"You have to
lose your life to find it."
Good'aye
everybody!!!:) Another week and man has this past week been a great
one. We have been very busy and this p-day has come just as fast as any
other one has. What a blessing it is for me in my life to be in the
full-time service of my God. There is a quote that I absolutely love
but I don't know who it is from anyways it goes like this, "You have to
lose your life to find it." Haha what? That's what I used to think
when I heard this when I was growing up I would say that makes no sense
at all. But now being out on my mission it makes so much more sense. I
always wondered why do we have to give our life over to God and the
Lord why do we have to do all of these things that the Lord says if you
do these things your life will be better and I will watch over you.
Aren't I able to watch over myself and make my own choices in life and
what I want to do aren't I able to do my own thing. But coming out on a
mission it all makes sense to me that if we really do give everything
to the Lord if we really do place our life in the masters hands for Him
to shape us and re-form us into who He wants us to be not who the world
wants us to be our life will be so much better! We will be blessed
immensely and He will watch over us and keep us safe. The Lord promises
that if we give it all over to Him, He in return will do the same and
the Holy Spirit that all of us long for will be our constant
companionship always and forever. The bargain that God wants us to make
is a bargain so much more favored towards us then towards Him. We get
so much more out of it then God does but the amazing thing is we are
both working towards the same goal. The purpose of this life is for us
to prepare to meet God so that one day we can return to live with Him in
His presence. (Alma 34:32) The purpose of God's plan is found in Moses
1:39
"For behold, this is my work and my glory to brig to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man." So if you see God want more then
anything for us to return to live with Him. What do we want the most?
To return to live with God with our families forever. We are both
working towards the same goal we both want the same thing but at times
we might think we can do it on our own but that is not how it works. If
we are humble in our life and not prideful and trust our life in the
hands of the maker all will work out and we will achieve the goal that
we all want. "You have to lose your life to find it." My mission is
teaching me this and I am so grateful for this because I am becoming so
blessed for it. I titled this letter "TRUE CONVERSION IS ON-GOING" we
learn from our Prophets and Apostles that we never fully become
converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ but we can constantly be growing
and becoming more converted to the Lord. I am not fully converted and
never will be in this life and I have my weaknesses and imperfections
but I BELIEVE since I have come out on my mission I have become
converted to the Lord and His Gospel and truths that I know I am a Son
of God and that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me so much. I don't
know everything but I do know enough that allows me each and everyday
to go out and proclaim to the world who I am and what I stand for. To
wear the name of Christ upon my chest and to preach His Gospel and try
to help those that I can. I hope that with the sincerity of my heart
that by the end of my mission my full-time missionary name badge will be engraved upon my heart always and forever. He is my Lord, He is my
rock and my foundation as I represent Him to the best of my abilities He
will bless me immensely in my life which He does each and everyday.
God is real! His son Jesus Christ lives and His Gospel has been
restored upon the earth once more to never be taken away again. We have
a living day Prophet in President Thomas S. Monson which we can trace
his power and authority all the way back to when Christ was upon the
face of this earth. Joseph Smith did in fact translate the Book of
Mormon through the power of God. I have read thus said book and I know
it to be true. I know missionaries are emissaries of Christ and His
Gospel so are all of the His members of His Church. I am so deeply in
love with my Mission and so grateful for who the Lord is turning me
into. I am so grateful for the time I have left to serve my best friend
and my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that as I move forward in life
trusting in Him and in His Atonement everything will be alright. I
won't have a perfect life and I will have trials and I will make
mistakes but I know that everything will work out because of the Miracle
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Working Hard
Hope you guys don't freeze.
(the other morning it was -40 degrees in some parts of cache valley, brrrr is right)
Well wow Mum and Dad man it sure
looks cold there. Haha brrrr... :) Hope you guys don't freeze. I hope
all is going well.:) Man that is so cool about the P_______ family!:)
Tell them I say congrats (they had a new little baby) do you happen to have their email I would
love to send them an email and tell them hi. Well anyways things over
here are going great! This week has been very good and me and Elder
Tingey are doing great! We had a good couple of days up in Canberra and
we had trade-offs while we were up there so those were good. We have
been very busy doing lot's with the members and doing finding and doing
all that we know to do to help the work here in Merimbula. D_____ is
still doing great and loving everything. W______ came to Church on Sunday
which was awesome! We weren't at all expecting it but she just rocked
up and it was great to see her. The Spirit has definitely been working on her and it is great to
see. We will keep her in our prayers and we know it is in the Lord's
hands. The Park run has been very good haha and always lot's of fun.
We are trying to start getting some of the other members into the event
and we are trying to get D______ to start doing it.:) I'm loving it down
here and man hope the Lord will keep me here for another transfer haha
but I don't know cuz at the end of this transfer I will have been here
for 6 months. We will have to see haha maybe it'll be another MacArthur
and stay here for ages.:) And then I could go back and finish my
mission in Mudgee. Man it's so good to see the P______ family I love
them to death and miss them and am glad everything is going well.
Grateful for Lessons learned!!!!
