This is going to be a little different structured email this week, we got quarantined on Tuesday and not a whole lot has happened since then. We have been doing a lot of online stuff, and using Facebook to be doing things :). I've been doing a little of some Spanish study on Duolingo, so that's been pretty fun. I workout twice a day to stay moving and not go crazy. So I decided to make this email into a little bit of a talk, and share with you guys what I've been thinking about lately.
How is everyone's Book of Mormon reading going? I hope super super good! I encourage all of us to do our best in the next 12 days til General Conference to read as much as we can about Jesus Christ and ponder ways we can hear Him in our lives. ❤
Tuesday: So Elder and Sister Weidman wanted us to go to downtown Columbus (right by OSU campus) and help them move furniture and things into an apt that WOULD be for a senior couple. So we did that on Tuesday morning and then went and got Dairy Queen through the drive through haha ;) All of the senior couples in the mission have been sent home, so we only have the Weidmans, Newmans, and Elder Bower. We have about 30-ish missionaries going home in the next 7 or 8 days with all the announcements and adjustments that have been made recently.
Saturday and Sunday were pretty normal. We were able to have a couple really good Skype lessons with a few member families, and that was super fun! And then we had the sacrament just here at the apt on Sunday. :)
My talk:
So I wanted to talk about the principle of HOPE. As I was thinking about HOPE this week and what it means to me to "hope for things which aren't seen", I was reminded why one individual must have hope. Hope isn't something that one can simply say they want without having a true desire to HOPE for things which they truly desire to happen.
This week, I have been at the apt complex all day everyday and I don't think up to this point in my life, I have ever felt more inclined to get down on my knees and pray than I did over the last 7 or 8 days. I listened to a song by Hillary Scott, titled, "Thy Will be Done". In the song, she says, "I know that you are God, and I am not". Those 10 words hit me very strong. God is in control, and as hard as it seems right now, I have a basket full of HOPE that the light is coming towards us, all we have to do, is accept the Lords will and move forward with hope and faith.
Take Jesus Christ and His Atonement for example. Jesus Christ sat in the garden of Gethsemene and wept to the Father, and said, "Father, wilt thou take this cup from me, nevertheless not my will, but thine be done". Christ had the HOPE that if He just put His trust in Heavenly Father, everything would work out the way it was supposed to. But what Christ also did, was He acted on the Father's will. In today's world, people want hope, but are they truly willing and accepting of the 'will and what He wants for them to do?
Hope is an action word, it is something that has to happen in order to have something else happen. Take the parable of the Leper. The Leper had leprosy all over him and Christ simply told him to go wash in the river Jordan. The Leper had 2 choices to make.
1.) To go ask someone else for help and advice.
2.) Follow Jesus Christ and have hope that even though he couldn't see what was at the end of the tunnel, he could be healed.
It is super cool that not only can we have HOPE for things in our life, but that if we put just a little trust and faith along with that hope, Heavenly Father turns the HOPE/circumstance into a big and beautiful flower that can continually grow and grow everyday.
I know HOPE isn't always easy to have, especially in every crazy thing that is happening today. But I do know, through every last ounce of my breath, that HOPE in Jesus Christ is the way, is the path to lead.
Happy
Optimism
Perseverance
Endure
This is what hope means to me :) ❤ What does it mean to all of you? :) Hope is so so awesome :)
That would be my invitation to all of us today: Everyday, plant a seed in the ground and then have faith and nourish it; and then just like the song says, "Faith is trust in God above; in Christ who showed the way". So once we have the HOPE planted firmly in our own ground, have Faith that Jesus Christ will show the way.
I am grateful for the aspect of HOPE and that the light of Christ will always be there as we turn to Him and as we exercise a particle of HOPE and give our seed to Christ to allow Him to turn it into something stronger and more beautiful.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Mom:
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to YOU, Happy birthday dear Mom, Happy Birthday to you. (On Friday March 27th 😉)" I am so so very grateful for you and that March 27 happened, because the earth gained an angel of a person, and we gained an angel of a Mom, Wife, and friend :)💗 Thank you for all that you do and for your kindness and example to everyone around you! You truly are a light to everyone, and the #1 Mom ever ❤❤
How is Salem doing? Are you guys excited for Spring break in just a few weeks? Tell Carson Peterson hi for me. He is coming home today because they sent home the whole Singapore mission today.
I pray for you guys daily, and I miss you all so much. I'm so glad to hear that everyone is doing great and staying busy and having a lot of fun with everything you have going on ❤
I love YOU Forever and Always! :)
Elder Dylan
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