Our burden's may be light - 9/30/13

Dear Mom and Dad,

I cannot believe that the new home is almost done. Everything looks so great and it will be exciting when it is all done. Make sure to send a picture of the progress y'all have made on Micki's yard. Thank you for always sending pictures of the progress.  The kitchen looks amazing and the fireplace in the living room is a great touch. Our new home will look great with those blue Christmas Lights dad! Ha ha. Elder Crandall and I had the opportunity to help some elderly couples in the ward around their homes this week. We were able to mow a lawn and also help move boxes upstairs for another couple. Service would have to be one of my favorite things aside of teaching as a missionary. Sometimes we do it at the same time. Tell the missionaries I said thank you for helping out at the rental home.

It sounds like Dad is looking pretty classy at work now. It also sounds like you enjoy your job too Dad and that you are staying on the ball with the classes you are taking at the same time. That is one thing that helped me to work harder in school was watching you go through nursing school and you still kept working and still had time to spend with us. I know that we did scrimp and save and that has really helped me to work hard in my life and still make time for the really important things. We also enjoyed the leftover pizza for breakfast on Sunday mornings. I love and cherish those memories.

We had a great week here in Arlington.  It is slowly cooling down, although, not as drastic of a change as y'all, but it feels so good. The leaves are starting to change and the Halloween decorations are going up and I get to put up decorations still! =) This week we had the wonderful opportunity to teach a family in our ward who has a daughter that has not been baptized. The concern was she needs to be baptized for the right reason. The lesson we had this week went very well, and it was a true test of our teaching skills. Can we take things that are hard to understand and help children to understand them.  We focused on Faith this week and planted seeds with them. Elder Crandall and myself did it too. Thank you for your prayers because we definitely saw them answered with this family. Yesterday was great - it was fast Sunday and I was privileged to teach Priest quorum. I was asked to teach about the law of chastity, focusing on pornography. I was able to use part of Elder Bednars talk this last conference which taught it so well. I also used your idea dad and wrote on the back of my old white shirt and talked about how the atonement can cleanse us from all sin. The lesson was great and Elder Crandall helped in the process of teaching too! I will send a picture of my shirt.

I am very excited for General Conference this weekend. I love the opportunity to learn from living prophets guidance and counsel that they receive through revelation from the Lord. This week will go by very fast and will be busy.  It is so great to be here in Texas.  I love being a missionary.

Here is something from my studies this week. It is from Mosiah 24 and talks about how the Lord will help strengthen us so we can lift our burdens with ease. He may not take them away but he will strengthen us in our burdens - verse 15. I am also grateful for the example of the people and how prompt they are in giving thanks for the blessing they receive verses 21-22.

12 And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their ^ahearts to him; and he did know the ^bthoughts of their hearts.  13 And it ^acame to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.
 14 And I will also ease the ^aburdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as ^bwitnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their ^cafflictions.
 15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did ^astrengthen them that they could bear up their ^bburdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with ^cpatience to all the will of the Lord.
 16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.
 17 And he said unto Alma: Thou shalt go before this people, and I will go ^awith thee and deliver this people out of ^bbondage.
 18 Now it came to pass that Alma and his people in the night-time gathered their flocks together, and also of their grain; yea, even all the night-time were they gathering their flocks together.
 19 And in the morning the Lord caused a ^adeep sleep to come upon the Lamanites, yea, and all their task-masters were in a profound sleep.
 20 And Alma and his people departed into the wilderness; and when they had traveled all day they pitched their tents in a valley, and they called the valley Alma, because he led their way in the wilderness.
 21 Yea, and in the valley of Alma they poured out their ^athanks to God because he had been merciful unto them, and eased their ^bburdens, and had delivered them out of bondage; for they were in bondage, and none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God.
 22 And they gave ^athanks to God, yea, all their men and all their women and all their children that could speak lifted their voices in the praises of their God.

I love y'all

Love,

Elder Nathaniel Shoemaker