Hola All!
What a week! Last Saturday was an amazing experience to be in the presence of an apostle, to meet him and his wife personally, to hear him speak in English, followed by the translator repeating his words in Spanish, and to receive an apostolic blessing! We haven't come down yet! Elder Renlund and his wife had served in Africa with Lee's cousin, Paul Koelliker, while Paul was serving as the Area President in Africa. We had a nice little visit about them. We love Paul and his wife, Ann, and were able to have dinner with them and Lee's other wonderful cousins, Jerry and Renee Pay, the Saturday night before we entered the MTC. Such a small world! Elder Renlund emphasized the importance of attitude and work ethic! We are all striving to have a great attitude, come what may, and to be hard workers. There are times in our lives when it is more difficult to truly be our best. Those are the times we need Heavenly help the most! Those are the times we need to spend more time on our knees in prayer, more time and focus on the scriptures, more time counting our many blessings, and more time and energy serving others. Of course we know this, but what a powerful reminder for missionaries serving far away from home in a developing country! Sister Renlund did an awesome job as well as we discussed developing perfect faith and helping others develop it in their own lives. Faith is not just a gift, but it is a choice. I loved the reminder that Heavenly Father loves each of us and trusts us to do our best and to help those around us by sharing the knowledge and testimonies we have with them. We are the leaven! We are the salt! Because we have been given so much, much is expected! We are so grateful for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the ability and privilege to call down the blessings and powers of Heaven, and for our Savior and His great Atonement! All things that are right are possible! FAITH!
We also had a wonderful Multi-Zone Conference on Wednesday! It is so humbling and energizing to be with these young missionaries! They love the Lord! They love being missionaries! They love each other and being together! The meetings are always electric with their energy and spirits! President and Sister Poncio are truly a power couple! They are united and demonstrate not only Christlike qualities, but a solid marriage, which is a blessing to many of the missionaries here. My two favorite messages that they shared were to be humble and beware of pride, and to contemplate our spiritual maturity and the things we can and should do to help it progress. They are not just training their missionaries, but they are training future leaders, husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers! We loved listening to the "final" testimonies of the 3 missionaries who complete their missions and return to their homes on July 4th. They all happened to be in our Zone, so we know them well and love them so much! What wonderful and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, and what powerful testimonies they shared!
As we visited many people this week, I noticed the stark reality in the differences in levels of happiness and joy, in those who are keeping the commandments of God, and those who are not. Commandment and covenant keepers still have many trials, but they have peace, knowing that they are being obedient and have the right to pray, ask for help, and know that they will receive it! Help may not come immediately or in the way they might like, but they have the faith that everything will work together for their good. Those struggling, try to justify their behavior and blame others. They are angry, sad, frustrated, and hopeless. Heavenly Father loves each of us and has given us commandments to bless and protect us. He blesses us for being obedient, and we receive the blessings that come with each commandment as well. Win win!
May we each try a little harder every day to be a little better, so we can progress to the person we have the potential to become! We love all of you, and so appreciate your prayers and examples!
Love,
Elder and Hermana Koelliker
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