Week Fifty-Eight

Hey guys,

Right now I'm in a small cyber cafe in AmarColony, it's hot, it's sweaty, I'm hungry, I smell bad already and I showered 2 hours ago, and Gordon Hayward left the Jazz. So yeah it's not going to be the best P day ever, but I will just keep on going. Some day the Jazz will win a championship, and that will be the day I will literally just sit back and cry tears of joy from all the years I cheered them on. Never give up on your team. But seriously, I'm such a little kid at heart about my teams. 

This week was an awesome week, there's a lot of stuff keeping me busy and I barely even notice the days going by. The 4th of July Party was awesome; I didn't get sick, and the mystery meat tasted amazing! (kind of) It's really hard to eat meat, I don't know why, but it's just hard. I'm so scared I'm going to be messed up and not be able to eat beef for a long time. I miss America and it was good to celebrate, but before I know it I'll be back home crying to come back to India. 

This week we were teaching Rakesh's sister, Rabina, and she is doing so good. She is such a cool kid and truly is starting to understand the gospel, she has found some friends in Young Women, and she is enjoying church. She even asked for a hymn book because she wants to learn to sing the hymns, which will be awesome cause she needs help improving her English. So Elder Karkala and I are going out of our way to get a little hymn book for her, she'll love it. Rakesh is doing great as well; he might be my favorite member in all of Delhi. He is totally committed, he loves the gospel, he helps all the Elders, and he gives referrals like crazy. He is starting to save up for a mission, and he bought a laptop for his studies, which is a big deal. The first thing he put on his laptop was all the bible videos, Mormon messages, hymns, and any other video made by the church. He's the perfect example of what the Gospel can do to change a person's life. 

This week I have just been thinking about how lucky we are to have a Father in Heaven, and to truly know Him. One thing that has been a big lesson in my mission is the fact that God knows everyone of us, personally, inside and out. He hasn't forgotten anyone; no one has been left out. I think of India which has 1.3 billion people, and after living here I think it's not true. I think there are actually more than that, there's just no way you can count everyone, and even if you add a little extra to the total…you just can never know. I doubt they count everyone in all the villages or small towns, or people like the nice man with one leg who sits on the stairs of the tunnel that goes underneath the highway between our apartment and the church. The world just doesn't count those people, we don't count everyone, and we don't think about everyone. I spend days at a time without even thinking about Robin, Idaho. It's just how it is, but God, the Father of us all, does not forget a single one. He knows everyone, he loves everyone, and his entire purpose is to bring us back home. God will not forget you, the Savior Jesus Christ will not forget you. You are their most important priority, and just having that knowledge in a world like this brings a lot of peace.

Love you,

Elder Armstrong (Go Jazz..)

Missionary Fireside