Dear Family & Friends,
I want to express the feelings in my heart at this moment. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Gospel is true. At the present moment I have been overcome with the Spirit in the feelings of love and eternal appreciation. The Lord puts people in all of our lives so that we may learn and grow according to the Plan of Happiness. Whether these people are our family or friends or whether it is someone in a far continent who has been called to touch lives but whose life is in turn being touched it matters not. What matters is this Gospel! This Good News! No matter our relationship here on earth, we are all God's children. Being out here on my mission, I have tried to imagine the love my parents have for each of us 4 children and I simply cannot comprehend that love! Then I imagine that love multiplied by a trillion and we get (*understand/comprehend) less than 0.0001% of our Heavenly Father's love for all of His children here on earth. We have been so blessed in this life!
Being on mission we only get R1350 (*approx. $135 USD) a month to live on. That can only be used wisely for basic living. I know why they do that. Maybe it's because it's possible or probably because more missionaries can be sent out with a suitable amount but I think it goes beyond that! When we have very little, we become humbled in such a way that cannot be achieved when we are back at home and have so much! And when we are humbled, we can be taught; taught in so many aspects it's hard to digest. So why do I bring up this point? Certainly not to make us feel bad or guilty about what we have but to encourage us to be grateful for the good and bad things that happen! If we can take that perspective I can promise the Lord will teach us. Of that I testify! If we can give effort to think "How can I learn from this stinky situation" and then pray with real intent (real intent= you will act, you intend to) for a way to grow through the trial, the enabling power of the atonement will get us through it! I don't want to sound preachy, not at all, but I felt inspired to share that :)
These feelings of the Spirit are very real :) Always I will try to have them with me! I love you all very much!
Love,
Elder David Spencer Smith
