Soren in Idaho: The Great Artisan

Alohaaaaaaaaa

This week has been long but soooo goood! So many wonderful things have happened and are in the process of happening. I'm so excited for the upcoming months. We have had rain for 3 weeks straight. it reminds me of home. Sun. Rain. Sun. rain all in the same day. i love it tho it makes things interesting and fun!

Our area has been slow. Almost every lesson and church tour we set up this week fell through. So it was a little discouraging. But Elder Jones and i know that the Lord is saving something great for us. Elder Jones is such a great leader. He is teaching me and helping me become the missionary i want to be for the rest of my life. I am so grateful for him and his example. He helps me do things that i am not normally comfortable with but he told me,

"when you have to do something you don't want to do, when its uncomfortable and hard, that's the Lord molding you"

****** I thought of a Great Sculptor with a piece of clay. At first the clay its rough, its course, full of impurities, its plain and just a simple piece of clay. I imagined my self as that piece of clay. The Lord is the artist. He takes each of us by hand and starts pushing, kneading with his thumbs, he starts spreading us out flat, squishing and flattening, rolling and folding. How uncomfortable that would be. But after years of this process. After many long nights in the studio (My mom can attest) the Lord spends individually molding us, literally blood, sweat, and tears goes into a single piece of clay. We become someone we never thought we could become. We become a smooth, round, perfected piece of art. what comes to my mind are the Greek statues of their *Gods*. Christ literally molds us into such divine beings. Molds us into who we long to become, like our Father in Heaven.

The moral of the story, when we are tossed into such uncomfortable situations, things we wouldn't normally do, when there's pressure and heavy burdens weighing upon you, remember that it is the Lord molding you. You are in His hands. He is Perfecting you. Trust in him. For He is The Great Artist. He is the Creator. He is our Savior.

i found a perfect scripture in Isaiah after i had this thought which was funny.

Isaiah 64:8 "Yet, the Lord, You are our Father. We are the clay, You are the Potter; We are all the work of your hand"

I also received a letter from a friend who re-emphasized an important principal of life and added some profound knowledge to this principal that i was taught by one of my best friends earlier a couple years ago. And that is seeing things with an Eternal Perspective. Seeing my mission as 2 years to learn everything of this life to bless my future family and i in the next. She had me understand that i need to learn what it means to truly "Keep my Eye Single to the Glory of God". Nevah mind the fame, the fortune, the temporal vices we have in this earthly life. And to do my best to look to God for the rest of my time here on earth. This has helped me see my mission as an opportunity to know HOW life works, to learn HOW to keep the commandments, and HOW to enjoy to the end. And everything else we are to learn in preparation of meeting our Father.

Now I think of my mission as "Earthly Paradise" no.. not the beautiful place where i come from but like "Spirit Paradise" where we go to wait, to serve, to teach and to lead others to Christ... after this life. No worries of the world, no distractions, somewhat resting from our troubles, and being able to fulfill our fathers will leaving all other affairs behind. To those of you who have served missions and who are currently on missions and those who know what missionary work is, doesn't that seem right?

What a blessing it is to be able to feel what "Spirit Paradise" feels like. This may be Doctrine of Elder Soren but thats how i see it. It helps me appreciate more of what God has given me, this opportunity to be a Full time missionary. To know what my Dad is doing and experiencing right now.

I will continue to testify that Jesus Is the Christ and how much i love my mission.

I miss you all, Love you more

Stoked to Serve,

Elder Soren

XOxoOOXXO