) ¡¡¡¡¡¡Buenas tardes!!!!! This week has been one of my
absolute favorites of the mission so far, it was just so much fun, and I am
really enjoying my time down here in Santiago. Some interesting stories to
start. So that guy who drinks like a fish was a priority this week because he
was one of the few who came to church, and so we decided to visit with him a
ton. Well anyways at the end of the week we go to pick him up, and he`s sitting
there and tells us he hasn't been drinking (he has the bottle in his hand and
refuses to put it down) I was really tempted to hit it out of his hand, but I
didn't. I`ve discovered also this week that I have a really big pet peeve
against machistas, it just really irks me for some reason. We were teaching
this one family and the mom got an answer (wow some words really just down
sound the same in English) that it was true, but the Dad really likes the
Jehovah´s witnesses. So the dad told us if we wanted to come by and talk to him
we could, but that we were not allowed to speak with his wife. I was pretty
irked about that, and occasionally we will really chastise people (only if it
will improve the situation), and I was tempted to, but I knew it wouldn't help
so I just let it go. Next interesting moment was with a pf in our area. We had
been working with him, but so are the Jehovah´s witnesses (for some reason they
are popular down here in Santiago), anyways, he had been unsure about the
answer that he got from the spirit. So we gave what I felt was one of the most
spiritual lessons I've given, and then prayed with him, and he said that he saw
a picture in his mind, then proceeded to describe 3 Nephi 11 to me before
having read it. So the spirit was basically just slapping this kid across the
face bautizate, bautizate, but he then told me he wasn't sure if that was a response;
we tried to show him that both were, but he didn´t believe us. Oh well, I
really wanted to help him, so that was sad. There was also a drunk that we met
who I think we will go visit. I only mention him, because this guy really
touched my heart, he like walks up to us and talks to us, and says that he
drinks because his wife yells at him and beats him, and no one says that they
love him, and thats why he bought a ton of milk for his grandkids because when
they get stuff they hug him and tell him that they love him. I just wanted to
give the poor guy a hug. Needless to say we will be going back with him later.
Interestingly this week, I really realized the importance of
how humble each of us are about what we have and who we are. The most
fundamentally defining characteristic of humility is that it is not
competitive. In mission words, that means that we do not strive to be a trainer
or a district leader or and asistente o nada, we only try to do our best to do
our job, and then serve those around us, but we should never covet any
position. This applies at home too. Why in the world should we want to be
humble? Who could possibly love a competitor the way that they need to love
another person. A lack of humility leads to anger, frustration, and sadness.
Whether or not you believe in the Gospel, humility is one of the most important
virtues that we can have. You know one of the greatest philosophical problems
that we have is how do we put value judgements on things, it really is a
problem, because if we say that God does it, then God could just change it if
he wanted too, which means that there is really nothing about the thing that
makes it good or bad. If we say that there is something inherent about doing
something, like for example murder that is wrong, well then what is it. (this
is Elder Standridge doctrine which means its probably wrong) I honestly think
that the commandments and rules and value judgements that we are given from God
might perhaps lack this inherent quality of good or bad, but may just be what
brings God happiness. For example God finds the feeling he gets when he is not
angry pleasing. Because we are Gods children we also find the emotion we call
happiness pleasing. God has just given us commandments to help us learn what
will make us happy, so that we do not get trapped by a dumb decision. But in
all honesty, it does not matter one bit if I am right or wrong. I know I am
happier when I keep the commandments, and that is all there is to it, what
other reason do I need. We can sit and meditate about complicated doctrine and
ideas all day, but how much better our time can be spent thinking about how to
help someone else to go to church, or to make a covenant with God. Another
interesting thing I found in the scriptures this week is that patience is
fundamental to developing hope. D &C teaches us that we cannot develop hope
without patience because we must be willing to wait however long we need to to
receive the Lord`s blesssings in order to actually have hope. We should also
remember that hope is one of the big 3 we all need to develop to return home to
father.
Anyways, we have been really focusing on menos activos here,
and that means that we do a lot of helping people to work with Family history
work. The temple and missionary work are the same work really, in the mission
we are helping people to accept saving ordinances, just like people do in
temple work. When people begin working on family history and temple work, their
hearts really do turn to their ancestors, and they are really more converted to
the gospel because of it. I am really trying my best to take care of the people
down here, but trying to convey to them how much the gospel will change their
lives is hard, they just dont believe me. But I guess, at the end of the day, I
know how important this work is, and I will keep sharing that until someone
believes me. I love you all lots, you are in my thoughts and my prayers
always.
Elder Standridge
P.s. I really do like hearing from news back home so keep
sending me your emails, I love getting them and will try and respond as best I
can
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