Becoming Fit for Heaven

Dearest family,

Joyeux Noel!! (I still miss French...) I hope everything is going well back at home and that you are all enjoying this amazing time. I love being a missionary. We continue to join the church in the He is the Giftproject (El es la dadiva) and we talk to people about Christ and invite them to watch a video and listen to our message (see christmas.mormon.org for more info). We have loved talking to people more than ever. I just wish to share my gratitude for my mission and for all that it has helped me become. There isn't one moment where I regret going on a mission. The mission has changed my life for eternity.

Its been a bit crazy in the house. We had another companionship of Elders move in with us on Tuesday and so its the first time in over a year since Ive been with a total of 4 elders in my house. The house is still a little bit of a mess, but well fix that today. The good news is our house has 4 bathrooms, so we are putting them to use here.

So the news everyone was waiting for: I got a new companion. His name is Elder Peña. Hes from Chiclayo, Peru. (Yes, I asked Paola if she knows where is mom lives.) He's 25 years old, and has only been in the mission 7 months! He just finished training and has had a very successful mission thus far. He's humble and funny, and my best friend. I just wish to share my testimony of how transfers are always evidence that God knows me. Elder Peña is the person I want to become at the end of my mission. Now, since everyone's talking about giving service this season, I invite each of you to take some time to write Elder Peña a letter or something. He has learned a lot of English and he prays and bears his testimony in English each day, so don't worry about Spanish. Shortly before leaving on his mission, he baptized his mom, sister, and brother in law. But they don't know what a mission is. So he doesn't receive cards, doesn't receive money help, and is alone on this. So I would just love to show him that he is loved. At the end of my email, Ill post the address to the mission so you can write him. (He says he would love some chapstick if someone wants to send him some!)

So we have had miracles this week. We have a family to baptize on Christmas Eve. So let me tell you about them:

They're a family of 4. The Zentenno Family. They went to church in Santa Cruz and the kids loved it, so when they moved back to Tarija, they went back looking for the church. They went to the stake center for two weeks and the Bishop sent them to us! They know a lot of the teachings since they have had Family Home Evenings and such. We taught them the first lesson and they accepted the baptismal date. I ask that you continue to pray for them because the dad really supports his children, but he also wants to be 100% sure about his own decision. We will continue to work with them, but I just love them so much!

So this week, I have had a lot of opportunities to serve and teach different types of people. I taught a man who excommunicated himself, we continue to help Brother John with his alcohol addiction, we taught a return missionary who feels he has let God down by not magnifying his priesthood, and I have been helping my companion as he gets used to being a Zone Leader and in an entirely new area. My personal gift to Christ this Christmas and this year is to help others see their divine potential. This comes from a talk by President Eyring entitled Help Them Aim High. Its a talk that changed my life. ElderEyring taught, ¨As you seek revelation to see gifts God sees in those you lead...you will be blessed to lift their sights to the service they can perform. With your guidance, those you lead will be able to see, want, and believe they can achieve their full potential for service in God´s kingdom.¨ All of the people I was able to serve this week have one thing in common: Each is a child of God. Each has the potential to become such a person that will want to dwell in Gods presence. But many people in general fall to quickly to Satan lies that its not worth it, or that they're not worth it. Maybe its easier to heed to the degrading voices in our lives because there aren't enough voices trying to build a soul. Were so busy trying to be the best that we forget about love. Christ lived a humble life and served others when he was born the King of Kings. It is my hope that we can be as parents with a new born child. It is my prayer that we may see others as they may become, not as they are. It amazes me that the same parents who adore their newborn babies end up belittling them but a few years later. How grateful I am for goodly parents who never let me think I wasn't worth it. I thank them for the best example of Christ-like love.

May the final verse of Away in a Manger be our prayer this week:

Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay

Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,

And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there.

I thank my sister for being born today. I thank her for being my example, my best friend, my favorite missionary, and for always building me up. Its her birthday, shes 22, shes single, she has an angelic voice, and she is a return missionary. If that doesn't scream perfection to any man in the world, they need to look up ¨virtuous¨ in the dictionary again because they'll find my sisters picture there.

