LETTER #83 - NURNBERG

Hello hello,

 

First happy fathers day dad, sorry we don't get to phone on that day too ha. Sounds like it was a cool day though. I would like to see those pictures of the boys cliff jumping if you could do that somehow? 

Our past week was good though. It was the first week of the new transfer. Elder Durrant went to Frankfurt on Wednesday with the group of Elders in the zone getting transferred and came back in the afternoon with the new Elders coming in to the zone. So I spent that day with Elder Wilde here in Nürnberg. Then Wednesday night right after Elder Durrant got back we went straight to a couple appointments then tausched that night with the Elders in Erlangen. So that day went quick and the next day too. I think tausches make weeks go by really quick.

It was fun though I worked on Thursday with Elder Gautreaux from Texas. I was in Frankfurt back in January or so when he first got into the field. Every transfer when new missionaries come in there is a little thing we do downtown Frankfurt in the walking only shopping area. Missionaries from the zone that are close enough would come and then all the new ones and we'd sing and talk to people. It was always fun with the new missionaries their first time talking to people and all. I worked with Elder Gautreaux for a bit though when he first came in, now I was able to work with him for real on tausch. Nows he's been out here like over 5 months I think. Crazy how fast that went by. Its really cool to see the development of the missionaries and how they all progress. So much happens in all that time. Days are packed with different things then those days fill the weeks then those weeks fill those months and things go before you know it.

Elder Durrant knows how to read music and all so he's been showing me how to sing different parts of songs. We've been practicing  O My Father, if thats what its called in english, and got it down pretty good. We made a little spiritual thought around it and have been visiting members and investigators and doing it for them. Then one of the members in the bishopric heard we sang from a member and now we are supposed to do a musical number thing in sacrament next week ha. Its cool though I'm pretty sure right now we have about a 90% cry rate. So this transfer we are going to try to learn as many as we can and arrange them cool and sing them for people. I basically leave the arranging and showing me how to Elder Durrant then I just do my part and it seems to work well ha. Music is an awesome way to bring the spirit and share powerful messages with people.

Throughout my mission I have come to realize and understand how true the law of the harvest is. You reap what you sow. Elder Scott talked about it a little in his talk called The Transforming Power of Faith and Character. He talks about the 'axiom' we know, you get what you pay for. He says ''this is also true in spiritual matters as well. You get what you pay for in obedience, in faith in Jesus Christ, in diligent application of the truths you learn.'' Its now is more clear to me and seems like common sense. If you want something you do something for it. In the spiritual sense as well. If you want to have a spiritual experience or learn something from a Sacrament meeting or from General Conference, then you must prepare for it. Put something into it on your part and you will get something out. I do not believe we can rightfully expect to get anything out of it without doing our part first. Elder Bednar also says something related to this. He said in April conference 2010 ''The spiritual understanding you and I have been blessed to receive, and which has been confirmed as true in our hearts, simply cannot be given to our children. The tuition of diligence and of learning by study and also by faith must be paid to obtain and personally ''own'' such knowledge.'' Take your claim on the things God has prepared for you by doing something for them. 

Elder N. Eldon Tanner in 1975 said ''Remember also that nature never pays an unearned account and she never fails to pay one that has been earned.'' You could not earn it and perhaps benefit from something for a while, for the things to be permanent however you must earn it. Then you can obtain it and ''own'' it as Elder Bednar says. In Alma 41:15 it says ''...that which ye do send out shall return unto you again, and be restored...'' What we pay for and what we earn will rightfully be ours, whether now or later. That is an eternal law. If we sit around and expect to somehow receive a testimony from God it will probably not come. If we are light minded and not focused and enter a Sacrament meeting then expect to be spiritually uplifted and to learn it will not be very likely. If you enter a class having not prepared and are not focused, but expect somehow the teacher to spiritually touch you and teach you; you are expecting a very hard thing from the teacher, for a teacher cannot teach a testimony. They may simplify gospel truths and make things understandable but you alone can plant them in your heart, act on them, and give them the chance to grow. 

