I know my letters are getting shorter and shorter but its just because mission life gets more and more normal. haha. And some of the stuff that's not so every day in the states is just day to day stuff to me now. BUT we did have a great week! We baptized Maryuri M on Tuesday which was a bit of a surprise because she originally wasn't going to be baptized until late December but we visited her that day and she said she couldn't wait anymore and her mom agreed! It was so awesome.
She's another great baptism who i know will stay active in church. That's one thing I've learned. One thing that bugs me about the mission is numbers and stats. They're necessary because President needs to know who's working and who's being a chambon (lazy). But some missionaries get caught up with the numbers. Some baptize those who aren't ready and who aren't going to endure to the end after their baptism and I don't want to be one of those missionaries. Because if one doesn't endure to the end, their baptism doesn't mean much. I think 2 Nephi 31 20 ish in the Book of Mormon? ("Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.") Not sure but I do know that even though I may have less baptisms at the end of my mission that I'm not going to baptize anyone unless Ive prayed really hard about them and know that they re going to change and not just be baptised but truly have a change of heart. Because this gospel is a lifestyle! Not just something you can say and it be fine, you have to live it. One great thing Ive learned on the mish.
One (kinda) funny thing that happened this week was I left a shirt on the floor for like 2 days and didn't see it. It was absolutely destroyed by rat poop and urine :)) Hope it was a comfy poo!
The Christmas season has been great and super hard at the same time. As expected. I miss my family so unbelievably much and sometimes I torture myself at night with Christmas music and pictures haha. Last night i was reading through all the Christmas cards my family sent and the ward sent. My niece, little Bailey Smith's read "Dear Sam, I hope you have a great Christmas! Love B.S. !" I laughed pretty hard and couldn't help but think Erik or Kevin put her up to that. But anyways we have an amazing opportunity especially this month to share this gospel and especially focus on Christ. We have these cards that we've been contacting with that have a picture of Mary and the baby Jesus that say El es la Dadiva, which means He is the Gift. We get to tell people that no matter the celebrations and gifts we receive there is no greater gift ever given than that of God: His only Begotten Jesus Christ. With our investigators we share this video which is a beautiful video. Its about 3 minutes long and I encourage all of y'all to watch it :)
I wanted to leave yall with one thought that I had this week. We have been using the members a lot recently especially with these little cards for references and I think it'll be a big success. We gave each of them one card and said we expect next Sunday for yall to have given this to a friend or family non member with a day that we can come with you to their house to share the video and a short message! When i was sharing with them our idea I just asked them 1. How are you growing your own testimony? What do you do on a daily or weekly basis to grow closer to Christ and His atonement? Are you truly and sincerely doing everything you can to strengthen your testimony? 2. How are you growing the testimony of those in your family and growing your relationship with each individual member of your family? Are you having family home evening every Monday and family scripture study and prayer? Are you spending quality time with your family on a regular basis? and 3. How are you helping with missionary work? Are you constantly looking for people who are ready to receive the gospel and trying to share this thing that is most important in your life with others? Because missionary work is very unsuccessful without the help of the members. The blessings that we receive for doing the Lords work are simply remarkable and this opportunity and challenge that we have given you is a great way to start! So I would encourage all of you to think about those three simple questions! And i would encourage you this Christmas season to involve yourself with the missionaries as well as immerse yourself in service. We as Americans have so much to be thankful for and especially in Prosper, we have so much. Take this Christmas season as an opportunity to give to those who don't have as much.
This Christmas for me will be one I know I will never forget! I have a testimony of this gospel and I know that Christ is my and our Savior of the world. His birth is an amazing story that I'm so grateful that I can share with these people of Guatemala. Isaiah 9:6 - For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Have a great week! Don't forget the reason why this time is so special :)
Feliz Navidad!
Elder Gurksnis
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