Sep 13th Week 48 Administration and Activities Layton Utah Week 39 (T3 Elder Favro)

皆さん！

 

I wish I had more to report on this week! Kickstarting an area comes with all sorts of its new challenges, and so it's been a lot of organizational stuff. When we're not talking about leadership, we're walking and talking with as many people as we can. Most people don't go outside around here, but at the very least, we've been able to talk to a few people! 

 

A few lessons sprinkled here and there, and that's about how life has been. Again, wish there were more to report on, but such is life. We have a couple of people who we're going to begin teaching soon, but that all starts next week. Fingers crossed!

 

Hey, I'd love to hear from you all, too! I've had a few people talk here and there about their weeks and things like that, and that's fantastic! I can't promise I'll respond every week, but I'll try my best to do what I can!

 

So... yeah. I don't like writing short emails, but hopefully I've gotten everything said what needs to be said. The people here are amazing, and the area is wonderful. It's four miles to our area, though... and the loaner bike that I have has had three flat tires already. I'm cursed. Perks of the desert - uhhhh... very flat. Downsides - very dry and goatheads. So. Many. Goatheads. You can't walk around without getting a few in your shoes, stabbing you or puncturing your tires. It's... not okay.

 

Hey, one more thing I thought was important. We had a day of service dedicated to those that lost their lives that day on 9/11/2021. It was a good turnout - so many people working alongside each other to make this world and at least this area a better place. Twenty years since that happened... The wounds are still fresh for a lot of us. Take care of each other for me, okay? Be kind to one another - you're loved and you're worthy of being loved. Make sure other people feel that love too, okay?

 

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His  Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

 

"[As a child in World War Two,] while the world was drowning in cynicism, bitterness, hatred, and fear, the example and teachings of these young people filled me with hope. The gospel message they offered transcended politics, history, grudges, grievances, and personal agendas. It gave divine answers to important questions we had during these difficult times.

The message was that God lived and cared about us, even in these hours of turmoil, confusion, and chaos. That He actually appeared in our time to restore truth and light—His gospel and His Church. That He speaks to prophets again; that God is among us—and is personally involved in our lives and actively guiding His children.

It is astonishing what we can learn when we look a little closer at our Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and exaltation, the plan of happiness, for His children. When we feel insignificant, cast off, and forgotten, we learn that we may be assured that God has not forgotten us—in fact, that He offers to all His children something unimaginable: to become 'heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.'

What does this mean?

That we will live forever, receive a fulness of joy, and have the potential to “inherit thrones, kingdoms, principalities, and powers.”

It is so humbling to know that this magnificent and supernal future is possible—not because of who we are but because of who God is.

Knowing this, how could we ever murmur or remain embittered? How could we ever keep our eyes on the ground when the King of kings invites us to take flight into an unimaginable future of divine happiness?" (Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "God Among Us, April 2021 General Conference)

 

Love you all - take care and have a great week!

 

Elder Decker

デッカー長老