Week 72

Well here I am sitting at the computer again thinking, holy crap where did the time go... it’s incredible how

fast time is going bye.. I don’t like it at all... I am enjoying the mission more and more and have thought a lot about my time here. There is no better way to spend every day than serving and helping people that really need it. I have been humbled more than I ever thought I could be and realize more and more the blessings of being an American. I am so happy to start the Thanksgiving season and Christmas season shortly. It is a great time of year to reflect on all the things that REALLY MATTER. What a great time of year! 

So this week my companion was a little sick with stomach problems, we think he had parasites or something like that. I remember those days when I was new on the mission... rough days but he is feeling good. So that’s out of the way, all good in the stomach department right now! 

What else... R. who got baptized about a week or two ago is doing amazing and really enjoying the new life that he has. He is such a great example to so many here in the La Paz that people can change even when they had great challenges to overcome. He is doing good things and moving along in a positive direction. I am so happy that we had the opportunity to change his life. I love that man. 

So we are teaching a man right now that lives here in La Paz. His family lives in a little pueble like 3 hours from here and his wife came here to church, with the family yesterday. They know that it is true and are so happy. They are going to get married and baptized as fast as we can take papers out for a wedding and all. The wife is so happy… what a sacrifice, traveling 3 hours because it’s the closest church , which is here in the La Paz. Their amazing, reading The Bible and the Book of Mormon and know that it is true. The Lord with ALWAYS answer our prayers. I promise ya’ll that. I am so happy for them, it’s been great being a part of their journey.

Also this week I had to give a talk in church along with my companion. We killed it to say the say the least :) My companion talked about being humble and I talked about the blue prints of the church. When I say that what do I mean? Referring to the blue prints of the church, I talked about how the church is based on the same principals that Jesus Christ himself established. I talked about how when someone wants to build a house, they build it to the exact requirements that one wants. It was and is the same with the Lords church. It was created perfectly and with all the requirements that our Heavenly Father wanted. I promise you that the exact church that the Lord started when he was in Jerusalem is on the face of the earth today. We must have the same blueprints as before. It is crucial. We must follow the Lord’s example and guidelines on each thing that we do. When we fall away from the Lords way we are doing things in our own way and not his. It is important that we have the things that are in the Holy Bible. The Bible is the guidelines (blueprints) that we must have. I started my talk off about how everything in the church in old times as well as today is based off of service and our will. I love the story in Mark Chapter 12 versus 41-44. What a great example we have from this woman. Everything starts with the love for our Savior and wanting to do His will and not ours. So that started my talk off. So then I talked about how the blueprints of old times need to match with today. So I shared many stories and scriptures, for time sake I will share with you the scriptures and you can look them up and study them and see for yourself.  Mathew 10:1, Lucas 9:1- talks about what authority is, we must understand that having authority is a divine part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We talked about the importance of marriage and following the commandments. Mathew 18:18 and 1 Corinthians 11:11. We talked about the importance of our bodies and how we MUST treat them like a temple and not partake of things that alter or do not allow us to have the spirit to be with us like drinking, smoking, drunks, or abusing other types of substances. I challenge you guys to be better about this. Treat your temple with respect and know what you are doing. We must read in The Bible to see the importance of our bodies in 1st Corinthians 3:16 and chapter 6:19. Take some time and think about how we as individuals can be better. I was happy to talk about how the blueprints from before are all taught and followed today. If we are not in line with the things that the prophets, apostles, and Lord taught, we must change to be better. THE LORD WILL BLESS YOU FOR YOUR EFFORT, I PROMISE YOU MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS. So that was the base of my talk.... 

This week was good, and this week will be better. What are you guys going to do this week to draw closer to our Savior? How about you Mr. 210? LOVE EACH OF U GUYS! 

Make it a great week, aim high in all that you do and put your best foot forward!

con mucho amor,

Elder Long!