10/22/2013 - From Parents

Elise departed from SLC this morning..we spoke very briefly very early this morning.  We just got off the phone with her on her plane change in New York Kennedy airport.  We had a wonderful 15 minutes with her that seemed way too short.  Weird, because when your kids are with you, 15 seconds on the phone or text is sometimes enough.  There must be a lesson there!

She loved Provo MTC, but can't wait for Bogota MTC...and to start her Bolivia mission.  We made her do some Spanish speaking and she sounded great.  She sounded so happy and ready and excited for her journey.  We love having her on her mission, but it has only been two weeks tomorrow since she left.  We better start counting in months now.

She said she has received some great emails or DearElder.com mail from people and loves loves loves it when she gets them.  Thank you all for keeping in touch with her.  She recommends email while in the Bogota MTC, as the mail system is not as good; but you can try.

We are looking forward to hearing from her again on her Week 3, but for now, we will cherish the 15 minutes of talk time we were just blessed with.

Proud Pappa!

Week 2 -
Its been a crazy week here! Sorry that I'm about to spell everything wrong! Its been just as amazing as the first week, maybe ever better and worse!  Dallin H. Oaks came and spoke to us for Tuesday devotional. It was amazing. I was in the same room listening to an Apostle. I joined the MTC choir cause I'm obviously super cool! ha! and we got to sing for him... it was so awesome!!
WE sang praise to the man and it was my favorite experience thus far. Choir is the best; everyone should join a choir.
I don't know what the rules are on dancing but I do it all the times in the halls!  I just gotta let it out. Never in the class room and especially not in the gym though.  I'm still getting used to all the rules though.  I walk a lot faster than my companion so I often lose her. whoops.  She's a good sport though; haha. The days are getting faster and we are just learning all the time! Espanol up the wall!  I wish I could just speak in English honestly!  I just have so much to say!  We teach fake investigators in Spanish and its amazing cause the lord totally helps you but there is so much more I want to say!
My district leaves for Colombia on Tuesday! WE are all so excited! I have the best district, we are district 11 so I make everyone do the hunger games symbol.  They love it. My district leader is a clogger! yeah he is the best! Everyone basically just got out of high school so I'm an abuela!  So if any of you were thinking of writing me well... Colombia MTC is pretty bad with mail so emails until Bolivia, you can try though!

The days can be overwhelming and hard but every night when I get down on my knees I am overwhelmed with love for others and the Lords love for me. I am so close to the spirit and the Lord here.  I realize how much of the human brain is restricted.  The light of Christ is expanding my heart and mind.  I understand and love more. I feel the presence of the Savior more and more every second.  I feel his spirit within me and exuding from me.  As I grow, learn, and humble myself there is more room for Christ to be in my soul and that is when the restrictions of the natural man can be lifted and Christ can allow me to have all the abilities I was heavenly endowed with. My line to heavenly father is so pure and clear. That is why it is so hard here because for all these amazing things to happen you have to give up your natural man, and that my friends is hard!!!  One of the hardest things I've ever done... with the greatest reward.  Our real selves are truly waiting for us in Christ.  Get to know the Savior and you will realize how much you already knew him, how he has always been the one person that knows you the best.  Don't wait. There is no excuse good enough to not get to know the man that suffered pain so great that even God himself trembled.

"Nothing will startle us more than when we pass through the veil and realize how well we know our Saviors face."

I love the lord, in him my soul delights.

Week 1- Luggage less and happy! 

