I have to admit sadly that I did not fully understand the depth of what she was saying before she passed away, she had been a convert to the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,  but I see more each day, just how our Savior wants us to be happy, and forgives us our shortcomings, His love is so great we cannot even imagine.  He already paid the price…

i was speaking on the phone this morning to one of the elders in a mission in Honduras, and he told me how he had come far,  from a weak self-centered missionary almost two years ago, who struggled with depression and some habits that pulled him away spiritually to become the changed happy young man, that he is now.  I asked him what had helped him the most and he said, ¨Finding the rudder for my ship…¨ Setting goals, and finding a direction in which he was committed to go.. (instead of letting the winds blow him to and fro).

Along with that, he developed a plan, a strategy of how to get there, instead of expecting the blessings to just drop in his lap.  In order to overcome discouragement he began to: get up earlier, work harder, pray longer, and listen for answers from the holy Spirit, Personalize the scriptures, exercise daily for fitness, and identify when he was prone to discouragement– how to change directions.  He also began to,  love the Book of Mormon and told me the story of a little boy who could not yet read, but carried the Book of Mormon around and held it close to him, in his pocket.  This elder did the same thing, and in between reading it— that helped his love for the Restored scriptures that he is carrying, and the gospel — to the Mayan people of this area.   When discouraged, he also hummed the primary song, ¨Ïf the Savior stood beside me¨, (would I do the things I do?)¨   This elder brightened my morning, and was a gift to me, today.  El gusto es mio!

As I visited the Iximechi ruins recently, I was alone for a time and quietly I said a little prayer that I would be able to feel the presence of those peoples who had lived under my feet, in those ruins.  Gradually as I walked, the green mounds, and worn ancient stone ruins became alive for me.  They testified of a people who preserved these records, for our time, for our missionaries to carry the words back to their Mayan nation today.

As I counsel, and help those missionaries who are homesick, discouraged, having self-doubt.   I am able to testify to our elders & sisters, that they are doing just that great work, and those words were written not just for our ancient ancestors, but for us today, and to place their names in the scripture and personalize the promises made from God to us.. and realize that Christ also was here, teaching the gospel of truth and light, that we take so much for granted.. (assuming we are in charge, or that our success, our comfortable life, is due to our own luck or hard work)..We forget to thank God.

When actually, we are a part of a larger plan, and we can see that plan more clearly, by doing just as my mother taught, our elder brother, CAN BE, and is our best friend !  Feeling of His love and His spirit, can make us better people, so that when we all come together, and meet these ancestors who lived anciently, beneath this beautiful Central America,– and other places in the world.

We can  also believe, and say,  ¨Jesus Christ is our brother, and our best friend,¨and He can lead us home to our Heavenly Father..

(Thank you my dear mother… )