Christmas Skype

Elder Bahr skyped home on Christmas Day.  Here a couple tidbits of what he had to say.

Come Unto Christ

My week was really good! I am finding joy in my service. I know that the missionary work that I am doing here is more that just sharing a few lessons. I know that the Gospel can lift the down-trodden and depressed. It brings hope into our lives in times of trial, and it helps us to fully comprehend the love that the Lord has for us. I know that He loves us, and He wants to give us His greatest blessings. 

Everything that we have in this life is because of His love and grace. Today, I was able to finish reading the Book of Mormon. I love what Moroni says at the end.   32 Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

 33 And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.

I know that the Lord can help shape and mold us until we become as He is. Despite our weaknesses, he has given us the opportunity to work with Him. I know that the call to be a missionary comes from God. I know that He leads us and guides us each day. I love being a missionary! 

Even with all of the meetings and the craziness of December, we were able to teach a family this week, the B. Family. The dad is 24 and less-active. The mom is 21 and investigating the church. They have a daughter that is 11 months old, and are currently not married. When we first started visiting them a few weeks ago, they wern´t getting along very well. We began to invite them to start doing the daily little things that allow us to have the Spirit in our home. Now, they pray together every morning and night, and are reading the Book of Mormon as a couple. There is a huge change in their home, and I testify that "by small and simple things great things are brought to pass." 

Life here in Quito is going great! This week we had a ton of meetings, so we were running around like crazy. On Tuesday we helped with a Christmas lunch (I love the food :) and on Thursday we got to help with a Christmas dinner (it ended at about 11:30pm). During the White Elephant exchanges, I came away with a sweet hat and a new tie. It was a pretty solid week :). On Friday, we had the Verification of the new missionaries and trainers, which meant we got wake up at about 5:30 to prepare the breakfast and all that fun stuff. I was exhausted. But, I love being able to serve the missionaries, and I hope that what I am doing is helping them to work more effectively. 

 

I hope that you have a great week! I love you all! 

Elder Bahr