     Sacramento to Salt Lake City, and hour and a half flight, you think they would be able to get your luggage there with you, but nope!!! not a chance!! Not when Satan is around and trying to destroy your mission! kidding. but seriously Satan doesn't stand a chance, cause i'm happy anyways.  I arrived to the MTC with no bags which was kinda nice, got all my stuff, then went straight to class where the teacher only spoke to me in Spanish! Yeah I hardly knew what was going on. After class we had a meeting with the MTC presidency and all the new missionaries. WE sang Called to Serve and it was the first time I've cried since saying goodbye to my family! Well I didn't really cry I was holding back tears as to not look like a newbie. but I was just so overwhelmed by the spirit!!!! I'm overwhelmed by the spirit all the time!!!! I didn't know it was possible to feel this happy. My whole being, every atom, every fiber is complete, whole and perfect. One of the presidency said it is no coincidence you are here on this day on October 9th. You have been preparing for this moment since the pre-mortal existence. You are important and your work is important. You are supposed to be here. What comforting and incredible words. We have lots of language class and workshops.  The other day one of the teachers came up to me after class which I had made a comment in and he said to me you could be teaching this class, you've got it. haha. So I'm the kid that everyone hates and obviously the Monica of the MTC (Monica from Friends).  I'm just kidding. I just always feel so prompted by the spirit to say something.  The other missionaries are so wonderful as well, someone is always saying something so profound and mind opening. My companion is awesome! We are very different and its great.  She is very organized and a diligent student and I'm just in lala land so happy and crying about how beautiful the earth is and just want to sit and read inspiration quotes and talk about how much I love Love and she is like Hermana get it together we need to study our Spanish vocab. So she is god for me and I'm teaching her all about the proper intake of water and healthy eating habits! I'm gunna change her life. Just kidding. She says she is always sick and I'm like perfect I have every holistic remedy you'll need. Waking up at 5:30 am is a doozy, but I'm doing it for the Lord. If we are obident we will receive blessings but if we are obedient with EXACTNESS we will see miracles. I already see the miracles.  The MTC is all abut learning your purpose as a missionary.  Our purpose is to love!!! Its incredible what we are learning, you think you love people then you come here and realize we don't love fully the way we should or are capable of.  They put different people in front of you here at the MTC, put you in hard situations and teach you to love UNCONDITIONALLY!!!  That is the way we should love.  As missionaries we are here to invite and help others come unto Christ and you can't do that if you don't love someone COMPLETELY. and you can't fake this kind of love. Trust me. You'll be happy to know my bags did eventually come! After I had worn the same clothes for a totally of 60 hours of course! So my first night at the MTC I wore a strangers clothes, slept in stale dorm sheets, couldn't talk to any of my loved ones and had none of my things, but I was completely happy.  I did not feel sorry for myself or anger at my circumstance.  The lord will provide. He is real and loves us. Have faith and always press forward. 

It's Official....I got my Missionary Badge

 I still have a ways to travel

 Got my Luggage

 My Roomate; Hermana Cedon

 My First Companion - Hermana Diaz

Early morning travel - Sacramento airport at 5am.  Too bad this luggae didn't make it to the MTC for over 30 hours.

Last photo of the six of us for the next 18 months.

A big family means a big goodbye!

...and she's off!

Farewell Talk: This is My Work and My Glory

Hello everyone! I’m so excited to be in front of you today as a future missionary! I was asked to talk on M. Russell Ballard’s talk, “This is My Work and Glory”.  It is a really beautiful talk,  So I felt prompted to speak on the direct title, which comes from Moses chapter 1 verse 39.

but it doesn’t talk directly on this is my work and glory that first comes to mind.

Moses 1:39 For behold, this is my work and my glory- to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

