Haag - Week 5

Remember Who You Are

Hey Freedom Lovers Big and Small, (and my non-free European friends) 

How are you all doing?? Another week has gone by too fast. It was a successful one though. 

Today begins my 16th and 'would have been last transfer' if I hadn't been extended a transfer. It also begins my last week as a teenager. Quite odd to comprehend yet.

We got transfer calls on Saturday, guess who's getting transferred? Elder Liechty. He's going to Dornbirn down in the mountains, and I'm getting another Greenie! I'm way excited, this will be a fantastic way to go out. Our district didn't change too much, but I'll be District Leader this time around.

Well, I was looking in my journal from a year ago, and all I could write about was how hot it was. It was blistering hot last summer. 105 degrees, 12 days in a row. We haven't seen any of that yet. It's been a nice cool 80-90 and lots of rain so far. Maybe the hot is still on its way though, who knows?

I had another Austausch with Elder Bensing this week in Linz. It wasn't supposed to be like that, but there's a member in Linz, and her non-member husband plays golf, and wanted me to come play with him. We played 9 holes on a pretty short course, but with plenty of trees. I was hitting the ball so good, I almost felt better than before my mission. Picked up a couple of birdies, and shot a 36 on a par 35. Look out dad. I beat him by 10 shots, I hope he didn't feel too bad. We had a good lesson with him and his wife afterwards, and I think it was really important that I was there. We had a good time with them.

Other than that, we taught A again. He's so legit. He downloaded the church app on his phone and has been referencing it. He's coming to some great questions u areas he reads, and looking for his own answers. He's in the middle of the Isaiah chapters right now, and he loves them. He's coming to church this week, and my greenie's first appointment will be with him on Wednesday night.

So my thought comes from President Kohler's message at the last zone conference that I found really meaningful. He was talking about who we are. When we as members of the church are asked that, we usually say, 'I'm a child of God.' Which is good, it's true. But what makes us then so special? All the other people that walk on this earth are children of Him as well. Shortly put, we are descendants, whether adopted or by blood, of the House of Israel. Meaning simply that we belong to the one of the tribes. Which assigns us to a specific job in the gathering of Israel and in the preparing for the Second Coming of the Savior. Now, when one knows and understands their part of the job, that makes them much more than 'just' a child of God. It makes them a covenant birthright child of Him. Which piles on the responsibility and the accountability.

Picture it like this. We are all on the world, and it's like this big cruise ship. We're all together on the ship. But we, who are part of the covenant, are like the crew members who are there to do a job for a purpose. As for the others, they're just here on the ship to enjoy it. Sometimes that seems pretty enticing to us, to want to just walk away from the responsibility of working on the ship and just go lay in the sun. But we know what comes at the end as workers. We're getting paid for our job at the end of the cruise. They aren't. It's the different roles we are playing on this earth. Now our job as members of the covenant and of the house of Israel is to help these people recognize that they have completely forgotten who they are. They've forgotten that they belong to this family and this covenant. They forgot that they are children of Him. Which makes it hard to trudge around life, without an exact purpose or deeper understanding of why one is here.

I love this President Kohler comparison. He compares the whole thing to the Lion King, when Simba struggles to remember who he is and what his purpose is. I'll attach the movie clip at the end for more emphasis. But basically, his dad, Mufasa, comes to him, and Simba is reminded that he has forgotten his father because he has forgotten himself who he is. He has the potential to become like his father, a king. His dad leaves him with the ringing words, 'Remember Who You Are'. It's exactly like our job here. To remind God's children of who they actually are, so that they can have the blessings that we enjoy as well. That's my firm testimony. 

Don't blow up too many fireworks without me. 

Pday in Gmunden

Don't play soccer in your slacks! :)

Bishop & his Family

Love you people, thank you for your prayers and support.
Elder Sam Hadfield