Aug 18, 2014
Dear everyone,
So like I mentioned a week or two ago, I have got a legendary case of athlete´s foot, and I have been going to the podologist the last few weeks trying to get it taken care of. But it hasn´t really been improving, and I have been using flip flops EVERYWHERE for probably close to a month now (which is what the doctor ordered). So on Tuesday, the 12th, President Fusco came out to do interviews with all the missionaries in our zone. Sister Fusco was there too, and she didn´t like the sight of my foot. So after my companion and I had our interviews, she took us up to Fortaleza to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist gave me a prescription, (don´t worry mom, I am still taking juice plus!) and some creme or something to pass over my foot and said that I couldn´t walk around in the sun for two weeks. As a missionary in Brazil, walking around in the sun is what we spend about half of our time doing….so President Fusco transferred me to work in the office for these next two weeks of “vacation”. I got here in the office on Wednesday, and my new companion is Elder Marrey, from São Paulo. He is the secretary that takes care of all the contracts for the houses that the missionaries live in. What my job is right now is to take care of the referrals that go through the mission office. So basically I’m working a desk job for the moment.
Elder Marrey and I live in the same house as the two other office elders, Elder Silva and Elder Rowell. Thursday night, we all got home, and found that the power had been cut. Somehow, the bill hadn’t been paid and the power company shut everything off. Unfortunately for us, the company wouldn´t send someone to turn on the power on Friday because it was a holiday. If you think America has a lot of random holidays, you don’t know what you´re missing down here. So we were without power from Thursday until today. Luckily, we all had flashlights, so it wasn’t too bad.
Every week, our mission president emails us all a talk or a spiritual thought for us to read. I really liked the message he shared with us last week, from a talk by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, one of the counselors to President Monson.
“Once again the Savior revealed the way. When asked to name the greatest commandment, He did not hesitate. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind,” He said. “This is the first and great commandment.” Coupled with the second great commandment—to love our neighbor as ourselves —we have a compass that provides direction not only for our lives but also for the Lord’s Church on both sides of the veil.
Because love is the great commandment, it ought to be at the center of all and everything we do in our own family, in our Church callings, and in our livelihood. Love is the healing balm that repairs rifts in personal and family relationships. It is the bond that unites families, communities, and nations. Love is the power that initiates friendship, tolerance, civility, and respect. It is the source that overcomes divisiveness and hate. Love is the fire that warms our lives with unparalleled joy and divine hope. Love should be our walk and our talk.
When we truly understand what it means to love as Jesus Christ loves us, the confusion clears and our priorities align. Our walk as disciples of Christ becomes more joyful. Our lives take on new meaning. Our relationship with our Heavenly Father becomes more profound. Obedience becomes a joy rather than a burden.”
Something that I am trying to learn here on my mission is to do the things I know I should do, not because I feel like I have to do them, but to do them because I love the people I am doing them for. I know that the Savior has a perfect love for each of us, and one of the things that will make us happy in life is to try and emulate that love the best we can. We will all fall short sometimes, but He will make up for what we lack. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world, and that he loves us.
I
hope you have a great week, and thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers! You are in mine as well.
Um abraço,
Elder Poulson
No comments:
Post a Comment