LETTER #68

Don't call it a come back, I've been here for years.

I love telling everyone what my dad's name is because they don't say it Jarrod, they say it .....
Jhahhodge

Another big year for my mains man Miller, 12 gauge. Watch out, the halls of Granbury Middle School about to be overloaded by that priesthood power.

Apparently I have to work on getting back into BYU, and I'm lost but we've got that Darby Dan tech support squad to help us out.

Arrived at church ready to give that 20 minute impromptu talk. Thankfully, the Primary also had a little program and so, one more time, I am saved by the voices of the Primary teachers while the children watch lost. AMEN

One of the men we were teaching took a little trip to Germany. Surprise when we got a call from our Ward Mission Leader telling us that he wasn't coming back. Later he showed us the headline.

BRAZILIAN VW PASSENGER CARRIER FOUND WITH 100 KILOGRAMS OF 'ULTRA PURE' COCAINE, BRASILIAN ARRESTED

So long my amigo, my friend Marquinho, maybe I'll visit you one day in Germany.

And lastly, I had the privilege of conducting a baptismal interview for Elder Cândia, our district leader in Amarais, where I served over a year ago. Imagine my surprise when I entered in that old chapel to be greeted with a hug from Thiago. My companion and I started teaching Thiago over a year ago and had marked his baptism for October 28th of last year. Unfortunately, some stuff about his past came out and he turned himself into the police. Because of good behavior and some friends on the inside, he was released two weeks ago. The first thing he did was find the missionaries to pick up where he left off.

One of the things that he said that caught my attention was his testimony of the Book of Mormon. While visiting the ole jailhouse, apparently he had quite a bit of time on his hands. He, a young man of 19 years who never even finished school, read this wonderful book six times. When he showed me his copy of the dog-eared, marked up blue  covered book, it touched my heart.

How many of us, members of the Church of Jesus Christ, have that same devotion to our beliefs? When when the last time that I had a truly spiritual experience through the scriptures? One thing that I have learned is that the holy words of prophets, modern and not so modern, have the spiritual answers that we seek. Why do we put off receiving these answers by procrastinating, dIminuishing, or even eliminating our personal study?

I know that Thiago doesn't have a doubt about the truthfulness of these words. Because of a desire to receive answers, he was able to change his life. He's not alone, we all have this capability. If it didn't go so well this year, make the change. The book doesn't change, but what we get out of it does.

Don't call it a come back,
I've been here for years.

Until next week,
Elder Lil LL Cool Dr J(hahodge Schenewark)