Pressing Forward (Feb. 27, 2023)

Howdy y'all, first of all I want to give each of you a shoutout for still living in Wyoming after all you've been going through. I honestly feel bad for you guys and feel super bad for constantly complaining about the heat here. I hope that you guys get some better weather here soon, I really do. Don't lose your faith! HUGE shoutout to my little stud cousin Tel for winning state in wrestling, you're a stud and I'm super proud of you! Also, today marks 8 months for me in the mission, so crazy!

So my week in all honesty was a little difficult and seemed to drag on a little bit. Which is weird because every week when I write my emails I can't believe a week has already passed by and this week was a little different. This week I feel like I was fighting myself in not trying to go through the motions. As we all know, our spiritual momentum is very important and we are either gaining or losing, we're never staying the same. The mission has been an incredible spiritual momentum boost for me because it has constantly been new things and adjusting and learning, but this week started feeling a little like the same stuff passing each and every day and I've been battling a little bit with keeping myself all high energy all the time. 

I've learned a lot of very valuable lessons here in the mission and I really like what I could take away from these past couple of weeks. This week in one of my personal studies I read 3 Nephi 22:7-8 which says, "7 For a small moment have I ^aforsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. 8 In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment, but with everlasting ^akindness will I have ^bmercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer." I love what we can learn from this scripture. I learned that not every single day is amazing with new things happening and miracles left and right, although there are some days like that cuz this is the mission haha. But really, life isn't meant to be perfect and super happy in every moment. The Lord is telling us that he will hide his face from us at times, BUT as we press forward he and his grand mercies will help strengthen us to be better than we were before. This is why the "trail of our faith" is truly so important, "the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory" (1 Peter 1:7). 

I feel like this can be applicable to all of us, especially every person suffering from being in your 6th month with snow on the ground and below zero weather every day. In some way shape or form, we have "trials of faith" or we're in a moment when the Lord is "forsaking" us, BUT as we press forward and keep our faith in Christ truly strive in these moments, this is when we will receive the promise of "with great mercies will I gather thee." I know that it is more than important that we have trials in our lives, in fact "The Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith." (Mosiah 23). I am grateful that God loves us enough to send trials into our lives and help us become better. I know that our Father in Heaven is perfect and "doeth not ^aanything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he ^bloveth the world" (2 Nephi 26:24). We are Children of a loving God and he knows our potential and he will offer everything that we need in our lives in order to become who he wants us to be. He sent his son so that we can be perfected in him, as we pass through our trails with the Savior by our side we will be strengthened, and we can do all things!

I hope this made sense and that you can all press forward with faith in Christ. Real fast about some things that happened this week, we had a baptism! Gaspar is 8 and he is from a part member family and we have been able to get them to church lately and had his baptism Saturday and I got to confirm him Sunday, it was a really great and spiritual experience. We were able to put someone else on date to get baptized in March. We also found quite a few new people to teach this week so that's also awesome! It's been good here lately and I've been very happy, this week we will find out transfers, so next Monday when I write I'll have the news for y'all. I hope you all are doing really well, and I'd love to get some responses today!

Elder Micheli