Week 34 Faith? Works?

Framily,

This week was strangely uneventful. The weather was ridiculous as always. It said it was supposed to rain starting on Thursday and go through the weekend. Sunny all week. Saturday cloudy. Sunday downpour. Oy.

I was kind of distracted this week. Not quite sure why I can remember so many things that happened before the mission, but I sure can remember. So Wednesday after we came home from a tough day, mentally and physically, I was not super happy. What added more to my frustration was a huge stack of dirty dishes all over the kitchen. I`m not quite sure why, but I seem to be the only person in the pension who washes dishes right after using them. Instead of just going to bed upset, I tackled the dishes and that, surprisingly enough, is what helped me destress. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Be patient toward all men (including yourself).

I`ve been thinking a good bit about testimonies this week and what they mean. I ended up making a distinction between 2 different types of testimonies, active and passive. As missionaries, we hear a lot of passive testimonies. Yeah I believe in God. Yeah I think he exists. But it doesn`t really change anything for them. An active testimony is what pushes us to do something. Recognition of Jesus Christ as our Savior pushes us to repent, and thus our testimony becomes more that just an apathetic statement about what we think. It converts into a deep, motivating force that lifts us to higher thoughts and actions. Our testimony becomes active. It becomes a living testimony.

2 Nephi 25:23 says that we are saved by grace after all that we can do. James 2 supports this statement well by adding the declaration that faith without works is dead. Just as our body dies when it has no spirit, so dies our faith if it has not works to keep it alive. How important is the time we spend here? Incredibly important. There will come a day when we will give an account of every second that we spend here on earth. Both moments of action and inaction. May we always be active in our testimony of the Gospel.

Wow. I feel like I`m typing an essay or something. On a less serious note, we met a very interesting man yesterday. A woman in church invited us to her home to teach her non-member husband about the Gospel. After wandering around in the middle of nowhere for a good bit, we were able to find her house. Argentina is a country of many immigrants. Lots of people come here from many different places looking for work and land. The husband of this Peruvian woman is from the Ukraine. It was really cool to see his point of view on religion and speak with them both. Leaving the lesson, I was reminded of a nice quote from Jerry Seinfeld. ``Ukraine is not weak. I come from the Ukraine!`` Good stuff.

Anyways, I hope that all goes well at home. I miss you all very much. I pray for you guys everyday. Keep in touch. Stay happy. Till next week,

-Elder Sultan