Am I already emailing you again?
Time is going by soo fast. It is crazy, I don't even know what to say. This week was full of ups and downs, but mostly ups I think. The biggest news is that Kavita had her baby!! It's a girl, which in India they don't find out until the baby is born, and they also don't give them a name until after 19 days..don't ask me why I couldn't understand that much Hindi. But she is way cute and Kavita looks so happy, and I'm happy for her. She is a good mom already to her 1 year old son Sunnit and she'll be great with her daughter as well. When the time comes they have asked me to do the baby blessing, which means a lot. The father is less active and doesn't have the priesthood and doesn't show much sign of progression. I would love to work with him on that and get to the point where he could do the blessing because that would be great for the family, but we'll see how that goes. Also the baby was a bit premature and is only 2 kgs.or 4.5 lbs. She had some breathing problems at first, but is doing great now. So the blessing won't be for a while and who even know if I'll be in Dwarka still. Anyways...hospitals in India are gross...just know that.
This week, and all of October there are so many festivals and holidays. The crackers (fireworks) are going off like crazy all the time. Tuesday we were locked up all day and it will be the same on Diwali on the 30th. India knows how to get crazy.and it actually gets a little sketchy. The culture shock for me is pretty much long gone; in fact the only culture shock I feel is how well I have adapted to the culture. This place is so weird compared to Idaho but I feel like I belong here. I can sit on any rock solid surface cross legged for hours, I have learned some Indian dances, I eat with my hands like it's nothin, I can eat the hottest chili’s without coughing..even though my face turns red and I sweat like crazy, and I feel as if I have lived here for two years already. I even wear some traditional Indian clothes and I can cook curry. So all is good here in India.
It also sounds like all is good back home. I'm super jealous of the family for going to the BYU game. I miss the Y and it sounds like it was a great time. Dallas is also winning it seems and I bet they and the Jazz will both win a championship just because I can't watch them. I think that's how Heavenly Father shows His humor. I miss football and family more than you would ever know. It's definitely a harder sacrifice than I thought it would be. And I thought it would be really hard, ha-ha. Anyway I'll get to the important stuff. This week I still have been thinking about General Conference and trying to apply it into my life and one of the topics that just seemed to keep coming up was Repentance. Now I'm trying to apply this into my own life, as well as to my investigators and members lives. I have learned a lot about it the last couple of weeks and want to share with you what I feel and have learned.
I used to always think of Repentance as like a punishment almost, like "Oh you have to Repent now or else" and in a way yes if we don’t repent that's not good. But it's not that we Have to Repent, it's that we Get to Repent. I always was scared of Repentance and thought that it was a bad thing. It's exactly opposite really. It's such a blessing. Without Repentance how could we ever become better people, and truly follow the Savior. Repentance is an essential part to the great Plan of Happiness. The scriptural definition is to change your view of yourself, of God, and of others. Without this constant change of view, for the better, we would be stuck in one place, or worse..digressing in the Gospel. But because we have the opportunity to repent and change that view, to humble ourselves and accept our mistakes, we can then be propelled forward by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Repentance is one of the many blessings that come from the Atonement and because of Christ's last sacrifice we don't have to sacrifice animals to God anymore like in Old Testament times..or like the Muslims in the streets of India in 2016. Anyways back to the topic, all we have to do now is offer up a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. If we truly have sorrow in our hearts, and want to change our lives and our views, we can be forgiven through the repentance process. But we have to take that opportunity, we have to confess and forsake our sins. We have to accept the Atonement in our lives and the fact that we are not perfect. And sometimes that's the hardest part, accepting that we're wrong. So I'll explain like I do with my investigators.
Imagine your best friend came up to you and told you they had two tickets to the greatest event in the world..for me it would be the Super Bowl with Dallas playing the Patriots and whomping on them. And your friend paid for it all and just wanted you to come with them. All you have to do, is show up. And then the next week comes along and you know the event is happening but you choose not to go, you choose to stay at home and sleep. How would that make your friend feel? How would he feel after doing all of that for the both of you to enjoy together, and then you choosing not to go? Well in that exact same way, Jesus Christ literally is the Savior of the World, he paid for your ticket, and your friend’s ticket, and your family’s tickets, and everyone who will ever come to this Earth has their ticket paid for. A one way flight to the Celestial Kingdom. The Atonement was infinite and Eternal. Are we going to show up? Are we going to do our very small part, and Repent? I hope I will..I hope everyone will. Because the price has been paid, every penny, or rupee, or drop of blood needed..was paid in full. All we need to do is Follow Him. It won't be easy, but it will always be possible.
Brothers and Sisters...family and friends. I love you to death. Never pass up on the opportunity and the blessing we have to repent. Accept your ticket, and you'll feel the Saviors Love.
Love you so much. Go MV.
