Week 77: Happy Birthday Elder Rash!

Hello Friends and Family,

This week has been great! Elder Spencer and I have continued to see the hand of the Lord in our work.
We had some great lessons this week; one of which was with a lady, which I won’t say names. This lady has quite the past. She has struggled with many commandments in her past, such as the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. We brought Elder Truman, one of the senior missionaries, along with us for this lesson because we felt we needed a little more mature man to be there for the topic that was going to be talked about. In preparation I was able to read a talk from Elder D. Todd Christofferson titled “The Divine Gift of Repentance”. Not only did I learn a lot that I was able to share in this lesson, but it also opened my own eyes. Through much discussion we were informed by this lady that she was actually pregnant with twins. We learned about her rough past as a teenager and the feelings of loneliness she frequently experienced. It was an amazing lesson we were able to have with her, that was filled with smiles and hope. Here are a few quotes from Elder Christofferson's talk that stood out and that we were able to share with this lady.
-“Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it.”
-“Surely the Lord smiles upon one who desires to come to judgment worthily, who resolutely labors day by day to replace weakness with strength. Real repentance, real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving.”
Repentance is such a joy and is by far my favorite thing to teach to people and to help people do. This past week was filled with repentance and it has put a smile on my face as Elder Christofferson mentioned. There is a scripture that he quoted in his talk that stood out to me the most. It reads “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” D&C 88:22 . If you are not abiding the law of a celestial kingdom, repent, because you cannot abide in a celestial glory. And why procrastinate the day of your repentance and fall further and further from the celestial law and glory? Repentance is a joyful process. It can bring embarrassment, but nothing can be more embarrassing than standing before God with your garments stained with sin and being unable to enter the house of the Lord. Repentance brings joy and relief.
I had the opportunity and privilege to drive and drop off a missionary at the airport who was returning home early from his mission to take care of some things in preparation to return and finish his final 20 months. It was a joy to be able to council with and advise this young Elder and see his worried demeanor turn to excitement and hope for the future. I am excited to see him back in the mission field in May this year. The atonement is real. It is such a blessing and we should each use it every day.
Love, Elder Rash
P.S. Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday wishes. It was an amazing Birthday!
Also, in other news, what made it such an amazing Birthday was finding out I made it into BYU while I was Skyping my family!!! My companion also got in and we had an amazing lesson with a very prepared man. It was a Birthday I will forever remember.
Note from mom: With the new missionary policy on communicating with families on P-Day's and Special occasions, we were able to video chat with Devon on our Wedding Anniversary (Friday) and then HIS Birthday (on Sunday evening). It was such a blessing to see his face and hear his voice. He is happy and enjoying every minute of his time on his mission....no regrets!

Down time on P-Day with the Zone

They had Stake Conference on Sunday and he was able to see lots of familiar faces
from when he served in his first area of Soweto. Here are a few of his favorites.
Mncedisi is preparing to turn his mission papers in soon.