I hope you all had the best Thanksgiving ever!! My Thanksgiving WAS going to be great... but like a lot of lessons I have in a day... everything fell through lol We planned on having Pie and ordering from Papa John's the night of Thanksgiving. However, we could not find a Pie that cost less than 60 soles (peruvians... always trying to rip the Americans off haha). I wasn't too bummed about the Pie, because we were going to order A TON of Pizza from Papa John's... but the Papa John's that is like 15 minutes away from our house told us we weren't in their zone of delivery... so yeah, no thanksgiving meal :'( But, that didn't kill my thanksgiving spirit. Elder Miranda and I, with a can of tuna and a loaf of bread, told each other what we were grateful for, and actually had a good time... I love my compa :') Hopefully Christmas is a little better in terms of food lol
Each day in the mission, you can feel a little more stress come on. It's up to us as missionaries whether we turn that into good stress or bad stress. Last week, I made a terrible mistake in letting my stress turn into something ugly... I let it turn me into a person that I knew I wasn't... and I wish I had realized sooner, but at least I have realized haha
Every night last week, I was getting more and more discouraged and frustrated with this new calling. The missionaries in my district came to realize this, and even the Zone Leaders noticed this as well. They asked me every night why my voice was getting more and more ugly over the telephone, and I would always say that I was just tired (that is definitely a huge part of it haha). I knew that I was having difficulties with some disobedient missionaries in my District, but I just didn't know what I needed to do to help them... or at least help myself. My goal throughout the mission has been to develop the Christlike attribute of Charity, because I have thought to myself that if I have Charity, or Pure Love from Christ for the people and Missionaries around me, than all the rest of the attributes would follow. I have been studying it a lot, and asking for it with the amount of faith I have during my prayers. I have been trying to show it to the people around me, but it just hadn't been coming. However, yesterday, I found one the huge keys to having charity.
Yesterday, I was super tired the whole day and I had a major headache. I was getting frustrated with my Comp. really easily and with the people around me... and that wasn't right. We had lessons, and during the lessons, I was frustrated when an Investigator wasn't following through with commitments. With the last lesson, we were teaching a family that has a date set to be married. The mother has a date to be baptized, but the father doesn't want to be baptized... yet. The mother wants to be sealed in the temple with her family, but the only thing holding them back is the baptism of her husband. I spent pretty much 30 minutes telling him this and telling him why he should be baptized... telling him that he wasn't doing his family good in not being baptized... I had no right to do such a thing. His head was bent down the whole lesson, looking at his shoes and crying.
Before I went on again to ask him what was holding him back, I had the strongest feeling come over me. I then, of course, heard a voice saying to me: 'Jake, have patience with him.' I then couldn't hold back the tears from how strong the answer was and because I knew I had found the answer... I just wish I had found it sooner. Damage had been done in this family... in my District.. and in me. I realized I have not had patience this whole entire mission with anything. I looked up at the husband who was still crying, and I told him how sorry I was and if he could forgive me. I told him that I was going to start to have more patience with him because, at times, this process of conversion is longer for other people. He looked up at me, now crying even harder, and thanking me. He said he had the desire, but that he just didn't feel ready yet. He thanked me over and over and told me that he only wanted patience from me and that, with time, he would be ready. That night, during the nightly phone calls with my district, I had more patience... and that seemed to solve a lot of problems :') I am going to start to have more patience... with my investigators, with my District, with myself, and especially with my Father and his will. ´Charity sufferth long... and is kind, charity vaunteth not itself, it is not puffed up...'
Sorry if this letter kind of a bummer, but I love sharing my amazing spiritual experiences with you all! I hope you all have a wonderful December, because it's the most wonderful time of the year!!! Even in Perú with the brown snow (sand... only sand here haha).
Con Mucho Amor
Elder Mitchell
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