So, I'm getting transfered this week out of the samoan and tongan ward into the chinese and korean ward! It's gonna be a big change. Part of my area is the university and we are not allowed to wear a white shirt and tie or a badge there so we walk around in normal clothes! It's gonna feel so weird haha.
So a funny experience this week. We were driving to go back home for dinner and we saw this guy wearing an Arizona Cardinals jersey walking down the street. We were like there is noooooo way, so we turned the car and tried to find him. We drove back and forth for a little but couldn't see anything. We were about to give up when we saw a red speck in the distance. In the area I'm in there are these massive power lines cutting through it and under them is just a long grass trail. This Arizona cardinals man had gone down it and was probably a kilometer or two away from us. We parked the car, grabbed our bags and took off. We literally were at full sprint the whole way and people were giving us some weird looks haha. Two guys in pants, white shirts and ties, with bags flopping around at dead sprint for no reason. We finally got close enough to yell out to him. He turned around and saw us coming at him and I'm sure he was about to take off running haha. But we yelled "where did you get your jersey!" and he stopped and we began talking. It turned out to be a lame reason though. He had lost a bet and had to wear an embarrassing jersey so that's the one he got haha. They don't really like nfl over here. He turned out top be a Catholic priest too haha. It was good though, we gave him a book of mormon. Then on our way back we had to explain ourselves to the people we passed and made some good contacts!
Another weird thing this week is we pulled into this massive car park (thats a parking lot in america) and parked in the middleish and as soon as we stopped we heard this smack on the ground right outside my door. I opened it and there was a plastic bag there. When I opened the bag there was as cheescake in it with 2 spoons. I looked around but we were the only car and only people in this car park. It was crazy! It tasted awesome though:)
Our investigators are going awesome. We are seeing heaps of success and have a couple baptisms comming up! I will miss all the people here. It has been awesome to really feel the Spirit while being on the mission. It's such a constant and powerful thing. And it comes and stays because of the way we live our lives. I don't want to ever lose that. It's the best feeling.
This story is a good remiunder for me to just take each thing as it comes and trust in God.
Blessing or Curse?
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, because he owned a beautiful white horse. People offered fabulous prices for the horse, but the old man always refused. “This horse is a friend, not a possession,” he would respond.
One morning the horse was not in the stable. All the villagers said, “You old fool. We told you someone would steal that beautiful horse. You could at least have gotten the money. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”
The old man responded, “Perhaps. All I know is that my horse is gone; the rest I do not know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say.”
After fifteen days the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses back with him. Once again the village people gathered around the old man and said, “You were right – what we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.” The old man responded, “Perhaps. Once again you’ve gone too far. How do you know if this is a blessing or a curse? Unless you can see the whole story, how can you judge?” But the people could only see the obvious. The old man now had twelve additional horses that could be broken and sold for a great deal of money.
The old man had a son, an only son. He began to break the wild horses. Unfortunately, after just a few days, he fell from a horse and broke both his legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and said, “You were right. The wild horses were not a blessing; they were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs and now in your old age you have no one to help you. You are poorer than ever.” But the old man said, “Perhaps. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. We have only a fragment of the whole story.”
It so happened that a few weeks later the country went to war with a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he had two broken legs. Once again the people gathered around, crying because there was little chance their sons would return. “You were right, old man. Your son’s accident was a blessing. Our sons are gone forever.”
The old man spoke again. “You people are always quick to jump to conclusions. Only God knows the final story.”
And so it is with our lives. What we see as a blessing or a curse may simply be part of God preparing us for what lies ahead. Be careful in seeing “disaster” in any change. Just recognize it as change – which opens the door for good as well as bad – for gain as well as possible loss.
We may also reflect on how the Prophet Joseph Smith and his companions suffered greatly while in the Liberty Jail, but in many ways it was also a blessing, for the Liberty Jail became a “Prison Temple” where Joseph received great revelations and was refined to be an even greater prophet than he was before through this experience.
Likewise, the terrible suffering of Jesus at Gethsemane, his betrayal, trial, scourging, crucifixion and death left many of his disciples with the feeling that all that they had hoped for in the coming of the Messiah had been lost. In reality, it made possible the greatest blessing of all for mankind, the infinite atonement that overcame death and hell through the resurrection and the redemption from our sins.
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, because he owned a beautiful white horse. People offered fabulous prices for the horse, but the old man always refused. “This horse is a friend, not a possession,” he would respond.
One morning the horse was not in the stable. All the villagers said, “You old fool. We told you someone would steal that beautiful horse. You could at least have gotten the money. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”
The old man responded, “Perhaps. All I know is that my horse is gone; the rest I do not know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say.”
After fifteen days the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses back with him. Once again the village people gathered around the old man and said, “You were right – what we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.” The old man responded, “Perhaps. Once again you’ve gone too far. How do you know if this is a blessing or a curse? Unless you can see the whole story, how can you judge?” But the people could only see the obvious. The old man now had twelve additional horses that could be broken and sold for a great deal of money.
The old man had a son, an only son. He began to break the wild horses. Unfortunately, after just a few days, he fell from a horse and broke both his legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and said, “You were right. The wild horses were not a blessing; they were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs and now in your old age you have no one to help you. You are poorer than ever.” But the old man said, “Perhaps. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. We have only a fragment of the whole story.”
It so happened that a few weeks later the country went to war with a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he had two broken legs. Once again the people gathered around, crying because there was little chance their sons would return. “You were right, old man. Your son’s accident was a blessing. Our sons are gone forever.”
The old man spoke again. “You people are always quick to jump to conclusions. Only God knows the final story.”
And so it is with our lives. What we see as a blessing or a curse may simply be part of God preparing us for what lies ahead. Be careful in seeing “disaster” in any change. Just recognize it as change – which opens the door for good as well as bad – for gain as well as possible loss.
We may also reflect on how the Prophet Joseph Smith and his companions suffered greatly while in the Liberty Jail, but in many ways it was also a blessing, for the Liberty Jail became a “Prison Temple” where Joseph received great revelations and was refined to be an even greater prophet than he was before through this experience.
Likewise, the terrible suffering of Jesus at Gethsemane, his betrayal, trial, scourging, crucifixion and death left many of his disciples with the feeling that all that they had hoped for in the coming of the Messiah had been lost. In reality, it made possible the greatest blessing of all for mankind, the infinite atonement that overcame death and hell through the resurrection and the redemption from our sins.
Love you all!
Elder White
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