4 Months Nov.13, 2017

Hey all,

It does not feel like I hit 4 months yesterday. My mission is going by too fast. I also realized that I never provided the background to the Scripture I put last week, Matt 27:19. So here's the context. The Thursday before last I got an awesome package from my sister, Beth, and it had a great CD with songs about Christ's life. The best thing about this CD is that it is mostly told from the point of view of secondary characters. For example, one is told by a Sadducee and a man who Christ healed, another is from the Point of View of a Blind man who received his sight, and the song that is probably my favorite is the one sung by Pilate's wife. She sings this incredibly powerful song about how even though she doesn't know who Christ is, she never even says his name, she just knows that he's innocent and that she doesn't want Pilate involved with him. The chorus has lines like, "I don't know who he is, but I know what I feel" and "Pontius please. Let him be." It is so incredible to me that a Roman Aristocrat, who is almost certainly a Pagan, is able to receive such a strong witness of Christ that she knows, without even knowing who Christ is, that he is a just man and is innocent of whatever the Jewish Leaders are accusing him. So that's what I learn everyday, you can take any scripture and use it to expand your knowledge of the Gospel. I still remember a lesson my Dad gave when I was 12 or 13, where he taught an hour long lesson about Luke 2:52, "And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." 

I was able to go on exchanges this week up to the YSA area, which is where my District Leader serves. Elder Funk is such a great, fun-loving, Elder. We were also able to meet with Kevan this week. He is such a sweet man. It got a little colder this week, apparently it got below freezing but it didn't feel that cold to me, and Kevan was asking to make sure Elder Haslam and I both had good coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. It was so sweet. We also had a meeting with our Bishop one evening to discuss what he wanted us to do member wise in this ward. We also have an older lady who feeds the missionaries once a week, every week; she's been doing it for at least the last 15 years, maybe the whole 20-something years since she joined the church. She is such an amazing person and we get along great so her house has always been a comfort on those days when people don't want to talk or it's raining, or just cold enough to nip at your nose, or any number of combinations that comes with the work part of missionary work. She also makes blankets for all the missionaries that pass through so it's nice to come home to a comfy blanket after a hard day, which is pretty much everyday out here in the concrete jungle. I love it though, I wouldn't trade being here for any area in the mission, or in the world even. This city is full of so many amazing people and it's so cool to see them change. And it's so important to be kind. I had a small but profound experience a couple of weeks ago. I was sitting on the metro and this lady got on. She was old, looked homeless, and quite obviously a drug addict. Not someone most people would say hi too, and if I'm being honest with myself, I think I would've avoided looking at her a year or so ago. But now, I just looked at her and smiled. That was all, just a smile. But that little smile changed her whole demeanor. It obviously didn't change that fact that she was a homeless drug addict but it might've changed how she saw that day. Who knows, it may have started a long-term change, or maybe it didn't do anything. We may never know the final result but is it too much to ask that we trust God and simply try? I feel like that's what I've learned this week. Just try. You may not know all the answers, in fact you almost always won't, but if you trust God, he will take care of you. Always.

I love you all,

Elder Howell

Luke 1:37