November 25, 2013

Thank you those of you who have replied! I will be sending a birthday package next week so next week is the last day to respond if you would like to have a quick note included in the package.  Just a sentence or two is good, and just hit reply to this email and I will print your message (I promise not to read it!) and include it in the package.

I think he ran out of time this week! He must have spent all his time emailing Sarah! haha!

 Dear Mom,

It's interesting to think that we are given the trials we need and not the ones that seem or don't seem hard to others.  I always try to put myself in other people's shoes and it's easy to compare trials but they're not meant to be compared, they're to be personal. No one but Christ can really know what we're going through.  There's so many people out here that accuse me of being a "white collar" they tell that I don't know a thing about life because I'm 18 years old and I'm wearing a shirt and tie.  I've been told: "if you had gone through the things I have, you wouldn't believe in God either" it's interesting how God gives us different trials yet the healing balm is no different for you than it is for me. It is all enveloping.

There are so many good people in this world.  I'm always told;"I'm not interested, I have my own religion".  But I was reading in the bible this past week, I was reading about Paul.  I love reading about him... someone who flipped immediately... but it's interesting how Paul didn't change all that much...  his efforts were redirected for sure but even as a Persecutor of the Christians he did all that he did in the Belief that it was all for Jehovah, when he was visited we see that all he ever strove to do was serve God.  He was blinded spiritually and then, almost as if symbolically, physically as well.  And both blindnesses were removed and he continued to be the Zealous servant he always strove to be.  he was still tormented by the things he did in his past but he was one of the most powerful missionaries in the world.   Sister Barfuss told me a story of this lady who used to be in her ward then moved, years ago when the missionaries came to her door she yelled at them and told them how they were of the devil and such before slamming the door.. a couple weeks later the missionaries felt like they needed to go back and she had felt so bad for how she treated them that she let them in even though she still thought they were of the devil, and then she was baptized and is still active.  I thought a lot about that story as I read about Paul,  there's so many people "who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it."

AHHH THEY'RE CLOSING EARLY!!! I HAVE TO GO!!!

Love,

Elder Olguin