Week 18

This week was pretty rough. We faced a lot of rejection and didn´t have too many lessons. We learned recently that there are one of three reasons that we experience little success in the mission. 1. we aren´t being obedient 2. we aren´t communicating as a companionship or 3. it´s a test from God. I know that my companion and I are being obedient, but many times we don´t communicate as much as we should, so we tried to improve on that this week and are continuing to improve. Even after we tried that, we still didn´t experience much success, so I´m almost positive that we just experienced a really rough test this week. It´s really easy to forget about all the many blessings we have in our lives and focus on the negatives when we experience tests like that. It´s also really easy to forget that tests are a part of this life and are necessary for growth. We are here to be tested. We came here to learn and to grow. Without tests, we can´t do that. I know that the Lord never gives us tests that He knows we can´t overcome. We can always overcome them if we trust Him. Like Elder Holland said in the conference this past weekend, "if the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong." With Christ and through Christ, all is made possible. Related to that, I want to share a story. There was an olympic runner named David (I think) Redmund. He trained all his life to run in one race. When that time came and the race started, he looked to have a chance at winning. However, during the race, he injured his leg and collapsed. For a short time, he stayed on the ground. After a few seconds, he got up and began hopping toward the finish line. As he was doing so, his father ran onto the track, put his arm around him, and helped him finish the race. As they hobbled toward the finish line, many ran up and tried to stop them, but they were determined to finish the race. As those trying to stop them ran up to them, David´s father motioned them to leave as he yelled "he is my son." This is like our lives. Many times, the race is going great for us, but we inevitably fall. We make mistakes, people reject us, and we don´t have the success we were hoping for. But, thanks to the Atonement, we have a way to pick ourselves up. However, like this example, we cannot finish the race alone. Once we rely on Christ to pick us up, we can´t let go. We have to hold on, because without Him, we cannot finish the race. We will experience obstacles, like those who attempted to stop David and his dad, but we have a Father who can help us overcome all, who is always ready to remind us that We are His son/daughter. This General Conference was amazing and I hope everyone had the chance to watch it. If you didn´t, you can listen/watch/read it at lds.org. I know that the leaders of this church are inspired by God. I know that Christ is at the head of this church. It (along with my family and the love of my eternal life, Micaela Morgan Wright) gives me strength to share this message everyday, no matter what happens. I hope everyone has a great week!

Chau!

Elder Reynolds