Week 12 - Transfers and Trash Talk

Hey everyone!

Every week I keep thinking I'll be able to settle in and be a bomb missionary next weekend, then it's like God decides to sprinkle a little figurative hot sauce on the plate to spice up my mission. That's ok though, I like the fast pace. It helps me keep my mind sharp, and it puts me in a lot of situations that help me learn and grow spiritually and physically.

One of the biggest lessons I have learned recently has to do with oxen being stuck in pits. In Luke 14, Jesus asks, "Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?" I love this questions for many reasons, so I'm going to share a couple.

1. Sometimes we get so caught up in rules that we forget what it is that we are actually doing on this earth. At the end of the day a lot of things don't matter as much as we make them out to matter. For instance, if we have let's say an ox, and it falls into a pit on the sabbath, we shouldn't sit there and debate whether or not it's appropriate to get the ox out because of which day of the week it is. This life isn't about how many rules you followed or broke. This life is about what we become. That's what matters. Our actions don't determine our eternal destination, but they are a reflection of what we are now and what we are trying to become. We need to follow the rules as a choice because that's who we are, not for the sake of following a rule to get a prize later on.

2. There is another side to this situation about the ox. How often do we say our ox is in a pit and go against our standards to get the ox out, when the ox wasn't actually stuck and all we needed to do was shake a feed bucket a couple times? In other words, how often do we choose to compromise ourselves to meet the needs of a situation, when a little creativity or endurance would fix the situation? Early on in my mission, my companion and I had a great experience with this principle. Our area is a car area and because my companion is reassigned from Argentina he doesn't have a bike at all. Several weeks ago, we were driving to church and our gas light came on. At this moment, we could only think of two options, either we could buy gas which wouldn't cause anyone to work or break the Sabbath but seemed kinda grey area, or we could mentally prepare ourselves to walk for most of the day. We reasoned with each other for a while and decided that as servants of the Lord, who were actively going about His work, we wouldn't likely be faulted for buying gas. As we pulled into the gas station, I was overcome by a sick feeling, and I told my companion that the reason we were in this situation was because we failed to prepare ahead of time. We left the gas station with a near empty tank of gas and spend the majority of the day meeting members at the church or walking to where we could talk to people. Was this a major decision that is going to impact my eternal destination? Likely not, but in this instance none of my oxen were in any major pits and by enduring a little harder we overcame an uncomfortable situation without having to do anything that we felt compromised our standards. Our Heavenly Father has given us certain standards to live by that very RARELY have exceptions. Our goal is to follow as obediently as we can, not to find every excuse to throw in the towel and go against what we beleive.

In other news, I played one of the greatest frisbee games ever played the other day. Don't worry! There were nonmembers there who we are building relationships with. As we all know, the best relationships are developed on the three Ts.

1. Trust

2. Teamwork

3. Trash Talk

We had a pretty nice crowd of missionaries at this game which was ok, cause it was also during our morning workout time (very early game). The more experienced people there decided that we missionaries looked like we were having too much fun warming up, so they challenged us to play in the ultimate missionaries vs. other peeps frisbee game. The first game was pretty sad, and when I say sad, I mean downright pathetic and embarrassing. We lost 7-3 and there was no point in the game where things seemed close. The second game was a lot more fun though.

Elder McArthur and I were sitting in the family history center doing a personal study on Sunday and there was a member in there with us listening to sacrament meeting over the speakers. I heard an awesome story that I immediately wrote down. I have titled it "The farmer and the Mule" because it is about a farmer and also a mule. It goes a little something like this:

A farmer bought a mule from a neighboring farmer who told him the mule would work hard as long as he was treated with tender love and care. The farmer treated the mule with all the love and kindness he could, but when the farmer hitched the mule up to his plow the mule refused to pull. The farmer called the mule's previous owner, and said, "you told me this mule would work if I treated it with love and care. I have loved and cared for it, and it won't work." The other farmer said he would come over and see if he could help. When he arrived at the farm with the mule, the farmer who now owned the mule, notice that he had brought with him a length of 2 by 4. The mules previous owner came up behind the mule and clubbed it over the head with his board. At that moment, the mule began to pull with his might. The farmer that purchased the
mule asked, "I thought you said treat the mule with tender love and kindness?" The other farmer responded, "yeah I did, but you gotta get his attention first."

I think this is a pretty good analogy for our lives. We have the potential to be great tools for the Lord. We can be the hard working mules that plow his field, or we can be the lazy ones that refuse to move. Our potential is unlimited. What determines our success is our effort. I know the Lord will bless us if we work for Him, and if we don't... I'd hate to find out what God's version of a 2 by 4 is.

Elder Deppe and I had an epic duel this week. I kinda got my butt kicked, but it was super fun. We couldn't find lightsabers, so we used rods of sugar cane instead.

Oh! Also, tranfer news!! Staying in Steven's Creek and I'm training a new Elder so that's gonna be super epic. Thanks for all the love and support. Any missionaries that don't have me on their email list please add me this week. Love you guys!!

-Elder Smith