WHOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOO for transfers, am I right? Missions are the best. We get absolutely thrown around. We live out of like 5 bags for 2 years. We willingly live in these cheap apartments and are GRATEful for it. We get put with people we’ve never met before and are expected to carry out the work of the Lord and we DO IT! Ah it’s magical.
I am serving now in Wentzville, Missouri. It is about 35 minutes West of St. Louis, so I’m now only 30 minutes away from Raisin’ Canes. The Good Lord is keeping me out of an area where there’s a Canes because He knows that I’ll be so distracted and my mind will only be on chicken and Texas Toast instead of the Salvation of Souls. I love Wentzville. It’s very different from Cape Girardeau though. Cape is much more red neck, white trash, but also lots more humility and willingness to hear the missionaries. The people in Wentzville are more well off. They all commute to St. Louis, lots of them are loaded doctors, and they have this grocery store that’s between a Harmons and Smith’s called Schnucks. It’s not bad! Very different, but I’m pumped to be serving here nonetheless.
We also got to go do Temple Service this week, which is an activity where a bunch of missionaries go and do service on the grounds of the temple. I haven’t been able to spend much time on Temple grounds in a while, not since November. Just being able to stand and work on those sacred grounds lifted my spirits. It may have been 3 degrees outside and snowy, but it was so fun to shovel alongside all of these other dedicated servants of the Lord. The most amazing thing is that the Temple is RIGHT next to the freeway. And yet, while you’re on the grounds, you can’t hear anything. It’s a distant whisper. The grounds are reverent and quiet. As soon as you leave the grounds, it sounds exactly like it should be; Loud, annoying, and drones on and on. I freaking love Temples. It was great to be there and serve on the grounds.
We started teaching this man named Austin this week. He’s homeless, but he’s getting his feet underneath him, which is good. We taught him the Plan of Salvation, and he ate it UP! We are excited to teach him more.
My thoughts this week are once again focused on Jesus the Christ. I got back into it this week because there’s a physical copy in my new apartment! Talmage here is talking about when Christ caused the fig tree with no fruit to wither as He was entering Jerusalem for one of the last times. Talmage says:
“It was fitting that He should demonstrate His power to smite and to destroy. In manifesting His command over death, He had mercifully raised a maiden from the couch on which she had died, a young man from the bier on which he was being carried to the grave, another from the sepulchre in which he had been laid away a corpse; but in proof of His power to destroy by a word He chose a barren and worthless tree for His subject. Could any of the Twelve doubt, when, a few days later they saw Him in the hands of vindictive priests and heartless pagans, that did He so will He could smite His enemies by a word, even unto death? Yet not until after His glorious resurrection did even the apostles realize how truly voluntary His sacrifice had been.”
Christ only died once He wanted to, once it was absolutely necessary. There were many times where He could’ve, and if He were a normal mortal, should’ve died. But since He is The Christ, He chose the circumstances in which He was to die. He went through the scourge, the bearing of the cross, the absolutely cruel verbal abuse from the Pharisees and the Romans, the Crusifixtion, having to see His friends, His family, His mother watch Him suffer for 9 long hours and did it willingly. How amazing. Christ has the power of Life and Death. And He chooses life. I love that thought. I hope we can all choose to live this week. There’s a lot to fear. But let’s try to live, not just survive. I love you all. Have a good week!
Elder Inkley
1 Temple Service!
2 New Zone. LAKE ZONE BEST ZONE
3 The FellasÂ
