Charity

Us eating pizza at the ward mission leaders house!

 Hey guys! So this week was actually excellent. I dont think it was incredibly exciting, but I felt good the whole week which was a change of tempo! haha but anyways, no questions from Dad this week, so on to the summary and highlights! 

Grandma Hamm's letter arrived in flawless condition!

       So this week on Tuesday we had a Zone Capacitation and our zone leaders really did a good job. Elder W asked us each what our favorite candy was before and then bought it and did a cool activity with it. It was super cool. Then that night we went and helped the sister missionaries move into the ward mission leaders house and he bought us pizza. It was fun. Then Wednesday we had a Zone Conference which is pretty much like a Zone Capacitation, except that its 6 hours long instead of 3 and the assistants and President Reeves and his wife come. It was veryyy spiritual and verryy awesome. Sadly, it will be the LAST Zone Conference I will have with President Reeves becuase he and his wife will finish their service in June. I dont know if I'm allowed to tell you who the new president is...so i wont haha but President really impressed me with the way he talked about him. He said he wants us to pray for the new president and his wife that they will be strengthened and be able to feel our love for them. Its obviously hard to have a change of mission presidents, but he told us that the mantle will be passed and we will get the great experience of seeing that change in authority. Then we ate tacos arrabe which were delicious and I got a letter from Grandma Hamm and it came in hilarious fasion haha Ill put a picture in here so you know what i mean, but needless to say, its going in my journal and i could still read the letter fine, so everyone won haha Then after the conference we went out and worked a successful day with my companion and put 2 baptismal dates! Thursday was normal, Friday we did interchanges with the zone leaders and I went with Elder B and we had a pretty good time. Saturday we didnt really have much happen. Sunday, our hopes were dashed as only one of 8 investigators showed up to church. And then we had to go walk around in the hottest dustiest pueblo we have. Butttt its over now soo thats a plus haha and yah, thats about it! 

My comp and I, lost AGAIN. haha

     Spiritual Thought for this week comes from my studying that I did with the Zone Leaders...well mostly just Elder B. Basically him and I decided that Im kinda a hater...i mean, i love people....but i hate more than i love haha so Im working on developing Charity like it talks about in Chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel. You should go read it, but a few of my favorite parts are "[As you serve]...You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father..." and also "...You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged." Charity is really something we can all work on, and to help you, I have copied the little "check your progress" activity from PMG -- 

Charity and Love

1 = Never       2 = Sometimes       3 = Often       4 = Almost Always       5 = Always

____14. I feel a sincere desire for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people. (Mosiah 28:3)

____15. When I pray, I ask for charity—the pure love of Christ. (Moroni 7:47–48)

____16. I try to understand others’ feelings and see their point of view. (Jude 1:22)

____17. I forgive others who have offended or wronged me. (Ephesians 4:32)

____18. I try to help others when they are struggling or discouraged. (Mosiah 18:9)

____19. When appropriate, I tell others that I love them and care about them. (Luke 7:12–15)

____20. I look for opportunities to serve other people. (Mosiah 2:17)

____21. I say positive things about others. (D&C 42:27)

____22. I am kind and patient with others, even when they are hard to get along with. (Moroni 7:45)

____23. I find joy in others’ achievements. (Alma 17:2–4)}

       When I was studying, I realized that most people I was "hating" didnt deserve to be loved, and that was the reason I didnt have charity for them. But as i reflected on the way Christ loves all of us, I realized that we dont deserve that love either, and yet, he freely gives it. As he was being crucified, he even prayed for his captors exclaiming, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." As we strive to increase our charity for others, i know we will feel happier, we will help others feel happier, and in doing so, we will come closer to our savior Jesus Christ.

Love,

Elder P wore my tie to his homecoming!
Gottem!

Elder Josh Hamm