Blue Island Letter #22

Eliuth is still .... como te dire? reserved? withdrawn? I'm not sure. Something along those lines. but, we're working on her. Ivonne is very excited for her baptism this Saturday.  So am I.

We've found several new people to teach this week. For example, we ran into a kid named Daniel, and asked if we could visit his family.  We talked to his mom, asked her questions, and she opened up a lot. It resulted in her fixing a return appointment, and offering her phone number. We didn't even have to ask. Pretty neat.

We also went to an appointment with Karina. We've been trying to get her to pray about what to do in order to be baptized.  We talked about God's plan for us. Karina's boyfriend ususally hides in the back room whenever we are there.  We got him to open up more than EVER.  I've been here almost six months and he has never agreed to pray. This week HE PRAYED!!!!! We've been praying for them and plan to fast with Karina so that she will know what she needs to do in order to be baptized. God works in ways that we just don't understand. 

Hermana Moffat and I are seeing miracles and finding people daily.  We keep being in the right place at the right time.  Hermana Moffat is a stand out missionary - really and truly an outstanding missionary. She shines above the rest. Yet, she's human. And, she is very obedient, which I love.

Wanted to share something I've been thinking a lot about this week.  Once upon a time my Mission President emailed me this scripture:

"Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for His arm to be revealed" (D&C 123:17)

I had a ponder/study/sit down moment with this scripture. I broke it down into parts, and I want to share one part with you. I thought about the word DO. Cheerfully do. Well, the word cheerfully describes the quality of doing. But, what exactly can we take from the verb "to do"?

These are Leshelle's thoughts on it:

Doing is not merely acting. Laman and Lemuel are only two of many examples in which someone acts, yet lacks the true purpose and correct attitude of "doing".

I've come to the conclusion that "to do" is "to offer". When we "do" something, it should be an offering from our own initiative.

The HOW of "do" is more important than the WHAT of "do". Empty actions are just that: empty.
This is why small and simple things (Alma 37:5-7) bring about miracles: doing something even small and simple can be an offering of all we have. When we give our everything, God gives His everything, too. He fills in the rest, thus resulting in miraculous things.

There is a huge element of agency required in truly DOING anything. We can act and give nothing. However, we can choose "to do" and offer the Lord our all.  And we can do it cheerfully.