Dear family and friends,
This has been another week in the life of Elder Boothe. There hasn't been a whole lot that's happened.
I've ventured out a little bit in terms of cooking: I made lasagna by myself for the first time ever. I used a recipe from Elder Adona's cookbook. It was delicious and I shared a lot of it with a bunch of different missionaries. They liked it and I liked it so I consider the recipe a success. I also made a chicken alfredo fettucini which was delicious! I actually ventured out and bought a chicken. Elder Adona helped me make the chicken and cook it. It smelled really good and the chicken came apart very easily. Elder Sheets' birthday is coming up this week (Elder Sheets is a missionary I live with. He's one of the zone leaders) and Elder Adona said he was going to make him oreo cookies from scratch. I said I'd help Elder Adona so this should be fun.
So I'd like you to ponder these questions personally that were asked to me:
- What is an area in your life that you feel that you need to improve on the most?
- If your companion (sibling,spouse,parent etc.) were here right beside you and we asked him/her on what area you need to improve on what would they say?
- If the Savior Himself were right beside you and He has His arm around, He's telling you that He loves you but there's just one thing...what would that one thing be?
And what are you doing now to work on these things?
I figured that this would be helpful for all of you because I've found these same questions helpful for me as well. I've just been too impatient with my investigators lately as I've been caught up too much on the techincal mechanics of the mission but the mission is really all about the spiritual progess that our investigators are making, the invitations that will lead them to come unto Christ and the joy that comes from gospel living. As we consecrate our lives more fully to the Lord He in turn blesses us by consecrating everything we go through to the welfare and benefit of His children. The scriptures repeatedly tell us that the Lord consecrates our afflictions for our gain.
2 Nephi 2:2 - "Nevertheless, Jacob, my first-born in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."
2 Nephi 2:25 - "And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction." (The entire Nephite-Lamanite conflicts are consecrated so that when the Nephites forget the Lord their afflictions bring them back to Him. To look unto God is everlasting life.)
Alma 32:6 - "And now when Alma heard this, he turned him about, his face immediately towards him, and he beheld with great joy; for he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word." (Here the poor people among the Zoramites are being prepared to hear Alma and Amulek and how are they being prepared? Through being cast out of a synagogue.)
So there are a few examples of how the Lord consecrates our trials for our gain but there are more examples. Right now our teaching pool's shrunk again but Elder Adona and I are making plans to change that.
Anyway that's all for now folks. Good to hear from you all. I love you and pray for you.
Love,
Elder Boothe
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