Hey everyone! I can't believe I have been writing to you all back home ever since a year ago. I think I'm losing a little bit of English every week. It definitely feels weird writing in English.
So, it looks like I will already be leaving Acatan. It is very rich and has lots of nice restaurants, not to mention very humble people, both rich and poor, and I have enjoyed it while the experience has lasted. I made sure to take notes from the example of the members, and I must say that I have been truly blessed to be sent here. Now the following week I will be sent outside of the capital... for the first time in the mission finally!!! Wooo!!! It is an area called Gualan in the section of our mission called Zacapa. It is extremely hot over there, so my skin will probably be pink in 3 days. I'll make sure to send pictures of that. But I have been told by many that the experience is different over there and that we teach lots of different people every week. I hope to share many new experiences and observations with you all in the following weeks goes on there.
And this week I would just like to share a thought on being honest with oneself. This is something that I have observed that my Heavenly Father is trying to teach me. I think that being honest with oneself is the key to really a lot of things about the Gospel. What I can say is that being honest with oneself can be hard to do after following a routine for a long time. It can be hard to do if you have pride. It can be hard to do if you have fear, and you act anyway. It can be hard if you are not praying about the things you feel about. It can be hard to do if you don't act like yourself.
I have observed up to this point, in my own mission experience, that I have tried to be the person who I want to be... constantly. It is good to have a goal in mind, but I have seen that constantly thinking in that perspective--thinking about the person you desire to be--can be a type of suffering. I have seen that it distracts me from enjoying the person that I already am. I wish I could explain why I had concentrated so much in being the kind of person I want to be, but I think it came from a sincere desire to improve while I offer the Lord my service as His missionary. I also think that it comes from a certain self-perspective that I am already not completely qualified to serve as the kind of missionary He wants. The two don't seem to mix well. I have seen that in my first six months as a missionary that I truly suffered because of that point of view. In other words, it is perfectionism, the enemy of happiness.
Now, I realize that the end of suffering comes when you accept yourself as you are, and then strive to become better. That is, yes, strive to become better, but don't worry about how fast -- just take it step by step every day, while already accepting yourself as you are. This is a Gospel truth that perhaps many already know by way of common sense, but it is something so important. We are all children of God. We carry His attributes and His potential; that is, we are already so much like Him, and we can become even more like Him every day. But we must remember to be humble -- to look at ourselves as we really are, with all the good things about us and the things we need to improve. We can do this as we pray to God, asking us to give us a real perspective on who we are. Not who we are potential of being, but who we already are. This is being honest with oneself to God, in the which process we come closer to Him and recognize Him as a Father who is willing to help. In other words, this is humbling oneself before God.
Brothers and sisters, I am still in the process of coming to know this truth, for I think this is a lesson that my Heavenly Father wants me to learn on my mission. Nevertheless, I can testify that this is the role of the Savior in our lives. Jesus Christ does not condemn us in our sins, but helps us to leave them behind and follow him. He calls us and He strengthens us. All of this, if we strive to do our part -- in constant prayer with our Father, as we repent, and continually recognize our strengths and our weaknesses. I know that He is my Savior, because I have seen the manner in which He has rescued me from my own weaknesses, and I continue to see Him work. It is truly a miracle what He does. I am nothing without God, but with God, I am everything that He wants me to be. I know that this Gospel is true, and that it changes lives. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Have a wonderful week, folks! "No olviden a contar las bendiciones que reciben!"
Tu amigo fiel,
Elder Dredge
Elder Braden K. Dredge
Guatemala Guatemala City East Mission
Saying Adios to Guatemala City and the people in this ward! |
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