Have a great week, everyone!
Elder Risueño

(letters)

Elder Julio Peña 

Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission
Casilla de Correo 2042

Zona Central

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz

Bolivia

(packages)

Elder Julio Peña

Bolivia Santa Cruz Mission

C/ Saavedra esq. Cochabamba

Torres Cainco, Blq Empresarial, Piso 9

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz

Bolivia

PICTURES:

so here is the thanksgiving dinner we had! BBQ CHICKEN PIZZAAAA!!! THANKSGIVING!!!

then we had pique a lo macho on sunday with members. BOLIVIAN FAVORITE!!

Grams sent me some money so Elder Bailey and I bought LLAMAHA shirts! LOVE!!!

the other is my new favorite bolivia shirt. COCA!

The other is my favorite jesus picture thus far.

AND MY NEW COMPANION!!! BEST FRIEND!

so the ones on the other are in our plane to santa cruz, the other is FRO YO!! the other is the view from the mission offices!

the first two are CINNABON!!! in the airport I bought the cinnabon with an OREO SHAKEEEE!!! love!

the third with with hermano jorge from last weeks letter!! MY GREAT FRIEND!!! 

and the other is BONELESS CHICKEN WINGS!! I splurged for thanksgiving! I love my elders in the zone!! :)

Walking in His Way

Dearest Family! 

Happy thanksgiving to all! I love you all so much and am so thankful for each of you in my life. Really . No joke. Love you all.

Some funny things to start:
So once I got my stomach under control, I got a crazy cough, cold, sore throat, EVERYTHING! I became the king of powernaps this week till I just got dizzy and napped for 4 hours. I am thankful for priesthood blessings from my comp.

Also, long story short, we were eating with our bishops family yesterday and the conversation turned to TV, and the bishops wife LOVES THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NEW JERSEY! I told her I had repented and wouldnt watch it again, but she couldnt help but update me about how they were recently on Doctor Oz. Oh goodness. I love life.

So today I just wish to share my gratitude for being a missionary.  If I were to narrow down my gratitude to one simple thing this year I would say that I am grateful for the chance to become. It is a blessing that comes from having the Priesthood on the Earth. Let me explain:

This past week I went on exchangesand while we were out contacting in the streets, I went to buy some crackers thanks to my gastritis. As we got to the shop, the lady recognized taht we were gringos so she asked us to teach her son English. Well, that turned into a conversation about the gospel and then I felt impressed to talk about baptism. So I bore my testimony about the Priesthood. I saw her face glow as we testified about the gospel, and then I said, I testify that we exercise the power and authority of God given to man to even baptize man on Earth. Right as I said that, the lady looked very doubtful and said, And how do you claim to have such a power? Where did you get that power? Well, I took out my Line of Authority and showed her that I had evidence that I received my authority starting with Jesus Christ, down to other men, until myself! Her face started to light up again as she realized that we arent just men who claim to be ordained of God. We are ordained of God. But that isnt the point. We dont just want bragging rights to have the priesthood of God to baptize, baptism is just the start on the road to conversion. Christians recognize that baptism is the door to salvation, but the door to salvation opens to the path of exaltation. The path to exaltation is what we call conversion. The testimony is just a start to what comes to be a change of a lifetime. Elder Bednar stated that Knowing by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ is important and necessary. But earnestly coming unto Him and giving our whole souls as an offering requires much more than merely knowing. Conversion requires all of our heart, all of our might, and all of our mind and strength. (see Converted unto the Lord in the Nov. 2012 Ensign, see also Elder Oaks talk called Challenge to Become)

I add my gratitude for this process. For the process to become more like my Savior each day. It is not an easy process, but easy things are never worth value anyway. If college were easy, a degree wouldnt be worth anything. And so it is with exaltation. If the conversion process were easy, becoming like God wouldnt have such a great eternal value. 

