Monday, November 7, 2016

A trembling parent 11/7/16

Hola Hermanos!

como estan?! Bien? que bueno. 

SO this week was absolutely NUTs. Life consisted of a bunch of meetings in Riverside, emergency exchanges, hardly seeing my companions at all, and of course being blessed greatly. 

Things are going really well for the work and we have 2 investigators that are progressing to be baptized on the 20th of November. I am SO STOKED. It has been a struggle to get permission to teach them and I am absolutely overjoyed that we are moving forward now. But of course we cant release our breath until the baptism actually happens. #holdingoutonfaith

A few things came to my attention this week. I was sitting in sacrament yesterday and I was struck by the amount members there are in my ward and wards in the past that are the only active members in their families. There are so many who are faithfully attending alone, there are older couples that have recently returned to faith after years of excuses, and young people that have waded through the consequences of rebellion and repentance. A variety of people from these categories bore heart wrenching testimonies of how they regret that they couldn't have all their family with them. They cry because their children are not active in the church because they weren't diligent in teaching them, they cry because they joined the church later on and their children and spouses dont want any part of the gospel. The lost years are coming back to bite them even though they have changed, repented and have be forgiven by Christ. I was reminded of Lehi, the Book of Mormon prophet who begged his children to "hear the words of a trembling parent" and hearken to the teachings of Jesus Christ and stay firm in the faith. I know that growing up in the gospel is a blessing that so many take for granted, myself included, but now I understand how absolutely vital it is that we stay STRONG. We cannot afford to let go of the iron rod- even for a second. As the rising generation, I know it is our responsibility to be obedient and do everything we possibly can to be able to be worthy of the blessings we are promised. It broke my heart to see the pain of these wonderful members who are suffering from familiy members whose hearts will not be softened. Although it is difficult now, I have faith that one day, they will come back to the fold and that the the diligence of these members will bless their families in the eternities. 

Anyway, those are just my thoughts.

Hmm.. What else happened this week...?

So we kind of live in the hood and my comps and I have started what we call the valle vista dumpster photo series. Literally people throw away the most bizarre things. Because we park our trusty Corolla by the dumpsters we get a nice long look (and whiff) at all the goods. Yum. 

Okay here is a photo of my lovely BOSS STL companion, she is literally the most awesome sister missionary in the mission. MLC with her was bliss and this crazy transfer of a million exchanges will be great. 

Overall! Life is dandy, I love the work, the trials are worth it and the Lord loves His missionaries so we are doing just fine. 

Hope you all have a fantastic week. 
Be Safe&GodSpeed.

Love, Hermana Tobler



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