"This past Wednesday I went to the doctor again (my cheek is just getting worse haha) and he thought it was infected, but the antibiotic didn't do anything at all. So he cut me up again! He tried to numb me, but it didn't work to well and he just dug right into my cheek. He used a knife to cut a slit inside my cheek, then used scissors to pry open the cut he made. It hurt like hell! and then he thoroughly explored the inside of my cheek. He didn't find anything, so he stuffed some gauze in there and said to come back in 3 months. After dinner I called Sister Lekias and told her, and she said that we should probably find a new doctor. haha."
Glad he can find the humor in all that to say "haha" at the end of his update. Personally, that Dr. needs a good talkin to by a mother!!
If any of you know of a great doctor, in or around Auckland New Zealand, be sure and let us know.
(Warning.. this picture is a bit graphic...but he wanted to show us his "gauze")
probably not one of the most comforting pictures
this Mom has ever seen...."sigh"
("Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief....")
Ready to hit the road! Gauze and all.....
Watchin' the Waves
"We're teaching quite a few people right now. One of them is a family from Iran, who speaks Persian, who we're teaching English, who are bomb.
My jaw dropped when I walked into their home and one of their daughters had on this hoodie:
I told her where to buy a BYU one so she wouldn't have to wear rags like that all day. "
The is a picture of the cell phone I have, meanwhile the other missionaries have ipads. dang. haha.
We asked him about his funky lookin thumb....
he said it's probably from popping his knuckles.
(Once again, "Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief")
"This is a picture of a boy who looks like Troy Polumalu"(Steelers NFL football team)
An final bit from his email
(it's kind of long,
so be sure and take a few minutes to read it):
"I have come to believe in part, that God's power is love, and the men closest to God on this earth are the lovers, the ones who have charity. I think this is why Paul, John, Nephi, Alma, Mormon, and Moroni all spoke of charity.
I think it's not a coincidence that when these prophets and apostles speak of charity, they speak of it at the end of their ministries. Early on, many of the writings of the prophets are charged with duty, and responsibility. But in nearly every book of the prophets, when the prophets begin to reach the end of their ministry, when they have learned marvelous amounts of knowledge, what do they choose to write on lastly? Their final words are the doctrine of charity.
I think it is for that reason that charity is repeatedly written as the attribute that is "bestowed upon all are who true followers of his Son". It is one of the great mysteries of God, possibly the greatest! Charity is something that doesn't have a whole lot of doctrine behind it, (except that it is a commandment, and the highest of all attributes) and I believe this is because charity is a big deal. It is something that Heavenly Father gives only those who fully, consistently, diligently, commit entirely to Him. Neal A. Maxwell, the one who may have mastered to his fullest extent possible the doctrine of submission, also had the gift of charity.
Moroni must have meant completely that charity only comes on those who are true followers of Jesus Christ. How can you tell if someone is truly a follower of Jesus Christ? If they have charity. Do they love others and the Lord? Do they really love them? Not a shallow love, but a real, deep, abiding love that the Savior has?
If so, they are true followers of Jesus Christ. Some things Heavenly Father keeps hidden from the world until we come seeking for them, and I believe love is one of His hidden secrets. President Eyring touched on it during the Priesthood session saying, "Few Priesthood holders reach this level of compassion!"
I believe that if we don't learn how to love here on earth, then we will have to learn how to love in the next life. At some point, I think we will all need to repent of not loving people, ourselves included, and renew our determination to love people how He loved people.
I think the great chiasmus of the book of Alma is to see the change that occurs in Alma right at the beginning of his conversion, where he feels abundantly the Savior's love, and where he acts and teaches others about the Savior's love, and then goes out and teaches boldly, with duty and responsibility, climaxing at Alma 36 (where personally I believe the theme of the Book of Mormon is found, specifically in verses 18-20), and then descending as he again goes to teach the Zoromites dutifully, before finally returning to the doctrine of the love of the Savior as he instructs Helaman.
I think that's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13 that if we don't have love (charity) then we are nothing. Honest to goodness, it won't matter how powerful of a teacher we are, how well we can explain doctrine, how many tools we have, if we don't have love we are nothing. Paul even says that out of faith, hope and charity, charity is the greatest!!! Love greater than faith? The pure love of Christ is greater than faith? Now, I realize that I may be misinterpreting the writings, but for
Paul to even come near a statement like that shows the unrecognized power from charity.
Personally speaking, Elder cray and I are better friends when we are being compassionate with each other. I enjoy the work more when I am compassionate. The ultimate stress killer is love. The ultimate worry killer is love. Whether it is love of God, or love of those in our family or in our quorums, whenever I have the pure love of Christ, I don't worry or stress.
And the exact opposite of charity is pride! It makes sense that the greatest of all attributes of God would be rivaled be the greatest of all attributes of the natural man and devil. When we are prideful, we can't have charity, and we don't feel it either! The prideful man or woman doesn't know what charity is. I feel like pride is the breeding ground for my worries. The less pride I have, the less worries. The less worries, the happier and more peaceful I am. When I being to be concerned with how everything is effecting me, and my situation, I am rolling in pride, and am miserable. When I "forget myself", I am really submitting myself to the will of the Father, and what does He bestow upon me for choosing to submit myself to him? Charity.
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