Last night I contemplated on why I was given such a nasty sickness this week. I realized that I didnt ask for Gods help via a Priesthood blessing immediately because I thought I could do it on my own. It wasnt until a few days later when I had rested for 4 hours that I humbled myself and asked for Priesthood help. I realized that I cant do it alone. No one can. And it is thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the covenants and ordinances of the Priesthood that I can become like my Savior Jesus Christ. Thats what Im grateful for. Thats what Ill be forever grateful for in my life. I hope each of us can be more willing to walk the path of the Savior. I finish with a hymn that has touched me a lot this week:

As now we praise thy name with song the blessings of this day,

Will linger in our thankful hearts and silently we pray

For courage to accept thy will, to listen and obey.

We love thee, Lord, our hearts are full; well walk thy chosen way.

(As Now We Take the Sacrament)

As I thank God for the chance to change, I also pray for courage. For courage to keep going and for courage to accept His will, and to walk in whatever path He puts ahead of me.
 I love you all and I hope you eat some turkey and gravy for me this week.

Love,

Elder Risueño

Look to Your Lord and Live

Family!

Before we get started, my gastritis is fine now. The medications work great and I kind of am on trial and error as to how my stomach reacts to certain foods. For example, I cant eat both rice and potatoes. Just one or the other. And I must always be munching on water crackers or something so the acid does't get to much for me. I did feel like Grandpa Perry was happy with me from the heavens because yesterday I cooked myself a hard boiled egg and cut it up and combined it with sesame seed bread! My FAVORITE! and then I made a peach juice. SO GOOD! I swear Grandpa Perry ate that with Nana May... and SOY MILK! Tastes funky, but I feel great. And I also love powdered milk. I know, my comp says I eat like an old lady but I said thank you because every one loves old ladies so...

This week has been really great. That's it. Honestly, pretty much everyone has rejected our message that we have tried to share, but man I love the message I carry. Its really easy to get down and stuff, but I cant! I just start laughing because I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am  doing the Saviors work and sometimes I don't know what He wants for me but I trust Him and keeping walking through life, as we all should.

Today's message is kind of special for me. Exactly 16 months ago, on July 17th, 2013, I embarked on this journey of a lifetime. I left LAX and flew to Peru where I would start my training as a missionary.
Today marks the two-thirds completion of my mission and I simply wish to share why I do what I do. And simply put, every member of the church I represent should have the same motives to be missionaries as well. I pray that the Spirit will help each of you see the greatness of being a simple missionary.

In a guide entitled PREACH MY GOSPEL, we learn the following: You are called to represent Jesus Christ in helping people become clean from their sins. You can do this by inviting them to come unto
Jesus Christ and become converted to His restored gospel. To come to the Savior they must have faith in Him unto repentance-- making the necessary changes to bring their life into agreement with His teachings. You can help people develop such faith by teaching them the restored gospel by the Spirit and inviting them to commit to live according to its teachings.

So as a missionary, I try and find people and help them come unto Christ. While most people have a set religion, we teach that the Lord himself restored his pure gospel teachings to a prophet today who
helps us on the path back to Gods presence.

While it is difficult and we young people face much rejection, there are moments that remind us of the blessings that come from being representatives of our Savior.

Let me tell you a story about a man that Ill call brother John. He and his family were reactivated a few months ago and have been doing great spiritually. John is a recovering alcoholic, but we have been visiting him weekly to make sure hes okay. Even a week ago he said he didn't have any temptations toward alcohol! Awesome, right?! But on Saturday as we were walking to our lesson, we found John with a beer can in his hand and he saw us and said he didn't want to talk. Though we were very sad, we could not and would not give up hope. After all, we are representatives of Jesus Christ and he is not a Savior of second chances, he is a savior of as many chances as needed. So on Sunday we saw Johns kids and set up a lesson to visit them that night. As we knocked on the door, he opened it and was still drunk. He said he was angry and didn't want to see us, but we spoke to him and loved him and did all we could to help him. Within a few minutes he started crying and through his sobs he said, Soy imperfecto. (I'm imperfect.) And he then looked at me and I smiled and said, I am too! And we laughed and we all hugged each other and we helped John see, yet again, the love Christ has towards him.