Elder Armstrong
Time is going by soo fast. It is crazy, I don't even know what to say. This week was full of ups and downs, but mostly ups I think. The biggest news is that Kavita had her baby!! It's a girl, which in India they don't find out until the baby is born, and they also don't give them a name until after 19 days..don't ask me why I couldn't understand that much Hindi. But she is way cute and Kavita looks so happy, and I'm happy for her. She is a good mom already to her 1 year old son Sunnit and she'll be great with her daughter as well. When the time comes they have asked me to do the baby blessing, which means a lot. The father is less active and doesn't have the priesthood and doesn't show much sign of progression. I would love to work with him on that and get to the point where he could do the blessing because that would be great for the family, but we'll see how that goes. Also the baby was a bit premature and is only 2 kgs.or 4.5 lbs. She had some breathing problems at first, but is doing great now. So the blessing won't be for a while and who even know if I'll be in Dwarka still. Anyways...hospitals in India are gross...just know that.
This week, and all of October there are so many festivals and holidays. The crackers (fireworks) are going off like crazy all the time. Tuesday we were locked up all day and it will be the same on Diwali on the 30th. India knows how to get crazy.and it actually gets a little sketchy. The culture shock for me is pretty much long gone; in fact the only culture shock I feel is how well I have adapted to the culture. This place is so weird compared to Idaho but I feel like I belong here. I can sit on any rock solid surface cross legged for hours, I have learned some Indian dances, I eat with my hands like it's nothin, I can eat the hottest chili’s without coughing..even though my face turns red and I sweat like crazy, and I feel as if I have lived here for two years already. I even wear some traditional Indian clothes and I can cook curry. So all is good here in India.
It also sounds like all is good back home. I'm super jealous of the family for going to the BYU game. I miss the Y and it sounds like it was a great time. Dallas is also winning it seems and I bet they and the Jazz will both win a championship just because I can't watch them. I think that's how Heavenly Father shows His humor. I miss football and family more than you would ever know. It's definitely a harder sacrifice than I thought it would be. And I thought it would be really hard, ha-ha. Anyway I'll get to the important stuff. This week I still have been thinking about General Conference and trying to apply it into my life and one of the topics that just seemed to keep coming up was Repentance. Now I'm trying to apply this into my own life, as well as to my investigators and members lives. I have learned a lot about it the last couple of weeks and want to share with you what I feel and have learned.
I used to always think of Repentance as like a punishment almost, like "Oh you have to Repent now or else" and in a way yes if we don’t repent that's not good. But it's not that we Have to Repent, it's that we Get to Repent. I always was scared of Repentance and thought that it was a bad thing. It's exactly opposite really. It's such a blessing. Without Repentance how could we ever become better people, and truly follow the Savior. Repentance is an essential part to the great Plan of Happiness. The scriptural definition is to change your view of yourself, of God, and of others. Without this constant change of view, for the better, we would be stuck in one place, or worse..digressing in the Gospel. But because we have the opportunity to repent and change that view, to humble ourselves and accept our mistakes, we can then be propelled forward by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Repentance is one of the many blessings that come from the Atonement and because of Christ's last sacrifice we don't have to sacrifice animals to God anymore like in Old Testament times..or like the Muslims in the streets of India in 2016. Anyways back to the topic, all we have to do now is offer up a sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit. If we truly have sorrow in our hearts, and want to change our lives and our views, we can be forgiven through the repentance process. But we have to take that opportunity, we have to confess and forsake our sins. We have to accept the Atonement in our lives and the fact that we are not perfect. And sometimes that's the hardest part, accepting that we're wrong. So I'll explain like I do with my investigators.
Imagine your best friend came up to you and told you they had two tickets to the greatest event in the world..for me it would be the Super Bowl with Dallas playing the Patriots and whomping on them. And your friend paid for it all and just wanted you to come with them. All you have to do, is show up. And then the next week comes along and you know the event is happening but you choose not to go, you choose to stay at home and sleep. How would that make your friend feel? How would he feel after doing all of that for the both of you to enjoy together, and then you choosing not to go? Well in that exact same way, Jesus Christ literally is the Savior of the World, he paid for your ticket, and your friend’s ticket, and your family’s tickets, and everyone who will ever come to this Earth has their ticket paid for. A one way flight to the Celestial Kingdom. The Atonement was infinite and Eternal. Are we going to show up? Are we going to do our very small part, and Repent? I hope I will..I hope everyone will. Because the price has been paid, every penny, or rupee, or drop of blood needed..was paid in full. All we need to do is Follow Him. It won't be easy, but it will always be possible.
Brothers and Sisters...family and friends. I love you to death. Never pass up on the opportunity and the blessing we have to repent. Accept your ticket, and you'll feel the Saviors Love.
Love you so much. Go MV.
Elder Armstrong
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