We're gonna Paint this City

The companionship rap has been completed. And the city is being PAINTED.

 

As a mission, (I dont know if I already said this or not, ah. I am forgetting everything.) but we are reading the Book of Mormon together. Six pages a day for about 90 days (two transfers). Every week, we have a different Christlike attribute that we get to focus on in our reading. This week, the attribute was hope. I was able to give a talk yesterday in church (in dutch. and it was AWESOME. someone even came up to me afterward telling me that they actually thought I was dutch for a good amount of that talk. it was probably up until the part where I started trying to talk about something that I hadn't planned on talking about and realized I didn't know some of the words I wanted to use.) Anyway, in that talk, I was given the topic "vreugde in het evangelie." Joy in the gospel. I thought a lot about it and I realized that joy in the gospel comes through, obviously  following the 5 points/steps of the gospel--faith, repentance, baptism, gift of holy ghost, enduring to the end--but that it starts with faith. And faith without hope is hallow. And hope is a word that the world uses in two different ways. The most common is "I wish." Usually when we say I hope, it is about something that is realistic (so I guess, more concrete than a wish) but it is still not expected. There isn't a lot of confidence behind it-- it is looking at a situation that could have two different outcomes and both could be expected, but we wish for the one. There is generally no faith behind it. BUT the other way we could use the word hope is by intending it to mean "I trust" or "I am confident that..." That is the hope that Jesus Christ gives us. With Him, we never have to wonder what the outcome will be. Our hope can be sure. We can be confident in our outcomes. We can expect the expected. Jesus Christ is the unfailing source of our hope--with him as our foundation. we can turn all of our "I wish" -es into "I trust"s.

 

Missionary work is wonderful. I enjoy the opportunity that I have to take part in it. I, being blessed with hope, can help others find it. And I have had a very special experience with that, here in Leeuwarden, but also in my former cities. And there is nothing that could replace these sweet experiences that I have had to give me even more hope for the eternities.

 

I love you all and I hope the coming week is great! Congratulations Colorado! Win that Superbowl, Broncos!

 

Liefs en veel sterkte!

 

xoxo

Zuster Hoff