This week has been one of the craziest/most memorable of the mission! On Tuesday we picked up President and Sister Hill from the airport. It was a rather incredible experience to watch these two mission presidents embrace and see as the mantle literally transferred from President Evans to President Hill. With all the anticipation of this transition it was rather surreal to see it happen in such a precious, short moment. I love President and Sister Hill already! They have great personalities and are so committed to their callings. My eyes have been opened in the recent days to the sacrifice a mission president (and wife) makes when they accept their call. Family, house, work are all put on the altar for three years. for us young people we really aren't sacrificing much because we don't have very much! So much respect for the Hill's and all the other mission presidents all over the world!
Quick spiritual thought before I dip. I was reading (once again) 1 Nephi chapter 8 about the tree of life. I swear that chapter has so many hidden nuggets! Here's the verse I liked this week:
30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the arod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.
The phrase that stuck out to me is, "they came forth and fell down." That imagery is so powerful to me! This whole life is a struggle forward! I think sometimes we expect the gospel to just fix our problems so we can cruise right in to heaven in cruise control. But this life is the time to prepare to meet God! The 5th principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is enduring to the end and I hope that by the end I will have given so much that I'll only have one step left to give.
I love you all!
Love,
Eldste Parkinson
