Week 22: I Want To Be God's Athlete

 

This week we last minute went to Budapest to film a music video!! We filmed it in a really beautiful castle. It took a while to hike up to, but it was definitely worth it. It was also about 20 degrees and the most wind I have ever experienced! I wore a light summer dress and a little coat, but had to take off the coat for filming. It was FREEZING! We hope the video will turn out well. Since it was so last minute, (Ethan) Caine Elder and I had none of the lyrics memorized. So someone else held the lyrics up and we read them off a phone while they filmed. It was crazy but gave us a lot of finding opportunities.

On our way to Budapest we met the coolest lady! I spoke to her and asked if she was originally from our city. She said no, but we had a full hour conversation with her and SHE asked US for our contact information! She said she has always wanted to have an opportunity to thank people like us who offer service. We gave her our pass along cards and she told us to text us if we ever needed any help or advice. 

We also got to talk to a lot of people at the spot where we filmed the music video. One group had just all met each other. There was one man from Egypt, one from China, and another who was Hungarian. They all lived in Budapest and had found each other on facebook in a hiking group. We got to tell them about being missionaries and they also asked us for our contact information! The more connections I have tried to make with random people, the more I have learned and appreciated others! It's so cool to have to push to talk to random people because there is so much to learn from other people's life experiences. 

We had another amazing lesson with Z, we taught her the rest of the Gospel of Jesus christ and asked her to pray about our lesson. She said she knew it was true, but would pray anyway! 

This week we had mission conference. I have never felt more inspired, loved, or called to action. We watched videos and had discussions that changed me. Have you ever heard of the story "The man who planted trees?" I could not recommend a video more.

 In summary, a young man wanders through a barren wasteland. He sees no one for hundreds of miles and only hears the howling wind. The people who live in the surrounding areas are harsh and barbaric. Unkind and hopeless. Working in columns their entire lives and dying of disease. The young traveler is in need of water and can find nothing in this dry wasteland. He sees a shepherd in the distance who lets him in. The shepherd lives alone, but is well trimmed, his clothes mended, his dinner cooking on the stove. The shepherd gives him water, but doesn't speak much. At the end of the night he meticulous counts out 100 perfect acorn seeds. The following day, he plants each one carefully in the dry ground. Apparently, the shepherd has been doing this for 3 years and nothing has grown, yet he silently and diligently continues his work. Years later the young man returns to see that the old shepherd's trees are now small saplings beginning to grow. Every couple years, the young man returns. The shepherd is still planting trees and about 20 years later, she trees have become a small forest. Water has begin to flow, animals have inhabited, and life has returned. The people in the surrounding villages marvel at the forest which seems to have grown out of no where. By the end of the film, the forest spreads for miles and the hills are rolling with vegetation. Life has returned to the land. It is full of culture and laughter and prosperity. And where is the old shepherd? He is still planting his trees. He was called "God's athlete." His family had died when he was very young, and he decided that he wanted to bring life back into this barren land, even if it took a lifetime. He got no recognition, but his simple dilligent efforts changed millions of lives. He knew what God had called him to do, and he attributed his efforts to God. I wasn't able to get in all the details, but it was such a good analogy for missionary and life in general. Sometimes we may think our seed planting is going nowhere, but overtime each seed planted with exquisite care can turn into a forest!! 

Keep praying for the courage to follow the voice of the spirit, I'm so grateful for the Holy ghost. Have a great week!