Top a de Mornin' to ye! 'Tis I, yer ol' friend an' fav'rite missionary in de fields o' de Lord, Elder—what? St. Patrick's Day isn't fer anorther tree days? Oh...ahem...
Morning, everybody! Sorry about that, I thought St. Patrick's Day was yesterday (we had green waffles for dinner last night! I mean, come on, give me a break here!). Seeing that it wasn't, though, I guess I'll just get started as usual. Anyways, it's great to be able to email y'all again after another long and exciting week in the Colorado Fort Collins Mission field. I probably don't have to introduce myself anymore to any of you, but just for the heck of it, it's me again, Elder Z.S.Weber, reporting in to y'all live from the Prairie Ridge and Taft Canyon Wards of Fort Collins, Colorado. And let me just say, guys—this week has been great. I mean it, this week was wonderful, and we had lots of wonderful moments to look back on and enjoy.
So, with that said, let's get started on the week!
This week started out very well on Tuesday. Sure, the day started off really slow. We had to go pick up the the new bike rack for our car so that we could carry the other elders' and their bikes to their appointments. Then, we actually had to install the bike rack, which might sound easy to you, but for two very stubborn missionaries and one very stubborn bike rack, it took a lot longer than it should've. By the time we were done, we just had time to grab a bite to eat for lunch and head out to our District Leader Conference. The conference actually went fairly well, as there was now a new member in our midst. During transfers, we had ended up splitting one of the districts into two smaller districts (not mine, we only have two companionships in that district), and so we had a new District Leader with us, Elder Johnson. So, it made for some interesting new conversation with the first DLC of the transfer.
Then, after DLC's were over, we had the really exciting moment of the day. We had another lesson with Roland, our investigator. During the lesson, we read through a few of the chapters of the Book of Mormon and discussed with him the importance of the Book of Mormon, as I personally feel that he is having a hard time seeing the book as anything more than just a history book about ancient Americans. We're still working on helping him get the message down into his heart, which is hard because we can't actually force someone to believe the truth. Darn agency. Greatest and worst gift from God we could ever have. However, at the end of the lesson, the member that had come with us, Brother Haynes, offered to take Roland out to see the temple. They agreed to meet up the next day and take a trip down there.
The next day, Wednesday, was another interesting day, as all of us missionaries in the Fort Collins Zone were gathered together for a large Zone Meeting. The focus of the meeting was on working with our members to gather referrals so that we could have a constant pool of investigators to turn to for lessons. It was actually a pretty interesting way that they went about teaching that message to us, though we've tried a similar method multiple times this week and so far have found there to be no fruits in the vineyard. However, it was still a great Zone Meeting. Afterwords, about ten of us ended up going to Wendy's for a quick lunch. When we got there, who should we run into but Brother Haynes and Roland, fresh from the temple grounds! What a coincidence, right?
Thursday was another very good day, a day that gave us a chance to go out into the Ward and provide service for the members in our Ward. It turned out that one of our members in the Taft Canyon Ward was moving with his family, and needed some extra hands with the loading of all of the furniture and belongings into the moving truck. So, we grabbed the Harmony Elders and headed over for a few hours of service. And, let me tell you guys one thing—as missionaries who help people move a LOT, you become a master at the game Tetris. However, even with a mission-Bachelor's in furniture stacking-and-organizing, this was a hard move to work with. We weren't even half done with all the things in the house when the truck was full and ready to be driven out. So, we had to put an end to the service. Still, it was a great opportunity to help others.
Friday was the last day of the week (as Saturday was mainly spent planning), and what an interesting day that was. So, to continue on with our service mentality from the day before, we were asked to help this young man, Zak Jewkes, with his Eagle Scout Project. I couldn't give you a full description of what happened—as it has to do with baseball and anyone who knows me knows that all I know about baseball is that you're supposed to hit the ball with the bat, all the way around the diamond until you make it back to where you started, and at the end of the game you get a whole snow-cone—but basically we spent the day digging these large trenches in the ground for Zak to put some cement dividers in. After a few hours of digging and tearing the ground apart with shovels and picks and all manner of lawn-care tools, we were finally able to finish the work. Which I must say was very satisfying to stand and see what we had accomplished.
So, yeah, that was my week. Which means, it is now time for the Spiritual Thought.
Now, I know you're all thinking, "Well, what did Elder Weber learn during this past week from these experiences that he now wants to share with all of us?" Actually, my message doesn't come from my experiences this past week. Rather, I want to share a short message I came up with after watching one of the Mormon Messages videos this past week—the Refiner's Fire.
As we all already know, this life is very hard. I think I've mentioned several times already throughout my mission the trying and testing times that have brought me much grief. I have also spoken of how merciful the Lord is during this time, to help build me up and tear me down until I have become the man that he wants me to be. All the while, he continues to show me love and kindness in even the smallest of ways, and that love helps to keep me going, regardless of the trials I've faced. It allows me to pass through even the harshest of the flames in this refiner's furnace we are going through in life, and hopefully by the time I'm done, I'll be refined into that man that my Lord envisions me becoming.
Now, I can understand if this might seem like a hard subject to understand. We don't really talk about refining metals much in daily life. Luckily, I happened to come across a talk a while back (don't ask me who it was by or when it was, because both answers are lost to me) that went into detail on the process by which metals are refined.
It starts with taking some silver ore and throwing it in a furnace. That way, the substances stuck to the silver can melt off, that way the silver is all that remains. Some wonder how long this process of melting goes on for. (Minutes? Hours? Days? Do you melt it down until everything is melted, and then keep it in there for good measure?) The process lasts as long as the metal takes to become pure. Then, the very instant that the silver has been refined, it is taken out of the fire, that way it won't be destroyed by staying in the furnace too long. The way you know the silver has been purified is if you can look into the liquid metal and see your own reflection looking back.
Think of how this reflects back, then, to the Lord as OUR refiner. We have impurities that are attached to us, just like with the ore. In order to perfect us, our Lord puts us through trials that are made to refine us, and make us better than who we were at the beginning. The flames are hot, yes, but he doesn't plan on keeping us in this furnace for long. The instant we are refined, we are perfected, he pulls us out of the flames. And he knows that we have been refined, because when he looks at us to see if we are perfected, his own reflection stares back at him. At that point, we will be perfect disciples of Christ, walking the path he laid for us with absolute exactness.
In Malachi 3, we read this message; "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." (Malachi 3: 2-3) I know this to be true. I know that the Savior truly is our refiner. That his mission is to refine and perfect us, that we may shine as silver and gold, and stand on his right hand with power and confidence, knowing with a surety that we will dwell with him in his Kingdom for time and all eternity. This message I bear to you, in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
—Elder Z.S.Weber
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