So this week has included a lot more than just soccer and church meetings. I have really been thinking a lot and praying for you. I fasted on Tuesday for your neck pain to go away enough that you could continue your mission without that inferring. I questioned myself a little because I know two things that seem to contradict each other. I know miracles are possible. I know trials are for a purpose and can be for our benefit. I feel like I usually am cautious about what I pray for because I don't want to ask too much and be disappointed. I think I usually pray for His will to be done and pray for the ability to handle whatever that is. This time, this week, as I have fasted and prayed Tuesday and today(Sunday) I prayed that your neck would be pain free for the remainder of your mission. Do I believe that is possible? yes! Do I know that it is possible that that won't happen? Yes! Do I know that either way my prayer is heard and answered in the way it should be? Yes! I know that miracles can happen and just because I might not get the miracle I want this time won't change that. I also know that there are other miracles that have and can happen that I don't even know to pray for. Two things that also happened this week, the physical therapist told me about a TENS machine, that he used on my ankle that can help heal injured muscles and tendons. Is that an answer? Maybe. I will order you one if you can use it. Also, President Hunter told dad today that if you need him to he can look up a specialist in your area and find someone to help you. Were those answers? Not sure, but I do know that as you have been on my mind my Heavenly Father knows what I need to hear. We feel helpless being so far away and not being able to help fix this but we know Heavenly Father is mindful of each of us and knows the things that can give us comfort and peace.
I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful to know that when I can't be with you I can still pray for you and that can make even more a difference than me doing anything for you in person.
I love you so much and am so grateful for your missionary service. For the things you have learned and for the opportunity I have had to see your testimony grow and develop. I am so amazed at the plan our Heavenly Father has for each of us and how thin the veil really is. That we can feel His spirit so strong when we strive to live the way we should. I love this gospel. I am so blessed to have a wonderful family and terrific kids that are striving to do what is right and good with their lives. I'm grateful to be your mom! I love you!
Buenas!!
First off: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!! I know it's a
day late, but that's not my fault. :P haha I hope that you guys had a good day.
:) I love you so much and am so grateful for such amazing parents! You guys are
the best! :)
Sounds like soccer has been brutal this week,
but I'm glad that everybody is still alive without too many serious injuries.
:) I'm glad that you are both enjoying the season still and playing hard. :)
keep up the great work! I can't wait to see you guys play again. :)
That's awesome that you guys were able to go
to the baby blessing! Mindi actually sent me a card on Saturday with pictures
of Delilah. It was a very nice surprise. I loved it! :) she is super cute!
I am extremely grateful for each one of you.
:) I am so blessed to have such an amazing Family. :) you guys are the best! I
love you!
Well, this week was kind of crazy. So, the
baptisms. The two that were supposed to happen on Friday didn't happen. Things
got moved around again and so they will be happening sometime soon. However,
the one for Saturday did happen! That was Amanda's. It was a crazy day.... So
what happened was Friday night we took Amanda and Coby (her husband who is a
member) to the church for a lesson and to go over everything for the baptism.
Well, our building doesn't have very many adult baptismal suits so we didn't
have any that fit them. So we drove to Arcadia (30 miles away, one way) to get
two suits. Well, they didn't have anything for Coby, but they had stuff for
Amanda. So we started getting ahold of all the missionaries near us. The
nearest place that had any was Bradenton. So, Saturday afternoon, we drove to
Bradenton... Haha (50+ miles away, one way) and got the baptismal stuff. So
that was crazy... The cool part about that trip was that I got to be back in
Bradenton! And on the way there we texted some of the people I used to teach to
come meet us for lunch. Well, almost everybody had work! It was lame...
However, Jazmin did not have work, so she met us for lunch. It was super cool
to be able to catch up with her. She is one of the Carlos sisters. (They threw
the surprise party for my bday) so she told us how everybody was doing and what
was new. They are going to Utah next month for General Conference! Haha they
are super excited. They are going to be there for 10 days or so. Anyways, that
was super fun. So we then drove back to Wauchula and got there just before 5
and then we started the font and finished getting everything ready. The baptism
started at 6. Well, come starting time everything is ready, except the font...
