Despite the crap, this is the best

 I love my mission President. I've been having many concerns and questions recently and during interviews I was finally able to dump them all on President Larson. I came out with more answers than questions I went in with. I cried a lot. President gave me a blessing and told me several times how amazing I am. God trusts me. He has given me a greenie! I still can't believe He trusted me to train this Elder.

One completely unrelated pet peeve that's been popping up a lot recently is when people comment on me having the gift of tongues. I don't think I've been blessed with that gift. ASL and Hindi were both insanely difficult for me. I don't have words or phrases that come to mind. I don't find it miraculously easy to use my languages when teaching. I was blessed with companions who supported me (sometimes more than I wanted) in learning these languages. I was blessed with diligence and the ability to study. But most of all I was blessed with Love for all those who were relying on me to learn their language so they can receive ordinances. 

Learning hindi did not just happen. It was not easy at all. It's been an active struggle for over a year and I still don't know what to say lol.

I feel like people completely miss the value and true story of what hindi means to me when they think “oh, he must have the gift of languages” I have fought, and completely exhausted myself, and cried to learn how to speak this language all in hopes that 1 indian family will be able to accept the Truth and be sealed in the Oakland temple. That image helps me to keep going. 

I know God is helping me of course, but he still makes it just about as difficult as it could be lol.

We helped with a miserable move this week. All I would like to mention is that there was an actual turd on a bed we moved and it unfortunately smeared all over the place.

I promise every person reading this that my future home will not have poop laying around. In fact, my home will be clean. I don't care what it takes- my house will be clean. My wife and I will always have a nice, clean organized home.

Fotos:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DYM8hzqfMfgxUFWZ7

Now this week wasn't all crappy (lol) we also were able to visit Fremont for the baptism of Haripriya, a Deaf Indian whom I was able to teach a ton. Before the baptism, we went to the Gurdwara with the hindi elders and got some incredible free indian food. My head scarf fell off and some precious amazing Indian woman came up and offered to help and retied it perfectly- I looked like an actual sikh. 

Then the baptism. Wow. I love every single person in the ASL branch so much and my heart was full as I was able to sign with all of them again and catch up. The baptism was beautiful and full of the spirit. My friend Pugal (the almost 1-yr convert with the amazing video on fb) came to the ASL baptism just so he could see me. Before the meeting he whispered to me “Elder Owens…..I am receiving the melchizedek priesthood tomorrow” I hugged him and told him how awesome that really is. Then I remembered my first time meeting him at church, then I remembered his baptism. He's come so insanely far. I could not hold back tears lol. I just looked at this incredible Indian man and saw him as a son of God full of sincere desire to serve the Lord and cried. 

There is nothing like this. There is nothing as precious as seeing people's lives change. God changed these people and trusted me to be a part of it! 

I cannot believe it's been 23 months.

Love you all!

I got a new Job

 New area, New me. Not actually lol- it's still the same me. However, I did get a new area.

After spending a year and a half in the same apartment, going to the same Walmart, the same Wendy's, same church building– I'm finally in a new city. It's called…. Saratoga

I cover a big english ward that's all white people (hoping to get some भारत in there) as well as a massive ysa ward that covers a third of the mission (why have all my areas been unmanageably massive?)

New apartment is nice, there's a friend growing in the sink so I'll have to take care of that…

We have a sick gym, so your brothers getting buff. We have like…no food. 

Anyways. We went out and worked and….wow. Elder Millard is a legend. He is running after people and yelling across the road and doing whatever it takes to talk to these people. And when he does- they listen. I listen to cuz I'm tryna learn from this guy. 

He only weighs 120 pounds, he eats more than me, he was a soccer referee, he wants to be a mechanical engineer, He's from Bountiful. Pretty cool.

We've been running into Indians every day. I get to use my Hindi often. I haven't been able to use ASL yet though…

Being a zone leader is cool. I have 4 elders and 7 sisters… so this will be fun.

I set a goal to memorize 1 scripture every day. I didn't think it was possible…but so far it's working! It's been super cool to have one scripture every day that's just the theme of the day. 

I'm still reminding myself this is a new area and it's weird. Nothing here is familiar, it's all new and strange. It's super exciting but also really stressful. After 21 months this is like… my first time actually getting transferred.

So I don't know what to write lol.

