Transfer 10 Week 4

Well hello. 

I love general conference, especially on the mission. I always feel spiritually protected from evil and temptation. I feel like a sheild of light gets formed around me as I listen to the words, and feel the spirit prick my heart. It is truly amazing. I loved many of the talks,  and testimonies of the leaders, and felt strongly the presence of the savior. That was dwfinily the highlight of my week. 

Well, basically this week we worked really hard. We taught lots of good people about the savior and anytime you get the oppoutrtunity to do that, its just great. I also got really sick. So ww went on monday to play wiffle ball with the district and the next day, I startwd to get a little bit of a head cold, but I thought it would be fine or go away. False. So I proceeded to get a littlw worse on Wednesday, and then on thrusday, I got a really bad fever, and had the chills, etc. So all of the me really getting sick stuffed happend while we were at the relief society presidents ouse, so then she gave me some medicine, and made mw go home and "rest". So I did as I was commanded, and took the rest of thursday and rested, and THEN Friday I was a lot better. I am still super congested but good to go now. So that was kind of lame, but sickness is just weakness leaving the body, right? So tchnically speaking I am stronger now than I was on Monday. Physically and spiritually.... 

Well not much has changed. We did decide on what we are going to do in our ward to get them pumped up! So we are goingnto have a Book of Mormon week. We are making a book of mormon video, like the "pass the pineapple" video from physch. So it will be cool, because now that we have facebook we want to stsrt using it to peak peoples interest in learning more about he gospel, etc. So I am really pumped for that. 

Well as many of you know, I will be having a birthday here pretty quick. I will officially be able to buy achohol in the untied states, and.... Well, Oh I can have a normal drivers license, right? Well I just have one wish for my birthday. I wish that all of you could go and find one person this week who is alone, sad, depressed, stressed out,  or burnt out and give them 10 minutes of your time. Listen if they need you to listen. Talk if they need you to talk, but just try your best to be the pwrson that that person needs. Will you do that? All I want is for you to do that, and to send me your stories of how you felt afterwards. Okay? 

Well I just have a cook story/talk from my friends mom. So... 

When we first got to the falls, there was a mother bear fishing the falls with her cubs.  She is Bear 171 to be specific (all of the adult bears are numbered by the rangers where possible). This mama is an incredible fisherman.  She was getting three fish for every one caught by the large, adult males at the falls.  This lady just knew how to hustle and get the job done.  She knew that her days at the falls were numbered, because once the REALLY big bears arrive, it's too dangerous to have cubs around (sometimes larger males will kill and eat bear cubs).  So Bear 171 was really focused on teaching those cubs how to fish and she felt the urgency of her task.  One day, she had caught 8 or 9 fish and the cubs were happy and well fed, and they wandered out of the river and climbed a nearby tree where they played around.  Bear 171 was so focused on fishing that it took her a moment to notice they were gone.  You should have seen the action when she turned around and realized her cubs were no longer at her side. That bear SPRINTED for the shore, and when she saw those cubs goofing off in a tree, she went to the base of it and growled LOUDLY up the tree.  Who knows what she said in bear language, but I'll tell you that within 10 seconds those cubs had RACED down the tree and were back in the river at their mother's side, watching her every move.  I'm calling this lesson, "GET OUT OF THE TREES, and INTO THE RIVER." Those bears have a small window of time when they can learn to fish, a skill necessary for their survival.  Their mother knew it, and she made sure they were in that water. 

So, the application? We all have trees in our lives, things that are fun, things that are entertaining and possibly distract us from the task at hand. But the RIVER is the LIVING WATER of the Gospel.  We need to remember to come out of the trees and get into the river.  It takes patience to sit in the river and wait for a fish.  It takes diligence and hard work and discipline.  But learning how to be fed and nourished in living water is the thing we MOST need in this life.  So when the salmon are running, we need to be there to learn and to fish.  I would say for you Elders, THE SALMON ARE RUNNING.  Your mission is the time to be fully immersed in the river.  The bear cubs can only stand in shallow water or they will be washed downstream, but as they learn and grow, they are eventually able to stand in the deep pools of water where the most fish are gathered.  You are no longer bear cubs.  You are learning to fish the deep waters.  Be obedient to your mission presidents.  For this time, STAY out of the trees and IN the river.  As you do so, you will always be blessed.