I absolutely love this scripture because it says exactly what Gods number one priority is. It’s for us, his children, to return to him.  He wants to bring men eternal life.  All he wants to do is save us! And when I say us I mean everyone.  He wants everyone to come back to him. So if this is Gods purpose, then what shall our purpose be? The world thinks that this is the greatest question of all time? I’ve watched so many people try to “find themselves” try to find their purpose in this life, when the answer is the simplest one of all.  Our purpose is to come back to him; our purpose is to find Christ.  As a background for some of you who may have forgotten this sweet thought, before we were born on this earth we were spirit angels in heaven with a heavenly father who loved us.  It was planned that a magnificent earth should be created and that everyone who wishes should come down to earth and gain a body and through this body would grow, learn, love and fulfill our greatest potential.  Now when this plan was announced a great war broke out in the heavens. There were two sides to this war, the side that followed Satan’s plan, which was that of no pain and no sorrow, but also of no happiness or freedom and through which Satan would get all the glory and be a merciless dictator.  The other side was that of Jesus Christ, his plan was to die on the cross for each and every one of us so that we could feel pain and sin, and know good and evil, but also have eternal life and the greatest joy imaginable and have ALL the glory go to God the Father. One-third of the hosts of heaven followed Satan and now dwell among us only as evil spirits and deceivers.  The rest of the host of heaven chose to receive a body and come down to earth and reach their full potential. The rest of those wise hosts are you and I.  How wonderful are you. You stood on the side of the savior of the world! You looked into his eyes and recognized the truth and love in his soul and knew he was right.  The hard part is over! We have chosen the winning side, we are here on earth! Each of you picked Christ! I remember sitting in class one day and I looked around and realized that every person in that classroom once knew Christ personally and chose to follow him.  It changed my life. It changed everything about my soul and everything about the way I look at people. From then on I looked at everyone from the soul out.  A soul that is made from God. A soul that is good and wise. A soul that is a child of God. We have all made the right decision to come to earth and live the test of life all that is left to do is come back to him, which in the end is Gods Work and Glory.

            Now while we are on this earth there are some things Heavenly Father has asked us to do so that we can join in in his Work and Glory.  I am going to focus on two of those things.

1.     Love. He wants us to have love in our hearts at all times, love for this earth, love for our enemy, and love for every human that we encounter.  God is made of love and when we have love in our hearts then our hearts are made of God.

2.     Give up every fiber of your being to the savior, Jesus Christ.  That way your soul is more his than yours and in this way you become who you were made to be. 

When we do these two things we become in harmony with God, and his work and glory (to bring souls unto him) becomes our work and glory.  We are here to love, serve, and give everything to Christ. In Mosiah chapter 2 verse 34 it says,

Moaish 2:34 …Ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father, to render him all that you have and are…

What a powerful statement, he created us, he saved us! We owe him everything. And when we give him everything we become an instrument in his hand and can help him in all his work.

Alma 29:9 I know that which the lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.  

When we are loving one another and giving ourselves to Christ we are instruments in his hand and help to bring souls unto him. Now, no unclean thing can dwell in the hand of the Lord. So we must be righteous to be a tool unto him. However even if we are not living like we wish we could be or going through trying times, we can still love others, feel God’s love, and serve others.

            For those of you who were unaware the missionary age limit for girls used to be 21, meaning as a girl you had to be 21 to serve as a full time missionary like I am about to do, where as a young man served at 19.  It is less common for girls to serve a mission because it is not a requirement from the Lord like it is for the young men.  When you serve as a missionary you have to be worthy to be an instrument of the Lord, you have to be living the commandments to be clean in his hand. Last October I was sitting in my apartment watching general conference with my roommate. The President of the church, Thomas S. Monson, stood on the pulpit and began his announcements. He started talking about missionaries and how there have been several missionaries that were allowed to serve at the age of 18 and were great attributions.  He then announced that the age limit was officially changed for men of the church to 18. I was silent, in shock.  He then said, “Concerning the young women of the church…” With these words my heart stopped, I sat silent completely overwhelmed as to what I was about to hear, “Woman are now allowed to serve missions at the age of 19.” That’s my age. A whole two-year difference. And the first thought that popped into my head was, I am worthy to serve him.  The lord has called on me, called on many, and I AM WORTHY. I couldn’t believe in that moment that I was worthy to serve the lord, that I was living my life accordingly that I could jump right in and serve the lord. I have never had such a humbling experience. The lord calls on us to help him at unexpected times and to be ready when he calls you… that is the most joyess feeling I have ever felt. No matter your age, situation, trials, be prepared to be called.  Because we don’t know when or what, but the Lord will call on us.  We must stand in the light of righteousness and be worthy at all times and in all things and in all places. He knows we are not perfect, but he knows what we are capable of, so we must try each day to be a little better, be a little more worthy to serve him. Repentance is our greatest gift and the Lord gives it to us so willingly.  I am so grateful in that moment that I had previously taken advantage of repentance, I was so glad that I did not put off the repentance process, I did not procrastinate and I was ready. He is so merciful because he loves us and needs us to serve him. Being righteous, taking full advantage of the atonement and repentance has given me more opportunities to serve, grow, learn, and live then I could have ever imagined. Because I live in the light he guides me on the path that I was always supposed to be on. I have seen and done things I could have never imagined or appreciated without him. I look at my life and am so grateful that I put it in the hands of the lord because he made it better than I ever could.

