6-4-13

Dear Family,

 Well, to start things out, I am going to say that we are no longer in a trio, we got a call on saturday and Elder Al__ went to a different area to be with a companion whos companion had been waiting for a visa and just left. So Elder Ar___ and I remain together, which is fine, being 2 instead of 3 is definitly a strange feeling and teaching is different again, but Elder Ar___ and I have such matching personalities that we are still doing pretty well. 

As far as more information on My companion, wellllll like I said he is almost exactly like me, so that should give an idea, he is from tiquisate escuintla and has been waiting for his visa to go to peru for 8 months now, he doesnt want to go anymore haha, he just wants to stay here in this mission because he knows we do work here, and he loves it. He has a younger brother who is 18 and is thinking about going on the mission still, but pretty much, we have the same interests, ideas, and we honestly finish each others sentences in spanish. So in brief summary, its pretty nice to have such a good companion for my last change.

As far as the Newsletter, well, I will type it up on my computer when I get home, there isnt too much time to do it here and I would rather do it justice, plus 3 days is plenty of time to do it. I think. I will be thinking about it though and get my ideas together for a rough draft to sketch out when I get home, thank you for the heads up.

Well, as far as giving my Mission Report in July, hmm... The immediate thought is frustration, I would rather give it sooner while my memory and feelings are still fresh. But giving it without any family there wouldnt be all that great, as their support means a great deal, I wish we could have planned things a little better. In some ways I feel like I am getting dragged around by what the family wants to do. But at the same time I feel like I am complaining if I say that. I dont know, frustration, The most likely is that I will give it in July so that the family can be there. So I guess plan it for that month.

Well, anyways, kind of ironic how this in some ways seems to deal with what we are talking about, but there was a scripture I read in my study this week that I really enjoyed, its Mosiah chapter 13 verse 9. I just think it is amazing how much courage and strength And commitment Abinadi shows. He knows he is going to die, and he continues forward diligently to finish his message, saying it doesnt matter what happens, as long as he is saved. How greatly that applies to us sometimes in the ways we tend to give such importance to titles, or recognition. The reality of the matter is it doesnt matter if I become an important person to all others, all that truly matters is that we do what is asked of us, and we can have the confidence that we will be saved, that is our priority above all other things, but the way the world tends to make us think, everything else is important, above all, recognition. It doesnt matter if you are bishop, or the sunbeam sunday school teacher. If you fulfill your duty, you will be saved and in the end thats whats important. So thinking about it, I guess that it doesnt really matter if I dont get to give my mission report the way I would like, I will just give my message and be happy. Thank you for making me feel like Abinadi! 

Well, other than that, I was also reading a talk in the Liahona from January this year that talks about wisdom and there were some points I enjoyed. It talks about how we can use others wisdom to be able to pole vault some of lifes saddest experiences. And it also had a pretty funny quote from mark twain.

he said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have him around. But when I got to be 21 I was astonished at how much he had learned in 7 years."

I have the same question! Dad, How did you learn so much in 7 years? 

haha, Turning back from joking... Well it continues talking about how we should seek Gods wisdom, which we find in the Scriptures, and that the only way to obtain it is by putting it in practice. It talked about how difficult that can be sometimes because Gods wisdom often is opposite to the wisdom of the world. 

All in all it was a pretty good talk, I really enjoyed it.

Well, I think I got all of your questions, everything is going well here, we are working super hard, and the work is progressing, we are planning on having 5 baptisms this weekend. Thank you to everyone who wrote me again this week, there are too many to name them all but thank you so much and please dont stop, love you!

Love,

Elder Pierce