Do you guys
remember a while ago now oh man probably almost a year ago now when I
was in MacArthur and I struggled with depression? Well anyways lately
my thoughts have been kind of down about myself lately but they are
having a completely different result then last time I struggled with
this. Now at times I might have a depressing thought or something but I
apply all of the things that I learned last year and I say a prayer and
know the Jesus Christ is right there and we don't even let the thoughts
get me down. It's great and we really receive such amazing strength
through our Savior Jesus Christ.:)
Anyways questions.
How much do you spend a week on food?
Dad your
questions.:) We spend about $70-80 a week on food the Branch takes good
care of us and so we really only make dinner at our flat about 2 maybe 3
nights a week. We usually always have dinner together and most times
lunch as well but sometimes we make lunch separate just depends on what
we are in the mood for.
Do you like running in the park run?
Ya I really do like doing the Park Run and it
is encouraging me to do fitness when I get home. Dani do you still ride
you bike some? I think that is something that I want to get into when I
get home.
Do the missionaries prefer the city or the country?
Haha that's a good question dad and to be honest I don't
know. I think some do and some don't. Some missionaries hate the
country and Branch cuz it is slower at times and a different work but
then you get some missionaries haha like me that once here never want to
leave.:)
Have you seen any Funnel Webs (BIG Spiders)
Mom your questions. Haha ya so Funnel Webs are probably the
worst spider of them all. They are very poisonous and if you get bitten
I think you can die. Thankfully I haven't seen any Funnel Webs nor do I
want to.:) They are more common up in the city of Sydney. That
picture you saw a little while ago we think was a mouse spider of some
sorts haha all we knew was not to get close and then we squished it.
Haha it's pretty funny cuz back home to kill a spider we just grab a
tissue or something and squish it in our hands with the tissue but here
most of the spiders are to big to really do that so you squish them with
your shoe and then just clean up what is left with some paper or
something.:) Haha spiders are going to be nothing when I get back
home.;)
Did you have fun painting the wood soldiers for Christmas?
No sadly me and Elder Tingey didn't have time to paint our
soldiers there still sitting on the table unpainted. We have just been
so busy especially during the holidays but maybe we will find some time
to paint them now. But I did tell him about the tradition though.
Are you suits dirty?
Haha
nope I haven't had my suits dry cleaned there not to dirty do you think
we should worry about cleaning them since I only have 7 months left?
Let me know what you think and we can dry clean them if you think we
should. But there not to bad.
Are you good about cleaning your sheets and towel?
Haha yep don't worry I try to wash my
sheets at least once a transfer and my towel at least once a week maybe
not quiet that much. Haha I have found out on my mission that I
actually like things to be pretty clean and organized. I'm not a clean
freak or anything but I do like cleanliness but I do still struggle with
my clothes not on the floor in a corner I'm trying to get better at
that one. :)
Is there a Scouting program in Australia?
To be honest I don't really know what they have over here
in Australia for Scouts. Of course they still have mutual and ym/yw
activities and stuff and they do Duty to God but not really any scouting
things but they do still like to go camping at least the YM do. They
also have EFY and youth camps and stuff and Trek and Seminary so still
all the same but not really scouts. Man mum question 5 is a great
question. Above all I am so grateful that I got my Eagle all it has
done has brought me blessings in my life. Thank you so much Mum and Dad
for helping me and pushing me to get my Eagle when I did Thank you. I
have actually noticed a lot of things that I learned in Scouts has
helped me on my mission especially serving the areas that I have served
with doing lot's of service. Getting my Eagle really taught me when I
was a kid growing up the joy it brings to work hard and taught me if you
put your mind to something and work hard you can achieve the great. I
think what really lead me to wanting to get my Eagle Scout was I didn't
want to let my family down but mostly I didn't want to let God down. I
always knew Scouts was a part of the Church programs and that means God
has a hand in the program. Plus Scouts is just so much fun! I mean you
get to go camping and build fires and cook food and shoot guns and
lot's of fun stuff for kids to do. But there are also the hard and not
so fun things to scouts like an Eagle Project and doing some of the
merit badges that might not be the funnest. But as I look back Scouts
really teaches you so much about life. It teaches us that there are fun
things and rewarding things in life but sometimes we have to do the not
so fun things because we need to learn those things as well. It goes
just like the Gospel it can be so fun at times and somethings we get to
do are great but at times it is hard and we might want to give up but we
must remember to never ever give up. Scouts can teach us as young kids
and teenagers at an early age what is important in life and what hard
work really can do. That at times hard work is very fun and relaxing
but then at other times we have to bear down tighten our belts and work
hard for a short time and then we will come on the other side with lot's
of more knowledge and a better person. I remember one merit badge that
wasn't always the funnest but taught me so much and that was the
personal finance one and budgeting my money. That one has helped me so
much on my mission and I have been able to help companions as well so
budget your money and not blow it all at the very beginning. Haha sorry
mum I seem to just go on and on and on....:) But in short what I would
say to the kids is just enjoy scouting because it can be heaps of fun
and it will help you so much later in life whether they want a
girlfriend or be a super hero or a pro football player or a missionary
it can help us.
"ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING"
Well I gotta get going hope you all have a great week
and remember "ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING" I'm already going to have a great
week because of my attitude towards this coming week.:) Love you guys
heaps:) Stay warm and be safe.
Love Elder Stott
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