3-26-12 Planting Seeds

THIS LAST WEEK WAS ROUGH, BUT BETTER THAN THE WEEK BEFORE. WE ARE A LITTLE MORE HOPEFUL IN THE AREA AT LEAST. SATURDAY NIGHT WE PLANNED AN ACTIVITY OF INTEGRATION WITH, INSTEAD OF A BUNCH OF USELESS GAMES AND A TINY MESSAGE, A FIRESIDE TYPE OF THING WITH A SPEAKER FROM THE STAKE PRESIDENCY. NOT TOO MANY OF THE MEMBERS IN GAIBU WENT, PROBABLY LIKE 12 OR SO, AND SEVERAL MEMBERS FROM CABO, BUT THE MESSAGE WAS REALLY COOL, AND IT HELPED THE MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TO FEEL MORE UNITED AND MORE HOPEFUL TO GROW THE GROUP. I PLAYED THE GUITAR TO ACCOMPANY THE HYMNS WE SANG, WHICH WAS FUN. THEN WE ATE A BUNCH OF BAHIAN FOOD.

 

WE ARE NOT TEACHING VERY MUCH, BUT I THINK I CAN DEFINITELY SAY THAT WE ARE PLANTING LOTS OF SEEDS.

 

SOME PEOPLE HAVE ASKED FOR YOU GUYS TO BRING RANDOM THINGS FROM THE U.S. THAT THEY DON'T HAVE HERE:

DARTS FOR A NERF GUN, N-STRIKE MAVERICK

MY COMP WANTS A BIGGER STYLE BACKPACK WITH A CAMELBAK, AND WILL PAY FOR IT

BASKETBALL SHORTS

LITTLE YOUNG WOMEN VALUES BRACELETS

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW.

[Jon's Dad was in the hospital with what turned out to be nothing serious]

WOW THAT SOUNDS LIKE A PRETTY BIG ADVENTURE. I GUESS DAD IS GETTING OLD! THAT IS GREAT THAT THE BISHOP WENT AND GAVE HIM A BLESSING. DID OTHER PEOPLE FROM THE WARD VISIT HIM? GLAD TO HEAR THAT HE IS ALL BETTER NOW AND THERE ARE NO PERMANENT PROBLEMS. I WILL PRAY FOR HIS HEALTH.

 

 I'VE BEEN PUMPIN SOME IRON HERE IN THE MORNING EXERCISE TIME, SO I SHOULDN'T BE TOO FAR BEHIND HAHA

 

SATURDAY NIGHT WE WERE ABLE TO DO THE ACTIVITY IN THE SCHOOL, BECAUSE LAST WEEK THE SCHOOL RECEIVED 18 BIG WALL FANS AND NEEDED THEM INSTALLED BUT DIDN'T HAVE MONEY, SO ME AND MY COMP AND ABOUT 5 MEN FROM THE CABO WARD WENT THERE TO INSTALL THEM. AND WHEN WE ASKED TO USE THE SCHOOL SATURDAY NIGHT THE PRINCIPAL DIDN'T EVEN HESITATE.

 

Here is a little quote from a talk by Elder Eyring that I thought was very good, although I hope you are no longer as discouraged as you were last week...

"For those who are discouraged by their circumstances and are therefore tempted to feel they cannot serve the Lord this day, I make you two promises. Hard as things seem today, they will be better in the next day if you choose to serve the Lord this day with your whole heart. Your circumstances may not be improved in all the ways which you desire. But you will have been given new strength to carry your burdens and new confidence that when your burdens become too heavy, the Lord, whom you have served, will carry what you cannot. He knows how. He prepared long ago. He suffered your infirmities and your sorrows when He was in the flesh so that He would know how to succor you.

The other promise I make to you is that by choosing to serve Him this day, you will feel His love and grow to love Him more.

By serving Him this day, you will come to know Him better. You will feel His love and appreciation. You would not want to delay receiving that blessing. And feeling His love will draw you back to His service, wiping away both complacency and discouragement."

THANKS FOR THE QUOTE. THOSE ARE WORTHY PROMISES, THAT MAY NOT MEAN THAT I WILL BAPTIZE HUNDREDS, BUT AT LEAST THE LORD WILL BE WITH ME.

 

ALRIGHT THANKS LOVE YOU ALL!

ELDER HOOKE