February 28, 2011

Dear Family,

A great week. First of all, we did another "lawn mowing" job with machetes and this time I didn’t chop my thumb off, so I feel like that went successfully.

The weather down here is pretty crazy. Right now it is the dead of summer, but apparently we’re going through the tropical storm "la niña," (For those of you that don’t habla español, "la niña" is Spanish for... "the niña". Laugh, those of you who got it. Google it, those of you who didn’t.) which translates to lots and lots of rain. When it rains, it *rains*. However, it’s summer, so it rains one day and then it’s super hot the next day, so it gets so humid that you can get about a gallon of water by wringing out your shirt. Anyway, on Thursday night, we were pretty worn out from having cut the grass for about 4 hours in the morning and it started to rain. Our schedule had opened up because some of our appointments were no-shows, and so we stood under an awning wondering what to do. We said a quick prayer and then started thinking of ideas. It would have been pretty tempting to do anything but go out there under the rain, but the words from President Eyring came to mind: "Trust in God, then go and do." We went out and checked again at the appointment that had fallen through on us and it turned out that the lady we had set the appointment with the night before (after knocking doors) was so excited to meet with us that she called her sister (who was home) to see if we had come yet, and if we had, to tell us that she was running a little late and still wanted to meet with us. Animated by the response that someone was actually expecting us and anxious to meet us (that almost never happens), we went off into the rain and knocked doors until she got home. As we were knocking doors, we met a man who had talked with missionaries years ago and was excited to see us and wanted us to return when his wife was home so we could talk all together. We went back to the first lady and had a wonderful appointment with her, her husband, and sister. That was probably one of the most successful days I’ve had here since I got here 2 months ago. Every single bit of success we get is a blessing from the Lord. It all comes as we trust in God, then go and do.

This week, trust in God, then go and do. Here’s a gem I read from Elder Scott this morning: "Material things do not of themselves produce happiness and satisfaction and the joy of attainment on earth. Nor do they lead us to exaltation. It is nobility of character, that fabric of inner strength and conviction woven from countless righteous decisions, that gives life its direction. A consistent, righteous life produces an inner power and strength that can be permanently resistant to the eroding influence of sin and transgression. Your faith in Jesus Christ and obedience to His commandments will strengthen your character. Your character is a measure of what you are becoming. It is the evidence of how well you are using your time on earth in this period of mortal probation."

I love you all so much. Have a wonderful week!

-Elder Spencer