Week 45 - 40 Days and A Baptism

Hey there people. Pretty good week, buuuuuuttt tired for sure. Elder Austin and I are getting along very well, and we are laughing like constantly. We have been blessed tremendously and have been having a fair amount of success in the work. We kinda do a mix of Service, working with the people we have, trying to find new people, working with less active members, and at the same time trying to go and help all of the other missionaries that we are leaders of. TIRED. But also content.

A few Updates: We ate a rib-eye steak last week, shout out to Elder Austins parents. We also had a baptism on Saturday for a kid named Carlos, who has his 2 sisters, brother and aunt that he lives with are members of the church, and he wanted to be baptized too. They live really far away, but it was worth the effort. Although hes just a little kid, very good example of doing the small things: READ, PRAY, & CHURCH!

Small things are the most important. Reading the scriptures, and praying and conversing with God are the only ways we can personally grow our relationship with God. Its such a simple thing, I don't know why we as people don't understand it sometimes. Our relationship with God grows the same way our relationship with our parents on Earth. Our Mom and Dad do just about everything for us, and we choose to appreciate it or ignore it. As a child, we normally opt to not notice every sacrifice our parents do for us. But unfeigned, our parents continue to give everything they can for us because they love us. What do they normally ask of us? They just ask us how our day went, whats going on in our lives, they just want to TALK! Now we look at this scenario, but this time focus in on our Heavenly Father. Day by day he blesses us. He protects us, helps us, and knows whats best for us. Literally everything good, including the people and small happy moments in our lives, our puppys, everything is given from him. Do we always thank him for all these things?  Ask yourself on a daily basis, what is something good that happened today? Get on your knees, and thank God. We we receive the small blessings we receive daily, our relationship with God will grow. We learn to trust in him, and his will for us, and when hard times come, we will have the necessary confidence in him to help us, like we do with the seat-belt on a crazy loopyloop roller coaster. We trust we will be okay in the end because hes there. I am a witness to answered prayers. I have received answers to questions, received blessings, and been a lot happier for it.

Matthew 7:7-8 "7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."


Last week my comp and I did a 24 hour fast from food and water, and it just happened to be on the hottest, most walking day that I have ever worked. We struggled just to focus from dehydration, but kept an overly positive attitude about everything, and did not give into temptation. Jesus fasted for 40 straight nights and days, and suffered through it all. We were on a metaphorical "40 days", and were determined to push through the end. The last visit of the night, and after we were gonna end our fast. The family asked us to go with them to carry 8 gallon jugs of water a few kilometers away, because they didn't have access to water. We looked at each other, and told her, "Come on, Vaminos!!" Let me tell ya, my years of playing sports were put to the test with my mental toughness, walking up a mountain with all that water. We considered it our day 40, and made it to the finish, and celebrated with a coke. A hard day, but what made it worth it was the reason why we were fasting.

We made a sacrifice of 24 hours without water or food, and suffered for a greater cause. We fasted for the people we are teaching, that the hardships and trials that some are currently going through, that they would be able to withstand them and overcome them. Any moment during those hours where I thought of myself, my mind was competently changed because I knew I was doing it to help someone else. We we choose to put others first, we lose ourselves in the process, and find joy through the light of Christ. If you are struggling to find what makes you happy in life, try helping someone else thats struggling harder with the same problem. That's how we can be happy. Its what Jesus taught us, I put it to the test, and can verify to you about it too. Jesus knows all about your problems, because he suffered for each and every one of you.

I know Jesus lives, and loves us. Pray to know and find out. Help others to be happy. Its simple. Love y'all, stay groovy,

Elder Butler