Apparently everybody knew that the font was a super slow filling font, except
for us... Nobody thought to tell us anything. So everybody is there ready
to start, and the font isn't even close to being filled. It takes like 4-5 hours
to fill this font... So, everybody pitched in and we filled it with buckets in
about 30 minutes. :) haha it was fun. And then after that, everything went
perfectly. Coby was able to baptize his wife, Amanda, and everything was good.
I am super happy for them! They are so awesome! So that was our crazy
experience for getting ready for the baptism. We also had an investigator there
for the baptism so that was even better! Haha and then on Sunday, Coby and
Amanda took up basically the majority of church. Haha Amanda got
confirmed, they got to bless their 8 month old son, Ripp, Coby was sustained
and set apart as the YM first counselor, and we put all of that in the records
and got them their certificates. It was awesome! So overall we had a really good
weekend. :)
So, I'll give you the update with my neck. On
Thursday I went to the physical therapists office and they specialize in spines
so that was good. Haha oh, also, Amanda, the investigator that got baptized on
Saturday, works there so we were able to talk with her to get more stuff set up
while she was working on my neck. Haha anyways, so apparently from my car
accident several years ago, the whiplash messed with one of the discs in my
neck and so it keeps bulging out and doesn't want to stay in place. So now we
know the problem. Haha well, they put me on this machine that straps my head in
and pulls my neck up for 20 seconds and then rests for 5. It is called a tract
machine I believe? Anyways, I do that for 20 minutes and then they did some
electroshock therapy as well. I think it's the same thing you were telling me
about, so that's cool. Haha well that is supposed to help because what it does
is builds up everything around the disk so that it gets used to being in the
right place, and wants to stay there. So I'm supposed to do rehab a couple
times a week for up to 6 weeks. It just depends on how long it takes for me to
heal. Well, the only problem with that is the church has a new procedure.
Because of so many missionaries out right now, we are only allowed 3 doctors
visits for something. Any more, they assess it and most likely just send you
home to get fixed, then you come back out. Well, that's supposed to save them a
lot of money and time. However, I am using our home insurance so the church isn't
paying for anything, so I'm not sure what they'll do with me. President Cusick
emailed me yesterday and asked how my neck was affecting the work, and this is
exactly what I told him:
"This past Thursday I went to a physical
therapy office and got looked at and started some physical therapy for my neck.
What has happened is there is a disk in my neck that keeps bulging out of
place, most likely caused from my car accident 3 years ago. Due to that, my
neck hurts, however it does not interfere with the work. I was planning on
bringing it up to you during interviews. My neck does not interfere with the
work. I am able to do everything that a normal missionary can do, my neck just
hurts. It isn't a huge deal and I am getting it worked on at physical therapy.
The physical therapy also does not interfere with missionary work. It is less
than a mile away from our apartment and takes only about 45 minutes out of the
day. I am also able to do language study during that time. The physical
therapist has told me not to lift more than 20 lbs and to try and keep my head
up during studies and things so that the disk stays straight. Those are the
only restrictions that I have been given, and I am still able to lift if it is
an emergency, but I mainly just need to ask someone else to help me if it is
over 20 lbs. I have only been to one session so far, but Elder Young has
allowed me to go to a maximum of 4 sessions. I wanted to ask you if it was
possible to extend those sessions to more than 4 because it is on my own insurance.
The Church is not paying for any of it, and it does not take much time. If that
is not available then I will take the 4 sessions and I will wait until I am
done with my mission before continuing. My neck pain does not interfere with
the work at all so I am planning on continuing to do all that is asked of me.
That is all of the information that I have been given and that I know. I hope
that answers your question. Thank you very much for your concern. I am grateful
to be able to let you know how things are going. If you have anymore questions,
please let me know."
So, those are my arguing points for not going
home to get this fixed. Haha and if they want to do that, then I'll just wait
the 10 months until I'm home to get it fixed. It's already been 3 or so years
since the car accident, it can wait a few more months. But we have interviews a
week from Thursday so I will talk with President then. But that's where I'm at
right now with my neck. So I guess things are getting figured out. :) haha
thank you so much for your prayers!