We cannot go through our lives expecting things to come from nothing. No matter what area of our lives it may be. We must be proactive and take initiative to do our part in order to affect results positively that will come in the future. We will have an affect on what happens. Whether we do something or do not do something will simply determine what we get back. It literally is on you. You determine whether or not you receive the many wonderful blessings your Heavenly Father is holding ready for you. If we do not feel we have felt his influence much in our lives lately or the influence of the spirit, then we would be smart to first see what WE have been doing lately. Not to simply become bitter at God for something of which we are actually the root cause. This will blind and numb us, and continue to blind us and numb us and it will become more dangerous the longer we allow this to continue. It will also become harder and harder to open our eyes and see clearly, to open our hearts humbly and feel clearly. We will begin to rationalize and justify our actions incorrectly because of our fogged perception of what is actually going on. If we would step back out of the fog by humbling ourselves and turning to God for a clear view, we would see what we now can do to fix these things and clear the fog causing us to stumble through life. Making the right decisions and taking the right action will lead us up out of the fog to the peaks of the mountains where we have a beautiful and clear view. 

I am grateful God is our Heavenly Father. That he wishes the best for us, and that he understands the eternal goals so much better then we do. So that with his perspective he can guide us through the spirit in our lives. Everyone of us can choose how our relationship to the one with the clear view will be. We will also choose the clarity and amount of guidance that comes into our lives. I hope we will all do our part, pay as much as we can, and thereby receive the blessings of the greatest worth.

I hope you are all doing well. Continue moving forward, serving and loving. enjoy the week and make the most out of your time. love you all,

Elder Puriri

LETTER #69 - FRANKFURT

Hello!
It’s finally getting warmer here! You almost don't even have to wear a coat. I guess it’s warm enough not to but to avoid getting sick randomly I still am. Sun isn't shining but it is warmer, which probably means rain. Weather is how it is though so whatever. The last week was good though!

 
Lots of the people we are teaching right now were busy last week so we weren't able to meet with many of them, but that gave us time to go find new people! Wednesday night our phone rang, when I answered I couldn't tell who it was. She was saying 'it’s your mother' but in German. So I was confused obviously ha. Then she started laughing and said it was Sister Muhlestein! It was pretty funny, she basically was my mom in Nordhausen. They were in Frankfurt for the night before they left home. They had served their mission and were going home! I couldn't believe it. They were at a restaurant in downtown Frankfurt and asked if we could come by quickly to see them. I was way excited to go see them again and we had time to go down there.

 
On the way there I talked to this man sitting next to me in the tram. We had an interesting conversation. He was not willing to learn more, but he explained to me he had 2 sons who were also around my age. He said he wishes they also had an anchor to hold them solid like I have. He basically told me a lot about how he finds it so interesting that he sees so many different young missionaries like me. Young men, taking time to go teach others about Jesus Christ. He didn't understand exactly why we do it, but he has a lot of respect for it. I tried to explain why and to bear my testimony, the time was short though and he got out. It’s interesting to see the little effects we have on people. The way what us just being here makes them think. With the over 50 thousands missionaries out there. It’s hard to think all 50 thousand plus of us go out just because we're told to or because we're bored or don't know what else to do. We go and do this because we have a love for our Father in heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And this important message is the only thing that will truly, eternally help anyone.

 
We got out at the tram stop and hurried quick to the restaurant I was really excited. I was thinking how weird it is that almost a year ago I got to Nordhausen. And that the Muhlesteins had only been out for a little while. Now they are leaving! I thought a lot about all the different things that happened there and the awesome experiences and things I was able to learn. It was so cool to be able to see them once more before they left. We were able to talk shortly, I found out more about how things in Nordhausen are. They are wonderful people! I learned a lot from the Muhlesteins and was very grateful to be able to see them again before they left.

 
It was almost 9 as we left them so we were half jogging back to the tram stop trying to hurry to get home. Just before we got to the entrance to the underground a man walked by us Elder Amandoron quickly spoke to him. He stopped, and listened. We talked for 15 minutes about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. He was from India and was leaving Germany the next morning. He only gave us his email so we emailed him with a way to contact the church and the website mormon.org. He was really cool and you could see he was sincere in his current search for religion. We had hurried by so many people on the way there but Elder Amandoron said he felt like we needed to talk to him as we almost jogged past him. We did, and even if we can't do much more to help him right now, we feel like we made an impression. Hopefully things will work out for him.

 
This week we also had 2 tausches where I was able to learn a lot. I was here in Frankfrut with Elder Gunnell for one and the other I was in Usingen with Elder Metcalf. They are both hard working Elders, it’s definitely a blessing to be able to serve with all of them. I am learning more and more to simply love working. It’s a blessing to be able to work. And so many blessings come from work. Obviously we get tired, hungry, or whatever else, but there is something about just pushing through.

