Little by little

Hey family!

 

Well another week has quickly passed us by! I can't believe it went by so quick but here we are again. This week went really well. We were able to have many great lessons and help some great people.

 

One of the great things we were able to do is receive two references! It was way awesome! One of the references we met but we won't see until Saturday. The other we had a lesson with yesterday. She really didn't have desires to listen but she told us she would begin to read the Book of Mormon. I know that will help her a ton and really soften her heart as she reads it and really reflects on the message it contains.

 

Another awesome event was that we were able to finally find a less active family we haven't been able to find for months. They had lost their Books of Mormon so we gave them one and we are going to have a lesson with them this week also!

 

All seems to be coming along little by little. We are planning a movie night for the 19th also. We are going to watch 17 Miracles I believe. We hope it will really serve both the members and their friends that we want them to invite! We will see how that goes!

 

 Sorry I couldn't write very much last week. We went to Guadalajara to pick up stuff, we then went to eat and we had to write really quick so we would be able to get back to Tepa on time. We were still late getting back anyways. The week before last we spent nearly the whole week in conferences in Guadalajara so you all didn't miss out on anything too big!

 

We did divisiones this week and I was able to learn many great things. One awesome thing that happened is that we were in a lesson with an investigator. We decided to teach lesson 1-The Restauracion again. As we taught, the investigator had a couple doubts that we were able to teach but then when we taught about Joseph Smith we simply asked, ''Do you believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet called of God?''. For the first time this investigator said with firmness and confidence that she did believe. It was a very spiritual moment and I was so happy that this person was able to receive this answer to her prayers.

 

Well the transfers were last week but I am still here in Tepa! I will be here until March it looks like! Pretty crazy huh! I was surprised but obviously the Lord has something prepared for me here. Or I haven't completed something I am supposed to do here. ;)

 

I decided to get rid of the bunk bed. I got sick of climbing up to the top to sleep. I took it down and just made it a normal bed instead. I like it much more! That's about as crazy as life gets here right now! Haha ;)

 

One thing I have really reflected about a lot this week is the atonement. I remember once reading a story about a boy who went to seminary class and his teacher said he would need his help to do some push ups in the class. When the class started, the seminary teacher told the class they were going to do an activity. The teacher then said that he would give a donut to each student who wanted one but the other boy (we will call him Jason) would have to do 10 push ups. The teacher then went to the desk of his first student and asked, ''Johnny, would you like a donut)''. Johnny said, ''Yes, please''. The teacher then said to Jason, ''Jason will you do 10 push ups so Johnny can have a donut?''. Jason did his push ups and the teacher gave the donut to Johnny. He then continued on to the next student, Susie. He asked her, '' Susie would you like a donut?''. Susie replied, ''Yes, please.'' The teacher then turned to Jason and said, '' Jason will you do 10 push ups so Susie can have a donut?'' Jason then did his 10 push ups. This continued and continued until he reached the desk of another student and asked, ''Lauri, would you like a donut?'' She replied, ''No, thank you.''. The teacher asked Jason, ''Jason, will you do 10 push ups so Lauri doesn't have to have this donut she doesn't want?'' Lauri then said, ''But I said I don't want one. He doesn't have to do the push ups.'' The teacher then said, ''Jason, will you do 10 push ups so Lauri doesn't have to have this donut she doesn't want?''. Jason then did his 10 push ups. The whole class was very confused and upset. This continued and continued. Whether the student wanted the donut or not Jason did his 10 push ups so they could decide. The teacher then got to Cody and asked, ''Cody would you like a donut?'' Cody said, ''Yes, but I'll do my own push ups.'' The teacher then stated, "No it doesn't work that way, Jason must do the push ups.'' Cody asked, ''Why? I can do them just as good as he can!'' The teacher said, ''Yes, but Jason must do the push ups for the donut.'' Cody then rejected the donut with a snarl. The teacher then asked Jason, "Jason, will you do 10 push ups so Cody doesn't have to have this donut she doesn't want?''. Jason did the 10 push ups. By this time he was very tired and could hardly do them. They continued and continued and Jason's push ups got slower and slower with every student. The teacher then finally arrived to the last student in the class, Billy. He asked, ''Billy would you like a donut?'' Billy said, ''No it's alright. Jason doesn't have to do anymore push ups. Look at him. He is done.'' The teacher stated, ''Billy would you like a donut?'' Billy said, ''No, he doesn't have to do anymore.'' ''Billy would you like a donut? You must decide.'' Billy said, ''Yes but I don't want him to have to do any more push ups. Let me help him at least.'' The teacher then turned to Jason and said, ''Jason, will you do 10 push ups so Billy can have a donut.'' Jason nodded and very slowly did the push ups. When he got to 6 he nearly couldn't do anymore. 8 he thought he was done. 9 he couldn't do anymore. 10 he finished, his arms doubled under and he fell to the ground, nearly crying he was so exhausted. The teacher then explained how this is like the atonement of Christ. We can choose to accept or reject His sacrifice but he offers the remission of sins to all. We couldn't help Him in those moments of suffering though we desired to. We couldn't do this atoning sacrifice. Only Christ was capable of that. But we are able to accept His atonement by following Him, keeping His commandments, and enduring to the end. We must follow our Savior Jesus Christ.

 

That is just a story that has come to my mind lately. I don't know where I read it so many years ago but see if you can find it so I can translate it better and share it with others. There is another of someone who in a dream was in a room full of filing cabinets full of the events of His life. All the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good brought back great memories but the bad and ugly brought him shame. Later he started to cry for all the bad things he had done but Christ came and but a red X through all the bad things he had done. See if you can find those please.

 

 I am doing great and I know all you are all doing great as well. Keep reading your scriptures everyday and praying. The Lord will bless you all greatly!

Love you,

 

Elder O'Brien :)