            One of my favorite singers, this angel, sings a song called Kings, Queens, Beggars and Thieves and it is so beautiful, it has become my theme for my mission. There is a line that goes, “I stood in the heated halls and I played for the king and the queens, I went out in the blistering cold and I played for the beggars and thieves, I saw the pain in their eyes fade away as they listened to me, and I will carry that weight back home.” He plays for the kings and they are blinded by pride so much so that they don’t care about his message, he then plays for those who have nothing, they have nothing blocking them from hearing his sweet message, so they listened and he eased their pain! That’s what the gospel does, when you are humble and listen it eases your every pain! It lifts your every burden! How dare us not share that sweet message with our brothers and sisters. We should carry that weight of those less fortunate to not have the gospel. Our job as members should be to bring souls to heaven. That is Gods Work and Glory and so should it be ours. In D&C 42:45 it reads,

45 thou shalt live together in love, insomuch that thou shalt weep for the loss of them that die, and more especially for those that have not hope of a glorious resurrection.

Here Christ is saying that we should morn with those that morn, yes that is easy for us, we naturally get sad when we lose a person or when someone else looses someone.  But here he says MORE ESPECIALLY then that, weep for those that do not have a hope of a glorious resurrection. He is saying that sadder than the saddest thing we can imagine, which is loosing a loved one, is a person that doesn’t believe in Christ.  To all of us it should hurt more, give us more grief, to know that there are people out there that don’t believe in their savior and brother Jesus Christ. To me I agree that is the saddest thing. But how wonderful that we can fix it! We can fix it today, tomorrow and everyday we are on this earth.

            Now not all of us are missionaries and none of us will be full time missionaries forever, but we can be missionaries at home and we can do something very simply that is totally in line with Gods Work and Glory and that is loving thy brother as thy love thy self.  Love is my favorite thing.

            In a wonderful booked title, “Mans search for meaning.” Victor Frankl, the author, is telling the story of his survival through life in a concentration camp during the holocaust.  He describes the misery of the camp and if you read it… well it is true misery.  At one point something simple happens to him and he says this, “The truth- that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart. The salvation of man is through love and in love. I understand how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved… For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, ‘the angels are lost in the perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.’… Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved.  It finds its deepest meaning in his spiritual being, his inner self.  Weather or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance.”

            Love is not a person or an object love is in us.  It’s a spiritual feeling, a spiritual understanding.   When we feel love within us it is because we understand something, we realize we are different, we are created for a higher being. We are meant for other worlds. We are the only creature on earth that love. We are made of God. I know this because I feel it all the time. Every time I listen to a beautiful song I love it so much, I feel it deep within my soul and it hurts because I cant love it enough and I know that I am meant to love it more. I can’t wait to get to heaven and love the way we were supposed to, we are so restricted here but when we give ourselves to Christ he opens our spectrums.

            John chapter 13 is one of my favorite scripture stories. It is the last supper before Christ goes to die on the cross.  After he partakes of the last supper with his disciples the savior of the world gets down on his hands and knees and washes the disciples feet. After he does this he says to them,

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that yea are my disciples, if ye have loved one to another.