 
I compared it in my mind a lot this week to soccer. When you’re running to a 50/50 ball. Racing your opponent. Often your shoulder to shoulder, he's elbowing you, pulling your shorts or jersey, trying to step in front of you, your legs are beginning to sting and burn. One of my favorite feelings was to be in this 50/50 race. You're both at a sprint. As all this is happening the best feeling was to push harder! Break this barrier. Often I'd think I was already running my fastest, but I was still shoulder to shoulder with the kid. I didn't want to have to deal with him when I got to the ball. So I'd think what if I just pushed a little harder...and a little harder, slowly I'd pull away, gain distance, and get to the ball first. It was such a rewarding feeling to feel myself actually speeding up instead of slowing down; when I already thought I was at my full speed.

 
The mission is the same!! So often you feel like you're already giving everything, working your hardest. Then you think...what if I pushed it, what if I talked to one more person, what if I pushed through this sting and burn? The coolest thing is the feeling that comes as you are doing that and then afterward. Continually pushing the previous limit. You slowly recognize limits are mental.

 
As I compared this to soccer I realized once you win that 50/50 it is definitely not done. You don't push your hardest then push some more to get to the ball touch it stop and say ''I won''. You get to the ball then push even harder. Now you have to be moving faster than the kid behind you and so does the ball. You just created more work for yourself. But then you send the perfect pass, take the perfect shot. The work continues and becomes increasingly harder throughout the 90 minutes. It is not over until the whistle is blown. Then can you breathe, then can you rest a little.

 
It’s the same here. You think ok I'll push it, I'll talk to more people, I'll extend more invitations, I'll work better with the members, I'll help the other missionaries more. Continually pushing yourself, continually creating more work becoming accountable for more and more. But for some reason it becomes more enjoyable, easier to do, you begin organizing better, you’re more focused, the spirit is stronger, you simply having more fun.

 
Soccer is like a mission ha. You've been working hard all day, it’s almost 9 and you’re heading home. You get in a tram and sit down dead tired and hungry. Your eyes keep shutting and your head dropping in between stops. Then a man gets in and sits down by you. (88 minute, legs are burning, you have cotton mouth, haven't been subbed yet. You just got kneed in the calf and it’s cramping. 50/50 ball sent in the air over your direction. You know you’re not supposed to let it bounce and risk losing it) Your eyes are heavy, you want to just sleep for the next few stops. But you know you should talk to the guy, and you don't know how soon he'll get out. You take a deep breath, push off the thought that he'll get another chance, look up, smile, and begin the conversation. (you take a deep breath, and push away the thought that someone else will get it and take off towards the ball as fast as you can. you push through the pain, don't let down, and you’re the first to the ball.) You continue smiling; fight off the distractions of sleep, food, and whatever else is around. You bring the conversation to the gospel and invite him to learn more. He gives you his contact information and you make out an appointment. You now have an appointment, and you push diligently forward and decide how you're going to handle that now. (You now have the ball and your pushing forward as fast as you can. You now decide what you’re going to do with it.) This is the beginning of the work, the building up to the greater joys.

 
Of course the ball doesn't have free agency; you can make it do whatever you want. A Soul is most definitely different. But you still do all you can to help them to use their agency correctly. The rewarding feelings come along the way. When you make out an appointment, when someone agrees to keep a commitment, when they keep the commitment, when they are baptized, when they enter the temple, and in many other things. (When you win a ball, send a good pass, give a good assist, score a goal, and other ways). But it is not over until it is over. And we cannot rest until it is over. No matter how tired or warn out we are. You play until the whistle.

 
There is a quote from Elder Christofferson that basically sums this all up, ''Work builds and refines character, creates beauty, and is the instrument of our service to one another and to God. A consecrated life is filled with work, sometimes repetitive, sometimes menial, sometimes unappreciated but always work that improves, orders, sustains, lifts, ministers, aspires''.

 
I've experienced this, and am very grateful for this. It’s in the little things where the big differences are made. Keeping all the little rules, having a good study, planning seriously. (Working back, being the 2nd defender, staying ball side/goal side, pushing up or back even when you don't think you're in the play). As he said, many of these things are menial, sometimes unappreciated, but they always improve, order, sustain, lift, minister, and aspire.

 
I am grateful for the opportunity to work, for the capability to push harder than I thought I could and for the simple joys and truths in hard work.

 
I love you all, and I hope you are all doing good. Thank you for everything. Have a good week!
Elder Puriri