Monday, April 1, 2013

Sunburns and Psalms

 Well, I've never gotten a sunburn in March before! I'm definitely not in Oregon anymore! On Saturday, we had a barbeque at the church - hamburgers, bouncy house, music, lotteria (which is a lot like Bingo)... It was so good to get to meet more members of the ward (or congregation). Sister Klaus and I got so ridiculously sunburned! Check out our classy tan lines!
 
 
Also, here's an El Paso quirk. When you go to someone's home they always offer you a drink, but the water here isn't very good so they'll offer you a water bottle. It's so nice of them because it's hot and we don't want to get dehydrated. But it also means that when we clean the car, we end up with a pile something like this-  
 
 
We've been keeping busy and teaching lots of people this week. In one of my favorite lessons, we talked about a chapter in the Book of Mormon often nicknamed, "The Psalm of Nephi," (2 Nephi 4: 17-35) .  Nephi was a prophet, but at this point in his life, he was having a hard time. His father had just died and his brothers kept trying to kill him (that always puts a damper on my day). Also he's upset with himself for being imperfect. Do we ever get down on ourselves for not living up to the perfect standard we hope to achieve? I know I do. 'The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.' Well, Nephi is feeling pretty down on himself so he pours out his heart to God. God loves us. Each and every one of us is His child. And like any parent, He wants to hear from you, even if you're not sure what to say, Nephi just tells God exactly what he's thinking, how frustrated he is, how much he wants to be a better person. I love to see how, over the course of this prayer, his tone changes. Through prayer, Nephi's heart is comforted and he's given a renewed hope.
 
You should read the Psalm of Nephi and tell me what you think! You know you want to. It's just one page. And what else are you gonna do right now, scroll through your newsfeed? :) http://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/2-ne/4?lang=eng
 
Well, I love being a missionary, sunburn and all. I plan on having a fantastic week this week and I hope you'll do the same!
 

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