However, this week I finished Job. I feel sorry for everyone who hasn't had a similar experience to mine with Job. I don't know how anybody could not love reading Job. Anybody who has read it and understood half of it won't ever really need to ask “why do bad things happen to good people?” unless maybe they go through a really tough trial. Then maybe they can ask.

Anyways. Here's one really cool piece of treasure from Job. 

Remember In the beginning he had 7 sons and 3 daughters.

 A house blows over and kills them all..a bunch of other awful things happen to Job. His friend tease him for like 3 rounds of silly debate. God speaks through a whirlwind and tells all of them (including Job) to repent and then all of Job's blessings are doubled. 

He ends up with twice as many camels, sheep, donkeys, oxen, and so on. 

However in 42:13 we see he got 7 sons and 3 daughters…..? What? 

Why not 14 and 6?

Well. It's because families are forever. Even though the other 7 are dead- he DOES now have 14 sons. Even though the 3 daughters are dead he DOES now have 6 daughters.

So it was doubled. 

Pretty cool right?

Email me please.

Keep the fire burning (Levi 6:13)

Elder Owens

We were in a trio this week and I hated the third guy but learned a ton from him.

 That was fun. 

Starting last Tuesday I had the most incredibly awful growth on my forehead. It's funny because just a few days prior I expressed to Heavenly Father that things were starting to get easy and I was ready for a challenge, ready for something to humble me.

Then on Tuesday morning I awoke with a giant thing on my forehead. Dark dark red and absolutely awful. I didn't want to leave the apartment. I didn't want anybody to see me. However, we had district council and zone council. I tried to drape my hair over it-nope. Nothing could cover this up. 

District council was great. I hit the leviticus 5: 6-7, 11 and talked about what kind of sacrifice we are giving but also telling them as long as they're doing their best, their offering is accepted. 

That night all the Indians we talked to had to comment about the guy on my forehead and offer advice and tips on how to get rid of it. It actually hurt a ton and I was ready to just walk out. 

I think it's unfortunate how much my appearance really matters to me and those around me. It is so so great to be attractive and handsome and have people think you're cute- but it is so much more important to have a pure heart, beautiful personality, social skills, sense of humor, and strong spirit. I suppose that's what really makes us attractive- true beauty comes from the inside. I know I am a beautiful person. But having a lump of dumbness on my face made me feel pretty ugly even though I'm still the same person.

Anyways. 

We went to the temple and did sealings. THAT was a special opportunity. One thing I learned/started learning is that really the entire mission of the gospel is to help everybody receive the new and everlasting covenant and become part of the Abrahamic Covenant and know how to keep that covenant forever.

We visited the Gill family a few times this week and it's just so crazy. They have so many extra people living in their home right now. We try so hard to take control of the situation but there's SO MUCH happening! Neither me nor the guy on my forehead could focus. 

However, last night, I had enough. In the middle of the chaos I just stood up and was like “can everybody be quiet and can I get all the Gills over here. Please give me your attention for the next 15 minutes.”

Then we just boldly straight up told them if you want to be baptized you need to do all the things we have asked you to. If you cannot read the book of Mormon everyday then you will not be ready for baptism on the 16th. They nodded and said they'll do better. We started asking about how the Word of Wisdom had been going and just like that their extended family came over and was like “no tea? No coffee???” In hindi, but little did they know, both me and my constant companion, Elder Red Pimple-Mountain on my forehead have been studying hindi a ton and so I knew she was not saying very encouraging things. 

Then, like a legend, Sana shut them down by saying she knew what we said was true and she knew God had asked her to remove those things from her life. I'm so proud of her.

Sandeep offered a prayer and he pleaded for strength and help for his family to be ready by the 16th. Then he thanked God for sending 2 angels to his home. So sweet. I don't know why he said 2, we are clearly in a trio this week. (Elder Lewis, me and my friend on my forehead) 

They also gave us a ton of curry and I had a ton, afterall, I am eating for 2 right now.

The most powerful verse I found from the Old testament this week was 2 chronicles 20:12 I will cut it down so it's a little more simple but it says:

“[my] God, [I] have no might, neither know [I] what to do: But [my] eyes are upon thee” 

This is from king Jehoshaphat when a GIANT army of Ammonites is headed to them set on destroying them. Jehoshaphat tells everybody to fast and pray and this was part of his prayer. I think this is exactly how we should face trials. The most important part is that our eyes are upon God, we focus on him. 

Not that we don't know what to do or that we are powerless- but where our focus is. 