The way to be a disciple, the way to show that you are of God is to love one another. We must love everyone! We cannot have any ill feelings and gossip filled sentences toward anyone. Why would we want to? Why would we want to hurt our brothers? We were not made from hate therefore we are not made TO hate!  Hating is not our nature. We learned to hate and this is why we do it, but it is not who we are. We are made from love.

            Now all these things that I have talked about are wonderful. Love, service, finding Christ, but above all the most glorious, most rewarding thing we can do is give up every fiber of our being to Christ. I promise you wont regret it.  Once you find Christ you will want to be with him more than anything else in the world, he will be your everything and you his. C.S Lewis says in his book Mere Christianity, “The Christian way is different: harder, and easier. Christ says ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want you.  I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. No half-measures are any good. I don’t want to cut off a branch here and a branch there, I want to have the whole tree down. I don’t want to drill the tooth, or crown it, or stop it, but to have it out. Hand over the whole natural self, all desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked - the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.’”

             I know that believing in God, believing in something that you have never seen before is scary I know that following his commandments and giving up your favorite sin or favorite temptation is hard. It’s kind of like jumping off a cliff.  You are literally taking a leap of faith! When you look over the edge your thoughts may consist of, “This is terrifying, I am satisfied up here, why would I jump!” But we are not made to be confined by a ledge. When you jump you will find that you do not plummet down into the darkness or to your death, no, you fall quickly into the arms of the lord. When you jump for him he surly will catch you and he opens your eyes to everything you were meant to be.  I promise you if you take the leap of faith you will understand things you never thought you could. You will feel more yourself than ever possible before.

            One of my favorite thoughts comes from C.S Lewis, “It is when I turn to Christ, when I give myself up to His Personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own… give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favorite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.” I felt prompted the other day to obtain a Book of Mormon, highlight it and address it.  I still have no idea who I am supposed to give it to, but I know it is for someone special and I cant wait to find them.  I would like to leave with you my testimony that I wrote to this mystery person on the front page.

            “Dear _____, this book has brought me more joy and more comfort than anything else in my life. I know that the words written are from the mouth of God and directly for you and I. I know that every word is saturated in the love of the Lord and is complete and total truth. I know that as you read these words with an open mind and a soft heart you too will find them to be true, as they were made for you. The gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was made for all mankind.  It is perfect for us because it is who we are. Christ is apart of our souls.  We are forever and always have been children of God.  There is no sin too great for God to forgive.  No wound to deep for God to heal.  No person to far for Gods love to reach.  Look to God and all your questions will be answered, you will find everything you were looking for.  Because of this gospel life has more purpose, the world is more beautiful, colors more vibrant, love is deeper, and happiness is everlasting.  A piece of heaven is within us, a piece of home is calling.”

            I know that God exists, he loves us.  I know that Jesus Christ died for each of us so we may return to him.  He died for us as if each of us where the only person who ever existed. I know that this is the true church on earth because it does not hate. It does not talk ill about anyone else nor any other religion. It does not have literature on why other religions are false or wrong.  The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints focuses on God and that is why it is true! Because it does not need to put others down to look right.  And I know when a religion does speak wrongfully about other religions it is because they do not have the full truth. When something is true all it needs to focus on is Christ and that is enough. I owe my savior my life and I am honored to give fully 18 months of my life to him.  Everything is for him.  If I died and no one knew who I was, but they knew that I loved Christ that would be enough.  I am a child of God. I am a servant of the Lord. I am nothing compared to him, but I am everything to him.  I love love, I love being in the presence of love, and I love my family.  Every night I get on my knees and pray and I can’t believe that I have such a beautiful family.  My mother is my light, my father is my hero, and my brother and sisters are my greatest friends and supporters. I love them and more importantly I know that Christ loves them. I know that Christ loves you. I am grateful for ever breathe I take, every song I hear, every person I meet, and ever day God freely gives me.  God has a plan, faithfully follow Him.

            I save these things in the name of Jesus Christ, The Light of the World. Amen.