Yes, we are all imperfect, but we all need a reason to become better people. And that's where Christ comes in. Thanks to the Redeemer of the World, we all can have the hope that we can and will change, no matter how long it takes. And though it takes a long time to change, we can
find joy in the One who knows all of our struggles.

David Naylor wrote the following:
Behold the wounds in Jesus hands
Look to your Lord and live
He yearns to bless you with His love
And all your sins forgive

Oh, empty is the heart of man
When it is filled with sin
Come, open wide your broken heart
And let your Savior in.

I testify that it is only through the Atonement of Jesus Christ that we can be saved and changed. That He requires us to make certain changes so that we can experience the complete joy that comes from
living our lives in accordance with His will.

I am so happy to be a missionary. I do it because I love my Savior. I know He lives and I know He needs help in bringing His children Home. I simply finish with a quote from Clay Christensen. He said:
Every time you take someone figuratively by the hand and introduce him or her to Jesus Christ, you will feel how deeply our Savior loves you and loves the person whose hand is in yours.

Till next week,
Elder Risueño

Being what he wants me to be

Dearest family,

This week has been yet another crazy one so get ready for another long letter. I just pray that the Spirit will give each of you some peace as i share my testimony in the best way possible.

so to start with, i have gastritis. like father like son, right? for the past few weeks i thought it was just lactose intolerance but i cut out the lactose and i was still in pain. So we went to the doctor, and to my surprise, the same doctor that removed my big toe nail was there to see me! We had a good laugh together. i am doing well, healthwise. As long as i change my eating habits, stop stressing, and start exercising, Ill be back to normal in a few weeks. Thanks for your prayers and such.

this week i had a great opportunity to play not one, but 10 different times in musical numbers of some sort. bolivia reaches 50 years of having the church here, so we even went to the main city plaza, they gave me a fancy keyboard up on the gazebo, and i accompanied a few musical numbers. it was stressful and last minute, but yet again i was blessed with the gift of sight reading to bless the lives of many.I played in the plaza, in a recognition ceremony that night, the zone conference, the adult and general sessions of general conference.  i just wish to share my testimony of music and how it changes the lives of many. its worth the practice and worth the dedication.

But whether you have the talent of music, or the talent of being a leader, or some other talent, we are all blessed with some gift to help the world. This past week I got super stressed with a lot of struggles. Not just the music stuff, but i was also struggling to be a better leader, to be more organized, to be just more successful. And so i got to a super spiritual zone conference with president willard, and found a moment to speak to him. We went outside the chapel and I pretty much told president i didnt think i could become a leader. there seemed to be so many successful missionaries and there was Elder Risueño- Everyone sees me as the super happy, pianist, who jokes around and is super out there. Everyone knows im unique, but sometimes it seems better to just be like everyone else. So i expressed those feelings to President, and I am so grateful for his response. More or less, he told me, ¨Elder Risueño, I need you to use your God-given gifts and talents to become the leader God wants you to become. Dont try to be anyone else, just be the person God has made you, and work with Him to become the person He wants you to become.¨ He then invited me to study the Book of Mormon and learn from the different prophets who, with their unique talents, blessed many others.

Let me just tell you, i love my president. For many years I have been told that I need to change because im different. But i testify that the Lord needs me and my talents to bless others. And he needs the same for each of you. He needs each person to use their individual talents to help others.

There's surely somewhere a lowly place

In earth's harvest fields so wide

Where I may labor through life's short day

For Jesus, the Crucified.

So trusting my all to thy tender care,

And knowing thou lovest me,

I'll do thy will with a heart sincere:

I'll be what you want me to be.

This hymn is not intended only for missionaries. it applies to each of us in our lives. the difference between a servant and a disciple is the following. A servant obeys till his work his done. A disciple obeys and lets his work shape his life. I testify that to achieve complete happiness in this life, all we need to do is trust in the Lord completely and love Him. He doesnt give us commandments just so we can be happy in the moment, but so that we can BECOME HAPPIER forever. Commandments dont just make us peaceful, they make us perfect in Christ (see Moroni 10:32).

