This week was interesting. To tell ya the truth it was a long week. New Years took a pretty good hit on the week. But we did what we could. Here in Ecuador for New Years they build life like statues out of paper of movie characters or players on sports teams and they write a testament of what they are leaving behind in the past year and looking forward to in the coming year, and they burn them. It's their tradition. There was a bunch. It was pretty dead though. In Coca they didn't really do hardly anything. Everyone was gone. There were more chickens in the street than people so our week was pretty slow. We still don't have anyone progressing. The zone and really the whole mission dropped for the holidays. Now that it's all gone we hope to start building things back up. I can't believe that 2016 is here. I feel like it should be 2015. Last year flew by. I'm a little bit nervous that this year will do the same. It's weird walking around new missionaries and watching their faces when you tell them you have almost 19 months. I feel like I was in their shoes yesterday. Now it's time to leave it all on the field. Things are going good out here. Always learning and trying to get better,. It's been a great experience in the jungle. I'm grateful I was able to come here and do what I did. I truly gave it everything I had. I have nothing more to give to the branch. Sometimes I still feel like it just wasn't enough, but in the future good things will happen. God is running the branch and he knows what he's doing so I'm at peace with that. I read a scripture that hit me pretty hard this week. It's in Mosiah 14:10. It's talking about how Christ suffered so much in the atonement, how he was wounded for out transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities and how he was oppressed and opened not his mouth and how he wasn't esteemed of men. I thought to myself, why did he suffer so much after not doing anything wrong. He gave everything he had to the people and did everything he could for them, and they still rejected him and his gospel. In verse 10 it says, "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." It wasn't until 2000 years after his death that the Gospel of Jesus Christ made it into the entire world. It wasn't until 2000 years later that it began to be accepted and shared to everyone. Even though not everyone is accepting it even today, it's fulfilling its purpose. It was simply the Will of of God that it happened that way. The same with Abinadi. He testified to the death probably thinking nobody believed him. Now around 2000 years later much of the Book of Mormon is in our hands thanks to the boldness he had before the priests of Noah. I haven't done anything like them, but I do wonder sometimes if the fruits of our efforts will come in a future a day, simply because it pleased the Lord that way. One of the greatest blessing I've received in this sector is to have been able to take a step or two in the Savior's shoes. It was hard but God gave me the opportunity and I'm grateful for it. I have a firm faith the what we have done won't be in vain, even though I struggle with not seeing success right now, I do have a strong hope it will come in the future and that we will have helped a tiny bit in blessing the branch. I love you guys and that's about what I've got today. I have a few pics that I'll try to send. Hasta luego
AuthorThis blog is dedicated to Easton Nielson's mission to Ecuador Quito North Mission. Archives
March 2016
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