Hello from Poughkeepsie,
So this week was fun of course! Every week is
fun. On Sunday we had a man come to church that told us he’d only a been to church
about 4 times in the last couple of years. Miracle! We had another member give
him a ride and it was just so great to see him there. Well, during Sacrament/testimony meeting I thought
that I had gotten out of translating for the day but then he comes up and taps
my shoulder to ask if I would go up with him and translate for the ward. So now
two weeks in a row I have translated two full 15 minute talks for the whole
ward. It is fun but also very hard! I can testify that the gift of tongues is
real and that when we act on our faith, God supports us. I found that to be
true as I translated this man’s story about how he ended up coming back to the church.
The spirit was strong and I am so grateful for the times that God uses me to
bless other people's lives.
Something that has been talked about by my
mission president is the question, "Why do YOU go to church?" And it
is a good question to ask yourself. There are lots of great things at church
that could be the answer. We go to learn, to support each other, to serve, to
feel the spirit, to teach, to do a lot of things. But why do we go to church every
week? To renew our covenants. We go because Christ suffered for us and we
promised at baptism (those of us that have made this covenant) that we would remember
him and his suffering. That we would keep his commandments. That we would repent
continually. That we would follow him. The sacrament may all be taken in a
sacrament meeting with a lot of people present but it is as personal as
personal could get. We individually partake and renew our covenants. This has helped
me so much to really think about why I go to church. I go to show Christ that I
am grateful for what he did for me and to continually strive to repent and change. I would
just invite you to ponder about the atonement and why you go to church. I
know that it will strengthen your relationship with Christ.
Well everyone, I love you all and I hope that you know that I am genuinely happy. Being a missionary is the best thing in the
world! I pray that you may be able to catch the vision of missionary work and help
out our brothers and sisters in this world. Have a great week!
Con amor,
Elder Mackintosh
PHOTOS
1. Classic double thumbs up missionary picture
over the Hudson
2. Mustaches for my companion, Elder Brasileiro's 20th birthday
3rd and 4th pictures are of my first day with my trainer Elder McBride and then when I saw him two days ago. I look different! I know... I have put on 15 pounds... Jaja
No comments:
Post a Comment