Alright, so the spiritual experience for this
week happened on Tuesday night. We were trying to visit people, but nobody was
home or they were busy, so we decided to drop by a members house. Hno Abrego is
the Spanish Sunday school teacher. So we stopped by to see how he was doing and
he wasn't busy so he asked us if we had any plans and we said not right now, so
he just took us to his brothers house for a lesson. Haha his brother isn't a
member and Hno Abrego just took us over there and we had a lesson on the
Restoration! It was awesome! That is definitely what we would like all members
to do. We understand that it's a little unreasonable all the time, but it was
just amazing how much faith he had to go over with the missionaries and just
invite his brother and his family to listen to us. And I'm sure he was a little
nervous, but it was done out of love, so that overpowered his fear. That is
what we need members to understand. Inviting your friends and family members is
out of love and they aren't going to hate you for it. Now, you don't need to
show up on their doorstep with some missionaries, but at least invite them to
church activities. It doesn't have to be huge, but as long as it is an
invitation made out of love, it cannot fail. Even if they say no, they aren't
going to completely ignore you! Haha you will still be their friend, it's just
a simple invitation. So that was just super cool that Hno Abrego had that much
love for his brother.
The scripture is going to be Mark 2:9. I really
love this verse because Jesus asks, basically a rhetorical question. Which is
easier? Why are they not just as easy to do? Well, for him they are. As we
know, the Priesthood can very easily heal us, if we have faith. So, Christ can
easily heal us if we have the faith necessary for him to do so. Well, if we
have enough faith, he can forgive us as well. He wants to forgive us, we just
need to be willing to repent and seek his forgiveness. When we do our part, it
is just as easy as healing someone. He just says it and it's done. Wouldn't
that be nice? To be completely forgiven of everything? Isn't that what we do
every week? We partake of the sacrament in order to renew the covenant we made
at baptism so that we can be forgiven of our mistakes and shortcomings. Yeah,
we mess up. So? Repent and move on. That's what the Atonement is there for! He
knows that we will mess up, he knows that we will fall short, and he knows that
WE ARE NOT PERFECT. But He is. So USE IT! Become more Christlike. Become clean
again. Recognize how much He loves you! It is EASY for Him, so just ask!
I love you all so much! And Christ loves you
infinitely more! I pray for each of you! Have an amazing week and stay safe! I
love you!
Love,
Elder
Moyes
Hola!!
So, I'm beginning to realize how crazy your
weeks are. :) haha when I was in the middle of it, it seemed normal, now it
just seems extremely busy. Haha but I'm glad that you guys are staying busy. :)
better that, than bored. :)
I
remember Mr. Himley. He was my art teacher. That was the only art class I ever
took. :) that's really funny. I'm glad
that people are watching out for Em. :)
I hope that T gets feeling better. :/ that's
always a bummer to feel down. Hopefully Jed or Primary's can figure it out and
everything will be good. :) I'm sure it will. Just don't go too crazy, T. :P
So, as far as the interview, it hasn't
happened yet. It's this upcoming Thursday so we will see how that goes. :) it should be fine. My neck is
doing fine. I had another therapy session today and we are getting things
figured out. I'm going to call Elder Young and get some stuff figured out
because after Wednesday the church won't let me do any more sessions,
so they are going to have me get personal machines for everything. I need to
get a prescription for the Tens machine and both that and the traction machine
can get pretty expensive, if I want one that works well. I can get a cheap door
traction unit for $20 but that is literally a bag with some water in it and
some head gear to hold it. So we will see.
The insurance should cover most of it though. I will let you know when I
get more information.
The baptisms for Duran and Ellie should be
getting scheduled today. They have been waiting for the Patriarch to get back
in town, he will do the baptisms, and to coordinate with his schedule. So it
should be set today. As far as everything else, things are going well. We had a
lot more member visits this week, trying to visit people we don't see much and
invite them back and things like that. Our investigators have pretty busy
schedules so we have been working with the members and trying to find more
people to teach.
Spiritual experience was probably yesterday,
as I was teaching Elders Quorum. Nobody had been assigned to teach so it got
put on me. :) haha that's okay though. The lesson was on sealing power and
temple blessings. We mostly talked about family history and the importance of
having that sealing power for these ordinances for both us, and our ancestors.
It was really cool. But the most spiritual part about it was how it all boils
down to love. People have the urge to do family history work because the work
for our ancestors needs to get done. And we have that wonderful opportunity,
because God loves us. He gives everyone the opportunity to hear his Gospel and
to hear the truth. And it is all out of love. He loves us more than anything!
