Sunday, March 16, 2014

Week 25: Tough week, tough food, and tough testimony builds character...

Hey guys! I hope you are all doing well like always. Its soo good to hear from you guys!  It really helps me. Sorry if I don't respond to all of you. I will always try my best. I love you guys.

This week was hard. It was really hard for me.  It’s not that nothing is happening; we have had some good things happening. Just kind of disappointed in myself, that's what has been bringing me down.  I just haven't been feeling well some days and just been missing friends and family and I feel like I haven't been becoming a better person. I love serving others and trying to help them come closer to Christ and Heavenly Father but I feel like I am not good enough a lot of these days to be out here. I guess that is the adversary working on me. I don't think people realize how hard a mission is. It is tough. You think you have to be mentally tough when you do sports and push when you don't want to push even though your body is aching and dying for a break. Nope you got to be mentally tough. 24/7. There is no break. There is no rest from this work. You have to stay focused. The hardest thing for me on a mission is just trying to maintain that eternal perspective and that I am a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.  The reason why it’s hard for me with an eternal perspective is because I often find myself just wondering what is going to happen when this happens and it’s not good. I need to have that eternal perspective that this is God’s work and this is His plan for me. No matter how much it hurts me, I can get through it. What’s hard about being a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ is that I have to my head held high through whatever happens to me. I have to be one that steps up when I get denied my love and be forgiving and humble. I want to be that so bad but it is hard but like I said last time. The things that are worth the most are the things that are going to be the hardest fights of your life.

But besides that; I think I am doing pretty well. What’s the point of going through these things if I am not learning anything? I am learning so much from these things! I learned that the lord calls us in our weakness and qualifies us for His work. I learned that He works with this raw material and shapes you into what He wants you to become and what He wants you to become is who you need to become! We got to give ourselves up to Him. That's all He wants. He wants you because He can shape you into the strongest person that you can become.. He uses all of your potential. I just wish I could see that this is what needs to happen. I need to go through these things to be who I am supposed to be. I am learning that I need Him, I need him every hour. I can't do this on my own. I am not supposed to do this on my own.

I am learning that I need to be humble and that is my biggest dream and goal to have now. Just to be humble. When I am humble, I can come to the Lord and ask for His help to help me with my weaknesses and He will show me the way to overcome my weaknesses. I am learning this mission is all about you becoming the best you from serving others and that's what it comes down to sometimes. Forget yourself. Go serve the Lord. Go serve these people of Colorado and love them so much that you can't wait for each and every day to meet one of your brothers and sisters that needs you, an instrument to the lord. Everyone is a different instrument to the lord and different instruments are meant for different places and people. We are the Lords orchestra and no matter how many faults you have. He will still use you because He knows what you can do. You don't just yet until you do it. So do it.

I am learning of the atonement and what Elder Holland said that the missionaries will most likely use the atonement more than people they are teaching. I am learning that I just need to have faith in Christ. I need Him. If I am humble I will be with Him. There is so much I am learning and I wish I could tell you all of it. But the biggest thing that I am learning is that the Lord has called me to be who I am supposed to be, to step up. The only way I can do that is just forget myself and go to work. Like President Gordon. B. Hinckley. Be all you can be.

So what happened this week that was good was that I learned! We are now teaching this little girl that can get baptized!  Her name is Olivia. She’s 10 and the mom finally allowed her to get baptized and Nadia as well. She is 8. Sweet girls that have an amazing testimony! It is so cool and exciting. 

This week has just been crazy like chaotic. ha ha Just very disorganized and busy and in a rush to do a lot of things. So anyway, we have this Elder in the mission that likes for other Elders to try to do hot food. He has been trying to get me to do a habanero, this chili and this hot sauce. I neglected for about 4 weeks. I finally gave in. worse 5 minutes of my life. They got me to do the chili which wasn't too bad, (mistake number 1) compared to the hot sauce. I dealt with it pretty well. Then I did the hot sauce after it because they said it was not that much hotter than the chili… Well one thing for sure, it was still hot. So hot, I threw up. (Elder Barfington is back ladies and gentlemen!) I got a video of how hot it was so maybe you guys will see it when I send home my next SD card. ha ha  But there is a lesson to be learned here! That Elder was exactly like Satan! Not is Satan but like him, because he knows how to tempt. I was getting made fun of for resisting this stupid hot food and I finally gave into a little. Then they say to go bigger because I did something not as bad but it was still bad. So don't give in to a little thing because it can lead into a bigger thing! I was doing so well. Now I get like this awful hot taste in my mouth when I think of when I did it. blahhhh But, what makes me mad the most is that the Elder said he would get me before the end of the transfer and I totally forgot about that. I let him win.

Don't do hot foods and eating contests. No one wins.

I got to watch a little bit of the Joseph Smith restoration videos this week. It was awesome! I have so much stronger of a testimony of Joseph Smith now. I realized what he went through just for us, so that we can make it back to our Heavenly Father and know what true happiness is; the gospel. That's what brings me true happiness.  It made me that more happy to go testify of this man and what He has done for us. I know He was a prophet, to restore the church of Jesus Christ. I know that this is Jesus Christ’s church. And just like Joseph, who was called in his weakness but qualified for His work. The same thing goes for me. I am called to his work in weakness, but I am qualified for his marvelous work. I love you guys. Thanks for listening or reading and supporting me. I love you all so much!  

-- 
Love,
Elder Garrett Steven Harrington

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Companions, Elder Smith Sep 2013 - Dec 2013 Elder Anani Dec 2013 - Jan 2013 Elder Farr Jan 2013 -