Chapter 8: Blessed are the Meek

"The Past has gone, and Present fills the mind; a constant present: tomorrow's never here. The future, then, exists outside of time,  leaving Past and Present, panic and fear. So what is hope? and what is faith to me if Future cannot be understood or shown?  The answer, of course, is everything: faith soothes and strengthens amid all unknown.  So lift your head, believe in what could be!  when thinking of the past and what has been.  You'll find the joy in everything you see,  and see the hand of God through thick and thin.  Put fear aside, remember God is wise.  Be meek and He'll be always by your side."

"Month One Sonnet"  Elder Childers

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the Earth."

Matthew 5:5

Every month I decided that I would write a poem on something I learned that month. Hopefully it's apparent that this month, the first month of me being in the actual mission field, has taught me a lot about what true faith is and what meekness looks like in the character of another.

What does meekness look like? For me, it looks like a mother working so hard to submit to God's will and become a nurse to support her children back in Africa. Meekness becomes personified into an incredible woman with an incredible story: a traumatic past leading to a beautiful relationship with Jesus Christ as she responded to the influence of the Spirit of God. This woman's name is Zai, and this week, she accepted an invitation to be baptized. Words cannot describe the emotions and joy I felt as we read the powerful words in 2 Nephi 31, and heard her ask to be baptized by the authority of Christ's living church by immersion just like her Savior was. It was a beautiful moment. We have been teaching her for the past month and still have a while to go with her, but she is committed and we are so excited. 

So what are the attributes of a meek person? The Apostle David A. Bednar teaches of "righteous responsiveness, willing submissiveness, and strong self-restraint." This week I encourage you all the be a little more responsive to the urgings of the Holy Spirit, a little more willing to submit to God's plan and will for you, and strive to be restrained and in control of your emotions and dealings with others. As we all become a little more meek, we will truly be able to always see God by our side, no matter what. I know this to be true. We cannot be shown the future, but we can show God our faith. 

Life is good. 

God is wise. 

Let Him prevail. 

Never give up. 

Elder Childers

Halloween was so fun, I dressed up as a doctor and apparently, I've been told, it fits my "look." I guess I know what I'll be going into when I get home haha.

Elder Logan and I, he decided to dress up as a hippie.

Classic suit picture

Went to this Amish Market today, changed my life when I took a bite of their soft pretzel. You don't know until you know.

Fun corn maze pictures as well.

King of Cheesy Pizza place: 2/10. Not impressed haha. Cool logo though

Last but not least this cool Irish jig I'm writing on the ukulele to be modified to the mandolin later. I decided to exercise my faith in getting over to Ireland eventually by writing a jig so that when I do get there, I can join a group of cool pub musicians, take a mandolin from one of em and say, "it's real simple lads, just a C to a G" and they'll know exactly what to do and lives will be changed. You'll hear about it on the news one day I promise. 

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/223494_ad73a126be8c45f597ba5a0dbf7437ca/1080p/mp4/file.mp4