WEEK 79 - NEVER GONNA BE ALONE

Good morning universe! This is Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in to y'all back home, or wherever you might be, from the Prairie Ridge and Taft Canyon Wards in the Fort Collins Stake in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission. Once more, I am here to report in to y'all about how things are going, what progress is in the mission field, what's the latest and craziest thing that's happened to me on the mission, and other stuff like that. And this week, while there were a lot of days that just rolled by slowly and dryly, there were definitely some days that I'm glad to be reporting on this time around. So, without further-ado, Let's a-Go!

The week started off well on Tuesday, with me and Elder Anderson heading over to District Leader Counsel again. Nothing much happened there by way of interesting or exciting topics, so we'll move on to the end of the meeting. After the meeting closed, we had to head right over to our Ward's meeting house, as one of our investigators, Jennette, was getting interviewed by President Brown. After waiting for about an hour for the interview to end, we were allowed into the room to discuss with Jennette when she would like to have her baptism. After some light discussion, we all agreed for the 20th, this coming Saturday. It was really incredible, to see this woman that previously had been nervous about baptism, now so excited for it.

Wednesday, also, was planned to be a very big day. Between exchanges with the Zone Leaders and the District Meeting I had to organize, it was expected to be a pretty hectic day. Unfortunately, we may never know how hectic it would've been, as that morning I awoke with a light head and a very upset stomach. Seriously, this really is just my sick transfer. I was in no way capable of doing work that day, so we had to cancel our appointments and meetings and I was reserved to sitting in a recliner and staring at the ceiling all day. Not exactly the best way to spend the day. Definitely one of the worst ways to spend the day while a missionary. However, by the time Thursday rolled back around, I was better and ready to work.

Now, we weren't able to do exchanges with the Zone Leaders, as we had planned for the day before, but we were still able to gather together at the Ward building and have a pretty alright District Meeting. We mainly spent the meeting discussing problems we have been having in our areas, and how best to overcome them. In my own personal opinion, I thought the meeting went well. Then, afterwords, we grabbed the Harmony Elders (the one other companionship in our District) and went out for a quick lunch together, and further discussion on how things in our companionships are going, what we are struggling with, and how they (as the younger missionaries) are adjusting to mission life.

After the lunch ended, and we had dropped off Harmony at their house, Elder Anderson decided to address my sickness problems. Apparently there was this member in the Taft Canyon Ward that had this method of discerning what chemically is going on in someone that can cause things like headaches, stomach aches, achy joints, and how to best alleviate them. When I tried to get more out of him, he simply said that she was a witch doctor, and that was the easiest way he could describe it. Which, honestly, doesn't make much sense to me, as the procedures she used weren't very voodoo-ish. Whatever it was, though, it worked, as since then I haven't even been the least bit sick.

So, what did we do with my newly-healed self? The very next day was our weekly-planning day, and luckily I had a clear enough head to actually participate. The planning session actually went very well. We had several very good discussions in our companionship about what methods of finding people work and what don't, what we should improve in spending our time on and what we could do less of, and how we can better reach our goals as missionaries each week. We also were able to, in a very relaxed and caring manner, address what we personally were falling short in, and help correct and instruct each other in how to teach more effectively. By the end of the planning session, we both felt very satisfied and ready to start our next week.

And that was my week! All in all, it was a pretty good way to serve. I'm happy with how it went down, even if I was sick (again) at the beginning part of it. But I feel better now, and have grown more as a missionary and a child of God. Which means, it's time for this week's spiritual thought. For this week, I thought I'd share a fairly well-known story. I don't know who first told this story, or who wrote down the story or poem that it comes from. It's been told and retold countless times by men young and old, Mormon and not. And now, it's my turn to share the story. The story is called "Footsteps in the Sand."

"I had a dream last night, a dream profound and deep. In the dream, I was carried away to stand on the edge of the sea with my Lord and give an accounting of my life. As we walked together along that stretch of sandy shores, I recounted every moment of joy and sadness, every triumph and every fall, that I had experienced in my life, from my childhood up.

"As I gave this accounting of my life, I would notice these two sets of footprints running beside the two of us—one for myself and one for my Lord. As I did so, I began to recognize a recurring pattern in the footprints. Whenever I got to a point in my life when I had to overcome a considerably terrible hurtle, when my faith and my strength were truly put to the test, and when I felt that I could go no further, those were the times that there were only one set of footprints walking along in the sand. I was both grieved and frustrated at this revelation.

"Finally, after a while, I came to a stop and turned to look at my Lord. 'My Lord, I don't understand it. I've been baptized. I've obeyed your commandments. I've upheld every covenant you've ever given me, and lived my life to the best of my abilities. And yet whenever I faced a terrible trial in my life, something that left me more than just a little emotionally and spiritually bruised and battered, there's only one set of prints in the sand. Why is that? What did I do during those times that would cause you to abandon me?'

"My Lord simply smiled at me and shook his head. 'My son, you misunderstand. I have never, and will never, abandon you. Whenever you lifted those heaviest burdens that made your back nearly break, I was the one that lifted with you. Whenever you had fears or worries that threatened to keep you up at night, I was the one that helped you get the rest you would need. When you were sick, I was the one that healed you. When you were grieved, I was the one that comforted you. And when you felt that you could go no further, when you had walked as far as you possibly could, well then, that was when I carried you.'"

And such is true. No matter how alone we might feel, no matter how terrible our trial is, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is always there for us. It is true that no living person can truly understand what we are going through, what trials we have faced. But Christ, the glorified Lord, does. For he "suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people...that his bowels may be filled with mercy...[and] that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:13, 12) He suffered for each of us in Gethsemane not just so that he could take away our sins, but so that he could know how best to help us overcome the trials and burdens we carry in our lives. He truly is the glorified Lord.

I bear testimony that I know this to be true. Our Lord is always at our side, lifting up our burdens beside us when the load is too heavy for us alone, and sometimes lifting us ourselves up when our lives have become too heavy for us alone. He is there always, and he will never, and can never, abandon us. He will always strengthen us and help us, if we turn to him in faith and seek to do his work. I know this to be true for myself, in the name of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.

—Elder Z.S.Weber