Happy General Conference
In the spirit of conference, I decided to attach a picture of me chillin with my bro. I call him Neal.
But hey, enough of how famous I am.
Hello friends! How is everyone doing?
Me, I'm doing great. I got to watch my first session of conference as a missionary, so that's as good as you can ask for. Hah, but really-Elder Shepherd says that as a missionary, conference is cooler than christmas. I haven't had a Christmas in the field yet, so I can't really say, but I believe him. In response to some questions, yes, I got to watch conference live. I mean, for as far away as it feels, I'm only two hours off of mountain time (only one further than most of you, though admittedly in the other direction). So Saturday and Sunday were mostly filled with that. Hah, I was just thinking that I didn't want to give away any details that would ruin the surprise for Pono, but then I realized that she's not going to read this for another week, so hopefully by then she will have seen it. Pono-if you haven't watched conference yet, don't read the spoilers! And yes, it is a big deal. This is as cool as it gets.
...Isn't it fun just kind of getting an unfiltered stream-of-conciousness thought train? Hold on tight, things get pretty crazy up here sometimes.
Anyway, conference was great. Confession time-I'm pretty sure this is the first time that I was awake, attentive, and in attendance for all ten hours. And I've got to say, I wasn't disappointed! I think I'll have to try that again next time. I would love to simply throw all of the cool stuff I found at you all at once, but I forgot my notebook at home. I'll probably end up spreading that out over the next six-ish months. Here, we'll just get a couple big thoughts. (Pono, now would be the time to skip ahead)
First off-I'M SO MAD. Well, maybe not mad, because Elder Holland said that "envy is the mistake that just keeps on giving". So I'm not upset at others' good fortune, but I am slightly...envious...of those BYU choir students who had the chance to sing for the Saturday afternoon session of conference. It was interesting seeing many, many people that I knew, including tons of faces from concert choir last year (I saw the two basses who sat on either side of me for eight months), and two of my good friends-Mckenzie Moline, who was in Elder Millett's ward, and Sydney Wise, who was one of my very best friends at school. Hey friends! Know that I'm thinking of you! And wishing that I could have had that chance too-Pono and I totally should have been there!! Okay, I'm over it.
But as for the actual conference itself...I think one of my favorite talks was from the Saturday Morning Session-a member of the seventy who spoke about God's forgiveness. The amazing message that he shared was that God loves us more than we think-that He actually wants to forgive us. Think of the moments when we mess up the worst-the pain we feel and the desire we have to be liberated from our guilt (another cool insight from this conference-guilt is to the spirit what pain is to the body. In both cases, it is not an illness itself, but rather an indicator that something is wrong. -DABednar); in those moments of our greatest imperfection, God's desire to forgive us far outstrips our own desire to be forgiven. The proof? Never has someone made the proper effort to be forgiven without God's giving immediate pardon. Sometimes, He doesn't even wait that long-"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". To reach into another talk-with one brilliant exception, God has only ever had imperfect children.(-JRHolland) I
SPIRITUAL THOUGHT: It was somewhere up there.
Other than that, this week has been fairly in line with the last couple. One good thing that has been happening this transfer is that we are getting a lot more comfortable with the members; we're working with a wider range of members, and actually have had a few people approaching us to work with us now. We talked with one woman this week who grew up in a family of thirteen children-the missionaries knocked on her door and taught her family, but she was the only one to be baptized. Had another chance to visit with a couple, during the course of which the wife told us that her husband read the Book of Mormon with the express intention of proving it false to the missionaries. Today, he is the Elders Quorum President and one of the strongest members in Martinique. I guess one of the great lessons I've gotten to learn is that there is no such thing as ordinary people. That goes for you too, you know. You have something that makes you extraordinary. And as great as it is to have, that's not why your Father gave it to you. You have been placed in a very special position to share your light with others and make them better. I pray that you have the courage to do so.
On another note, Happy Birthday Mom! 67 and still going strong! (:P don't hate me). I was supposed to put in a photo to your letter, but the photo printer thing didn't work. Sorry in advance, mom and pono. But hey, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for a letter to get from Martinique to Nouvelle Caledonie. I prayed before I put it in the box.
Oh, for the other picture-that is my left forearm. Duh.
That's all I've got for this week. Know that I love and pray for you often, and am always grateful to hear from you.
-Elder Santos
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