The story continues and the prophet Jahaziel tells the king that the lord is with them and nobody will even need to fight the Ammonites. His prophecy is fulfilled and all the opposing armies destroy each other.

Sometimes our trials are like that,but often our trials don't always end this way! Sometimes we actually do get hurt! Sometimes we lose! Sometimes we get a huge red Brother on our face!

“But our eyes are upon thee”

Jesus Christ makes everything right. He can take trials away, he can also help us through them so that they make us better. “His hand is stretched out still” we just need to look to him and trust his will and everything will work out.

I know this is true because I woke up this morning and my forehead looks normal. It's gone! It was a tough week and now i'm gonna wash my face even better lol but in the end- everything was ok!

Love you all!

Have a fire week and keep the fire burning (levi 6:13)

Buses amongst planes

 A few weeks ago Elder Lewis and I drove past a little airport thing. There was a big plane lot with at least 20 pretty cool, large planes. Next to all these planes was a single bus.

We both noticed this bus and talked about how it would be really tough to be a bus amongst so many airplanes.

I imagined this bus watching the planes around him go flying and landing and all he gets to do every day is drive on the ground.

It would be kinda tough.

My eyes were opened and I realized I was the bus. 

When I started my mission it felt like I was driving on the ground while my trainer and all these other incredible missionaries flew in the sky.

When I joined the ASL program I was trying so hard to sign but no matter what I just couldn't fly like Elder White or Elder Rigby. 

It's hard to be a bus when you're surrounded by airplanes. Sometimes you feel like you're failing because you can't fly. 

We are too hard on ourselves.

Good news tho- I would now consider myself an airplane when it comes to missionary work or ASL. I think it's natural for us to grow if we're trying. If you feel like a bus- keep trying. Keep going. Ask the airplanes around you for help. 

And ask the most incredible airplane, Jesus, for help.

I know he can give you wings and change you and help you fly.

One sister told me “enjoy the process of becoming.” I know as we include Jesus Christ in our “process of becoming” we will find joy and we can become planes! 

In 1 Chronicles 22, King David is talking to his son, Solomon, before he dies. David's whole mission was to prepare Israel to receive a temple. He was not allowed to build the temple himself because of sins but he was promised that Solomon would build it. David saved gold, silver, and brass- all so that when the time came they would have stuff to make the Lord's house. 

The very last verse has been on my mind since I read it : 

“Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God. . .”

I love the feeling in the phrase “SET your heart and soul” like SET. “Set” concrete will not move, its solid. We “set" nails Into wood. 

My heart and soul are SET on seeking God. I will not be moved. My discipleship is set for life. 

I also have pondered in how I can “arise. . .and build the sanctuary of the lord” 

I remembered my body is a temple- so I could work out a ton. Maybe it has more to do with my spirit inside my body? Building that up. Or it has to do with getting the actual house of the lord inside of me? Making and keeping covenants? Lemme know what you think.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DYM8hzqfMfgxUFWZ7

Indians and leprosy

 This week we had 4 lessons with people who legit only know Hindi and it was basically a success! 

1 woman, Pardeep, has had dreams about angels giving her the Book of Mormon. Most recently, she dreamt about baptism and Matthew chapter 10. We didn't know about this dream until after we read 3 Nephi 11 with her- she freaked out because a lot of it correlates with Matthew 10. 

We asked her if she knew the Book of Mormon was true and she said हाँ. So we invited her to be baptized and she told us she would pray about it and do whatever God told her to do.

Wow.

Our brother, Dipak, has like 100 English words, luckily we have 600 hindi words. So we had a nice lesson with him and read and testified about the Book of Mormon. He really wants to come to church this week!

Then we have Harbinger, he lives with like 20 indian dudes and they were all teasing him for talking with us but he didn't care. He sat with us and read with us and asked for a hindi bom, even after a few of his friends told us not to give him one! He also complimented my Hindi and I almost cried because I really really needed to hear that. #tendermercies

Then some औरत named Binder- no English. She opened the door and told us “no English” . I winked and said “hindi?” She said “हाँ” so I WENT OFF. She was shocked and I testified of Jesus and the Book of Mormon. I placed one in her hands but she was too shook to notice. We will be back this Saturday.

These are just a few of the incredible miracles I've seen this week! 

