I wanted to mention something I
heard in the devotional with Elder Renlund that I thought was funny
(also, pictures from that event are attached, finally). Sister Renlund
said that during her mission she wouldn't give the men the time of day.
Then she corrected herself and said she would give them the time of day,
but not a date. I thought it was hilarious.
Anyway,
there is not much to say about this week, because we were traveling
back from San Rafael and then for the rest of the days we were mostly
just cleaning the area book, which took huge heaping loads of time. And
yet, even so, we have so little time that it's almost hilarious to me.
Oh, but one interesting thing happened this week: we knocked on a door
and waited for a long time, then when someone finally came out it was an
old, big man, one eye a milky white (in short, very imposing), who came
out in a rage and yelled at us to leave because we were "Mormones"
(even though we're not), and there was only one God. Elder Avila started
saying, "Sí, hay solo uno Dios, y Él vive," but he would have none of
that, and he looked like he was about to hit him. We left, thanking him
for his time (to which he spat, obviously), but overall it was a great
experience. Honestly, I'm not disheartened by that. One thing I've come
to know very powerfully is that, if there really is a God of justice in
this universe, everything will be dealt with in perfect rectitude,
eventually; thus, I need not worry about anything that anyone else does
wrong, because everything will be paid back exactly, every last penny of
every debt, in one way or another. I have come to take a lot of comfort
in that.
I've found two things now that I like
in the Gospel better in Spanish than in English. The first is that we
can be cleansed from sin through the Atonement of Christ; in Spanish, it
says, "podemos ser limpios...", and that is so much more powerful than
the English, because "ser" refers to the nature of things, and thus we
aren't just becoming clean temporarily, we are becoming
clean, accepting cleanliness into our nature. The other thing I like is
what it says in Moroni 10:5, that we can know the truth of all things.
In Spanish, that verse says "podréis conocer la verdad de todas las
cosas", and "conocer" means "to know", but in a more familiar way, like
you know a person, or know a map. Thus, the meaning of that verse is not
that we can just know the facts of truth, it's a promise that we can know the truth inside and out, like a friend. I like those so much more than the ambiguity of English.
I
want to end my short letter with a song. It's called "You Are the Moon"
by The Hush Sound, and it talks about how beautiful people really are,
though they don't see it. It starts with the Moon rising from the
horizon and seeing its reflection on the ocean, broken and scattered by
waves. It says: "All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and
seas; the shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe. I
will bring a mirror so silver, so exact, so precise and so pristine, a
perfect pane of glass. I will set the mirror up to face the blackened
sky; you will see your beauty every moment that you rise." And thus it
concludes. I just want to remind you all that God is trying to show you
all how beautiful you are by showing you our Brother, Jesus Christ, as
an example of what we are. If we really are children of God, en serio,
then we are so much more beautiful than we can even comprehend. This is
my witness to you all today, and I mean it with all my heart.
Thank
you all for your support to me in the forms of letters, encouragement,
kindness, etc.; it means the world, especially now that I'm on the other
side of the world. Dios esté con ustedes.
Con amor de Argentina,
Elder Hill
Fotos:
Élder Prosser (un asistente del Presidente) y yo
(de izquierda a derecha) Yo, Élder Thornton, Élder Vazquez, Élder Kummer, en San Rafael
Este hielo es muy interesante
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