Hey Home,
Some sick. Some healthy.
No tricks, wish I was wealthy.
Lots of ice, not too much strife.
A funeral happened. The gospel shared.
Anti material, yet he didn't even care.
Well in the oddness of poetry and black man riddles, Elder Whedon caught whatever bug I had the previous week; for the most part he's recovered, but now the Winder Elders currently have the bug. Just a cold, and for the most part I'm trying to eat and live a little healthier. You may think that a little offbeat seeing that those who really know me know I've never been a fan of hard sweets. But when all people give you are candy, cake, chocolate and food food food, and you don't get too much time to burn it off, you start to become pudgy.
I think that's something though that makes me look older, some fat on these thin bones is probably good. Drank Mayfield milk and the meat we BBQ every Friday during planning, all becomes part of a growing kid, it all becomes part of the life in the GANM.
This past week an ice storm flew in, it wasn't like last year remember snowpocalypse? And how the world almost ended in little Shallowford? Well they tried to come at us again here in Winder, and I wish I had more pictures, but everything turned to ice. It was actually beautiful. Like only the great God could have made and designed something so graceful. And though it kinda threw off the work a little bit, the cold, the ice, the weather, there were still lots of miracles in our zone, quite miraculous.
Saturday a funeral took place, Bishop Ruiz, a bishop in Winder several years ago passed away about a week ago due to natural causes. A great influence in the city of Winder, which I didn't know even could exist until Saturday afternoon. Bro Mingledorf, a member in our ward spoke at the funeral, and he spoke with boldness; sharing gospel truths of the Plan of Happiness, the conversion story of Bishop Ruiz, the Bible and Book of Mormon compared, and how this Bishop lived in the service of God and his fellow Winderians. It was great! Powerful. And good for all members and nonmembers who attended. I was able to meet Bishop Ruiz once, back on Christmas Eve, he was old, yet he looked like he had stories to tell some of which we got to hear parts to and some serious deep reflection came.
The inane questions: What do I want my funeral to be like? What do I want to have in music? What do I want to wear? all those came into my mind, after a little bit of the pondering the next more deep and bigger picture questions came to me: what do you want to do with YOUR life? How will you live so that you can be remembered one day, what will you do, and who will YOU be?
Do we ever think of those kind of questions daily? No, cause even as a missionary you don't always. Made me think, cause like there's only 7 months left until I gotta go back to the real world and figure everything else out. Grateful now to be able to prepare for that future, to learn how to relax, how to love, how to forgive, how to cope, how to even regret and restart. Life can get lonely, yet when we find ourselves alone we end up eventually with something there. That's what I think anyway, and I've known that before the mish, and even come to understand it more on the mish, whether that thing we find be ourselves - think of those times you really figured out who you are and what you wanted, a friend, an example, a God. I know there's a God, I flat out know that there is are divine persons and beings that our eyes cannot see. God, He knows us, and wants to help us. Really he wants us to live the greatest life we can, understanding each of our circumstances and recognizes the weaknesses we each possess so that we may repent and rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
These are deep thoughts, but I share them with you cause I think of them. I hope they can help you, cause writing it out has helped me. Learning about so much still, and it's a constant. I do get really annoyed and pulled sometimes about it, praying a lot. But it's coo.
Ultimately we've got to face our fears, and grow outside our comfort zones. It takes a little bit of effort, takes love from god and within. How do I want to live my life? That's a good question, and at the end of these 2 years I'm sure I'll have it fully figured, knowing already to be a good father, husband, influence, friend, and person. I guess we'll see what we can add to that.
I thank thee now for the prayers, and the help, it means a lot when you're trying to do that with others and bring them a message of hope. I ask in the continuation of these things, and hope you have a blessed final week of February.
Love you lots, bye
elder adam black
PS Matt, a dude we're teaching got a hold of some anti material, we're borrowing it from him and it actually doesn't have anything really anti about it. It's a 4 on the 1-10 scale. Anyway, he read all of it, knows lots about "mormon doctrine", yet still wants to meet with us, and learn for himself. What a great guy! Inspiring even, and we're really praying that things go well with him and his family.
