Week #82 - Well, well, well

This week has been fun. I was able to go on 2 exchanges with some English Elders. I assumed because I was in English work I would have the opportunity to eat some good old fashioned American food, but I ended up eating something called balut, from a member in their ward. Balut is a duck fetus still in the egg shell. It wasn't too bad but definitely was not the steak and potatoes I was expecting from the English ward. 

Right now we are teaching a nine year old named Daniel. His parents are members but he has been living in China with his mom and wasn't able to get baptized over there. He will be getting baptized this Sunday.

This week for our zone council meeting we planned on having the theme to be finding the living water. We shared the story from the New Testament about the woman at the well. To hit the point we borrowed a well prop from the mission office. They had made it for a zone conference a couple transfers back. This well was pretty big so we had the Elders who drive the truck throw it in the bed of their pickup. Things went great and the well proved to be a great object lesson for the missionaries in the zone. The problem is that in the process of transportation the well got kind of destroyed. We were told that the well was garbage and that it could be thrown away so we weren't too worried about it. However, we received a call later that night from the mission office telling us that the well needed to be returned the next day for a ward relief society activity. From then it became a scramble to repair the well. It was returned in almost one piece and we hopefully avoided war with the relief society.

Scripture of the Week:

1 Nephi 17:3

And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and ^astrengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did ^bprovide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness.

I love this scripture because it explains to me why God gives us commandments. He wants to bless and help us but can only do so when we choose to follow him. In my life I have seen that you will never regret keeping the commandments. Not once. I don't think I have ever thought, "Ah, I wish I wouldn't have read my scriptures this morning". But the temptation always comes beforehand not to do so. When we make excuses to not pray or read our scriptures, we are forfeiting blessings that God has in store for us. I encourage all of you to be more diligent in your study of the scriptures and more sincere in your prayers with God. I know that casual worship isn't really worship at all, so we should be committed and sincere in everything that we do.

Have a good week!

Elder Rees