I love the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is my great example and I will follow Him forever. I trust Him to guide me as I walk here in Bolivia. i testify that whether youre a freshman in high school or a senior citizen, you matter to God and he needs you to help his lost sheep.

Till next week,
Elder Risueño

My Anthem

Dearest Family,

Como estamos? How are we? I hope everyone is great here. I continue to
just enjoy each day of the mission and love inviting others to come
unto Christ.

A few funny stories:
So on Halloween day it HAILED! A HUGE STORM! The first time we stayed
inside for a bit because it was literally dangerous. We booked it to
get home fast and Elder Bailey got hit by a hail! But he was fine.
Happy Halloween!

So I definitely had a Coalie moment with a members dog. We visited
their house and a dog jumped on me and I started talking in my high
pitched and WUSHHHH the pee flooded out of the dog and onto me.
Whatevs. Dogs love me!

Besides that, its been a pretty difficult week. We only taught three
lessons with investigators this week, one on Saturday night, the other
two just last night. The last two were miracles because we entered
church without progressing investigators and a couple came in and had
been invited by the sisters to church just an hour before and stayed
and LOVED CHURCH! The other investigator is the Elders Quorum
Presidents brother who was touched by his brothers example and has
accepted a baptismal date for November 29th. But lets rewind a bit:

So Saturday we started our fast and we were hurting. Five days without
investigators isnt easy for missionaries, especially leaders. But
Elder Bailey and I have spent so many great moments just saying
prayers of thanks. Each night we share our testimony and gratitude to
each other for our days. We never focus on the negative side of our
work, we just focus on being happy. And that is the key to life in
general. I say that a lot to each of you. But Saturday we came home at
4 to do some Progress Reports for the ward and had no where to go. So
I got on my knees and before I prayed, I chose a hymn to sing to
myself. Here is some of the text:

Nearer, dear Savior, to thee,
Nearer, nearer to thee--
Ever my anthem will be
Nearer, yet nearer to thee!
Loving thee, ever I pray,
Aid me thy will to obey.

Of all the anthems I could have, mine would be Nearer, dear Savior, to
thee. That's my goal in this life: to grow nearer and become more like
Jesus Christ. As I sat and prayed for direction, I felt a great
calming sensation, just as each of us always wants in life, and I
continued with the work. The next day we went to teach the couple that
we met in Sacrament meeting and we brought our ward mission leader and
his wife with us. We had a great lesson with this family. They were
impressed by the ward, we shared how the gospel blesses families, and
it was great. But as the lesson kept going, we didn't to the point of
our lesson: That God speaks through a prophet. That He still talks to
us as individuals, and that we are representatives of Jesus Christs
church. I prayed for a moment to share this message and I received it.
The husband was astounded that two 20 year olds were teaching him and
I stopped him there and said the following.

¨Sir, I may only be a 20 year old. I may not speak Spanish perfectly.
I definitely don't have a college education, nor a lot of life
experience. But what I do know is something I treasure greatly.¨ And
that's how I started the story of Joseph Smith. And that is how the
Spirit testified to their hearts that the message was true. It was at
that moment that I grew to know my Savior more than I had been able to
in previous weeks and months. Up until that point I had been ashamed of
the baptismal invitation because I didn't want to offend people. But
with that family, something changed in me. After having a dry spell of
lessons, I realized that baptism is the door to happiness. The door to
change. The door to Christ. And if I don't invite a family to be
baptized, I am not bringing them to Christ. We went from that lesson
to our last lesson of the night and we taught this new investigator,
Ismael, about the Book of Mormon. I testified to Him that this book
had brought me closer to Christ and than any other book I had read.
And from there, I invited him to come unto Christ through baptism. My
companion and I set the baptismal date for the 29th of November.

