Sin is Weakness

Me and my comp!

Alright, well another week on the mission down haha Its been a pretty good one actually. We were able to get some good lessons in and help some people feel the spirit. More on that in a second but first we are gonna answer my Dad's questions!! 1) Yes, people go on vacations, but its usually one or 2 of the members of the family at a time. Family vacations are pretty expensive. Maybe to visit someone close but thats about it. 2) Popo has been pretty quiet, but it stands in silent awe haha its so cool to see it everyday, sometimes topped with snow but still with steam blowing out the top. Ill send another picture i took today. 3) One of the nicest things somebody has done for me as a missionary (apart from all the things people have done for me while i was sick) would probably be when a very poor man who is a recent convert told us that if we ever needed to use the bathroom or if we didnt have food or water, or if we were just tired and needed a rest that his home was our home. It was something simple, but that really shows a lot of love for us. 4) Anddd as for highshool spanish. They definitely TRY to teach you. Honestly, i can see now how incredibly hard it is to try and teach someone another language. BUT i feel like its funny cause now being on the mission, i can see how many things i did wrong haha like we NEVER talked with our teacher in Usted form....but thats like a complete lack of respect haha its funny. So yah.

Called to Serve....its only like 18 months late haha

       Alright well this week has been pretty good. Right now we are working with a family who has everything - meaning they have active members, less actives, and investigators. Their problem is that they have a panaderia and so they have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to make the bread. They usually finish around 9 oclock, which is right when church starts, so they are having a hard time making it to church. We have been working with them sooo hard trying to build their faith so that they can finally come to church and recieve the blessings of the Lord, but they have been struggling a lot. We finally got them to committ to waking up at 5 oclock so that they can finish a half hour early and then come to church with us! We will see how they do. Then we also got some new investigators. Its a girl and her Mom and they are awesome man! They have already gone to church a few times because they like how they feel there, and we are stoked to get to teach them some more! We also were able to climb the hill in our area and take some awesome pictures! So its been a pretty good week.

       Soo for the spiritual thought this week, I pulled something from Jesus The Christ. In the part i was reading, it was talking about the event when Jesus cleared the Temple grounds of the barganers and the animals and they took an interesting view on it that I had not before taken into account. They were speculating why during this almost angry demonstration by Jesus, who at that time was not yet recognized as a superior authority, no one protested, or raised a finger to stop it until it was complete. In the book James E. Talmage quotes Farrar from "Life of Christ" and says: "...Why did not this multitude of ignorant pilgrims resist?...Because sin is weakness; because there is in the world nothing so abject as a guilty concience, nothing so invincible as the sweeping tide of a Godlike indignation against all that is base and wrong...and because Vice cannot stand for one moment before Virtue's uplifted arm." That struck me so powerfully, because it is so true. Sin is weakness. When someone sins, they instantly are at a disadvantage to the world, becasue God made us in his image and part of him dwells in us. We are his spirit children and because of that we have a concious that knows good from evil and cannot deny that fact. Everyone who has lived, is living, or will still live in this world feels remourse when they commit sin no matter how deep they try to burry that guilt. We cannot hope to stand for anything in this world when we are heavy-laden under the burden of a splotted concience. So take courage in the atonement; we can be made strong again! We can be washed clean and once more regain our confidence. Sin is real, but so is repentance. Use this great gift everyday of your life and you will be able to stand with conviction in the face of a fallen world. I know that Jesus Christ suffered so that we can have this assurance, and I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  

Love,

Elder Josh Hamm

Heres that Picture of Popo i promised. Ive sent alot of other pictures too....but its just soo cool!