All I Need is a Miracle

email 5/4/09
I am still in Montevideo and now my companion is Elder Shawn Layton from Globe, Arizona. We are going to get along very well. He is a funny guy, he ran cross country in high school, and we like talking about running and may actually do a little bit of it in these coming weeks. He looks a lot like my cousin Brady, I think, and we both have about the same amount of time in the mission. We will have a good time.

There aren’t many new and exciting stories to tell; we continue to do what we do.

I have been thinking a lot about how to increase faith. I was wondering if increasing faith is just merely reading more scriptures and saying more prayers. It always seems that is the answer that we are pointed to. I am finding that increasing faith obviously is involved with our works, but I consider reading and praying some of our works. Then there is keeping the commandments and upon keeping said commandment we gain faith in the principle of that commandment. Okay, now where do I go? I am not perfect, but my sins are generally omission and not commission. Where do I go?

I found it!! My vocabulary. That is how I am going to increase my faith in the next months. Faith is the opposite of doubt. Faith and fear cannot dwell in the same mind at the same time. Fear and doubt and negativity hinder faith. My goal is to take all the negative words and phrases out of my vocabulary. Obvious examples would be not complaining and not saying bad words. But there are also more subtle ways at it. For example: "Is your husband home?" accompanied by a quizzical look and tone of voice. Compare it to: "I assume your husband is home, isn’t he?" accompanied by nodding your head. I am still asking the same question with the hopes that a man will be in the house so that we can go in, but it is harder for them to lie to me with the second one. They have to have a harder heart to lie to the second one I think. And that is because I say it in a more positive way. Positivity and positive attitudes in vocabulary as well as actions will increase faith. After all, they are outward manifestations of the faith that is within us.

It is strange to me that 5 months have already passed since Christmas and that I get to call home this week. I completely forgot until I read Mom’s email today asking when I would call. That just goes to show you how fast time goes by. I hope you all recognize that this will be my last phone call home as an Elder. Woot woot!

We are still trying to get Alvaro to quit smoking so that he can be baptized. We try planting all sorts of seeds of faith in him by saying things like, "When you are baptized you will have the opportunity to prepare to go to the Temple so that your family can be sealed forever." If we teach temples we say that. If we are teaching about prayer we say, "After you are baptized you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost so that you will be able to be more sensitive to the answers brought you by the Holy Spirit." We keep our eyes on the prize. It is a matter of patience. But I sure do love him and his wife Celeste!! And their children who live in the other ward have already been baptized as well. Alvaro is the last one to finish the family.

Ummm...What do you want to know? Is there something you are all dying to know about Uruguay? I will tell you that I have yet to see the effects of the economic crisis down here. My dollar is the same peso that it has always been and the prices have stayed relatively the same my entire mission. I keep expecting a crash or something but it doesn’t happen. I think that you all back home in America should remember to have hope and faith that things will improve and be back on the up and up. If you obey the commandments you will prosper in the land. (Every page of the Book of Mormon)

Si yo supiera que escribirles... lo haría de inmediato. El problema es que yo he escrito tantas cosas a ustedes que ni sé que es lo que debería escribirles a ustedes. Les quiero mas que puedo expresar. Cuídense!

Take care of thyselves!

Andy