Chapter 41: Everything

"And now behold, I say unto you that the right way is to believe in Christ, and deny him not; and Christ is the Holy One of Israel; wherefore ye must bow down before him, and worship him with all your might, mind, and strength, and your whole soul; and if ye do this ye shall in nowise be cast out."2 Nephi 25:29 What another incredible week; the first, full week here in Airdrie! We still do not have out own flat so we have been staying with the Dumbarton Elders, Elder Joyner and Elder Danielson, which has been really fun. They are both wonderful guys and I've enjoyed spending extra time with them this past week. If I were to describe this week in one word I would say "work." Really hard work. Coming into a brand new area is not easy, especially when it's a ward that has really struggled in the past and a Zone of missionaries who are all pretty new to their areas as well. It's a lot of work to exemplify confidence and trust in the Lord as a lot of missionaries look to my companion and I for direction on how to best move forward. But, the most wonderful thing is that the Lord loves effort. He admires the principle of hard work, and often he allows and even encourages us to work hard to find the greatest blessings of peace, satisfaction, and humility, while all the while, truly leading us along. This week I definitely have found this to be true. Coming home each day after knowing I've given my entire might, mind, and strength, even my entire soul (or at least done what I felt was my very best), is one of the best feelings I've ever felt. And, I'm not sure I've ever felt it until this week. But that isn't even the most wonderful part of the lesson I learned this week. Even though Elder Lewis and I worked so hard, set up so many appointments, and did all we felt we could do, a lot of the direct results of our work seemingly were in complete and utter vain: our appointments fell through, Facebook blocked me, we couldn't get a flat, etc. And yet, this week we were so successful. How? Because God blessed us with the success he wanted us to have. Other lessons fell in our lap because He determined it to be. Miraculous opportunities to serve and fellowship other missionaries unexpectedly came up each and every day. Members invited us over due to no credit of our own. We gave our everything, but it didn't get us anything: God blessed us with everything. I believe that this week, the work was an opportunity for Elder Lewis and I to exercise our faith, and find satisfaction and growth in giving our best efforts, despite the dim results. We worked hard, fought discouragement, watered just as New Testament Apollo did, but in the end, God truly gave the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6). He is the source of all that is good. Life is good. God is wise. Don't give up. Elder Childers

Was in Edinburgh for Mission Leadership Council this week! Got to spend time with President and Sister Macdonald and some of my favorite people ever.

View from our flat

Me with our creepy Asian lady statue

Me with a cool stump man

Loch Lomond!

Balloch Castle by Loch Lomond

First fish and chips: 10/10