My Gigantic family!
How are all of your lives going this week? Everything swell? Fantastic! This week has literally flown by. It went so quick. Where is my mission going?! I have already been out here for 2 months! I am already half way done with my first change (transfer). Insanity. But this week was fantastic, full of the Spirit, impressions, and wonderful lessons that are helping me develop into a man, and what the Lord wants me to become; the kind of servant he wants me to be after my mission. He is truly shaping me into the instrument he wants me to be in his hands.
My personal study this week was all in Alma. How amazing is that prophet?? I love Alma, and all of the sons of Mosiah. How many lessons we can learn from the scriptures to help guide our lives. The words of Christ will tell us all things what we should do! I wish I had realized the treasure that I had on my bedside table every day when I was at home. To everyone: read the treasure we have been given. I honestly value my scriptures over any other thing material wise in this world. What a wonderful show of God's power to us in these latter days. How many lessons we can learn from the Anti-Nephi-Lehis. What a wonderful people. Now those are people who truly repented of their sins. Let us too bury our weapons of war (past sins, vices, worldly desires, natural man) deep in the earth. Give them to Christ and allow Him, through his grace and Atonement, to change you; to change your heart. For it is only through Christ that we can change at all. I love the scriptures and I know that they are true with all of my heart and soul. I know it.
Last week I didn't have any time to read any of your emails on the computer so I printed them all off to read another time. I read them all. This will probably happen every week, so if you said something this week, I will probably comment on it next week. Sound good? :) First of all, I would just like to thank each and every one of you for emailing me, for thinking of me, for praying for me, for not forgetting me while I am out here. Many people of our faith have been denounced by their families because of them joining the church. How grateful I am for the family that I have, the best family on this earth :) Thank you, with all of my heart, for your support and advice. It truly does go a long way. Thanks for your emails Brian and Alisha. I love reading them :) and you too Jayce! Thanks so much Aubrey and Landon for your emails. Thanks Charise for the pictures and emails :) Thank you Ryan, for the pictures and all that you say to help me. You are the best example a younger brother could have. Thanks Mom and Dad for writing me so much every week, and caring about me, what's happening, and about my health and such. I love you all very much.
I had a wonderful healing experience this week. After the trial of my faith, I was actually physically healed :) It is amazing to say. This week my back and chest I think had some sort of infection or fungus or something, especially my back. It started in Mexico. I started to get a rash also on my back. I prayed all of the time for God to heal me. One night I sat down on my bed and the strangest thing happened haha, I had a thought... You have someone with the holy priesthood of God in the other room. You can have a priesthood blessing.... I can't believe that I didn't think of it before. At first the thought always comes to mind, it won't do any good, just wait for your body to heal. But by demonstrating faith, and asking for a blessing, I was healed. I thought about it, and I honestly knew that I would be healed. I knew it. It was amazing. So he asked me before he gave me the blessing if I had faith to be healed and I immediately said YES. Haha. He gave me a blessing and I had full confidence that I would be healed. It wasn't until two days later, after it was itching a bit in between, I looked in the mirror at my back, and the rash was completely gone. I couldn't stop praying and thanking. What a tender mercy, to allow me to suffer a bit more, and still show my faith, then to be healed, to help me have patience in my affliction. The power of God can heal physical, spiritual, and emotional ailments. Just have faith, and move forward in faith.
I am so glad that Cambria is okay, thank goodness. The Lord truly does protect us :) I have full confidence that I am not ever going to be harmed as long as I am exactly obedient. Sometimes it is hard to be exactly obedient, especially when all of the other Elders aren't. But I see the importance of it. I have faith that if I am obedient with exactness, that I am going to be blessed, and I am going to have the Spirit. I want to show God that I am willing to obey his smallest rules, so that he can count on me for anything he needs. Sometimes with the smallest rules, we may not see the need for them. There may not be a need. But God is testing us. He is testing our humility to follow even the most insignificant rule. We say we love him? If ye love me, keep my commandments. I love God, with all of my heart. So I will obey him in all things. We can give him our agency, after all he has given to us. And yet after that, he still blesses us more. What a merciful God that we have.
I am still always hungry. Starving. I think I might be losing some weight. I will probably lose a lot before I come home. The package isn't here yet, Mom. I hope it gets here soon. There is this website called Dear Elder. Ralph Allen wrote me a small letter in it. I want to tell you all about it because if you want to get me a quick note, you can go through that :) By the way Mom, I will send you an email after this one intended for Brother Allen. What a wonderful kind act to write me and think about me. Thank them profusely. I think I spelled that right...
I won't buy new shoes until next transfers, Dad. And you don't need to send them. I will find some good ones here. Thank you though! If you see 10 bucks withdrawn from the debit, it's me. But I don't want to use much of your money. I don't need it anyway. I am using my money wisely so that I can not be a burden to you guys, even though I am always starving.
All I have to say at the end of this email, is that God loves us so much; so much that he sent his beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer, to bleed, to die. To Atone, for us. All for us. He loves us so much that he blesses us with all that we have. He is there. I promise it. I know it. He answers every single prayer that you send to him. All you have to do is show your faith in Him, and say a prayer, and what will he do after you do this simple act? He blesses you. What a merciful God that we have. He will always bless you according to your faith. He will always be with you. He will rescue you from the gall of bitterness. In and through Christ, we have hope. We are saved from the enemy of our souls. Thank Him every day. All day. Continually pray to Him. He loves us. When times get hard: Pray. Read the scriptures, even the Words of God, or Christ. Remember your testimony that God has given to you, so that you can make it through the hard times, and so that you can bring others of his children to his flock.
My patriarchal blessing is my blue print. I read it every day, almost twice a day. I am now starting to discern where my life is going to go. I can discern almost all of my blessing, and see what I wasn't able to see before I came out here. I see things in my blessing come to pass all of the time. I have a testimony of this gospel. Christ is my Savior, and through his Atonement, I can be made clean and become like my Father. Joseph Smith was a true prophet. I know it with every fiber of my being. The Book of Mormon is the most true of any book on this earth. It is true. I know it with all of my heart and soul. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints is the Lord's true church on the earth today. I know it with all of my very soul. God loves us. I believe in Christ. Stay true to the faith. Doubt your doubts, before you doubt your faith. Look to your testimony in every trial. Look to Christ in every thought, doubt not, fear not. I love you with all of my heart! God be with you till we meet again.
Elder Bitter
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