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Saturday, July 18, 2015

Time Flies - Letter to Mom - 17 May, 2015

Hey mom!

How are you doing? Can you believe it has already been a week since we talked over FaceTime? I can't! haha It went so insanely fast! Also, guess what? The transfer is already over. I am now a transfer 7 missionary! :) haha Also, transfer calls came! And..........I am staying in Kichijoji as a Zone Leader with Elder Leftwich as my companion, the one that you saw first on FaceTime. Crazy huh? It is going to be so fun, and I really look forward to working with him.

How are things going on at home? How is everybody's health holding up? Hey! The girls get out of school in just two or three weeks, huh? When is the last day of school this year? Is it in June? That would be no fun. ;P haha

So, let's see what I can update you on this week.....Oh! We had zone meeting. :) This was my second one as a zone leader, so Elder Scott made me organize it all this time. It was way fun, and I loved doing it! I got to do a training on preparation using the Book of Mormon to teach it. It is all about Captain Moroni and how he prepared the people and the cities against the Lamanites, and all of the things that he did right. It was so fun to teach. It went really really well, and I absolutely loved doing it. :) <3 It made me realize just how important preparation is, and planning. It is probably the presentation that I have prepared for most on my mission and in the church, and it was incredible how much more I felt the Spirit when I felt prepared compared to when I just tried to slap something together really fast. So, what do we learn from this? We learn that preparation brings blessings, particularly the Spirit confirming to you that it is going to all work out. No plan is a plan to fail. (Read it again. There are two different meanings depending on how you choose your intonation). Also, the Spirit will never let us down if we do all that we can to repent and come closer to Christ. I want to testify of that as well. I am so grateful for the opportunity to repent every single day. Just think, because of the sacrifice of our Brother, Jesus Christ, we can become [clean] literally every single day of our lives. To me, that is amazing. I would not trade that for anything. :) :)

Love is such a powerful thing. I think of the people that I meet here, and how quickly I come to love them, and it astounds me. I think that is one of the miracles of missionary work. What other work can take 18-25 (usually) year olds and make it so that they unconditionally love a people that sometimes completely ignore them? I think that is incredible. I have felt it so many times where I meet a new Young Adult guy who moves into the ward, and instantly I feel connected to him and love him. I have met random people on the street that I love instantly, even if they completely rejected me and treated me like dirt. I love the companions that I have served with so much, and it is always sad to have to split away from them, even if you only knew them for six weeks. Love is incredible. It allows you to see peoples faults, and completely ignore them, because they are not what defines a person. Love allows us to go beyond the natural man, which would bring others down, and lift them up so that they know that God loves them. Love allows us to become more like Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I am so grateful for love. I love you so much, Mom!! You are an incredible example. :)

So, guess what I get to do tonight? I get to go and see the BYU Symphony perform! ;D haha We are taking one of our potential investigators (hopefully an investigator as well) and going. It is actually outside of our mission boundaries so don't tell President Wada.......just kidding. ;D haha We have permission and everything from the Area Presidency since it is literally a 5-10 minute bike ride out of our area. I am so excited, and the music that they have lined up is going to be absolutely incredible!!! :)

Mom, I feel like I have thanked you for this before, but thank you for making sure that I always took piano, and stuck through it. I am so glad that you helped me when I hit my limit at about 11 years old. I never did progress from there. ;D haha I play every week in Priesthood, and I also get to play for ward choir, so it is a blast. There is actually another Christian Choir (a bunch of different sects) that practices here every once in a while, and they want me to play for them too, so that will be a good missionary opportunity when they are here! Overall I am just so so grateful that you helped me to do that. It is so important. :) Always help your talents improve. That is way important.

Well, I wish you the best of luck with your YW camp coming up soon! Is there anything that I can do to help you? I hope that you had a good Mother's Day. :) What did you get? Did you do anything fun? I want to hear all of the details. I love you so much, and I miss you, Mom! You are incredible! Also, your haircut really did look beautiful. :)

Thanks for everything! I LOVE YOU!!!!

Love infinity infinities,
Elder Livingston

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