I have been stuck at a verse in 2 kings chapter 5. In the first verse it introduces my bro, Naaman. It says he was a great honorable man, and a mighty man of Valor. It explains that he had delivered Syria! An entire nation! Naaman is what the cool kids call “a legend.” All this great stuff about him is followed with the hard truth “but he was a leper” 

I drew some connections to myself. I think a lot of people know all the cool stuff about me like “oh, he learned ASL and now Hindi, he has 7 younger siblings, he can crochet…or wuteva” and I always add on my own “but I am a leper” in my mind. “ but I can't be social with people, my handwritings not great, I still have acne, I don't floss as much as i should or whatever it is” (jokes aside, I have a lot of weaknesses/leprosies and it is really frustrating and discouraging when they get in the way.)

The cool thing about Naaman being a leper is that through God's Power he was cleansed!

“And his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, AND HE WAS CLEAN” (v 14) 

Just like Naaman, if we do what we're supposed to and repent with faith we will be clean. Our own unique “but-he-was-a-leper- attributes” and flaws can be cleansed away and our flesh can be pure as a child's. We can ACTUALLY BE CLEAN. 

There is a ton ton more to be learned and I'm not the best at explaining. So. If you want you can go read it and ponder it yourself. It's pretty good.

Curry and a heart perfect with the Lord.

 

Photos

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DYM8hzqfMfgxUFWZ7

Pugals video:

https://www.facebook.com/BayAreaChrist/videos/7043080879094308/?mibextid=l2hJJHjNVOBSwHk4

This transfer I have had so many indian foods it's just a little concerning- My belly feels spicy just about always. I am starting to smell like curry. Normal American food is starting to just taste….bland. 

I had so much curry that on pday while we were playing a pool-ball game called “skunk” I was playing a whole different kind of “skunk” if you know what I mean. 

Pday evening we had no plans and also no meals. However, we got ready to plan and Elder Lewis and I both were like “We could go visit Sana..?” Same person on both of our minds- I'll take that as a yes.

So we drove over and they were home! (It's also raining like CRAZY outside at this time)

Sana tells us “Elders, I'm so glad you are here. I need you to pray for me- my grandfather just passed away earlier today.”

So we taught her about the spirit world, resurrection, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. She cried through the whole thing. We got her kids to join us for a quick book of Mormon study and got to practice our हिन्दी. Sana's English is like 6.5/10 so if we can teach or testify in hindi that would be best for her. And just a little extra miracle to this miracle salad- she fed us dinner. More spicy svadisht Indian food- but absolutely incredible. 

I know that God is watching out for all of us!

We also met with Pugal this week! He gave us a bunch of curries and other exciting Indian foods and spices! We watched his video the SM sisters made. And he was shocked at how amazing it was. I feel the spirit so strong every time I see his video and I know Pugal was too because after a few moments of thick silence when it had ended he said “Elders, I need to share this.” Pugal is somewhat popular on Facebook lol. So having the courage to post his testimony like that for over 1000 people (most of whom have very different beliefs) taught me a lot about what his true values and priorities are- and before friends and even family he has: ‘tell everybody about Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon.’ if you have not seen Pugal's video- what are you even doing? He is the most incredible and extreme disciple of Jesus Christ I have ever met. 

We have one fairly eccentric Indian buddy, Praveen. He is not a member but has been in contact with missionaries for YEARS. This week he specifically requested as many missionaries as possible to come over so he could cook for them. (#itsanindianthing) We had like 2 hours so we texted everybody whom we thought would be near and 1 trio of amazing sisters pulled up. Then we ate a bunch of vegetarian curries! The sisters taught Praveen's friend and ended up giving him a hindi Book of Mormon, while we taught Praveen about how to actually pray. What a powerful feeling when there's 2 sets of deep sincere testimonies being shared in the same room st the same time! Super cool.

This weekend was stake conference! Our (old) stake president specifically requested that we come to the leadership meeting and be prepared to tell everybody about the hindi program. So when he asked us to stand and share, I handed Elder Lewis the mic and he concisely and powerfully shared the purposes and goals of the Hindi program. I hope it ignited some fires in the hearts of those present. 

In 1 kings 15 we get a few brief histories of some kings of Israel- most are pretty bad. But one of them, Asa, was actually a legend. Verse 14 days “Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord all his days”

This started a round of introspection for me about my heart and who I am and if my heart is perfect with the Lord. I think I still have a lot to do before I can confidently say “My heart is perfect with the Lord” but I want to be able to.say it! I will work for it every day and continue to repent daily. There is 2 reasons I can pull from my study of why Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord.

