Dear Family,
Hello Everyone! Things are going great here!! We just keep
on chugging along. We had some interesting news this week though.
The older districts going to Taiwan are having some issues with their
visa applications. They changed the Visa app process for Taiwan recently.
So the older district is getting reassigned this week to serve for a
transfer in the U.S. ....We might be in the same boat. It is
looking very probable that we might have the same thing happen. We aren't
sure though. We are still very in the dark. From everything I have
heard we are probably going to end up in the same boat. That is okay
though. I know that because of that it is going to be very hard with the
language and not using it for 6 weeks, but I think it is a very cool
opportunity to serve for a transfer in the U.S. ....Really, it isn't
preferable, but I am not too stressed about it. The work is the same
everywhere. It doesn't matter if we are here or half way around the
world. Notice how it says that the worth of ONE soul is great in the site
of God. It doesn't say that the worth of the people of Taiwan's souls are
more important in the sight of God, It doesn't say that the worth of the
souls in Florida are more great, It says that the worth of ONE soul is great.
No matter where we are. It would be tough, no doubt. However,
I know that it would be amazing.
This
week has been really good, I am going to start working on memorizing
D&C 4 this week I think. That should be tough. I also have a
goal that by the time I leave I will memorizing 30 words a day... Its going to
be crazy tough.. but I think with the Lords help I can do it.
 |
| Elder Lloyd (Singapore), Elder Jowers (Armenia), Elder Redding (Taiwan) Great Buddies Leaving Soon to Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Seeing them together is more joyful than it was to watch them play ball together) |
 |
| Elder Lloyd and Elder Redding - Their Second Fast Sunday together in the MTC wearing the matching ties that four of their other friends wear every Fast Sunday in Nicaragua, Pennsylvania, Equador and Samoa |
Later today we actually have a skype with people from Taiwan.
They are members... so that is nice! haha but they don't speak any
English and our lesson has to be 40 min... hahah so.. We are going to be
relying on the Lord a lot. haha!
There was a really cool thought this week about these last two
weeks and trials. I had this thought about our trials that we all go
through. Its a lot like the 4th Quarter in a football game. That is
a lot of the time the time you feel like giving up, the time you feel the most
tired, the times you feel exhausted and feel like you can't stand. These
are our trials! When I look at every game I have played in... the most
glorious victories always happen in the fourth quarter. You don't remember
the victories where you killed the team and it was over in the first quarter.
They are nice, but the victories that stick out are the victories where
you felt like giving up, where you were tired beyond belief, where you feel
like you can't stand. When you have given it all you had, the victory is
always sweeter. This is a lot like our trials. The hardest trials
in our life end up becoming the biggest learning experiences in our life.
They are the ones we fall back on. They are the ones we remember. I love this. Always remember that we are here to learn and grow.
We aren't here to skate by and just make it through. If this is how
it feels then something is wrong. Days are supposed to be challenging.
However, days are supposed to be joyful. This is where the
atonement kicks in. I had a very hard time understanding this for a long
time. How do we ever grow if we aren't being pushed? How when we
are being pushed and have trials are we supposed to maintain a joyful attitude?
This is where the atonement comes in. It seems impossible to
connect the two, but with the atonement to connect the two it creates an
atmosphere where we can learn in our trials and feel ultimate joy. As I
read in Jacob 5 I loved verse 21 ... i think... or 22? anyways It is Christ
talking and he tells his servant basically: "council me not, for i knew
that this ground was bad. Yet I have nourished it, and it hath brought
forth much fruit." This was so cool to me. Christ's nourishment is
the blessing of his atonement. I think that this is so cool because
Christ tells us that the blessing of his atonement can reach every single one
of us. No matter the ground we are planted on... or in other words our
history. I love that. It also talks a lot about the roots in Jacob
5... the roots are our promises we make with God. When we look at every
promise we make with God, they all revolve around his son Jesus Christ.
We are so lucky to have our roots in Christ... they enable us to
stand through our trials. They give us strength, they boost us up.
This is how we are able to grow and progress and maintain a joyful
attitude. How can we not have a good attitude when we understand why we
are able to stand and all the blessings we have because of Christ's atonement.
There will always be very tough times in life. Very hard
challenges, but once we have finished that 4th quarter and are able to look
back on the growth, there can always be joy. Christ's atonement doesn't
take away the pain, it makes it bearable. It is such an amazing thing.
I feel so lucky that I get to go and help others root themselves into
Christ and His atonement. So that when times get tough in their lives
they know that through Christ they can stand. Christ did the Atonement
completely alone so that none of us would ever have to be alone. That was
my main thought this week. It was a really cool thing to me.
Everything is going great!! This Chinese is so tough.... but it is
so awesome!!
I went to the temple this morning and thought about you guys a
lot. I sure do love you guys.
Keep up the great work!
Love Always,
Elder Redding
 |
| Celebrating Elder Stuart's Birthday |
No comments:
Post a Comment