The changes that have happened in me haven't happened just because I
have a name tag on. There have been many others just like who haven't
been changed one bit by this name tag. The changes have happened in me
because I have come to trust in my Savior and Redeemer a whole lot
more than I used to. I pray to my Father in Heaven each day and find
the Savior in the book of Mormon each morning. I work so hard to
understand my Saviors will and do my best to help those in need. As we
enter the time of thanks and the time of giving, it is my hope that we
may also remember the time of loving. It is through Christlike love
and service that we continue to change and become better people. And
these changes are a little bit each day, till we look back and see
what Christ has made of us.

I love you all! :)
Till next week
Elder Risueño

Hey Y'all!

Hey yall!

Happy Halloween and parties and such. Life here is pretty darn awesome and I am so grateful for the fact that I am a missionary. I am just SO HAPPY! We call it fengue. Its like dengue, the fever, but with FE (faith)! Its super contagious and amazing.

Big thanks to momsy and DFM for the Halloween cards and Sheila for the chocolate! Holla! And special thanks to the fam bam and friends for awesome emails and prayers. Love you!

So yesterday we were in sacrament meeting, and I heard a gagging sound and looked to my left just in time to see a kid stand up and throw up on the ground... All i can say is thank you tile floor. Amen.

And a few hours later, we were teaching outside and a drop of water mysteriously fell from the sky and I looked up to see a little kid with some water just spitting it on me. Love children!! JESUS LOVES THEM!

And while I was at the airport, I found someone else who spoke french... a sign that I need to fresh up on french? I think so!

Anyway, this week we started a 40 day fast as a mission. Not that were not eating for 40 days, were just purifying ourselves! and my goal is to FIND JESUS in the Book of Mormon. So I mark each time I find Jesus name in the book! and I mark surrounding words to figure out why a person was referring to Jesus. Its amazing! I love the book of Mormon! I love Jesus!

This week we have seen miracles. We had 4 less actives in church, and these people are coming back for good! Its so amazing to see people change because of a simple invitation home.

So of all things I can share with you, I just wish to share with you something cool that happened in a lesson last night. We were talking to a lesson of recent converts and the whole family is struggling. The daughter just said THE CHURCH IS TAKING AWAY MY PERSONALITY BECAUSE I CANT WEAR A TON OF EARRINGS. There were a lot of ways I could have responded to that, but I stopped and thought of what she needed. She didn't need to know how her body was a temple and all that jazz, because she was frustrated and crying. She did't need to know why she needed to change her life because of a religion. She needed to know God and Jesus Christ. I simply asked her if she had prayed recently. She said yes. I asked if she had communicated and spoken with the Lord to find his opinion on the matter of modesty. Then she said no. I testified that the standard isn't about what she can and cant do, its about who God wants her to become. And ultimately, her lifestyle comes down to how her life is in harmony with what God wants. I testify to each of you, no matter how close or far you are from God, it matters what direction you're facing (see John Bytheways dvd, Come Unto Christ). I invite each of us to come unto Christ a little bit more this week. To stop living by rules and start living with Christ. To walk with Him. To come unto Him.

Come unto Jesus; He'll surely hear you,

If you in meekness plead for his love.

Oh, know you not that angels are near you

From brightest mansions above?

It is my testimony that prayer is the key to happiness. It is the key to any doubt, question, or uneasiness that besets us in this life. To those who may feel like He has left you, He is ignoring you, or He simply doesn't care about you, I kindly invite you to reconsider your thoughts. It is easy to complain, but it is not effective (thanks mom). I finish with a teaching of a less active, who said the following when asked about how she reTURNed to Christ. She said something like this:

I have learned that when we don't choose the right, Christ never leaves us. Hes always there reminding us what we should do. He always invites us back. He just waits and waits until we reTURN to Him. 

I testify, as the Eagle Scout that I am, that the Savior invites us to do a good turn daily toward Him. 

I pray that each of you has a blessed week this week. I love you with all my heart and thank you for your support. Let us all look for the angels on our individual journeys back home.
Till next week,
Elder Risueño

To the rescue

Hello family and friends!

