So, this week something weird
happened. I had never fallen on my bike before, right? But this past
week, I fell twice within the same ten minutes. Upon exiting an
alleyway, Elder Becerra suddenly turned in the opposite direction than I
was expecting, and in my moment of confusion I turned too late and
careened into the ditch. Luckily, it was padded with nice long grass, so
it didn't hurt. More luckily, Elder Becerra happened not to look back
in that moment, so I quickly jumped out and righted myself without his
seeing it. Then, what do I do? As we were entering another barrio I
tried to jump a short curb like normal, but my back tire didn't jump it
for some reason. I ended up literally sprawled on the ground in the
dirt, lying on my back. Elder Becerra continued on a bit, then stopped
just to guffaw wildly. The worst part? We proceeded to visit an old
woman, to whom he recounted what had just happened, and she laughed,
too. Now I can die in peace, knowing that a 95-year-old argentine woman
is laughing hysterically at me. It's so great. But don't worry, I was
laughing, too.
It is important to note that we
had transfers this week, and Elder Becerra went to Mendoza Capital. I
now have here Elder Ericksen as a companion, and I'm a district leader,
also!
Anyway, I realized this week something
that is really deep: depression saved me, spiritually. In a
conversation, a woman asked me how I came to know that this is true to
the point that I wanted to serve a mission. I have always known I would
serve a mission, but I realized in that moment that the real decision to
serve, in my spirit, began to be made because of depression. Because of
the immense darkness that I became acquainted with, I grew to
appreciate the light that I have always had, and I began to have joy.
Because of the immense darkness, I began to have joy. How? Because by
the infinite wisdom of God, He fixed up my soul, repairing me until I
was able to understand the purpose of it all. I have experienced big
determining moments since then, but the first one came about because of
darkness, counterbalanced by God to make it light.
I
am doing well, and I am feeling very happy and content, ready to
confront the future, with all its difficulty. I will not let it win,
because I decide that it will not; I am the master here, and I surrender
the mastery to Someone Higher.
Con mucho amor,
Elder Hill
No comments:
Post a Comment