Dear Mom and Dad,
-Please please please send the new razor charger
-I got the package from Tanya (Tanya is his cousin that lives in Malaysia) with GREAT goodies! Thanks!
-I got the package from Tanya (Tanya is his cousin that lives in Malaysia) with GREAT goodies! Thanks!
-Also I got your package with the fan, soap, and shaving cream. Thanks!
-I use that Plan of Salvation wooden puzzle in all our lessons!
-I don't have the shoes with the hole anymore. It's ok because I just wear these rubber shoes that I buy here for like 200 pesos because they can get muddy and I can wash them easily. They last me about two months
-Thanks for the pictures!
Well I got to go up to the mission home for Zone Leader's Council! I took my first hot shower and slept in air conditioning for the first time in 10 months!! It was awesome! We had a really good meeting and talked about our mission and how we're doing. Between the meeting itself and travel, we lost two full days of work, so that took a good chunk out of our week!
About a month or so ago we were riding on a tricycle and I was talking to the driver about the NBA, and how much I can't stand LeBron James!! Well this guy is a huge LeBron James fan, and since the finals have been over, I literally see this guy every other day! We'll be walking, and he'll come driving back and will yell "LeBron James! Champion!" and then he gives an evil laugh and drives away. Who would know that LeBron James would still haunt me on a daily basis halfway across the world?!
We just learned that this upcoming transfer day the Ward that we're covering is going to get another set of Elders. So we have one week to find them an apartment! We've been scrambling! It's not like in the states where there are listings. We're pretty much are walking around the town looking for signs saying there's an apartment for rent, or we ask people that we meet if they know of an available apartment. So far we've found one potential apartment, and we have a week to make a final choice. We’re really scrambling though because this also means we'll lose some of our investigators when the new Elders come! By the way, the couple that had the baby several weeks ago, we won't be able to baptize them because they still haven't come to church on a consistent basis.
We're teaching Sister L. who is the "wife" of a Less-Active member. She's a firecracker! We were teaching about the Restoration, and asked how she expected to know if it's true, and she responded, "A white rabbit." What?! She explained that for her, if she either had a dream with a white rabbit or if during one of our lessons a white rabbit ran in, she'd know it was a sign from God that it's true. We explained about the Holy Ghost, and how the Spirit testifies to us. We went back to her on Saturday, and followed up on her reading and prayer. She said, "Elders, it happened just as you said it would. I was reading, and I just got the most beautiful feeling that I can't describe. That's exactly what you said would happen, I know it's true!" Wow! Now, like the rest of the country, we need to get her married!
Yesterday was a bit of a discouraging day for me. We were expecting to have 11 investigators at church, and only 4 showed up. It was really sad! Every missionary knows the feeling, you're sitting in church, Sacrament is about to start, and so many people you had hoped to see aren't there! You start evaluating yourself, asking, "What more could I have done? How can I improve? If they know it's true, why are they not here?" I've had a lot of experiences like that so far, but yesterday was one of the hardest. It's hard to understand sometimes, but it's a part of the process. Earlier this morning I read an Elder Holland talk that I'd like to share an excerpt from:
"I shared with the missionaries in Sao Paulo yesterday the story of Moses of how he might have felt as he got ready to lead the children of Israel: “Lord, I’ll do this. I’ll take on Pharaoh, I’ll face the soothsayers, witches and doctors and the serpents, and we’ll get blood running in the river, and we’ll part the Red Sea, but I can’t do it alone. I couldn’t even try. I’m the least adequate man alive. I can’t even talk. I need a companion to translate for me. I can’t do any of this, but we’ll do it, parting the Red Sea and crossing the River Jordan and claiming our inheritance, but I have to know that you will go with us. I have to know that you’ll be the divine comforter in this missionary service. Otherwise, we can’t go. We’re not even going to leave Cairo. We’re just going to stay here. We’re just going to stay here and stack bricks. We can’t do it. There is no way that we can fight Pharaoh or fate or sand dunes or water unless the very power of heaven, unless the power of Almighty God is resting on our shoulders and in our hearts. That is a legitimate request to make of a missionary, and it is a legitimate answer that God gives saying, “You’re on! That’s a deal! You don’t have to wonder about me. Worry about yourself. Don’t worry about me—I can do it!” And He can! And He does! You will succeed in this work. You will succeed at this work because it is God’s to do, and all you have to do is say, “Here, use me. Take me."
We're all weak, all inadequate. When we look at missionary work or other things, it may seem too big, too unrealistic, and too impossible. But if we remember that God has a plan, and as long as we're His, we will not fail. I know that through His grace, or the enabling power of Christ, we will accomplish all things. All we need to do is give ourselves to Him, walk in faith, and watch as He works miracles and wonders in our lives and in others.
