Boa noite, irmãos! How is everyone? I hope life
is as good for y'all
as it is for me. This last week was hard... But so good. We're
hoping to get a family baptized by the end of the transfer (the 25th).
They've been very accepting up until now and have so much potential.
Alex, the father, is awesome at keeping up with commitments. And, as
we missionaries say, "Commitment keepers are covenant keepers."
Have you ever thought much about covenants? The Scriptures are
littered with the word. Simply put, a covenant is an accord. We
promise to do thus and such and the Lord promises to give thus and
such in return. Covenants are the most pure form of living the Lord's
commandments. Our covenants should grow to define us. They should be
much more important than our thoughts and desires and, indeed, our
thoughts and desires should grow to reflect our covenants. The
keeping of covenants gives us a place at God's right hand. Baptism in
and of itself does not save us. It does not open any gates. However,
living the covenant that we make at baptism (our first covenant) does
open the gates of heaven. When we remember why we do what we do,
we're more likely to do it. At baptism we promise that we are willing
to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and keep His
commandments for all of life. Later--much later, actually, and after
much preparation--come the covenants of the temple. Of marriage. Of
not only being willing to do those things, but to do them forever.
And the promises only get bigger and more incredible. What do your
covenants mean to you?
I'm excited to see this family grow in the gospel and receive the same
joy I have received. Please remember them in your prayers.
Life is kind of hard at the moment... But good. Right. We're living
in a hard place with little power and almost no water. But, hey, I
signed on for this. It's a learning experience, to be certain.
Oh! Someone asked me a bit about my new mission president. Well...
I have 2. Kind of. It's a new and weird situation. Pres. Kretly is
the MP of Mozambique. He's decided to take a larger hand in what we
do here in Angola. He also has authority and keys over us. Pres.
Thompson is technically his counselor and, ostensibly, our MP. It's
not a power struggle (I think), it's Double-Coverage. We're all
learning a lot together. I've been a bit frustrated lately because I
spent 6 months organizing this mission to work with all mission
systems alone and independently. Now... It's all falling apart. The
good and bad news is that it's no longer my problem. I hate seeing
all my work go to waste, but I like not having to deal with it. I
know it'll all work out. Eventually.
Well, I love you guys! The Church is true. It's powerful. It
changes people. I know that. I've experienced that personally and
with a lot of incredible people here.
Keep on keeping on,
Elder Cody R. Eckman
P.S. Mom, the FROG Lip Balm is incredible. Thanks for the package!
as it is for me. This last week was hard... But so good. We're
hoping to get a family baptized by the end of the transfer (the 25th).
They've been very accepting up until now and have so much potential.
Alex, the father, is awesome at keeping up with commitments. And, as
we missionaries say, "Commitment keepers are covenant keepers."
Have you ever thought much about covenants? The Scriptures are
littered with the word. Simply put, a covenant is an accord. We
promise to do thus and such and the Lord promises to give thus and
such in return. Covenants are the most pure form of living the Lord's
commandments. Our covenants should grow to define us. They should be
much more important than our thoughts and desires and, indeed, our
thoughts and desires should grow to reflect our covenants. The
keeping of covenants gives us a place at God's right hand. Baptism in
and of itself does not save us. It does not open any gates. However,
living the covenant that we make at baptism (our first covenant) does
open the gates of heaven. When we remember why we do what we do,
we're more likely to do it. At baptism we promise that we are willing
to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and keep His
commandments for all of life. Later--much later, actually, and after
much preparation--come the covenants of the temple. Of marriage. Of
not only being willing to do those things, but to do them forever.
And the promises only get bigger and more incredible. What do your
covenants mean to you?
I'm excited to see this family grow in the gospel and receive the same
joy I have received. Please remember them in your prayers.
Life is kind of hard at the moment... But good. Right. We're living
in a hard place with little power and almost no water. But, hey, I
signed on for this. It's a learning experience, to be certain.
Oh! Someone asked me a bit about my new mission president. Well...
I have 2. Kind of. It's a new and weird situation. Pres. Kretly is
the MP of Mozambique. He's decided to take a larger hand in what we
do here in Angola. He also has authority and keys over us. Pres.
Thompson is technically his counselor and, ostensibly, our MP. It's
not a power struggle (I think), it's Double-Coverage. We're all
learning a lot together. I've been a bit frustrated lately because I
spent 6 months organizing this mission to work with all mission
systems alone and independently. Now... It's all falling apart. The
good and bad news is that it's no longer my problem. I hate seeing
all my work go to waste, but I like not having to deal with it. I
know it'll all work out. Eventually.
Well, I love you guys! The Church is true. It's powerful. It
changes people. I know that. I've experienced that personally and
with a lot of incredible people here.
Keep on keeping on,
Elder Cody R. Eckman
P.S. Mom, the FROG Lip Balm is incredible. Thanks for the package!
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