May Already?

Hello Family and Friends! Happy May! Why is the time going by faster nowadays??

We had another good week here in the Sevilla Ward. The ward is one of the biggest in the mission and is planning on splitting into 2 (again) because there are so many members coming to church and packing in the Sacrament room! The members are so caring for the missionaries and always make sure we have everything we need!


This week was so fast! Im not sure why it felt only like 4 days instead of 7 but here we are again! On Tuesday after our District Meeting we taught Sister Teresita! I love going to her house and talking about the Scriptures with her. Whenever we go by, she is always outside reading either the Bible, the Book of Mormon or the pamphlets that we have given her! She also came with us on Friday to attent a baptismal service at the church! She was curious what baptism was like in the LDS Church and how it was performed! Yesterday was also her birthday so everyone at church welcomed her by singing "Happy Birthday" in our combined class! Nothing like over 50 people singing only to you to make your face red and your eyes look at the ground the whole time but she said she liked it! Hahah


We went on Exchanges with Elders in a different district this week! I was with Elder Hayes, who I went on exchanges with last transfer as well! I spent the day with him in his area and we had a blast! Hes pretty knew in the mission and he had a lot of Tagalog questions! I loved being able to help. Been there and felt that for sure!


During Church on Sunday we talked about Repentance and I really liked what the teacher had to say about Repentance. Its not just something you ask for in your prayers, but is an action word! You have to do your part in order to be forgiven, and because of Christ's love and Atonement, we all can be forgiven.


I thought about it as an injury, seeing how those always seem to pop up in sports and sports was life for me! When we are in the game of life, we get fouled, we turn over the ball sometimes, and we also make fouls! But thats okay, remember, its a game and everyone makes mistakes!
If any of you know my good friend Trevor McLaughlin, you will know that he is one of the hardest working basketball players. And isnt afraid of anything while on the court! Im gonna use him as an example (Love you Trev!)
When trev was playing football, he tore his ACL. And had to have surgery. I remember having team dinner at Trev's house while he was laying in his beg, a huge cast on his leg, watching Lord of the Rings! (doesnt sound too bad i might add) but we all knew that he would rather be running around than be relaxing!


Back to Repentance- When we sin, we make a mistake, or something happens to us and it hurts. Because of The Spirit and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that pain and hurt is able to go away. No matter how big the sin (how bad the injury). The Holy Ghost is called the Comforter. Its like the cast around a leg or an arm when you break a bone.It comforts the injured area and helps to keep more injury from occurring. The surgery and the medicine you take for the pain is like the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He felt our pain and anguish, so He knows what kind of medicine we need! But theres one very important part that happens that we have to do! We can get the surgery and the cast, thats a given and a gift to all of us, but we need to do our part as well.


Back to Trev!- After Trevors surgeries and time in the brace/cast, Trevors leg looked 2x smaller than his other leg! All of the muscles hadn't been used or exercised, and his leg was weaker than the other!


Back to Repentance- We have to do our part! We need to make ourselves strong again! The Devil knows that we have a weak spot. He waites for the cast to be removed and tries to cause another injury to occur! But we can stop that from happening by exercising our agency and making that weak spot strong again. We do that by resistance. How do you get stronger legs? Go running! How do you get a stronger core? Sit ups. If we dont cause resistance to occur, our muscles cant react and we cant grow! Now Satan is going to cause the resistance because thats all he can do, so its up to us to say no to his enticements. By doing so, we grow. Our sins are forgiven and we are stronger than we were before. Our legs become the same size and our health is back to 100. We cant do it alone, and neither can Christ. We have to work together, He will help us as we help ourselves.


"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them." Ether 12:27





Mahal Ko Kayo! Have a great week!

Elder Pitt