Week 6

Hola a mi familia y todos de mis amigos!

After six weeks, I'm beginning to feel more and more like a missionary.  I got a haircut about a week ago and it felt really weird to have the lady touching my head.  For those of you reading this who are not LDS, one of the mission rules is to have no physical contact with members of the opposite sex except a handshake.  So, having her touch my head was a little weird, but hey, my hair is once again regulation length.

There have been several things here that have really begun to open my eyes to the work that we are going out to accomplish.  I was told last week that the UN announced that the world population has breached the 7 billion mark (I thought we already had...).  The last number that I heard of members of the Church there are world wide was a little over 14 million.  Doing the math, I figure that only .002% of the world's population is LDS.  The message that we have to share is so wonderful that I'm excited to go out and give it to others.  I don't want to treat any person as a statistic, nor do I want to consider just baptizing people.  What I am going out to do is share my belief in Christ and the Message of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ to the other 99.998%.  Well, I guess a much smaller number since I'm only going to a part of the world.  But the fact remains that there are so many people out there who have never even heard of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or the message we have to share with the world, and now I get to go out and help other people come to know, as I do, that Jesus is the Christ and that His Church has once again been established on the Earth today, for the last time, until Christ will come again to reign personally among His people at His second coming.

I am going out to share the message of the Restoration; that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to a boy who sincerely asked to know the truth; that that boy, Joseph Smith, through the power of God translated the Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and restored the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth; that families can be together, a sealed family for time and all eternity; and that once again, through Faith in Christ, Repentance, Baptism by the proper authority of God, The reception of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End, we can live eternally with our Father in Heaven.  The message of the Church of Jesus Christ, the message I am privelaged to share with the people of Argentina, is the way to lasting peace, happiness, and joy, not only in this life, but also in the next.

A few weeks ago, I shared with you the story of Nephi's family, in particular the story of Laman and Lemuel.  We all have been given commandments of God, and we asked for those commandments so that we could know the way to return to live with Him again.  Laman and Lemuel, even after being visited by an angel of the Lord, still refused, ultimately, to follow the commandments, because they saw them as "hard things" and they murmured.  I can tell you all now that life here in the six weeks I have spent, has progressed leaps and bounds, but that progress has been slowed every time I have complained about something.  It is in human nature to complain and to be disatisfied; it is godly to put aside the self and to focus on others - to serve.  We can lose track of ourselves and our own discomforts only through sincere service to others, and it is through enduring, persevering, and service, not through complaining and lazing, that we can find true happiness.  "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."  

Life here at the MTC, and I'm sure in the mission field, has been wonderful and will continue to be.  As I have been told several times, attitude is everything.  If we approach every task with a good attitude, it will be accomplished timely and seemingly quickly.  Approach something with a bad attitude, and it becomes a chore and a bore, and we do not want to do it.  Approaching things with a positive attitude, wearing a smile, can quickly and easily make our day better.

Mom and Dad, if you could link that here, I think people would love to see it.  

Also I came across a youth video that is good for those of all ages.  

Rely on the Lord and He will lift you higher,

Elder Matthew Dewsnup

Shout Outs:

Mom: The letter you send at 11:28 on Monday I received the following day.  I have not as yet received the package, but then we also haven't checked the mail today.  Also, I have withdrawn money from my account for my Hep A2 shot wich is in a little over an hour today.  I can explain the other medical charges later, if you ask me about them (I don't remember off the top of my head what's been charged and what hasn't).

Dad: I got your letter on Monday and loved the message you shared with me.  Thank you!

All others:  Thank you for your continuing support, prayers, and encouragement to me.  I love you all, and I'm praying for you as well!!!