September 25, 2014
First off, I have grown so much on this mission.................. 7 pounds to be exact. :) This MTC food is making me fat! 7 pounds in 1 month! Goodness haha :)
Let's start on Sunday. I was still feeling a little sick, but I was fine. We were able to watch the first session of the Ogden Temple Dedication and was able to hear President Monson speak, which is always uplifting. I remember going to the Oquirrah (spelling?) Mountain temple dedication a long time ago, but now, since I've been through the temple, I understand so much more. What a blessing temples are! I encourage you to go do a session, sealings, baptisms, hanging out on the grounds, anything associated with the temple because they are the house of the Lord, literally. You can bless the lives of those who have passed on as well as yourself.
So that was an awesome experience. Then, we had a temple walk in the pouring rain, which was really fun and wet. I took many pictures and hopefully I'll have time to send them today. (sorry I'm so bad with pictures!) After the walk, I had an interview with Brother Robinson, one of the councilors in our branch. It was a really reassuring interview because he told me that he is proud of the way I am handling this difficult situation and that he is so sorry I have to go through this. he said that the Branch Presidency was aware of everything going on and that they know how hard it is. That interview brightened my mood so much.
Then, in choir practice, we sang "Joseph Smith's first Prayer" one of my favorite songs ever. It was super spiritual and the director, Brother Eggett shared many stories about Joseph Smith that are so powerful and miraculous. They also got word that the choir was invited to sing in Priesthood Session of General Conference. they had seats for 365 elders, but there are about 1000 who would want to sing in the choir, so they sent a survey around asking about the amount of singing experience they had as well as how good they think they can sing, and sight read. I filled it out, but doubted I would get in. I'll tell you more about it later. So that's Sunday, a great day and my mood was significantly better.
So now Monday. Monday was just a normal day, but then after class, Elder Lee, Our district leader, announced that the next day Tuesday, he had to go home because of health reasons. That was way hard, he is our district leader and such a good example to all of us. That put a damper on things for sure. Then in the mail, I got a letter saying that............... I was invited to be a part of the choir to sing in General Conference!!!!!! I am so so so excited for that! so be sure to look for me while you watch the Priesthood Session! It will be an amazing experience and I am so excited to sing for the Lord and for his servants that will be in attendance. So excited.
Then Tuesday. Elder Lee had to go so his companion elder Madruga had to be in a new companionship. President Stevenson, our Branch President, Interviewed Elder Ross and I and said that Madruga would be our companion. We would be in a three person companionship. I thought "Yes! that is going to help us so much. It will help this companionship so much" We accepted.Then right after he said "We are also in need of a new District Leader for this district. I feel impressed to ask you Lamoreaux Choro, if you would be the district leader." I thought "woah. that's awesome." I accepted. so now I am the new district leader and the senior companion in a three person companionship. That is so much responsibility placed upon me in a span of 2 minutes. I need to lead this district who had just lost one of its members, and need to be the companion of an elder who just said bye to his friend. This is going to be hard. I feel unqualified, and nervous, but I think this feels right. I need, now more than ever before, to rely on the Lord in all that I do.
To top this crazy day off, in the Tuesday Evening Devotional, we had another General Authority come. Elder M. Russell Ballard came to speak to us, and again it was broadcast to MTC's around the world. We sang the song for choir and I don't think I have ever felt the spirit so much while singing a song. That song is a testimony that Joseph Smith truly saw God the Father and his son Jesus Christ. It is such a powerful song and such a beautiful song. I love it so much. Then in the talk, Elder Ballard said one thing in particular that I felt was for me. I'm actually not sure exactly what he said, but I wrote in my notes "I will be ready to do anything the Lord needs me to do" I thought that was truly the words from the Lord. I need to rely on him so much more than I have. But I feel that the Lord has blessed me so much and he will continue to bless me if I do my best. What a day, what a week.
I learned so much this week. I learned that your mindset has such a strong impact on your experiences. I've been praying more than I ever have. I learned that I need to focus more on how I feel and how I react to things that are placed before me. I learned that as long as you do your best, that's all Heavenly Father asks. If we do our best, the Lord will do the rest. I learned that as long as I am happy with what I am doing, that's all that matters. My situations can be crappy and hard and "not fair" but those are tests. God is testing us. We need to completely rely on him to fulfill his will. I am working on giving all I have to the Lord, and so far, Things are much much better.
I love you all and I thank you so much for the support.
Love,
Elder Lamoreaux
No comments:
Post a Comment