As a parent you wouldn't single out only some of your children to succeed or
only choose a few of them to receive blessings or gifts. You love them all and
so you want to bless them and make them happy. That's what He wants! He loves
ALL of us. That is why we have this work! It all comes down to his love for
each of us. I love that. :) it definitely makes the work seem more personal and
urgent. Make sure that you always remember how much God loves you. :)
The scripture this week is a fairly popular
one. I am sure you have all heard it multiple times due to the fact that it is
a scripture mastery scripture. The scripture is Alma 41:10. It is very
straightforward and tells us what we ought not to do. "Wickedness never
was happiness." Now, that seems so simple. "Well, obviously it's not
happiness." But sometimes we don't really think about what happiness is,
so how do we know if what we are doing is really "wicked." Sometimes
we mistake happiness for pleasure. They are most definitely NOT the same thing.
There is a section in Jesus the Christ, that covers this topic and I want to
share it with each of you. I love this section and I hope that it helps you
understand the difference:
"Pleasure Versus Happiness.--“The present
is an age of pleasure-seeking, and men are losing their sanity in the mad rush
for sensations that do but excite and disappoint. In this day of counterfeits,
adulterations, and base imitations, the devil is busier than he has ever been
in the course of human history, in the manufacture of pleasures, both old and
new; and these he offers for sale in most attractive fashion, falsely labeled,
Happiness. In this soul-destroying craft he is without a peer; he has had
centuries of experience and practice, and by his skill he controls the market.
He has learned the tricks of the trade, and knows well how to catch the eye and
arouse the desire of his customers. He puts up the stuff in bright-colored
packages, tied with tinsel string and tassel; and crowds flock to his bargain
counters, hustling and crushing one another in their frenzy to buy.
“Follow one of the purchasers as he goes off
gloatingly with his gaudy packet, and watch him as he opens it. What finds he
inside the gilded wrapping? He has expected fragrant happiness, but uncovers
only an inferior brand of pleasure, the stench of which is nauseating.
“Happiness includes all that is really
desirable and of true worth in pleasure, and much besides. Happiness is genuine
gold, pleasure but guilded brass, which corrodes in the hand, and is soon
converted into poisonous verdigris. Happiness is as the genuine diamond, which,
rough or polished, shines with its own inimitable luster; pleasure is as the
paste imitation that glows only when artificially embellished. Happiness is as
the ruby, red as the heart’s blood, hard and enduring; pleasure, as stained
glass, soft, brittle, and of but transitory beauty.
“Happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious
and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical,
mental and spiritual; pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like
spiritous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes
him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.
“Happiness leaves no bad after-taste, it is
followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no
regret, entails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance,
contrition, and suffering; and, if indulged to the extreme, it brings
degradation and destruction.
“True happiness is lived over and over again
in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy
pleasure may leave a barbed sting, which, like a thorn in the flesh, is an
ever-present source of anguish.
“Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it
one with light-minded mirth. It springs from the deeper fountains of the soul,
and is not infrequently accompanied by tears. Have you never been so happy that
you have had to weep? I have.”--From an article by the author, Improvement Era,
vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 172, 173." (Ch.17 Jesus The Christ)
The world teaches us that we need
"happiness" now. That it can be attained immediately and that
pleasure is the best kind of "happiness." We, however, know this to
be completely false. True happiness brings no regrets, only peace, love, hope,
and other similar feelings. It is not temporary nor is it generally
forgettable. I really love that part. Menial things that bring us pleasure are
easily forgettable and useless, whereas those spiritual experiences that bring us
happiness are just the opposite. They are extremely unforgettable and build our
testimonies. God does not want us to settle for the things of the world that
bring us temporary pleasure. He wants us to truly be happy, and it is only
through him and His son, Jesus Christ, that that is possible. I truly love our
Father in Heaven and I cannot wait for the day in which I will see him again
and be welcomed home into his arms. But if we settle for the pleasures of the
world, that is but wishful thinking. I encourage you all to find those small
things that truly bring you happiness, and engulf yourself in them, for they
are of God.
I hope that you all have an amazing week!! I
am so proud of each of you!! I love you!
Elder Moyes
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