I am doing fairly well on this wonderful day in Quito. Wait, did I say Quito? Well, that's not a typo, because here I am in the zone Santa Ana as the junior companion! "What?!?" you say as you read junior companion in Quito. Well, I'm the junior companion because I'm the new zone leader in Santa Ana, and my companion, Elder Rodriguez, has more time than I do, so he's the senior zone leader, and I'm the junior zone leader. So that's a bit different. Last Tuesday I received the call that the next day I would be coming here to Santa Ana as a zone leader, and I almost fell off my shoes. It really came as quite a shock, and it was a bit frustrating too because now I won't know until April what happened with all of our investigators in Riobamba. But asà is the mission. I just gotta go where the Lord tells me to go and do what He tells me to do. So, until further notice, I'll just keep doing the Lord's work here in Quito.
So, what do I want to say today? I'm not quite sure. Well, maybe I'll talk a bit about enduring to the end. That seems to be the hardest thing for me to do. There are so many things to do and they all have to be done all the time, and frankly it's hard to do those things all the time. Also, one has to persevere in his decision to leave behind past things. All of these things really start adding up, and it gets pretty difficult. The world can be so tempting sometimes, and as a missionary with higher standards to follow even the "regular" things are super tempting. TV, magazines, books, etc., they're all super tempting. Waking up on time can sometimes be difficult, too. It's always just the little things, but I know that by doing the little things one is bound to be blessed by the Lord. But Satan also knows that it's easier to get someone to stop doing the little things than to get him to do the big, wrong things (I'm pretty sure C.S. Lewis wrote a book about that called the Screwtape Letters). It's just so hard to stay firm, and the results of not staying firm scare me to death. But that's why in the Gospel of Jesus Christ it's not just baptism, receiving of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. First comes faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement, then comes repentance. Part of enduring to the end includes constantly having faith in the Lord and in His atonement, and when one messes up then he can repent by exercising his faith in Christ. I am so incredibly grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. Without the atonement, none of us could ever repent. We could try and try and try, but it would never work. It would have no use. But because of the atonement, each and every one of us has the grand opportunity to admit our wrongness and the need to change our life and to really change our life and put it more in line with the will of the Father. We can forsake all of our sins and eventually return to the presence of God. We can endure to the end, having the hope that any mistake can and will be forgiven if we repent. So is enduring to the end impossible? Far from it. It's perfectly possible, and we must only rely on the Lord and have faith in His atonement in order to endure.
Less spiritual thought: The phrase of the day is, "Can you slouch down in the chair more? You're too tall." - The barber. That's something that I can never forget here; I'm a big guy. I'm reminded by it several times in a day, and it always amuses me. I guess I like being big.
Jeffrey, you hang in there! You know what is right, you know the truth, and don't ever be afraid to share it. Remember D&C 24:12; "And at all times, and in all places, he shall open his mouth and declare my gospel as with the voice of a trump, both day and night. And I will give unto him strength such as is not known among men." You shall be given strength as is not known among men to stand firm in your testimony and help bring others unto Christ, even before your mission. You're as much as a missionary as I am, and this promise is just as much for you as it is for me. You're doing an amazing job, and I am incredibly proud of who you are and who you are becoming. Keep on keeping on!!
I was a bit sad to hear that Bijou had to be put down, but I know it was for the best. Dang, me being on a mission seems to be bad luck for our pets. I'll miss Bijou, but I'm sure he's doing much better now that he's not suffering anymore. [Bijou was my 12 1/2 year old toy poodle who had developed diabetes and kidney failure - I had to make the decision to put him to sleep last week.]
Well, I think that's all that I have for right now. Oh hey, I got a bit (read: a lot) of pouch! Thank you so very much to everyone who has written me! I really am extraordinarily grateful for each and every letter that you all send me. Please keep on sending, and I'll keep on doing my best to respond. Well, have a wonderful day and week everyone! I love you all so incredibly much! Keep on doing your best to follow the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and if you don't know exactly what it is, you can refer to earlier in this letter or you can contact a local representative of Jesus Christ (i.e. Elder or Sister from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), though I'd recommend the latter. If you ever have questions, send them to one of my family members and my mom will do her best to transfer them to me. Or you can just write me. One of those two. Okay, I love you! ¡Chao!
Love,
Elder Schomburg
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