And this day finds me very well, and I hope the same can be said of all of you! Today we haven't really done anything at all, which is okay! We went grocery shopping, to the offices to pick up pouch (hey, I got some! And from some dear friends that I haven't heard from in a while, too!!), and...that's about it. Yay, a day to relax! Those are always nice, and all too infrequent in the mission. So yep, that's how today's gone.
Well, the truth, this week, and the past couple of weeks, have been rather difficult for me. I've really kinda felt like I haven't been living up to my missionary purpose, but now I have nowhere to go but up, so I'm at a good place in my life. :) General Conference really helped. I especially loved the Priesthood session, which really made me want to truly magnify the Priesthood which I hold and to bless the people that I have been sent to bless. All of the sessions were fantastic, and I got to watch almost all of them in English! I didn't get to see the first session in English, and half of the 4th session was in Spanish because too many people came for us North Americans to be able to watch it in English, but that's okay. What really affected me the most was during the prayer at the end of the first session. I felt such great gratitude for being able to feel the Holy Ghost in my life now. For such a long time I was so far away from being able to feel His presence in my life, but not I can feel the Holy Ghost and enjoy receiving testimonies of the truth with frequency. It is such an incredible feeling, and I was was so grateful that I definitely cried. I may have also cried during most of the hymns, which were all so amazing, gorgeous, and spiritual. At the end of every day, I remember walking back out into the world and thinking, "Dang. I don't like the world so much." The Spirit and feeling His presence is just so refreshing and uplifting, and to walk from one spiritually-enriched environment to a spiritually-deprived environment was almost depressing. But I'm going to do my best to make that ratio a little bit smaller and to bring a bit more of the Spirit to those who are deprived of Him.
Every week I think of something cultural that I want to share, and then I forget it...oh wait! I remembered it! It's a dish here that is served on every street corner and every restaurant, and everywhere in between. It's called cuero, which, being translated literally means "leather". What the dish is isn't too terribly far from it's translation. It's pig skin that has been boiled and cooked, and it's served with many, many things, though usually in a soup or cebiche. I personally am not a fan of it, and basically any other missionary isn't really a fan, but Ecuadorians seem to love it. So now you know.
 |
| Basillica |
Well, now I must be going. Darn, 30 minutes goes by way too fast, but así es. I love you all, and I am so very grateful to know all of you and to be supported by all of you. I hope that this Easter weekend all of you can remember why it is that we celebrate Easter. I testify that Christ broke the bonds of death and was resurrected so that each and every one of us could also receive this great gift of immortality and the opportunity to gain eternal life. I know that if it were not for Christ's Resurrection, we would never be able to return to the presence of God, and our bodies and spirits would be eternally separated, to never again be joined. But now, because Christ was "the firstfruits of those that slept", we can all become like our Heavenly Father and our Saviour and live with our families eternally. For this we celebrate Easter, and while the chocolate and such is tasty, let us not lose sight of the Light of the World in this time. I love you, and have a wonderful time until next week!
 |
| It's all about perspective! |
 |
| That is one tired Elder! |
Elder Schomburg
No comments:
Post a Comment