-I use that Plan of Salvation wooden puzzle in all our lessons!
-I don't have the shoes with the hole anymore. It's ok because I just wear these rubber shoes that I buy here for like 200 pesos because they can get muddy and I can wash them easily. They last me about two months
-Thanks for the pictures!
Well I got to go up to the mission home for Zone Leader's Council! I took my first hot shower and slept in air conditioning for the first time in 10 months!! It was awesome! We had a really good meeting and talked about our mission and how we're doing. Between the meeting itself and travel, we lost two full days of work, so that took a good chunk out of our week!
About a month or so ago we were riding on a tricycle and I was talking to the driver about the NBA, and how much I can't stand LeBron James!! Well this guy is a huge LeBron James fan, and since the finals have been over, I literally see this guy every other day! We'll be walking, and he'll come driving back and will yell "LeBron James! Champion!" and then he gives an evil laugh and drives away. Who would know that LeBron James would still haunt me on a daily basis halfway across the world?!
We just learned that this upcoming transfer day the Ward that we're covering is going to get another set of Elders. So we have one week to find them an apartment! We've been scrambling! It's not like in the states where there are listings. We're pretty much are walking around the town looking for signs saying there's an apartment for rent, or we ask people that we meet if they know of an available apartment. So far we've found one potential apartment, and we have a week to make a final choice. We’re really scrambling though because this also means we'll lose some of our investigators when the new Elders come! By the way, the couple that had the baby several weeks ago, we won't be able to baptize them because they still haven't come to church on a consistent basis.
We're teaching Sister L. who is the "wife" of a Less-Active member. She's a firecracker! We were teaching about the Restoration, and asked how she expected to know if it's true, and she responded, "A white rabbit." What?! She explained that for her, if she either had a dream with a white rabbit or if during one of our lessons a white rabbit ran in, she'd know it was a sign from God that it's true. We explained about the Holy Ghost, and how the Spirit testifies to us. We went back to her on Saturday, and followed up on her reading and prayer. She said, "Elders, it happened just as you said it would. I was reading, and I just got the most beautiful feeling that I can't describe. That's exactly what you said would happen, I know it's true!" Wow! Now, like the rest of the country, we need to get her married!
Yesterday was a bit of a discouraging day for me. We were expecting to have 11 investigators at church, and only 4 showed up. It was really sad! Every missionary knows the feeling, you're sitting in church, Sacrament is about to start, and so many people you had hoped to see aren't there! You start evaluating yourself, asking, "What more could I have done? How can I improve? If they know it's true, why are they not here?" I've had a lot of experiences like that so far, but yesterday was one of the hardest. It's hard to understand sometimes, but it's a part of the process. Earlier this morning I read an Elder Holland talk that I'd like to share an excerpt from:
"I shared with the missionaries in Sao Paulo yesterday the story of Moses of how he might have felt as he got ready to lead the children of Israel: “Lord, I’ll do this. I’ll take on Pharaoh, I’ll face the soothsayers, witches and doctors and the serpents, and we’ll get blood running in the river, and we’ll part the Red Sea, but I can’t do it alone. I couldn’t even try. I’m the least adequate man alive. I can’t even talk. I need a companion to translate for me. I can’t do any of this, but we’ll do it, parting the Red Sea and crossing the River Jordan and claiming our inheritance, but I have to know that you will go with us. I have to know that you’ll be the divine comforter in this missionary service. Otherwise, we can’t go. We’re not even going to leave Cairo. We’re just going to stay here. We’re just going to stay here and stack bricks. We can’t do it. There is no way that we can fight Pharaoh or fate or sand dunes or water unless the very power of heaven, unless the power of Almighty God is resting on our shoulders and in our hearts. That is a legitimate request to make of a missionary, and it is a legitimate answer that God gives saying, “You’re on! That’s a deal! You don’t have to wonder about me. Worry about yourself. Don’t worry about me—I can do it!” And He can! And He does! You will succeed in this work. You will succeed at this work because it is God’s to do, and all you have to do is say, “Here, use me. Take me."
We're all weak, all inadequate. When we look at missionary work or other things, it may seem too big, too unrealistic, and too impossible. But if we remember that God has a plan, and as long as we're His, we will not fail. I know that through His grace, or the enabling power of Christ, we will accomplish all things. All we need to do is give ourselves to Him, walk in faith, and watch as He works miracles and wonders in our lives and in others.
Love,
Elder Yost
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