Wednesday, November 13, 2013

"Our Purpose" - Letter, November 11, 2013

Ok, so this week has been a long one. Something has been in the air and it hasn't gone the way we planned it to. :( We had some really good plans, and most of them have fallen through. At the same time, we had some really amazing things go on.

1. Empty Bowls: So there is this thing that they do here in Oxford, well all around the world from what I understand, called Empty Bowls. It is a fundraiser that is seriously awesome!!!!!! So a group of people locally organize it, and they get bowls from all over. There is a do it yourself pottery shop here that is owned by a member. They donated about 200 bowls. And then they got donations from local artists, schools, and such. They bring them in to the place of the event, and then they sell the bowls, and a meal for $10.00. So you get soup and bread and desert and a drink. All the food is donated by people in the community. So our Empty Bowls was held at the local Methodist church. Friday night, we went and helped wash the bowls. We washed about 900, at least. Then the next day, the people come to the event. They came in and it was awe-inspiring to see that many people out. All the funds, and I mean all, go to the Oxford Community Choice Food Pantry, where Sis. Savage and I volunteer regularly. It was great. Oh, and you get to keep the bowl. They set them all out and you get to pick the one you want. Mah, it was great. And you can do this wherever. It's not an Oxford thing. It's all over apparently.

2. Judy: She picked a date. Yay! She decided that she is going to work on December 7, 2013. Now she just has to make it happen. God will be with her, and so will we. I realized last night that I have honestly done everything possible to make it happen, including house hunting, and now I am not responsible for her. She is going to have to do it. I will be there to help, but she has to find the strength to make it happen. It can't come from me.

3. Light bulb: Ok, along with the thought listed just above, I came to another point of understanding.  I was talking to my dad's secretary one day and we were talking about how people shelter their children and when they get out into the real world, it will slap them in the face. She made the comment that what happens in the temple is what the real world really is. At the time, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Now it does. Every time I see someone who is in pain or having doubts about life, or families that aren't sealed, or when they don't understand how amazing the Gospel is, it always makes me think of the temple and the things that happen inside. We learn the most important things for us to know inside the temple, and without the temple, we cannot progress. When others don't want those blessings, or don't understand, they are then missing out on what the real world is really like. Without those temple ordinances, we cannot have Eternal Life, which is the greatest of the gifts of God.

4. Our Purpose: I also learned some stuff about what I am doing here, on a mission. I learned it this morning, to be exact. It was really cool. We took our purpose, and broke it down and defined words using both a normal dictionary and the Bible Dictionary. So, when we re-wrote it using the definitions, mine turned out like this:

Our firm intention is to ask others to arrive at the feet of Christ, and to support them as they react to the restored Good News that Christ has made and Atonement for us: by way of confidence in Jesus Christ; by them becoming one with Him and no longer being estranged from Him; by way of a change of heart and mind-a fresh view about God, themselves, and the world; by the sacred ordinance of baptism, so that they may remember their personal commitments to God; by way of receiving the power and capacity of the Holy Ghost in their lives; and by lasting to the limit of mortality and the eternities.

I know that I am called as a missionary so that I may help others do these things. I know that, and I am striving daily to fulfill my calling. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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