Happy Easter! I was really excited at church on Sunday, and I was expecting talks about Jesus Christ and His atonement, the miracle of the universal resurrection, etc. I'll admit that I was kind of disappointed when the topic covered by the speaker in sacrament meeting was the Law of Chastity. It was a good talk; it just wasn't what I expected to hear about on Easter Sunday. It was OK though, because I spent all week studying the last week of Jesus' life from the New Testament and "Jesus the Christ." I reflected on the eternal significance of what was done this time of year roughly 1,977 years ago. I was particularly moved as I read about Jesus' suffering in Gethsemane and the cruel treatment he received at the hands of the Jews and Romans, ultimately leading to His death on the cross. Most of all, I know that that suffering was for me, and I am so grateful for it.
I don't know what my issue was, but I was really tired this last week and several times I fell asleep suddenly. My companion took the opportunity to snap pictures of me and mock me for my exhaustion. I've included 2 such pictures. The first is when I fell asleep in the doorway of our bedroom after coming into our house for lunch. I just dropped my stuff on the ground and fell right asleep on the floor.
The 3rd picture that I included was just a random craving that I had this week for 'peanut-butter oatmeal no-bake cookies'. Amazingly, I still remembered the recipe by heart and whipped out a batch in no time. They were delicious.
I've developed my cooking skills a lot in the mission field and I have been getting more creative. My favorite dish this last week was a 'Chicken Alfredo pasta' that I made. It was great! I can also whip out various Mexican dishes (they're authentic recipes from REAL Mexicans. Granted that all Mexican food is exactly the same ingredients just put into a tortilla in different ways and combinations.)
The more and more that I'm engaged in this work and happier and happier it makes me. I've developed an enthusiasm and desire to serve. As we put our shoulders to the wheel God blesses us for our obedience and expounds on our talents and abilities. I've recently been trying to focus on one 'virtue' or 'attribute' at a time, trying to develop in a particular area or weakness, instead of trying all at once to just be everything I'm supposed to be. Progression and overcoming our weaknesses can seem like a really daunting task if we lack perspective, but if we view overcoming our weaknesses as successive stepping stones and tackle one thing at a time, probably the weakness that we have the most trouble with, we will see growth and change over time which increases our faith and hope and desire to act again and tackle the next hurdle.
There is a member here who was baptized by my last companion, Elder Urrutia, a year ago who is awesome! Her name is Daysi, and she has her own barbershop on a very busy street in Hartford. She never lets a single person come in or out of her shop without hearing about the gospel and at least leaving with a pass-along card if not a copy of the Book of Mormon. She brings someone new to church with her every single week. She was baptized April 18th of last year, and had a temple trip planned for this last saturday, the 23rd of April, to receive her endowment in the Boston Temple. She was SO excited to go and talked our ears off about the temple all week. Then she got a call from the temple on thursday telling her that while she was baptized on the 18th, she wasn't confirmed until the 25th, and so she would have to wait a couple more days before she could receive her endowment to complete the 1 year waiting period. She was DEVASTATED. She called us in tears saying, "Elders, I can't go to the temple yet! They said I had to wait! I need to talk to you now!" We rushed over there to explain to her that it wasn't the end of the world and that she could just go to the temple next week. Understandably, she was really really really really really excited about going to the temple, so we were sensitive to that. We watched 'Between Heaven and Earth' with her, one of the movies produced by the church about temples, to calm her down and keep her spirits up. It was funny because that next day she called me to tell me that she got her patriarchal blessing in the mail and she wanted to read it but it was in English (she is Dominican and her English skills are very limited). We went to visit her and she asked me to read her patriarchal blessing to her. I at first hesitated and told her that it was something very personal and special and that only she should read it, but she had already called the mission president and got 'permission' for me to translate it for her. So I read her patriarchal blessing to her and translated it into Spanish as I went along. I was amazed at how far I've come in the past two years and how I was blessed with the ability to be able to translate from English to Spanish, seemingly without effort, as I read to her the blessing in Spanish. What was even more cool was how she lit up like a little kid in a candy store and was so excited after every single line. "Did you hear that!? Read that line again!" Her enthusiasm and her excitement wasn't something to be mocked or laughed at, but rather, I greatly admired the zeal and love she has for the restored gospel. In a way, it renewed my own enthusiasm and excitement for this work and it was a great example to me of how happy and joyful this work really is. It reminded me of the reaction that the people had to Alma's invitation to be baptized at the waters of Mormon: "And now when the people had heard these words, they clapped their hands for joy, and exclaimed: This is the desire of our hearts." (Mosiah 18:11) I have prayed long and hard that the honest desires of my heart will conform to what God wants for me, and that my will can be swallowed up in His so that I can honestly experience true joy in this work. I have felt that joy. I have an earnest desire to share these things with others. Most of all, I pray for charity and try to exhibit it in my thoughts, feelings, and actions. I love people!
Have a good day, and love people!
with much love from your favorite elder,
-Elder Shepherd
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