"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
- Isaiah 40:31
I watched a video today about when a promise was given to the saints that if they paid their tithing, that it would rain and their crops would grow strong. Well, the first thing some people did was doubt, and they didn’t believe. They did not put their faith in God. The other group went and planted, paid their tithing, AND hand-watered their crops for a time. Summer began. Summer comes, and it begins to take a lot of water from the ground really fast. (All Arizonians know this.) They had moments where it looked bleak, like the promise of God wouldn´t come true, but still they had faith. And then, after a little time, it rained, and rained, and rained until the crops were ready. And they were good crops. It was all because of their faith. I learned that when we put our faith in God and wait for his timing while doing all that we can, He will bless more abundantly than we can even imagine.
Think about that. We have to wait, and we wait until God is ready to bless us. Not when we want the blessings to come. I have seen many people here in Chile think that they do their part, and then wait for a little... I would like to correct a statement I made earlier. There are actually three groups"
1- Those that don’t even begin to believe, or put their faith in God
2- Those that begin strong, but once the pressure and heat get turned up a bit, they fail.
And 3- those who begin strong, hold out strong TO THE END, and then receive the blessings.
Anyways, this is just something that I have seen as I have been here, and I just wanted to share with you all that I felt and have learned about it.
On a lighter note, there was a baptism this week! Not ours, but the young man who was baptized is a good friend that I have made since I have been here. It was really, really great to see him enter into this covenant with God and begin his path towards eternal life. I was so happy to see this happen. One thing that happens on the mission is that you begin to learn what it TRULY means to love someone. I can’t even begin to describe it. It is much, much more than a feeling, and much more than a thought. When you think about someone all day and you worry about them and you pray for them with all your soul that they can find their way in this hard world, then you have the beginnings of love. That is what I believe. And then, it develops into charity, which is basically when you can see someone like how God sees them. It is so much more than love. I can’t even explain it.
I went on splits this week, which is when you go with another missionary who is not your companion, and you go teach in their area. So, we went to his area and went to go and talk to an investigator, and it was really great! He is a man who wants to quit smoking with all his heart, and he wants more than anything to get baptized. He really wants this, but he is afraid that he will mess up and will break his promise to God. I told him about me before I left on my mission. About two nights before, I felt so afraid. I was leaving my family and friends and my everything behind. I was going on the other side of the world!!! And I was terribly afraid. I felt so inadequate, but my parents taught me that I needed to recognize where this fear was coming from. I knew my whole life that I should leave on a mission, and I knew it was the right thing to do. Now I definitely know it. I told him that my parents taught me that this fear was from Satan. He doesn’t want us to be closer to God, so he strikes us with this fear and it seems as if we are encircled with darkness. I told him that I knew that if we take that step into the darkness and put our faith in God, that he will light the way. And I KNOW that with all my heart. If I didn’t, I never would have taken this “first step” and come on my mission.
Basically, I have put my faith in God, and I will wait for the time it takes for him to bless me. And I know that it is going to be hard because if I wasn’t doing the right thing, it would be easy. I KNOW I am here for the right reason and that I can do all things through Christ. I know this church is true. And I will write you all again next week to share with you a little bit more of my testimony. I sure love you all!
Elder Gale
2- Those that begin strong, but once the pressure and heat get turned up a bit, they fail.
And 3- those who begin strong, hold out strong TO THE END, and then receive the blessings.
Anyways, this is just something that I have seen as I have been here, and I just wanted to share with you all that I felt and have learned about it.
On a lighter note, there was a baptism this week! Not ours, but the young man who was baptized is a good friend that I have made since I have been here. It was really, really great to see him enter into this covenant with God and begin his path towards eternal life. I was so happy to see this happen. One thing that happens on the mission is that you begin to learn what it TRULY means to love someone. I can’t even begin to describe it. It is much, much more than a feeling, and much more than a thought. When you think about someone all day and you worry about them and you pray for them with all your soul that they can find their way in this hard world, then you have the beginnings of love. That is what I believe. And then, it develops into charity, which is basically when you can see someone like how God sees them. It is so much more than love. I can’t even explain it.
I went on splits this week, which is when you go with another missionary who is not your companion, and you go teach in their area. So, we went to his area and went to go and talk to an investigator, and it was really great! He is a man who wants to quit smoking with all his heart, and he wants more than anything to get baptized. He really wants this, but he is afraid that he will mess up and will break his promise to God. I told him about me before I left on my mission. About two nights before, I felt so afraid. I was leaving my family and friends and my everything behind. I was going on the other side of the world!!! And I was terribly afraid. I felt so inadequate, but my parents taught me that I needed to recognize where this fear was coming from. I knew my whole life that I should leave on a mission, and I knew it was the right thing to do. Now I definitely know it. I told him that my parents taught me that this fear was from Satan. He doesn’t want us to be closer to God, so he strikes us with this fear and it seems as if we are encircled with darkness. I told him that I knew that if we take that step into the darkness and put our faith in God, that he will light the way. And I KNOW that with all my heart. If I didn’t, I never would have taken this “first step” and come on my mission.
Basically, I have put my faith in God, and I will wait for the time it takes for him to bless me. And I know that it is going to be hard because if I wasn’t doing the right thing, it would be easy. I KNOW I am here for the right reason and that I can do all things through Christ. I know this church is true. And I will write you all again next week to share with you a little bit more of my testimony. I sure love you all!
Elder Gale
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