Week #56 Another Great Week Saying Goodbye to Elder Hawkins

Well, this was another great week.  We had a lot of fun, we worked hard, we laughed, we cried, and we grew.

As I`ve done previously, I`d like to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am for my beloved friend Elder Logan Hawkins.  Monday, he ended his service to the Lord as a full-time missionary.  We lived together for three changes, or almost five months.  I have learned a ton from him.  I would just like to hit a few of these key things that I have learned from him.  

1. Enjoy the mission-  Elder Hawkins really taught me to enjoy the experience of the mission.  He expanded my understanding of the joy that a mission brings a person.  He helped me to see the beauty in everything...in the success, in the hardships, and also in our own faults and shortcomings.  He taught me that you can put all of your efforts into serving the Lord, but if you don`t enjoy it, you`ve "missed the mark".  This brings to my head a scripture that Elder Sarceno and I have recently memorized. 2 Nefi 2:25 "Adam fell that men might be;and men are,that they might have joy."  The point of our existence is that we feel joy in our lives and in the Lord.  If we don`t, we`re doing it wrong and MUST change it.

2. Love the people more than the rules- As missionaries, we have many rules.  The rules are here to protect us, to inspire us, and to help us to have the Holy Spirit with us always;however, when we let that get in the way of developing a christlike love for the people we are teaching, we have "missed the mark".  Some of you may say, "WHAT IS HE SAYING?!  YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FOLLOW THE RULES WITH EXACTNESS!  I do agree that you should attempt to live in exactness with the rules, but that also calls another scripture to mind. "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."  The gospel calls for us to love.  If we cannot see that, that the central subject of all is love for one another, we need to sit back, and pray. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  i love the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I love the opportunity I have here to help others, grow as a person, and to serve our God.  He truly is a God of miracles.  He lives.  He loves us.  He puts people into our lives to guide us.  I invite you all to pray and think about the people that have been brought into your lives.  When you do this, you will see just how truly blessed you are.  I invite you when you feel this sensation of everlasting joy in your heart, to praise God!  Praise Him for all He has done.  As you do so, you will feel an increase in His love for you, and your love for others.  Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Con Amor,

Elder Jackson