Service: The essence of the Gospel

I don´t have much time today but I wanted to express my thoughts on the topic of service. Often times in life we hear the phrase,¨Everything comes with a cost.¨ In part I would have to agree and in part I would say that I don´t agree. I disagree because there are many things that don´t have anything to do with what we can pay. For example, salvation. As explained in 2 Nephi 2:4,¨the way is prepared from the fall of man, and salvation is free.¨ In a sense, it is completely impossible to pay our way into heaven. It is even impossible to ¨obey¨ your way into heaven. Because we all have ¨sinned, and come short of the glory of God¨, every one of us is unworthy to enter into the kingdom of God. Only by grace do we enter into the kingdom of God. 

In part I do agree that it all comes with a cost. Salvation requieres that we at least try our hardest. I am willing to give my all because what I want most is to return to my Father in Heaven with my family. I know that He is willing to shed His grace on thee as goes the song. I am convinced that it won´t be easy but that it´ll be worth it. 

This week we gave service and I honestly feel awesome! We cleaned the hill San Bernardo, which is a huge tourist attraction here in Salta so it was cool. The local news interviewed a member who participated and everyone got to see it on T.V. Cool experience. What´s more, we decided to offer our help when we saw a family carrying bricks into their yard. I got a little scrape so they invited us in and we are now teaching a family of 5. Haha the first time that I´m thankful for a little cut. 

God is actively guiding His children. We are the angels that He uses to bless the lives of others. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

Nachooooooooo!

Nacho, Nacho, Nacho, Nacho! Haha Nacho got baptized on Saturday and it was really awesome! The sister missionaries in our ward also had 2 baptisms so it was a party. Since a ton of people went, we had to give all the talks and announcements in the chapel. I conducted and for the first time I felt a little nervous conducting a baptismal service just because there were so many people. What´s even better, 2 members brought friends and 1 of those friends came to church yesterday! These members are capos (bosses)! 

Anywhoo, the news came last night that my Chileno comp Elder Gutierrez would be taking off to Rosario de la Frontera (which is weird because I´ve been here longer than he has). I was honestly really sad to see him go. In spite of the culture differences and different customs, we got along super well. I don`t have a doubt that we´ll be good friends for life. In fact, we´re already planning our glorious reunion. 

My new companion is Elder Garrett from Utah. Very kind. Curtious. Clean. Organized. Definitely had to have been a boy scout.Haha I´m excited to see out the rest of this transfer, especially because once again I´ve been REUNITED WITH ELDER SANDBERG! We moved from the pension in Olavarría with Elder Barboza and Elder Guzman to the pension of our beloved Elder Sandberg and Elder Jensen in La Loma. I´m definitely excited to see what happens. We just have to hope that it never gets out of hand! Haha just kidding. Overall, I´m great. I´m healthy. I´m happy. I feel comfortable. And I love the people. I can´t describe how much I love being in Argentina. Not for all the sights and sounds, but for the love and the heart of Salta! God knows what He´s doing. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

Disfrutelo

I am convinced that life isn´t easy because often times we aren´t looking at it the right way. I wouldn´t say that life is easy necessarily but sometimes we tend to think that if life were just a little bit easier we would enjoy it a whole lot more. Certain trials seem to surround us in the mission. Rejection, exhaustion, pressure from others, fear, disunity, and sometimes we just like to cry. Haha I´ve experienced it, I´ve seen others experience it and it can be sad to see. But there´s nothing that gives me more comfort than ¨this rallying cry.......´remember Him´.¨ It´s a little hard to explain but I think that the Elder Holland says it a little bit better. ¨I am convinced that missionary work (life in general) is not easy because salvation is not a cheap experience. Salvation was never easy. If our Savior can cry on His knees with blood dripping from His face, begging,´Abba, Father, remove this cup from me´,how could it ever be easy for us?¨ Christ suffered an enormous price for our salvation.

When we look at the suffering that this life causes it can seem pretty sad. But when I look at the suffering of our Savior before His crucifixion and death, I think of how gosh darn easy my life is. Somebody already payed the price of my suffering. I need not pay it. Thanks to this amazing sacrifice, I am free to really enjoy what I have been given and I also think of the superboost that Christ gives me in this round of gaming, difficulty: legendary. Haha I can honestly say that my suffering doesn´t affect my faith negatively. It strengthens it. 

I´m enjoying the mish. I love it. These have been the best moments of my whole life. I´ve ¨suffered¨, or so I think I have, but I look upon those moments with a smile and a little laugh. Don´t worry too much. Disfrutelo. Christ is risen. Thanks to Him, we all will be risen in the last day. We ALL have the opportunity to accept this happiness or continue living like suffering 9-5ers. Haha I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot

Repent ye, repent ye

It´s been a great week! German was baptized and pretty soon his brother will also be baptized. Unluckily, the two weren´t able to get baptized at the same time for a few reasons but in the short future they should be united as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For some strange reason we´re seeing so many miracles and I really couldn´t explain why. Then I read a few of your emails and I realized that in reality I´m actually not doing that much. Haha all your prayers are being heard because the Lord is hastening His work in Palermo, Salta. I´m excited to see what happens next. We´re planning a few baptisms in the next few weeks so keep Milagros, Jesus, Nacho, and Facundo in your prayers. Milagros is the mom of a teenage girl that got baptized about a year ago and is super super boss! Jesus is German´s brother. Nacho is also a teen who has been going to seminary for about a month or so and is absolutely sure about being baptized. And Facundo is the young guy from the story that I told last week.

Anyways, this week I´ve really come to appreciate the repentance process. In our Zone Conference this week we actually talked a lot about the topic. Jesus Christ, when He came to the earth, left His teachings and in just about every chapter of the four Gospels He teaches repentance and baptism. Now, we all understand what repentance means but do we really feel what it means? I think for about all my life until now I´ve only known that it´s necessary but I can honestly say that until just before my mission I didn´t feel it really take place in my life. Do we realize that every day we sin against God? Do we feel the need to repent? Do we evaluate our lives and eliminate the bad? We are all ¨destitute of the glory of God¨. Therefore it is necessary that someone pay the price of those mistakes. And someone already did. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior. If we don´t repent, we reject the gift that He gave us when He bled from every pore, humbly knelt before our Father. He is the Gift. I know it, I live it, I love it!

Elder Philpot