Marks of a Man

Hola familia. 

Les quiero mucho. Yo espero que todo es bueno con ustedes. Todo esta bien aqui. Haha i love you guys so much. I have been thinkin about you so much this past week. It has been pretty hard. I have to say it was a trunky week but its all good. It has been crazy. The rain is insane here. I am so glad that i brought my rain jacket and umbrella or as they call it here paragua or water stopper in english. 

On Tuesday it started raining and raining and raining. And thats when i realized that they didnt have storm draines in the streets...it was insane. The streets were seriously like rivers. The water was up to our ankles. And when a car goes by you have to point your umbrella at the car so all the water doesnt soak ya so most of the time our umbrellas are pointed sideways instead of above our head. It is awesome. 

You will have to tell sister masterson thanx cause she sent me the ward news letter. It was fun to see what is goin on in the ward. Also kayla wrote me so if you see her tell her thanx and i am proud that she is graduating. 

Haha so a funny side note. Something in spanish that i figured out why lots of people here dont take personal responsibility for their actions. But it isnt their fault cause it is a rule in spanish. For example, when they say that they broke something, they really say that it broke itself se rompio. Or if they make something fall they say that it fell itself...se cao. So ya that is why no one here takes personal responsiblity for anything haha. 

It is crazy how americanized it is here. I know i have said that so many times but it is so true. We were in a house and they had the tv on and the kids were sitting there watching the simpsons and they said that that is their favorite show. They also say that none of the shows here are good, so they only watch american movies. Everyone here loves america. 

Yesterday we got to go to a baptism!!! It was awesome, it was a baptism of this guy that the other elders in our distric were baptizing. It was so cool though cause this guy, maricio, his parents are hardcore evengelist or however that is in english (i am forgetting my enghlish which is good) anyways, the day before he was goin to be baptized his parent said that they would disown him if he got baptized...so yesterday he stood up and said it was the hardest thing he has every done but he knew without a doubt that this church is true and it was the right thing to do. This guy was awesome and it was cool to see the conviction that he had. He said he knew he made the right choice by getting baptized. SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!

We had a ward noche de hogar or family home evening. We put it together and it was so sad. None of the leaders of the priesthood, yw, ym, or relief society would help us. So we had to do everything. So for service on Friday, we pumped out 400 brownies so they we would have a refreshment. But it was a cool noche de hogar. We had 3 people stand up and bear their testimonies of the book of mormon. This kid who was only 9 stood up and read the part where jesus prays for the children and the angles come down from heaven and cirlce the children. He bore a simple but so so strong testimony of the bom and of jesus and i couldnt hold back the tears. The spirit was so strong and it was amazing to see the testimony of this little kid. This church is so true. 

So my comp had this story and i really wanted to share it with you guys so i am goin to type it up really fast. I hope you like it. I hope one day i will be able to become like this missionary. It is from this book called raising the bar. Maybe you could go get it from deseret book or something...anyways here it is

Marks of a Man

As i jumped on board my flight from miami to salt lake city, i paused a moment to catch my breath. Seated near the front of the plane was an excited young man, probably 19, sitting with his parents. His hair was short and his cloths new and sharp. His suit was fitted perfectly, and his black shoes still retained that store bought shine. His body was in good shape, his face clear, and his hands clean. In his eyes i could see a nervous look, and his movements were that of an actor on opening night. 

He was obviously flying to Utah to become a missionary for the Mormon church. I smiled as i walked by and took pride in belonging to this same church where these young men and women voluntarily serve the Savior for 2 years. With this special felling, I continued to the back where my seat was located. 

As I sat in my seat, i looked to the right and to my surprise saw another missionary sleeping in the window seat. His hair was also short, but that was the only similarity between the 2. this one was obviously returning home, and i could tell at a glance what type of missionary he had been. 

The fact that he was already asleep told me a lot. His entire body seemed to let out a big sigh. It looked as if this was the first time in two years he had even slept and i wouldnt be surpised if it was. 

As i looked at his face, i could see the heavy bags under his eyes, the chapped lips, and the scarred and sunburned face caused by the fierce florida sun. 

His suit was tattered and worn. A few of the seams were coming apart, and i noticed that there were a couple of tears that had been handswen with a very sloppy stitch. 

I saw the nametag, crooked, scratched and bearing the name of the chuch he represented, the engraving of which was almost all worn away. I saw the knee of his pants, worn and white, the result of many hours of humble prayer. A tear came to my eye as i saw the things that really told me what kind of missionary he had been. I saw the marks that made this boy a man. 

His feet the 2 that had carried him from house to house, now lay swollen and tired. They were covered by a pair of worn out shoes. Many of the large scraped and gouges had been filled in by the countless number of polishings. 

His books, laying across his lap, were his scriptures, the word of god. Once new, these books which testify of jesus christ and his mission, were now torn, bent and ragged from use. 

His hands thoes big strong hands which had been used to bless and teach were now scarred and cut from knowcking at doors. 

Thoes were indead the marks of a man. And as i looked at him, i saw the marks of another man, the savior, as he was hanging on the cross for the sins of the world. 

His feet, thoes that had once carried his throughout the land during his ministry, were now nailed to the cross. 

His side now pierced with a spear, sealing his gospel, his testimony, with is life. 

His hands, the hands that had been used to ordain his servants and bless the sick, were also scarred with the nails that were pounded to hang him on the cross 

Thoes were the marks of that great man. 

As my mind returned to the missionary, my whole body seemed to swell with pride and joy, because i knew, by looking at him, that he had served his master well. 

My joy was so great, i felt like running to the front of the plane, grabbing that new, young missionary and bringing him back to see what he could become, what he could do. 

But would he see the tings that i saw, could anyone see the things i saw? Or would he just see the outward appearance of that mighty elder, tired and worn out, almost dead. 

As we landed, i reached over and tapped him to wake him up. As he awoke, it seemed like new life was entering his body. His whole frame just seemed to fill as he stood up tall and proud. As he turned his face towards mine, i saw a light about his face that i had never seen before. I looked into thoes eyes. Thoes eyes. I will never forget thoes eyes. They were the eyes of a prophet, a leader, a follower, and a servant. They were the eyes of the savior. No words were spoken. No words were needed. 

When i came through the doors, i saw this young man in the arms of his parents, and i couldnt hold it in any longer. With tears streaming down my face, i watched these loving parents greet their son who had been away for a short time. And i wondered if our parents in heaven would greet us the same way. Will they wrap their arms around us and welcome us home from our journey on earth? I believe they will. I just hope that i can be worthy enough to recieve such praise, as im sure this missionary will. I said a silent prayer, thanking the lord for missionaries like this young man. I dont think i will ever forget the joy and happiness he brought me that day... 

I love you guys tons. Someday i will be like this man. The church is true. Jesus is the christ, the very son of God. He is my savior and redeemer. You guys are awesome. Live worthy so some day we can all live in the kingdom of god together forever in never ending happiness!!! 

 Love ya 

Elder hall