Week 10: Building a Foundation

Kumusta lahat!! So good to have another Monday so I can talk to you all :) I hope you all had a great week!

So, last week when we were walking to an appointment this family stopped us and asked us to come and teach them. We were able to go over a couple times this week and it's been pretty amazing. The family is so prepared, and they are so engaged in the lessons.

The mom is hilarious. She's asked us to call her "Cricket." She's a big fan of nicknames. They call me "brows" which is absolutely hilarious hahaha I love it. Elder Brows.

She has a son named Mikey who is 9 and has a small mental disability due to some past traumatic experiences. But he's such a sweet spirit, and I've begun to bond with him. As we taught Cricket the plan of salvation, I was with Mikey keeping him entertained so that his mom could pay attention to the lesson. Honestly, it was great. We looked at pictures of Jesus and I explained the atonement (very basically) to him. It was a really neat experience, and I've thought about how I am still a representative of Jesus Christ teaching simply to children. There was a special kind of love that seemed to fill my heart as he reacted so warmly to pictures of Jesus. He put on my nametag for the lesson which was cute. He also took like 15 of my pass along cards and stuck them up on the wall. It was so humid that he didn't even need tape, they just stuck by themselves! What a great experience.

On another day we went over to their house and planned on teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, when we sat down Cricket came into the room and, crying, she explained that her marriage of 5 years had ended that morning. She seemed absolutely devastated. Me and Elder Jeppson both felt so much love for her as we prayed for peace and for the spirit to enter into their home. In the beginning of the lesson, she looked worn, tired, restless. But, at the end- she was smiling, thankful, and peaceful. The reason she felt like that at the end was because we turned to the Book of Mormon for help and inspiration. We read the Book of Enos and talked about how prayer and faith can help us through difficult times, and also turning outward towards others in love. Then, we shared a final scripture with her in Helaman. It reads:

"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is up on the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that he must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which he are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation wherein if men build they cannot fall."

The spirit flooded the room as she read this verse, and she began to be filled with the peace of God. She kept saying "wow" again and again as she wiped tears from her eyes. The incredible joy that we felt that afternoon was remarkable. Even in the storm of trials and hard times, we truly can hold onto the word of God. We must build our foundation on Christ, and if we do, we cannot fall.

This week, I invite you all to ponder this verse. What does it mean to you? What is your foundation? How has building your foundation on Christ strengthened your life?

I know it's strengthened mine.

Love you all!! Have a wonderful week :)

Elder Childers