1. Asa knew how to repent.

The first things Asa does when he is king is removes all of the idols and idol stuff (and other bad stuff) from the kingdom of Judah. We need to be like Asa and remove all of our idols and "bad stuff" from our hearts and lives. That process is called repentance! I'm sure Asa faced a lot of opposition from friends, family, and everybody else when he totally changed the kingdom- but he did it anyways. Repentance requires courage but it is always worth it.

2. Asa was a peacemaker.

From king Solomon up to this point the rich have been getting richer and the poor have beem getting poorer. One cool thing Asa did was he gave a bunch of gold and silver to his servants. This helped a lot of things to balance out and be just a little more stable. 

Another cool peacemaker move he pulled was when he sends some presents and a nice letter to another ruler named ben-hadad. The letter basically says "hey, we are on the same team, let's work together"

How can you repent and be a peacemaker so that your heart can be "perfect with the lord?"

Lentils and the 23rd psalm

 I had some lentils this week but more importantly, we had interviews with President Larson and I found out he used to work at Little Caesars so we had a special moment together as the only Little Caesars Past-Employees in the building. It was great.

We filmed the legends of Pugal. We baptized him like last July and he's getting ready to serve a mission this July. His story is amazing and should be up on Facebook eventually. The social media sisters were such an absolute blast. Also found out Pugal is an acrobat. My brother just pulled like 5 perfect cartwheels out of nowhere and we were all left shocked (he was in a suit)

I figured out what the last verse of the 23rd psalm means 

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

I thought dwelling in the house of the Lord meant the celestial kingdom. But I was in the temple today reviewing the 23rd psalm and what it actually means is living truthfully to our covenants we made in the temple (house of the lord). When we live our covenant they are involved in every day of our life- or ‘dwelling’ ‘inside’ of our covenants (house of the lord) forever. 

Sorry if that doesn't make any sense. 

Hindi is cool! We had a guy call us and tell us he saw us on his security camera so we thought we were gonna get In trouble. Then he invited us over for lunch and wants us in his home so we can bless his family.

Here's my pictures if you wanna see them:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DYM8hzqfMfgxUFWZ7

The Ark, 100%, and 2%

 

Elder Holladay’s migraines have been taking a toll on both of us. Probably Him more than I lol. We were home a lot this week so I was able to get lots of studies in. Being home and basically alone is not easy as a missionary. All I’ll say is as missionaries we tend to be at the top of Satan’s hit list and I was in a vulnerable position. Lucky for me, I’m strong.

We took Sana and her family to the Oakland temple and watched all their cool visitor center videos. Everybody was either crying or about to cry. After teaching about eternal families and showing them pictures of the sealing room they all set a goal to be sealed as a forever family in the House of the Lord. That was one of the most powerful special things I have ever seen. The spirit was so strong that whole evening. Every time I have been upset or annoyed since that evening I have caught myself and thought “We got Sana and her family to the temple- that's more important than whatever is bothering me right now” and it has worked every time.

And….that was really kind of it. But that's ok because the experience with Sana and her family was worth the whole week. 

I made a roux for some cheese sauce. We had no milk but I had already started- panicked,  I texted Meta AI and asked if there were any substitutes for milk in a roux cheese sauce. She said “chicken broth.” I didn't have time to boil some cubes or powder so I grabbed a can of chicken noodle soup and strained it and just used the broth. It worked. I mixed it in with some spaghetti noodles and had spaghetti and cheesy sauce. It was amazing! 

This week I read from the end of Judges all the way to the end of 1 Samuel. Very very good. I think one thing that stood out to me was the part where the Philistines steal the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4). Usually God just kinda makes it so that the Israellites win—except for when they are wicked. This was a point where they were wicked- so in the first battle they lost pretty badly and everybody was upset that God didn’t make them win. Somebody had a “wise” idea to bring the ark out to war with them because a long time ago Joshua brought the ark to some wars so they thought it was going to work for them again. It didn’t. If God was gonna win the war for them he would have done it the first time. The fact was that he wasn’t with them because they were wicked. So they brought it out and they lost pretty badly again and the Philistines grabbed the Ark of the covenant and brought it home and set it at the feet of their giant pretend god. (eventually they all got the bubonic plague and everybody was either dying or screaming in pain so they return the Ark along with 5 golden rats and 5 golden “emerods”[also some Israelites look at the ark with lust and so they all die])

Then some guy from the tribe of Benjamin rips his clothes up and puts some dirt on his head and runs around and tells everybody that the ark is gone. When Eli (the old priest who basically adopted Samuel) found out that the ark was stolen he freaks out and falls backwards out of his chair and breaks his neck and dies. Everybody was freaking out soooo bad and they all thought all was lost.

