Hola y buen día! Espero que todo
este bien. Es un día muy linda aquí en Tandíl! Por suerte, hemos visto el sol
mucho este semana! ha sido una bendición. (;
The time
is flying. I can't believe that it has been a week! We have people ask us how
we can stand to work as much as we do in the streets. And it's crazy that I
actually want to be working in the street. It makes the time go by faster and
I'm a lot happier when we're working hard. It's incredible! I've truly been
blessed!
This week
we have been working a lot with the less active members in the ward here in
Tandíl. And it was cool to see some people come to church who havent been there
in a long time. Miracles on Avenida Avellaneda 1700 (; Working with less active
members this week has really made me think about our duty as members of this
incredible church. I was especially impressed as I read the story of Lehi's
dream in the Book of Mormon this week. I thought of the Iron Rod as a literal
thing. I thought about that story as if it was what really happened here on
earth. Imagine that you're walking along side the iron rod, gripping it tightly
so you dont get lost in the darkness all around you. You can see in front of
you one of your loved ones. A brother, sister, friend, spouse, whoever. Now
imagine as you are making your way along that Iron Rod towards the Tree of
Life, you see this loved one let go of the Rod and start to wander into the darkness.
What would you do? Would you grip the Iron Rod tighter and say, "Oh man, I
sure hope he finds his way back." or "Oh no. I sure hope someone
saves him."? No! You would reach out into the darkness and grab him by the
neck if you had to, to pull him back to the rod! You would reach out and save
him! You might have even put your own security with the Rod at risk to save
him. We would do it then in that situation, so why don't we do it now? We all
know someone who has "Let go of the Iron Rod" or stopped coming to
church. So why aren't we throwing our arms out into the darkness to save them?
How many times do we say, "I sure hope he makes it back to church one
day." or "I hope someone goes and visits him, inviting him to
church."? The people around us are literally our spiritual brothers and
sisters. It should be US visiting them. It should be US reaching out to save
them. I have learned here in the mission that the war in Heaven before this
life, didn't end in Heaven. It still rages today. We are constantly faced with
opposition, challenges, temptations, and whatever else the Advesary throws at
us to try and get us to let go of the Rod. And sometimes we fall away. Wouldn't
you want someone to reach out and save you if you fell away? Luke 6:31
says, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them
likewise." With that said, my challenge to you this week is to reach
out to someone who has lost their way. Visit them, invite them to church, do
whatever you can to help them back to the Iron Rod. We are talking about
Eternal Salvation here. There's no time to wait and hope for someone else to
save our brothers ans sisters. We need to act and we will be blessed.
I
love this work. I love this gospel. I love the Lord. And I know He loves me
too. That is my testimony, In His name, Amen.
I love you all and pray for you
constantly. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Elder Holmes
 |
| a monument to Don Quijote! |
 |
| Argentina at it's finest. |
