The Fruits of the Spirit

February 8, 2016

Well, the more I talk to strangers and they all tell me that in the United States there is a ton of snow... I keep thinking to myself.... I can’t even handle 23 degrees C right now and I will have to be in like -10 C for the next winter.  I will probably die.  But the good thing is that summer will be a nice cool time where I won’t be sweating at all because it doesn’t get that hot where I live like where I’m at now.  I walked around for just 10 minutes outside and I was covered in sweat like if I went on a 7 minute sprint!  Bleh.  But still it’s nice to know that where there is extreme hot in one part of the world, there is another place called Utah where it’s the best snow in the world.  I could go for a snow cone right about now. 

Anyways… so with the mission it’s going great.  Only that Dengue is making things somewhat worrisome.  But don’t worry, no one has been bitten yet and I doubt that the missionaries that are obedient and use repellant will be safe and sound.  But there has been a lot of rain everywhere and when there is a lot of rain, there are a lot of mosquitos.  We keep working in Rio Parana in our area where there are a ton of new faces and we can go and see them all in the mud or in the heat of the afternoon.  It’s very far away so we are looking for buses that can take us all the way there.  It’s quite the adventure to figure out a bus route that’s for sure. 

The investigators, well, they have had better days.  When you do your best to just get people to come to church or to do the basic things of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Praying, Reading Scriptures, obeying the commandments, etc) it gets hard to see when people just don’t want to do it or can’t. It’s sad to see people make bad choices but we can’t do more than teach by the spirit and hope that they can feel it and want more.  To feel the Holy Ghost and his influence in your life is no great task, but it’s something that for many is hard to recognize.  As it says in Galatians 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,"  These are normal everyday feelings, we are accustomed to feeling them, and they are of the spirit and the spirit testifies and gives us the feeling of what God is and what it’s like to obey him.  Moroni 7:13 "But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, everything which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."  So as a missionary we try to have the spirit with us and we teach that these feelings in fact come from God.  Don’t we want to feel happy, at peace, and calm all the time?  Don’t we want to feel like we accomplished something big, that we helped someone and that we are energetic and full of life?  Then listen to the counsel of God.  His advice and wisdom guide us to feel such.  We feel the spirit when we do good, but it’s only a feeling that comes and passes unless you have received the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of Hands, then that feeling stays with you for much, much longer, as in forever if you are continually involved in a good work.  So as we are teaching people to obey Gods commandments, they have a chance to see how they feel and see if they want more.  It’s a great feeling to have the Holy Ghost in our lives and it should be a continual goal of ours to have his companionship.  None of our investigators came except for Alipio and Gustavo Cazais, so we will be seeing how we can help our investigators keep the commandments so that they may feel the great feelings of God through the Holy Ghost. 

The Ibarra Family, who are one of my favorite families that I now have known for a year now, are doing great and their youngest daughter Luna has asked me to baptize her.  It’s a tender moment when you can help bring the work of salvation not just for newly found friends, but for old ones as well.  It makes it that much sweeter to me and it’s a tender mercy.  We have to prepare her by the 20th if that is gonna happen because if I go this next transfer, she won’t get that opportunity.  So we are teaching the whole family to be strong and to support Luna in her decisions.  It’s hard to teach an 8 year old because they have the same attention span as I do sometimes.  But she is coming along very well because we teach her simple and sweet. 

I hope that where ever you are you know that God loves you, because he is your Heavenly Father. Please talk to Him.  Ask for his help.  Do the right thing.  He is always there and wishes to hear your voice, how your day was, what you did, how you feel, what you need. Because  "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him." Matthew 6:7

Matthew 7:11 

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

I love you all and hope that your prayers will be better and that you can feel comforted this week. 

Elder Burke