Mexico, Veracrus mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Elder Horrocks will be serving in the Mexico, Veracrus mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Week 5 – I love to see the temple


Hello once again audience!

This week has been simply amazing! Looking back on it though, it seems to have zipped by! So last P-day the temple finally opened and we got to do our first endowment session as missionaries! It was such a blessing to take the time to visit the house of the Lord. I'm super excited to go again today! :D Something interesting happened there that all you folks from Heber might be interested in. The person who led the session was none other than Larry Ward. If you don't know who that is, he's a retired (I think) science teacher and an overall super guy. It was just funny and weird to see him in that setting. I had to take a double take. Also last Tuesday, we had a devotional by Rex D. Pinegar on our purpose and the reason why we're serving. It was excellent. After the Tuesday devotionals, we get together as a district and talk share the insights we gained. Those are always a spiritual feast. :)

The middle of the week was pretty average, but Friday was fan-flippin-tastic! We started the day with service (like every Friday) and ended up vacuuming the edges of the carpet in our classroom building. There's something about service that just puts you in a good mood for the rest of the day. It makes me excited to go to Mexico and serve the people in any way that I can. Any way, we also have TRC every Friday. Sorry, I can't remember what it stands for, but it's where we get the opportunity to teach some members in Spanish. It's cool, because they're real people that just want to hear something that can uplift them during the week. It's awesome and we get to meet some really cool people. And to top off that day, Hermano Piperato had a cool way to end the day. He had us go get our patriarchal blessings and study them a bit. We went outside and each found a quiet place to sit and read our blessings. He had us take the time to specifically look for how we've been prepared to be missionaries. What an eye opener! It helped remind me of all the blessings I have received as well as all the blessings that I am promised. If you have a patriarchal blessing, I urge you to take the time to not only read it, but study it. If you don't have a patriarchal blessing, I want to you think about getting one. I know that it's your decision whether or not you get one or when you get one, but I can say for sure that they can help guide your life and inspire you to do the things that the Lord would have you do. It's never too late to get one and receive these blessings. If you feel it's right, don't wait.

Fast sunday is the best here! Well, it's the best wherever you are, but I never really appreciated it until I came here. We had a TON of time for personal study that really helped to strengthen my knowledge of and love for the scriptures. Every Sunday we also get to walk to the temple which is always nice. Elder Dean and I taught a lesson on repentance to our district. It was kind of funny because we had already heard two talks on it earlier in the day. I think our lesson went really well and it was fun to teach. On fast Sunday we have a mission conference that is two hours long where a lot of the MTC leaders speak with their wives. What a spiritual feast! I can't tell you what all the talks were about because my memory is terrible and I don't have my notes with me, but I can tell you that they were all great! After every Sunday devotional they play a church film. This week it was Legacy... again. They've only played three or four movies so they're doing repeats now but that's ok because they're all good. I only wish I'd brought some nachos to the movie because it was cheesy! (Forgive my lame jokes.) It was still a good movie, but it's definitely the cheesiest out of all the ones they've shown. My favorite so far is "Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration". It's about Joseph Smith's life and I really enjoy it. Fun fact: the boy who played young Joseph in that film is now a missionary here. It's kinda funny to see "Joseph Smith" walking the halls of the MTC. He's a good guy.

Hermano Piperato is taking a vacation for a week and the Elders going to Colombia are leaving in exactly a week from now. Yesterday was kinda sad for them because they had to say goodbye to Piperato. It's weird to think that they're leaving. One thing's for sure, class will be a little quieter without them. ;) But seriously, they're great elders and they bring a lot of spirit to the class. It'll be sad to see them go. Not only that, but about a dozen elders from our zone are leaving today. It seems like everyone in our zone is leaving but us. I've probably said it a thousand times, but I'll say it again. I am really anxious to get out in the field. I think that if I left now, I could manage with my companion, but I know that the next month here will help me tremendously. I just need to learn patience and trust that the Lord knows exactly what He's doing. Heck, He knows everything!

That is one thing that I've come to realize here. Our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us and what's best for us. Though things may seem hard at times, we just need to realize that it's all for our benefit. The Lord said to Joseph Smith "...if the very jaws of hell should gape after you, it will be for thy good." I may have paraphrased a bit but I know that it's true. And let's face it, comparing our trials to the trials of Joseph or other people in the world is like comparing a splinter to being crucified. Grandpa Wortham shared a scripture with me in his last letter that was in Moroni 7:33. It was cool because I had read that scripture the day before. Once again I'm paraphrasing, but it said that through faith in Christ, we can do all that is expedient unto the Lord. I know that this is true. If we try our hardest to live Christ-like lives, I know that we can do anything the Lord would have us do.

I have a testimony of this gospel and the blessings it brings. I know for a fact that the Book of Mormon is the true word of God and that Joseph Smith was able to translate it through His power. I know that through faith in Jesus Christ and His atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost, and enduring to the end we can return to our Father in Heaven. I know this because it is my purpose as a missionary.

Thank you for all your prayers. Good luck with all your endeavors! Trust in the Lord and follow His commandments and He will do the rest.

I love you all,
Elder Sean Horrocks

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