Dear Family,
I have really enjoyed hearing from you! It is good to hear that things are going well. I am glad to hear that mom got her flowers(he had flowers delivered to me the day after he went into the MTC) and that the restaurant is doing well. I don't miss burgers very much yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. I am glad to hear that Kaden had a good experience at camp. I bet it was a cool experience. Nothing beats the feeling of singing "We'll bring the His truth" with 3000 people! I have sang it several times since I have been here. It is amazing because the lyrics are different for us. We sing "we are now the Lord's missionaries"". It is powerful! There are almost 2500 missionaries here from all over the world. I have made friend with missionaries from New Zealand, Autralia, Chuuk, Scotland, Germany, England, Tonga and several other countries. There are hundreds of us and we are all here for the exact same reason!
Dad, you are amazing and I am so grateful for everything you have done for me and our family! You have taught me how to work hard and never give up. Thankyou for your letter and I hope you are enjoying my sweer and very missed Iphone. Please give her a anme and treat her with respect! I love you dad!
Mom, thankyou for all of your letters, and for your package.I have felt very loved this week! You are very thoughtful and I appreciate all that you do! I hope you know that I love you. Thankyou for your suppot and influence these last few years. Meaning my whole life. You ar an amazing mother, and I haven't given you enough credit in my life, but please know that your efforts have payed off. If you and Dad ever doubt your efforts, just remember where I am and what I am doing.
I am learning so much here! The Spirit is continually present. It is almost like living on temple grounds, because it has been set apart from the world. The missionaries call it "spirit prison", because the Spirit is always here and we can never leave! I have learned alot about teaching. I am surprised at how little I know. Since I have been here I feel like I have forgotten everything I know. All of the things I have studied over the last few years, through seminary and scripture study have left my mind. I feel that it has been God's way of humbling me. Instead of relying on my own experience, knowledge and wisdom, I have learned to rely solely on the Lord. It has been really hard, but I trust that if I can learn how to do thus better, then the Lord will bring these things back to my remembrance when I am in need. I mentioned this in my last email, but last week I learned something amazing in class. We were talking about commandments and why we follow them. We discussed how most people simply "obey" commandments, and some people willingly do the things they are supposed to. What we learned though, is that the first law of heaven is obedience. That means that there is a higher law! That higher law is love and gratitude! That is when I realized that I am serving a mission, not out of obedience, but out of love for my Father in Heaven and his children. God has blessed me with so much in my life and for that I love him. I want to serve him! Why would I keep these blessings to myself, when I could share them with other people? It was a really nice realization.
So, I have my flight plans now. I am leaving the MTC Tuesday morning at 3am. Our plane leaves Salt Lake at 5:45 in the morning, so I will most likely have to call you between 3:30 and 4 your time. I have a layover in San Francisco from 7-10:30 your time, so I will probably call you around 8 or 9., so just keep your phone by you. I will try to call you for a few minutes both times, but I will just have to see what kind of time I have. I am excited to get there!
I just got your package with the pictures! I loved them! Thank you so much for sending them to me. I bet Bethany loved them too. I am not allowed to send pictures from the MTC, but hopefully I will be able to send some when I get to Guam. I have some really good ones, so I will send them as soon as I can! As for my missionary plaque scripture, I really not sure which one I want to use. There are so many good ones! There are two I am leaning towards. Alma 26:12 or Alma 29: !-2. They are both so amazing and they both describe exactly how I feel. I am leaning more towards 26:12, but use the one that you think is best, I really love them both.
I really feel bad, but I don't have time to write anyone else. I have spent 3 1/2 hours on this one alone! Please tell everyone thank you for me, especially grandma and grandpa! I love them so much and if I had time, I truly would write them. Tell Grandpa thank you and bear your testimony to him. He told me he will read the Book of Mormon! Be his support! Stay srong family! Live like you mean it!
Love your missionary,
Elder Dallin Lyman
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