So, this week was a bit insane.
We went to Alvear for a baptismal interview and also a wedding of the
man who is to be baptized, which was fun. I especially loved it because I
saw a lot of members that I had known before from Pellegrini! That made
me really happy. That night, we returned to Balloffet and almost
immediately prepared for the ward music activity, in which I was to
sing. To make a long event short in relating, we had the joy of hearing a
professional accordion player, and it was magnificent. He even played a
traditional tango, which made me want to dance, but it takes two to
tango, right? So I couldn't. Sadness. But I sang "Vuelve el Amor" ("Evermore" from the movie "Beauty and the Beast", in Spanish) and they loved it immensely. But the bishop's wife
missed that performance and was really sad, so the bishop requested
that I sing something more, so I spontaneously sang Josh Groban's "So She Dances" (in
English), which was also loved, though completely unpracticed. All in
all, that activity turned out to be a very fun and good one, which is
great because we weren't even sure if anyone would come. I think the
bishop liked my singing, too, because he had me sing in Sacrament
Meeting the hymn "O My Father", which was not planned before. But he
trusted me with a last-minute assignment, which is a good sign.
The
next day, Talía, the wife of Sergio, was baptized! That was a surprise
to us because she never showed interest as we talked with Sergio, but
then when we talked with her without him, she agreed to be baptized
instantly! She was so happy about it, too. I had the honor of confirming
her a member of the Church.
Now for my deeper
thoughts. Of late, I have been feeling so poignantly my lack of ability
to empathize with people. I have generally been an open book with
everyone; if anyone just kept asking, I would just keep telling. But it
seems that I have somehow never learned how to open the books of other
people, and that hurts. I just end up ignoring their personality and
plow right into a lesson with doctrines that don't apply because they
won't understand because I don't know them. That is a result of not
having charity, and I have never felt so much pain at not having charity
as I have these past weeks. But then one thing that came to my mind is
the Standard of Truth, written by Joseph Smith, which says, "The
standard of truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work
from progressing... until the purposes of God shall be accomplished,
and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done." That caught my
attention. Think of that: NO HAND can stop the work from progressing.
That includes me. Thus, I quickly came to the conclusion that if I keep
striving to be better, I cannot be a weakness in this work. I cannot
hinder it. I CANNOT. That is a powerful thought, and it has given me a
lot of hope. In short, because of that thought, I have begun to
flourish, despite my pained spirit and debilities. I love my Savior so
much more, because He has saved me from a very real damnation; this
experience has helped me see exactly how difficult perfection is, and,
consequently, exactly how powerful mercy is. I proclaim His kindness.
With so much love,
Elder Hill
Fotos:
- Hno. Olguin y Pte. Stepeñenco
- Tirando arroz
- Varios miembros de Pellegrini
- El nuevo matrimonio
- #AlvearOeste
- Mi calle favorita de Pellegrini
- Salvador Facio y su acordeón
- Bautismo de Talía
- ""
- Picking up chicks [When Ben was in high-school ballroom-dance classes, learning how to do fancy lifts, he called it "learning how to pick up chicks." I don't know who is picking up the little girl, but it's not Ben.]
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