 

I hope all is going well with you guys down in the U S of A! Life is going pretty darn well here. This week has been super hard and amazing at the same time and I cant wait to share with y'all the miracles of this week!

 

So last Monday we went to a place called the Casa Dorada, its a famous mansion on the $20 Bolivian bill and it was super beautiful. There was a piano there, an organ, and a lot of amazing art and just AMAZING! So while we were there, the tour lady got interested in our message and I had a ¨YOLO¨ moment and literally taught the Restoration IN the Casa Dorada. I recited the first vision and loved it! I sure hoped the dead people who had lived there were listening too!

 

So this week I also went to the doctor—thanks dad—to check out my toe and the poor baby isn't doing well. Well, I'm not in trouble. I just wear my sandals WITHOUT SOCKS and everyone sees my big toes and there are plenty of jokes going around about my feet. Love life!

 

So aside from that, this week has been a lot of learning for me. A few days ago it was super hot outside, all of our lessons fell through, and we had no idea where to go. I was burning like a disco inferno and didn't want to walk around lost all day so we had the idea to go to a plaza and hand out free juice!! It was fun! But off all of the 20 references we received in a few hours, none of them were for our area. But yay for new ideas!

 

Also, we got transfer calls early and Elder Bailey and I are together for 6 more weeks! Yay us! We are so excited for Halloween and Thanksgiving together!

 

So as we have gone through struggles here, I have come to  know my savior more than ever. Its the biggest plus of having struggles. So I have decided to share with you some thoughts on Christ. Lets start with a hymn:

 

I marvel that he would descend from his throne divine

To rescue a soul so rebellious and proud as mine,

That he should extend his great love unto such as I,

Sufficient to own, to redeem, and to justify.

 

So lets focus on the word rescue. Ready?

 

There are two types of rescues:

 

1. Salvation Rescue. A lifeguard does this when someone disobeys a rule or makes a mistake and starts drowning and dying and the lifeguard goes to the rescue to give the swimmer another chance at life. The Savior does that for us when we make mistakes. Many know that and use the Atonement in that sense. The song above may have been implying to that type of rescue. But I wish to focus my email on another type of rescue.
2. Redeeming Rescue: A swim teacher does this while helping the swimmers improve. For example, for two summers I worked with 8 year olds as they worked to swim across the pool, width wise, so that they could pass a level. At first they started with their kickboards and with small strokes and kicks, and many times I helped them by holding their arms for them and showing them how to do it. But after a few days, its was time for them to swim on their own. They would launch off my thighs and start swimming by themselves. I would usually count till 3 to let them take a few seconds to work on swimming alone. Most times, they would get tired and not really progress, but start to drown. I would wait just a second to let them gain personal strength only attainable without my help, but I would NEVER keep my eyes off of them. And then, I would go to their aid, and when some wanted to cry, I would smile at them, look at them in the eyes, and say  YOU DID IT! Lets go a little farther.¨ And then they would jump off my thighs again and swim again.

This rescue had a purpose: To let the swimmer grow and see the progress made. Maybe even to take a breath and realize that they CAN do this difficult task. What is important to note is that the swim teacher NEVER takes his eye off his student as he struggles. The teacher knows the students strengths and weaknesses and uses that knowledge to help the child grow.

Do you see it? Do you see the Savior in all of this? Many of you reading this email are active disciples of Christ. Maybe you don't need Christ to save you from some big sin. But do you see Him as a swim teacher? Do you see Him as you struggle for breath in this journey from one side of an mortal pool to an earthly rest in His kingdom? After this level of life, we go into another part where we will continue to learn. But if we don't come to trust the great Teacher who cares for us and loves us, we will not be able to grow as fast we could if we simply let Him guide our strokes. Its always easier to raise a child who is calm than one who screams and cries the entire time. And so it is with us in this life.

 

It is my testimony that Jesus Christ loves us. That He cares for us and He wants us to grow with Him. I love Him and I pray that each of us can take His guidance and trust Him as we swim through life.

 

Till next week,

Elder Risueño