I tried to put myself in their situation- like if somebody bombed a bunch of temples or something like that how would I respond? Of course temples being bombed is different than the ark being stolen- but- I know that God is in control. Especially with the things that are His- like the Ark. So, I would've been ok. I would probably be a little sad- but I’m not going to assume that means God is angry at us or that he’s not real.

I was telling Elder Holladay about this and he helped me catch a way better lesson. I hope a lot of people feel the same way- like “oh ya-my faith is 100% set. Not even the ark being stolen would shake me.” Elder Holladay was saying “How are we ever going to be ok when something as drastic as an Ark being stolen- when we get upset at something a family member says at dinner? Or get offended by something someone does? Or get annoyed at somebody’s opinion?”

That struck me pretty hard. I think often we really want to believe we are willing to give 100%. . but we’re not ready to even for the 2%’s of discipleship and life like being a peacemaker, reading the Book of Mormon, showering every day, drinking enough water, waking up on time,  saving money, keeping our thoughts pure, doing family history.. . . . .

How are we ever going to be able to give 100%? Give our lives? If we cannot do these little things I choose to call “2%’s”?

There's something to consider as we start a new year.

Love ya!

Hobab and service

 

Have you ever helped move a 4000 pound safe? Well, it's a little bit concerning and stressful and looks like and feels like it's not supposed to work. I really thought somebody was going to get hurt- but we were all OK. 

We helped a Deaf family move 2 uhaul loads to a storage unit and that was great fun. It took the entire day too lol.

The next day we just destroyed a yard in San Jose. There's a guy in the ASL branch who had like 3 strokes and so his yard is now all weeds as tall as me. So we just attacked it pretty hard. Then the lawnmower broke. So we'll head back over there later.

Then we went and tactiled general conference for our Deaf Blind friend, Indiana. For me- when tactiling I do not retain anything from the talk. I also retain a very small amount when I am asleep. . .so. 

I'm planning on watching those sessions again. (My body is mega exhausted from all the service ok!)

I took some notes- but I only wrote down action items that I knew were specifically for me. One that really hit was "focus on covenants more" I am not sure how to it yet, but that's my focus right now.

Monday we went and tutored at the Deaf School again. It was great. When nobody wants help with homework we get to kinda just sit there and watch all the Deaf things happen. It's good exposure to ASL for my trainees so I hope they'll pick it up real quick.

Last night Elder Johnson and I went down to Pleasanton to teach a couple some ASL- the husband is going Deaf and so they're learning as much as they can. 

Pleasanton is where I started my mission and I have 1 really solid friend who kinda stopped meeting with missionaries when I left the area. I was telling Elder Johnson about him and then we drove past his house and we both were like…why don't we just go visit him?

So we did. Turns out it was the perfect time. Sam had just found out his best friend is going to die In a few days from a blood clot and was crying. He had dog food all over the place because he literally threw it. But we were there and he was really happy to see me. 

Since I left, he and his girlfriend got married and also had a son! Sam is a dad now! I really love Sam. I hope it all works out for him.

This week in Numbers I read about Hobab and and Moses. It's Numbers 10:29-32 so you'll have to read it after this. Basically, Hobab is getting ready to leave and Moses is like "Hobab, my friend, please don't go! Stay with us, travel with us! We need you. If you come with us you'll receive all the blessings that God has promised me! Please don't go!"

And Hobab says "nah, I'm just gonna go home"

And Moses won't take no, so he asks Hobab to go with him again!

I love this story because I feel like we invite people to 'come with us' a lot in discipleship. With our own friends and family it's like "hey! God has promised me these blessings, I want you to have them too! Come with me! Please don't leave, come with me! Read the book of Mormon with me! Come to church with me! Come to the temple with me!"

And maybe they say no.

But we should ask again. Because realistically-there are zero good reasons to say no to anything in the gospel because it all leads to Jesus Christ and there is nothing better than that. People get confused, like Hobab, thinking that going to their home or 'what they already have' is better than the promised land or 'what God can give them' 

So, don't be a Hobab, be a Moses.

And

Keep the fire burning (levi 6:13)  

And

Think celestial  

And

I love you!  

https://photos.app.goo.gl/DYM8hzqfMfgxUFWZ7