"Let us reason even as a man reasoneth one with another face to face" - D&C 50:11
Monday, August 26, 2013
Unfortunately, this letter is going to be short this week. People just
did not seem to be in the mood to talk to us. However, there is
something that I had reemphasized to me this week, and that is the
importance of communication between companions.
Elder Eisele and I settling in together well, and he is getting more comfortable in the mission field every day. Lately though, I have noticed that he seemed to not understand basic (in my mind they were basic at least) facts about life, and frequently I have to define some "big words" that I use without thinking but words he appeared to have trouble comprehending. I first I thought that it was an act, that he was doing it just to annoy me. And it was working. I was finding it difficult to "keep my cool" whenever he would act ignorant and pretend not to know something. We had a talk about it and come to find out it wasn't an act - he actually doesn't know a lot of these words and is naive about a great deal more. I am so grateful that we had this talk, because now that I know that these problems are who he is, and they are real struggles he faces, I am so much more forgiving and tremendously more patient than I would be if it was an act. And as I reflected on that this week, I thought about Judas Iscariot, and how he was offended by something Christ had done and allowed Satan into his heart. How very different those last days would have been if Jesus and Judas had just had a "companionship inventory" and resolved their problems. Then a man's soul might not have been lost to the wiles of the devil.
We also had the chance to give a member and his nonmember wife a blessing before he went into surgery on Thursday. I know she felt the spirit as the blessings were given, and I hope that during this ordeal she felt the peace that the gospel can bring and we can make some progress with her. And for those of you who are wondering, the surgery went well. It was scheculed to go for 4 hours, but ended up lasting 7 hours. The reason being was that when they opened his back up, there was much more damage than they had originally thought, so much more in fact that the doctors were flabbergasted how he was even able to walk. But everything went well and though he is in a tremendous amount of pain, he is on the mend and should be home soon.
That's it for this week. We have a zone conference on Thursday, so I should have some "mind grenades" to throw at you all next week.
Elder Eisele and I settling in together well, and he is getting more comfortable in the mission field every day. Lately though, I have noticed that he seemed to not understand basic (in my mind they were basic at least) facts about life, and frequently I have to define some "big words" that I use without thinking but words he appeared to have trouble comprehending. I first I thought that it was an act, that he was doing it just to annoy me. And it was working. I was finding it difficult to "keep my cool" whenever he would act ignorant and pretend not to know something. We had a talk about it and come to find out it wasn't an act - he actually doesn't know a lot of these words and is naive about a great deal more. I am so grateful that we had this talk, because now that I know that these problems are who he is, and they are real struggles he faces, I am so much more forgiving and tremendously more patient than I would be if it was an act. And as I reflected on that this week, I thought about Judas Iscariot, and how he was offended by something Christ had done and allowed Satan into his heart. How very different those last days would have been if Jesus and Judas had just had a "companionship inventory" and resolved their problems. Then a man's soul might not have been lost to the wiles of the devil.
We also had the chance to give a member and his nonmember wife a blessing before he went into surgery on Thursday. I know she felt the spirit as the blessings were given, and I hope that during this ordeal she felt the peace that the gospel can bring and we can make some progress with her. And for those of you who are wondering, the surgery went well. It was scheculed to go for 4 hours, but ended up lasting 7 hours. The reason being was that when they opened his back up, there was much more damage than they had originally thought, so much more in fact that the doctors were flabbergasted how he was even able to walk. But everything went well and though he is in a tremendous amount of pain, he is on the mend and should be home soon.
That's it for this week. We have a zone conference on Thursday, so I should have some "mind grenades" to throw at you all next week.
Love you all and keep safe -
Elder Cox
Elder Cox
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| Four Island Lake in Bear Valley |
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