MAY 2, 2016

{:::Pictures in front of a piano for some famous guy I already forgot and also this one lady who is pretty much famous in Scott County for her ability to play the piano!:::}

Some other missionary had his days counted out and it made me curious to know how many days I've been working in the Lord's vineyard! So turns out I just crossed the 500 mark!

My grandfather is in ICU. And at the current moment things aren't really looking good for him. Lots of ups and downs personally and with the people we talk to this week.  But really that's what life is all about. The good times and the bad times come whether we want them to or not and life is learning about how to handle them. We CAN be happy in the bad times. I have felt a lot of peace this week amidst a time that really shouldn't be that peaceful. And that is what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. It's why He came to the earth. And when we choose to believe that He really came to this earth, regardless of all the opposition that comes with it we find something beyond that which we understood. The only way that we as human beings truly understand the pain of others or the gain of others is experiencing it ourselves. We can learn things from someone's mistakes but we don't truly know them until we have gone through them ourselves. 

Jesus Christ suffered for everything. Sin, sickness, sorrow. All of the hurts of humanity. If nobody else, He knows. Many, many times in my life I've looked at people and wondered, "Why did this happen to them, or how are they so happy, or why are they so sad?" And often I've wondered how I could help. But the truth is, me, by myself isn't going to do much at all. I can try to be the best example I can as Christ did for me. But I can invite them to learn more. To try something that might help. Really what have we got to lose? If He never lived, and suffered, and died, and was resurrected, then we can stay in the same miserable state we were in. But if He is real, and living, and loves us? We have everything to gain. 

Charity, the pure love of Christ, will never fail. If we ask for it with our whole souls, it will help us endure all things. Nobody ever said life would be easy, but it will be worth it. I love what I am doing. Even when it's hard. Even though in reality nobody wants to listen or to act, to see if Christ is real, I know that He is, because of the peace I feel when I make the choice to believe anyways and the love that I feel for those around me. I really hope the time you have on this earth, specifically when you read this will be blessed. That you can know for the first time or again Jesus still lives and he died for YOU. But not only that he would have done it only for YOU or for YOUR loved ones. There is no pain or sin too far fetched for Him to recover you from. No storm of life, emotional, physical, or spiritual, that He cannot stay. There is peace and love waiting for all of those who seek it. I know this and I want y'all to know it too. 

Love,

Elder Nally