Week 83

February 10, 2015

Well, another super short week, though this one was a little difficult.

I felt like my efforts to spiritually progress diminished somewhat and therefore I did not enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost as much as I would have liked. It can be very discouraging and tiring to keep dealing with the same problems and weaknesses again and again without seeming to make much progress. I guess that's because we really can't do it on our own, we have to rely on the Atonement of Christ in order to become like Him. We just need to keep pushing forward doing the things He's asked of us, trusting that one day we will become like Him. Still, though, it can be very hard for me at times.  But I am always grateful for the great experiences that the Lord gives us that let us keep pushing forward with hope, such as today, when I could feel the Spirit strongly testify through my companion and me during the talks we gave on becoming disciples of Jesus Christ. I truly desire to reach the highest level of discipleship and be able to say that he is truly my friend. I know that He wants to be mine.

Anyway, we also had a very Guatemalan experience this Saturday when all of a sudden all the missionaries started to call us. A few minutes later we found out why, as huge clouds of ash began to fall in our area. Apparently, the Volcan de Fuego (or maybe it was Pacaya), both of which are right next to Antigua, had erupted more violently than usual (I say than usual because it is erupting every day). Anyway, the ash that started to rain down wasn't the soft, fluffy volcanic ash that I have always imagined, it was very fine, but very hard sand and rocks. Wow, just with being outside for a few seconds my eyes started to burn with all the irritation and my throat started to get irritated. Luckily, it stopped after an hour, but we're still shanking dust out of our hair and trying to sweep and the little rocks out of the house. Experiences like these make me so glad that I was called here to Guatemala. I mean, c'mon, how cool is that?

Well, that'll be it for now, we've got sheep to divide from the goats,

Love,

Elder Cannon