Hey!
It is always so great to get your letters! It always pumps me up, and makes me excited to get some work done.
This week has a tough one, but it has been good in many ways. Today we went to the temple. I loved it so much! My comp didnt want to do a session, so I got to do one with Elder Brewer from my MTC district. (Also from my BYU ward/ building.) Also Elder Schmidt was with us, my roommate. That was awesome! It was so great to talk to them before going into the temple, but as soon as I went in, I felt amazing. I felt every single fear, and stress leave my body. It was a absolutely wonderful experience. I even understood most of it while I was in there! I have never felt so much at home on my mission, like I was sitting in God's living room. I loved it so so much. It was really hard to leave there, really hard. But that temple trip was exactly what I needed.
But afterwards, we went to the local buffet and ate well. I saw Elder Alves, and he said they baptized three people I was teaching with Elder dos Reis, and him. Maria Claudia asked if I could baptize her, she really wanted me too. But Elder Alves' comp did, which was great for him! She wrote me a letter, and a lot of people in that old ward have been askin about Elder Grandão. Its nice to know that I made an impact on a least a few people there, even if just a lil.
So I'll tell you a bit about my week, and why it has been important to my mission.
Last Thursday i think I just died. I got dressed and was just sitting on my bed, completely overwhelmed, tired, and feeling like I wasnt doing any good here. Elder Guthrie (ZL) came into my room, shut the door, and said, "Lets talk". I told him of my frustrations, and how I was stressed I wasn't doing all I needed to. We talked for a really long time.
To sum it up, he told me a few really good things. He told me that a lot of missionaries come on their missions to pass the two years and go home. He told me that one of the first things he noticed about me is that I wasn't one of them. I came here with a purpose. He told me how much of an impact I had made on my district in the MTC. (He trained one of the guys from my district.)
But then he told me that I am forgetting one thing, I am forgetting who I am. He said I bet "Jake" was never stressed, and loved everybody for who they were. And that I needed top do that. I needed to combine Elder L, and Jake a lil more. He taped "Jake" on the back of my name tag. That has actually made a huge difference.
I had become so frustrated with my comp at times, I had completely forgotten to love him. And I remember my phrase from college, "Optimism - Its Fun." I was able to stop stressin about stuff I couldn't change, and really looked for the good in my days and in my comp :)
But that didnt last forever,a few days later I was havin a hard day, I was doing my best, but just wasnt cutting it. I was just hoping I'd get a transfer or something. I remeber this moment really well. I was walking down the road, so discouraged with everything, and this thought came into my mind: "Remember the eternal perspective." I got this lil grin on my face, that i couldnt get rid off. I looked up into that beautiful Brazilian sky and said "You're good."
I knew I shouldn't have prayed fopr humility." Haha
I know God is watching us all, and he knows exactly what we need to grow, even if we don't like it that much at first. This knowledge has changed my days, I am really having a good time now, which is exactly what I should be doing, hard times and all. So all in all, this week has been a great experience. Well, one I'm very glad I've had! And Im lookin forward to this next one!
Gotta run.
Love you all!-Elder Jake
