Dear friends, family, and various others (though, in retrospect, if you aren't of the first two groups... Who are you?),
Hello
all! How is everything on your side of the planet? Life in Angola is
grand, thanks for asking (you were wondering, I'm sure). This week
(almost certainly) we will move into our new house and begin serious
work in Nova Vida (an offshoot of Luanda 2--my old area, actually).
Today we spent P-day at the Reedy's because they will be returning to
the states tomorrow and Sister Reedy loves the missionaries far too
much. Mom, a picture card and a voice recording are with her. The
picture card is broken, but I think it's probably reparable/something.
So, if it's not too much trouble, please try. It's got some great
pictures on it. The voice recording is a little goofy... But the first
part is just me and it's pretty normal. After that... Well, get ready
to meet the Angolan Missionaries. =)
Last week we had Zone Conference and Elder Borden was sick for 3
days with a nasty bug, so our work sort of dropped off. I was getting a
little stir crazy, but I got a lot of study done! =) It's nice to be
back out and about. I'm really just glad that he's feeling better.
I'm so impressed with what I've seen here lately. People are
growing SO quickly and making SO many changes to their lives. It's
simply touching. When people are willing to let it in, the Gospel has a
huge effect on their lives. It makes me wonder how much I've let it
in. Just something to think on: What little things keep you from
letting The Gospel of Jesus Christ into your life? I have a list in my
journal and I'm working on them. I invite y'all to do the same.
I've been thinking a lot about gratitude lately. And service. The
two go together, I think. When we're grateful, we serve. And we're
grateful for the service of others. It's an awesome chain and an
endless opportunity to do good. I like the idea of serving without
agenda and without reason; I like service because of the love we feel
from Christ.
The Lord has touched me a lot this week and shown me so many
important things. I'm really excited to start doing the things that
He's made known to me and to start becoming all the more close to Him.
He has a huge purpose here in Angola for the church. We're starting to
catch a glimpse of His vision and it's staggering. I expect a stake
within the next 3 years, but I'm working to make it happen before the
end of 2013. It's doable. It'll take a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and
work, but it's feasible. Mark my words here: The Lord wants Angola to
grow and He wants it to grow now. This last Zone Conference was
all about what we need to do in order to see that blessing as quickly
as we can. We can see the goal. We're at the starting line. Finishing
is a certainty. The speed depends on every one of us.
Daniele Almeida (a representative of the church from South Africa
who handles land procuration) has been here for a while. A plot has
already been chosen for the new Stake/District Building and will be
bought soon. He's also looking for land for chapels. Soon, we'll have
real chapels! The chruch has set aside roughly $7-8 Million for the
purchase of land here. Things are moving and it's really inspiring.
Well, I love y'all. I'm loving the mission and I miss the things we
used to do together. That said... Sorry if I'm less-than-willing to
come how right now. =)
Elder Cody R. Eckman
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