Woche 5

Elder Harps and his companions in front of Provo Temple

Ich kann fast hier verlassen! Ich bin so begeistert nach Deutsch land zu gehen!

German is coming along well. I'm by no means perfect, but the Gift of Tongues is so real. I shouldn't be able to speak half as much German as I can. I've easily learned more here in 5 weeks than I did in high school. The Lord has blessed me greatly.

Again, sorry for a lack of stories, but next week hopefully I'll have some! I'm so stinking excited to be in Germany already. The MTC is so so wonderful, but at some point I gotta just get out there and start doing the real thing. Glad it's happening this Monday :)

2 districts of missionaries headed to Frankfurt

This week I learned a lot about diligence, hope, faith, and fear. I wont be able to cover half of what I want to (as usual) but I'll try haha.

This week i tried really hard to be diligent. So first I had to figure out what it meant to be diligent. Diligence is consistent effort at all times to be as best we can. When we are diligent, we are constantly thinking about what we need to do better. We notice when we do something wrong or halfheartedly, and commit to do it better. Diligence is so important because when we are diligent, we can achieve so much more. We can improve so much more. 

Diligence is hard though. We have to diligently strive to attain diligence. I know that sounds kinda weird. We have to pray and ask God to help us be diligent. We have to want it. Then, at every opportunity we can see to BE diligent, we have to put our best effort at it. Eventually, we will get it. It's really not easy. But it's important. 

Diligence is important because the Adversary, the Devil, is also diligent. He will take any opportunity to pull you a little bit further from God. Something I read in C. S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters talks about this. Everything we do or think or say, it doesn't matter if it is bad or good. All that matters is whether or not it brings us closer or farther from God. For instance, prayer is awesome! but If we are praying for God to smite our annoying neighbor, then it probably isn't drawing us closer to Him. Satan will take any opportunity to have us lighten up. Relax our efforts. Pull our course just slightly off our true mark. He doesn't really care if he can't get you to murder someone, though he'd love to. He's just as happy simply making you do something less than optimal to draw you away from the Lord. He is diligent, and so we must be diligent to keep him out of our life. We must always be diligent to keep Satan from pulling us off course.

Elder Harps and his good friend Elder Barden, who is headed to Lithuania

We can do it. Pray for diligence. Strive to be better. God WILL bless you.

And see now I'm out of time to talk about the other topics haha.

I'll summarize.

Hope and Faith trump Fear. 

Hope is a belief in a better world. Fear is the opposite. Through faith, we can hope and cast out all fear. 

This week, I invite you all to read Ether 12 and Moroni 7. These chapters explain hope, faith, and charity so much better than I can. Grade A chapters. 

I love you all! I miss you all! Come unto Christ!

Bis nächste Woche! Auf Wiedersehen!

Elder Harps

(PS I actually go pictures this time!)