Small and Simple Things....

Typical Hallway in an Apartment Building

An overnight boarder

Results of an unwanted boarder.....

Hey Fam!

 I guess last weeks letter didn't go through, but this week is so much better!  Its sounds like home is a party! as it should be....thanks for the updates!  This week I learned so much.  Especially about being grateful and using grace (the Enabling Power of the Atonement).  I know that If I am trying my best, God will handle everything else.   One way I use grace in my life has to do with waking up...every stinkin morning when I am SO BEAT!  And this is how its goes, I honestly try to everything in my power to be obedient...why? B/c when you are obedient, you are showing God that you are doing everything in your power to do the things He asks. Why is this important?  B/c when you do what God says, he is BOUND.  So when I give an accounting of my day at night before I fall asleep, I make sure to mention that I have done my best to do the things that I know I am supposed to do, then I freely tell Him that I hate getting up early in the morning :) b/c its soooooo hard for me (especially when I have a comp who has a sleeping disorder and can't get up unless I try and try and try to get him up)!  So what do I ask next?  I ask for strength and energy in the morning when I wake up so that I can be efficient and happy.  Then when the glorious alarm goes off, I make sure to remind my Father in Heaven of the need for grace in my life...then I act.  I move and get up, wake my comp up and reset the alarm for when he doesn't get up, clean the kitchen, then I get in my shirt and tie (b/c we have to be out on the streets at 7am everyday), wake my comp up again, reset the alarm, get my comp in the shower, make his bed, get his clothes ready for him..etc.  I do this to show God that I am worthy for the energy and strength that I pleaded for the night before.  And what happens?  God fulfills his side of the bargain.  I end up in the Best mood, ready to take on yet another day.  The Enabling power of the Atonement can be used in everything, even small things like getting up on time.  I know this b/c I have applied this lesson in my life and God has NEVER once let me down.  He loves me.  The thrill of God is mercy.  God is just waiting for any excuse to throw miracles at us and to bless us with tender mercies ( and I think he jumps the gun sometimes experiences that I'm sure I didn't deserve...but then again God has perfect temperance, or self control, that that probably is super unlikely to happen...God doesn't make mistakes).  I know that God knows me perfectly b/c I've seen time and time again tender mercies that have been so perfectly tailored to me that only I can recognize them as such.  I challenge to take this concept and use it in your lives.  When you do what God says he is "Bound", that's not a joke but the thing is, He is so willing to give that 

you will see the Heavens open up blessings that you have never imagined.  I know that God loves all of us and I know that we can bound him as we follow the counsel of His prophets today.  One of the things we have been counseled to do is to READ from the scriptures.  "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass", that doesn't mean just good things.  I want you all to realize that Satan is very real.  He If compared to a color would be the lightest shade of gray ( I think I've said this before, but its important to know!), Christ is pure white, and no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God.  Don't let Satan "pacify you and lull you down to hell" b/c it is "by very small means that God brings about the salvation of many souls" and there is opposition in all things, therefore you could say that by very small means Satan destroys families..."its not that bad"..."one SMALL time won't hurt".  I know that if we do the small and simple things everyday, great things will happen. We all need spiritual nourishment everyday.  "Spirituality is our true aim" (David O McKay) and spirituality is the ability to recognize and ACT on truth.  Soooo lets help each other stop living below our privileges and do the small and simple things so that we can use the enabling power of the Atonement to bless and guide our lives.  I love you all!!

 Keep working hard!

Sean

PS I met an Elder Stoker who said he's used my surf board and Hugged my mother more recently than I have...small world





Teaching in English!!

HI FAMILY!!

  Sorry I'm a day late today...we were way busy yesterday and couldn't get everything in.  But it sounds like there was a PARTY in Utah! That's what I like to hear.  My family is the best ever. Its crazy to see how much everything has changed.  And what the BEARDS Nate and Kurt?!!  Its game on when I get home...Rob's teeth look so great and everyone just looks happy which is all that matters to me!  Well we actually just got back from a lesson that technically doesn't "count" b/c we didn't start and end with a prayer but it was AWESOME!  We met this man named Richard and he's from Miami and has lived here for 5 years now and he works for this lady who has a private English school.  Well he invited us to go and so we went and met some awesome people.  But today he wasn't there so we were the highlight of the class.  There is a man who is a 7th day Adventist pastor and is way interested in what we believe in and he is just sooooo humble.  He started asking a ton of questions that lead into the plan of Salvation and other Gospel topics and it was so cool b/c the teacher slash owner of the school was there and since its a private organization, we were aloud to expound a bit on what we believe.  The teacher, Maria, started asking a ton of questions as well and the spirit was there and its was rad to see light enter into the hearts of these people.  Tomorrow we will have a lesson with The pastor, Vitally, and his wife in our mission office where we will give the message of the restoration and watch these people change their lives.  The elect will hear the word and these people and the ones asking questions.  They were so stoked after our lesson/visit that they invited us back anytime  we wanted.  Maria was asking us some awesome questions and we didn't have time to answer some of them so we wrote them down and we will answer them on Thursday when we will go back share with them what American brownies are [ :) ] and how we can live with our families forever.  I'm so stoked!!  It was so nice to be able to teach in my native tongue where I knew EXACTLY how to say anything I wanted.  So we're looking forward to tomorrow when we can share with these people the plan of happiness!! I'm PUMPED.  This gospel is SO true.  I love studying the scriptures and the getting the insights that God tenderly blesses me with.  My comp and I have gotten so close and we have been so blessed to be able to help each other through thick and thin.  I have gained a testimony about service in relationships this past week.  I have truly seen how, as Mike Rooney said" the key to having a successful relationship is when each person puts in 115% ".  Communication is so crucial with any relationship.  Anyways, missionary work here is awesome and service truly is the best and easiest way to live a more than happy life.  I love this opportunity to work on my own character and finding out what kind of person I am and who I want to become.  To end, I have learned that just as in the parable of the talents, we must look for the things that we are good at (talents) and USE them!  and focus on them to build them more and more so that when our Savior takes an inventory of our works, he can then add to our talents, but we must focus first with what we have...THEN we will have more added unto us.  This principle has helped me overcome my weaknesses in so many ways which is so cool to see b/c when I focused on what I AM good at (spiritual gifts), I will do so much to get better and better and eventually realize that when I was working on my strengths my weaknesses became stronger as well, soon to become "weak things" made "strong".  SO COOL!

anyways, i love you all so much!

