.
Apuntamos los pasos de la oración en letra muy grande y casi
tuvimos que gritar para que él nos pudiera entender. Después
de varios intentos en los cuales simplemente leyó los pasos sin
expresar sus propios sentimientos pasó un momento muy
especial. Este hermano de mas que 70 años se dio cuenta de lo
que es una oración. Quizá fue la primera vez en su vida que
habló con su Padre y pidió por sus propias necesidades. Fue
sencillo y muy breve, pero el Espíritu Santo se manifestó. Que
privilegio es ayudar a las personas a conocer a Dios, su
Amoroso Padre y a Su Hijo Jesucristo."
I pasted that and then realized that it was in Spanish and I should probably translate it. So here is the translation.
"We were teaching a referral from the Stake Presidency. He is an older man with hearing problems and does not see well, but with a great desire to learn. In one of the first lessons we had the chance to teach how to communicate with our Father by prayer. We wrote down the basic steps of a prayer in very big letters and almost had to yell so that he could understand us. After several trys where he would just read the steps without expressing his own feelings something really special happened. This brother, more than 70 years old, realized what a prayer is. Perhaps for the first time in his life he spoke with his father and asked for his own needs. It was very simple and brief, but the Holy Ghost manifest itself (in a very soft and sweet way). What a priveledge it is to help people to come to know God, their loving Father, and his son Jesus Christ."
Life is great.
To finish up I want to share something that just came to my mind. Something we said every day as 3rd graders in Mrs. Huitt´s class (if I remember correctly).
Good. Better. Best. Never let it rest, ´til your good is better, and your better is best.
Have a great week!
Elder Brighton
No comments:
Post a Comment