Some sick. Some healthy.
No tricks, wish I was wealthy.
Lots of ice, not too much strife.
A funeral happened. The gospel shared.
Anti material, yet he didn't even care.
Well in the oddness of poetry and black man riddles, Elder Whedon caught whatever bug I had the previous week; for the most part he's recovered, but now the Winder Elders currently have the bug. Just a cold, and for the most part I'm trying to eat and live a little healthier. You may think that a little offbeat seeing that those who really know me know I've never been a fan of hard sweets. But when all people give you are candy, cake, chocolate and food food food, and you don't get too much time to burn it off, you start to become pudgy.
I think that's something though that makes me look older, some fat on these thin bones is probably good. Drank Mayfield milk and the meat we BBQ every Friday during planning, all becomes part of a growing kid, it all becomes part of the life in the GANM.
This past week an ice storm flew in, it wasn't like last year remember snowpocalypse? And how the world almost ended in little Shallowford? Well they tried to come at us again here in Winder, and I wish I had more pictures, but everything turned to ice. It was actually beautiful. Like only the great God could have made and designed something so graceful. And though it kinda threw off the work a little bit, the cold, the ice, the weather, there were still lots of miracles in our zone, quite miraculous.
Saturday a funeral took place, Bishop Ruiz, a bishop in Winder several years ago passed away about a week ago due to natural causes. A great influence in the city of Winder, which I didn't know even could exist until Saturday afternoon. Bro Mingledorf, a member in our ward spoke at the funeral, and he spoke with boldness; sharing gospel truths of the Plan of Happiness, the conversion story of Bishop Ruiz, the Bible and Book of Mormon compared, and how this Bishop lived in the service of God and his fellow Winderians. It was great! Powerful. And good for all members and nonmembers who attended. I was able to meet Bishop Ruiz once, back on Christmas Eve, he was old, yet he looked like he had stories to tell some of which we got to hear parts to and some serious deep reflection came.
The inane questions: What do I want my funeral to be like? What do I want to have in music? What do I want to wear? all those came into my mind, after a little bit of the pondering the next more deep and bigger picture questions came to me: what do you want to do with YOUR life? How will you live so that you can be remembered one day, what will you do, and who will YOU be?
Do we ever think of those kind of questions daily? No, cause even as a missionary you don't always. Made me think, cause like there's only 7 months left until I gotta go back to the real world and figure everything else out. Grateful now to be able to prepare for that future, to learn how to relax, how to love, how to forgive, how to cope, how to even regret and restart. Life can get lonely, yet when we find ourselves alone we end up eventually with something there. That's what I think anyway, and I've known that before the mish, and even come to understand it more on the mish, whether that thing we find be ourselves - think of those times you really figured out who you are and what you wanted, a friend, an example, a God. I know there's a God, I flat out know that there is are divine persons and beings that our eyes cannot see. God, He knows us, and wants to help us. Really he wants us to live the greatest life we can, understanding each of our circumstances and recognizes the weaknesses we each possess so that we may repent and rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
These are deep thoughts, but I share them with you cause I think of them. I hope they can help you, cause writing it out has helped me. Learning about so much still, and it's a constant. I do get really annoyed and pulled sometimes about it, praying a lot. But it's coo.
Ultimately we've got to face our fears, and grow outside our comfort zones. It takes a little bit of effort, takes love from god and within. How do I want to live my life? That's a good question, and at the end of these 2 years I'm sure I'll have it fully figured, knowing already to be a good father, husband, influence, friend, and person. I guess we'll see what we can add to that.
I thank thee now for the prayers, and the help, it means a lot when you're trying to do that with others and bring them a message of hope. I ask in the continuation of these things, and hope you have a blessed final week of February.
Love you lots, bye
elder adam black
PS Matt, a dude we're teaching got a hold of some anti material, we're borrowing it from him and it actually doesn't have anything really anti about it. It's a 4 on the 1-10 scale. Anyway, he read all of it, knows lots about "mormon doctrine", yet still wants to meet with us, and learn for himself. What a great guy! Inspiring even, and we're really praying that things go well with him and his family.