Round 7?

WOOP WOOP hi guys!! I genuinely miss you all so dang much! How is everyone?!

Lets see whats new here in Simi. 

We've been teaching free english classes for anyone who wants to learn! Which is so funny cause its basically English class for them and Spanish class for me! Theyre literally so cute ! We work on english all class and they help me with my spanish and we always do a spiritual thought after and some of these guys havent ever prayed before! Its so fun teaching it especially cause i can only explain it in simple words (cause its all i know how to say) but they understand it! And it reminds me that sometimes we complicate things! Prayer is actually simple and easy and a way we get to talk to God! We also do english class on facebook live so if you know anyone who wants to learn english you know where to find me! 

Also another thing about the bikes is we have to carry them up and down our second story apartment every day. So im literally gonna be jacked 

Miracle report! About 7 months ago my comp Hermana Bagley was living in Thousand Oaks and facebook messaged a man named Marcos who lived near but not in her area. Her and her companion started teaching him over video calls and put him on date to be baptized. They think it mightve been too much too quickly because he ghosted them and they never heard from him. Fast forward to now, me and hermana bagley are getting ready to teach our first english class in Simi and in walks Marcos!!! He lives in Simi and had been coming to english class the entire time! And no one ever knew! We asked if he wanted to be taught again and he said absolutely! He is the sweetest soul around and his smile just lights up the room! He comes to every activity the ward has and we always run into him while we're biking and it makes my day! So keep Marcos in your prayers! 

On sunday we made a big breakfast at the church and watched conference with a bunch of members and new friends and it was epic!

Spiritual Thoughts

Our Heartfelt All by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Just days before He gave His life for us, Jesus Christ was at the temple in Jerusalem, watching people make donations to the temple treasury. “Many that were rich cast in much,” but then, along came a poor widow, “and she threw in two mites.” It was such a small amount, it would hardly be worth recording.

And yet this seemingly inconsequential donation caught the Savior’s attention. In fact, it impressed Him so deeply that “he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: “For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” With this simple observation, the Savior taught us how offerings are measured in His kingdom—and it’s quite different from the way we usually measure things. To the Lord, the value of the donation was measured not by the effect it had on the treasury but by the effect it had on the heart of the donor.

Jesus taught that our offering may be large or it may be small, but either way, it must be our heartfelt all.

But how is this possible? To many of us, such a standard of whole-souled commitment seems out of reach. We are already stretched so thin. How can we balance the many demands of life with our desires to offer our whole souls to the Lord?

My wife, Harriet, and I love to go bicycle riding together. While we’re riding, we enjoy the beautiful world around us. Rarely do we have to pay much attention to keeping our balance on our bicycles. We’ve been riding long enough that we don’t even think about that—it has become normal and natural for us. But whenever I watch someone learning to ride a bike for the first time, I’m reminded that it’s not easy balancing yourself on those two narrow wheels. It takes time. It takes practice. It takes patience. It even takes falling down a time or two. Keep your eyes on the road in front of you. Focus on your destination. And get pedaling. Staying balanced is all about moving forward.

Now, for those who are avid bicyclists, comparing discipleship to riding a bike may be a helpful analogy. For those who are not, don’t worry. I have another analogy. Discipleship, like most things in life, can also be compared to flying an airplane. 

Have you ever stopped to think how amazing it is that a huge passenger jet can actually get off the ground and fly? What is it that keeps these flying machines soaring elegantly through the sky, crossing oceans and continents? Put simply, an aircraft flies only when air is moving over its wings. That movement creates differences in air pressure that give the plane lift. And how do you get enough air moving over the wings to create lift? The answer is forward thrust. The airplane gains no altitude sitting on the runway. Even on a windy day, enough lift isn’t created unless the airplane is moving forward, with enough thrust to counteract the forces holding it back.

What does this mean for us as disciples of Jesus Christ? It means that if we want to find balance in life, and if we want the Savior to lift us heavenward, then our commitment to Him and His gospel can’t be casual or occasional. Like the widow at Jerusalem, we must offer Him our whole souls. Our offering may be small, but it must come from our heart and soul.

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is not just one of many things we do. The Savior is the motivating power behind all that we do. He is not a rest stop in our journey. He is not a scenic byway or even a major landmark. Jesus Christ is the way and our ultimate destination.

 

But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. It requires both sacrifice and consecration. It requires letting some things go and letting other things grow.

When we look at our lives and see a hundred things to do, we feel overwhelmed. When we see one thing—loving and serving God and His children, in a hundred different ways—then we can work on those things with joy.

Great quotes from conference

"It was at that moment I realized I hadn't taken the wrong taxi. It was no coincidence. I was in his taxi because the lord was calling him back to his fold"

"Be valiant not lukewarm" 

"Believing i could walk the trail, broken"

"All that is unfair about life can be made right through the atonement of Jesus Christ."

I love you all so dang much and appreciate every email and letter i get! Im so sorry if i dont get time to respond in a timely manner but hey the work never stops #missionlife 

Pictures!