Most recent letter: Thursday, December 2, 2022
Hey cómo están?
Well today is December 1st so that means it's almost Christmas already. It's crazy just how fast the time has been going by because it just felt like it was Christmas and I started my mission.
Last week we went and helped a lady in our ward paint some Christmas decorations. Also for Thanksgiving we didn't have a normal Thanksgiving lunch, but it was still really good.
I'm doing really well. I have felt really tired these last couple weeks, but I have also felt like I have been able to help a lot of people and do a lot of good. I have also felt the Spirit so strongly. So I have really liked that and I feel like I have been an instrument in the Lord’s hands.
These last couple of weeks we have been helping a guy in our area get ready for baptism. He has been able to change a lot in the time I have been in this area. We have his baptism planned for Dec.10, so we are hoping that it will all go well. We also have another guy that is getting close, but it might have to be a little bit later because he has a couple things that's gonna make it more difficult for him to be baptized right now. I'm fine with how it's going with him because it's our decision to wait so that he can be stronger in the Church once he gets baptized.
Another thing that I have really been working on and trying to be good at is being obedient. At the beginning of my mission I was obedient but not 100% obedient. So there would just be little things that happened that probably could have been better. So these last couple of months I have tried really hard to be 100% obedient so that I can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I have noticed a lot of little changes that have been really big in the end. I have also felt like I have been able to study better and teach better. I also just feel more confident in my Spanish and in just talking to people; it has been something that has really helped. I have really learned that obedience is something very important.
We can also look at the life of Jesus Christ and how he was obedient to all the commandments of our Heavenly Father. One of the examples that I really like is that Jesus was baptized; one of the reasons is because He is our example, but another reason is because baptism is a commandment. So Jesus needed to be baptized to obey all of the commandments. I really like 2 Nephi 31:7 because it talks a little about that and how Jesus was also humble. So we also need to be humble and not just obey to be obedient but to obey because we love God.
I want to invite you all to be obedient to the commandments and to the standards of the Church. I know that we have these commandments for a reason and that if we want to live with our Heavenly Father again, we have to be obedient and live up to the law of the Celestial Kingdom. I also know that if we are going through tough times in our lives, we need to turn more to God and not look away from Him. We also need to make sure we keep doing 3 things that I love so much:
1. Pray daily.
2. Read the scriptures daily.
3. Go to church every Sunday.
I know that if we do these 3 things that everything will work out in our lives. Sometimes we think that we have to do everything that we possibly can to be a good disciple of Christ, but that's not true. We just need to follow the command-ments of God.
I really like a scripture in Mosiah that talks about this: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Mosiah 2:41). So just follow the commandments and you'll be good.
I love you all so much and hope you all can have a great rest of your week. Let me know how you all are doing; if you want to hear more about me, just ask me and I'll tell you.
¡Nos vemos y saludos!
Elder Schagel
Hey cómo están?
Well today is December 1st so that means it's almost Christmas already. It's crazy just how fast the time has been going by because it just felt like it was Christmas and I started my mission.
Last week we went and helped a lady in our ward paint some Christmas decorations. Also for Thanksgiving we didn't have a normal Thanksgiving lunch, but it was still really good.
I'm doing really well. I have felt really tired these last couple weeks, but I have also felt like I have been able to help a lot of people and do a lot of good. I have also felt the Spirit so strongly. So I have really liked that and I feel like I have been an instrument in the Lord’s hands.
These last couple of weeks we have been helping a guy in our area get ready for baptism. He has been able to change a lot in the time I have been in this area. We have his baptism planned for Dec.10, so we are hoping that it will all go well. We also have another guy that is getting close, but it might have to be a little bit later because he has a couple things that's gonna make it more difficult for him to be baptized right now. I'm fine with how it's going with him because it's our decision to wait so that he can be stronger in the Church once he gets baptized.
Another thing that I have really been working on and trying to be good at is being obedient. At the beginning of my mission I was obedient but not 100% obedient. So there would just be little things that happened that probably could have been better. So these last couple of months I have tried really hard to be 100% obedient so that I can be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I have noticed a lot of little changes that have been really big in the end. I have also felt like I have been able to study better and teach better. I also just feel more confident in my Spanish and in just talking to people; it has been something that has really helped. I have really learned that obedience is something very important.
We can also look at the life of Jesus Christ and how he was obedient to all the commandments of our Heavenly Father. One of the examples that I really like is that Jesus was baptized; one of the reasons is because He is our example, but another reason is because baptism is a commandment. So Jesus needed to be baptized to obey all of the commandments. I really like 2 Nephi 31:7 because it talks a little about that and how Jesus was also humble. So we also need to be humble and not just obey to be obedient but to obey because we love God.
I want to invite you all to be obedient to the commandments and to the standards of the Church. I know that we have these commandments for a reason and that if we want to live with our Heavenly Father again, we have to be obedient and live up to the law of the Celestial Kingdom. I also know that if we are going through tough times in our lives, we need to turn more to God and not look away from Him. We also need to make sure we keep doing 3 things that I love so much:
1. Pray daily.
2. Read the scriptures daily.
3. Go to church every Sunday.
I know that if we do these 3 things that everything will work out in our lives. Sometimes we think that we have to do everything that we possibly can to be a good disciple of Christ, but that's not true. We just need to follow the command-ments of God.
I really like a scripture in Mosiah that talks about this: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God. For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness. O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it" (Mosiah 2:41). So just follow the commandments and you'll be good.
I love you all so much and hope you all can have a great rest of your week. Let me know how you all are doing; if you want to hear more about me, just ask me and I'll tell you.
¡Nos vemos y saludos!
Elder Schagel