-Sean

PS  when you write about NATE, please signify which one,  being that there are now two of them! thanks :)

Be Specific!

FAMILY!!!

  Thanks Dad for the encouragement.  I have read that talk but It always good to review, b/c just as the people in the Book of Mormon, we FORGET.  That's why the sacrament is so important b/c it helps us to always Remember our Savior.  I learned a lot about the Atonement this past week and I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to use it.  This week was crazy.  We have been seeing non-stop miracles and its awesome.  One thing that I started to finally apply in my life is that fact that prayer is more powerful than I think.  We read in the scriptures constantly about how miracles are wrought by a prayer of faith and its totally true!  I can't believe i never prayed (or very rarely pray for) specific things that need to happen.  We look at the example that Elder Bednar gave about how Nephi when tied up with bands by his brothers didn't just pray to "be saved" or to be "delivered out of his situation", but instead prayed for the strength to break the bands.  That is such a key lesson that I needed to not only learn, but to actually apply.  B/c it makes sense that God gives that which is good to "whoever asketh in faith" for it. So I have started to develop a faith in praying more than I ever have in my life.  I know that if we want to see a miracle, we must pray in faith and then ACT in hope that God really will bless us with what was asked for, but it needs to be in accordance to God's will.  How can we know if its God's will or not?  Have the Holy Ghost lead your prayer and pray in faith.  We had a few experiences this past week that really strengthened my testimony  about  how God answers prayers (which in my opinion is a miracle).  On Saturday night, we had 40 min until we had to be home and we had tossed the idea around of going to try and visit a less active member who we have never met or talked to.  We knew where he lived...ish and it would take around 20 min to get there and the only way that we could go would be if we got there, got into the apt bldg (which is hard to do b/c you have to have a key, and if you don't have a key you have to wait for someone to come out and then generously let you in..which also doesn't happen all that much), then he would have to be home, AND he would have to let us in and talk with him so that we could be on a lesson so that we could have until 9:30 to come home and still be keeping the rules....So we went off on our journey to a place where we have tried to go once before and we didn't get all the way there...and it was night time.  But, before we left, we said a prayer.  And My companion specifically prayed that we could get there, find him, and speak with him.  Which would truly be a miracle judging on my past experiences with less active finding here.  So we took off and a bus came right away.  I didn't know which bus stop to get off at but i had a small map with me and I tried to get off at a place that would be remotely close (b/c my map i have is pretty inconsistent with distances between places)...and so we got off at a stop that looked good and started walking...we literally walked straight and the bldg was directly in front of the bus stop that we "randomly" chose.  When we got to the bldg we were let in with in minutes...now that moment of truth. Is this man even home? and if so, will he reject us or let us in?   Well, he was home and let us in...and its was so cool.  He was drinking and we got to know each other a little bit so that we could try and build some sort of relationship of trust so that we could come back sometime.  The lights in his eyes were gone. Only a sad lonely soul who doesn't know it right now, but is searching for an escape.  The very escape that only the gospel has to offer.  So we set up a return appt with him and took off.  God answers our prayers when we pray in faith and ACT with hope that our prayers will be answered.  Hope (according to PMG) is believing and expecting something to occur.  Its a gift of the spirit that all should strive to develop.  We had a very similar experience happen, this time I said the prayer but since we both were acting in faith and were believing and expecting our prayer to be answered, it was and we saw a miracle.  God answered EVERY part of our prayer.  Specific prayers truly do receive specific answers.  I am so grateful to have applied this lesson in my life b/c it will forever bless me so long as I act in faith to receive.  Something funny that had happened is that my comp has a sleeping disorder ...he can't fall asleep well, but when he does, he can't get up...especially if he (by the way i totally just won these Ukrainian cookies from a woman who works here and I just told her that i told her that i don't drink...and SHE TOOK THE COOKIES AWAY!!! anyways...I'm over her) forgets to take his meds...so Waking up in the morning is super hard for him and he says a ton of stuff but doesn't actually get up until he's in the shower.  He was REALLY fiesty yesterday and it was super funny b/c he doesn't remember any of it.  He hasn't sworn at me yet but he flipped me off twice now and says the funniest things that make absolutely no sense.  He's really mean in the morning and he doesn't even remember any of it.  So I have full permission to throw water at him in the morning if he's not getting up.  He's one of my favorite comps and so funny but in the morning...its worse than Dad when your friends are over too late and your making way too much noise....So every morning is an adventure just to get him out of bed...On Saturday, he got out of bed but sat back down in our kitchen with his eyes open but he was still unconscious, so i dressed him.  Literally haha I put his shirt on, one arm after the other, and I tied his tie  and put it around his neck.  All of this while he was falling over b/c he was still sleeping...sitting up.  Its been fun.   Anyways, I love you all. Pray for miracles and then act with hope, and they will come.  You just have to open your eyes to see them.  Have a great Week!!!!

-Sean