15And it came to pass that after he had ascended into heaven the second
time that he showed himself unto them, and had gone unto the Father, after
having healed all their sick, and their lame, and opened the eyes of their
blind and unstopped the ears of the deaf, and even had done all manner of cures
among them, and raised a man from the dead, and had shown forth his power unto
them, and had ascended unto the Father.
17And it came to pass that the disciples whom Jesus had chosen began from
that time forth to baptize and to teach as many as did come unto them; and as
many as were baptized in the name of Jesus were filled with the Holy Ghost.
I love these verses because it shows the love that Jesus
Christ had for the people. He healed them and cured them. He provided a way
(baptism) for them so that they could all be filled with the spirit of God.
“Love” in Spanish translates to "Amor". I love that word because I
use it often as I tell people that the "Amor" God has for each and
every one of us is incomprehensible. God knows us, He listens to us, He loves
us. With Him, it's never the end of the road. By the time I left the temple I
felt spiritually uplifted. There is nothing like going inside the temple and
feeling the special spirit there. There you truly feel loved; loved by our Heavenly
Father.
Veronica and Antonio are doing well but they didn't come to
church and I just felt down. They are doing well and are still planning on
getting married and baptized this upcoming Saturday and we are hoping and
praying the Lord provides the way for that to happen. At the end of a rough day
last week, I had a leadership meeting with Elders Van Wagenen, Gifford, and
Anderson. Elder Van Wagenen shared a scripture that struck me really hard. It's
in the Doctrine and Covenants 112:13.
13And after
their temptations, and much tribulation, behold, I, the Lord,
will feel after them, and if
they harden not their hearts, and stiffen not their necks against me, they
shall be converted, and I will heal them.
The Lord will FEEL after us. Think about it as if you were looking
for an object in the dark and you use every sense of feeling in your hands to
find that object. I picture Christ doing the same with us. He is there to FEEL
after us and to bring us out of darkness. Our lives are not supposed to be
easy, and they never will be. But after trials come the blessings, because Christ
loves us, and no matter what we do we can always turn to him.
My Zone Leaders, Elder Gifford and Elder Anderson (the two
other missionaries I live with), helped me through that tough day last week. In
that meeting they told me why they loved me, and at that moment my day went
from a dark crummy day to a great one. That is exactly what I needed. I needed
to feel that Christ-like love they have for me. Then they asked me what I loved
about my companion, Elder Lopez. With tears in my eyes I said, "He is one
of the most humble people I have ever met. He is an example to me, and that's
why I love him." That meeting was amazing because I realized that it is
through the love of Christ that we all grow and feel good about ourselves. We
all have things to work on, but the best feeling ever is someone telling you
that they love you. El amor de Cristo (the love of Christ) can be spread and
shared to all those around us. Share that love you have for others and tell the
people around you why you love them. If you do that, I can promise you that you
will make their day and the light of Christ will beam from within you. I LOVE
my mission and I LOVE all of you for the incredible support and wonderful friendships
I have in my life.
Les Amo Mucho,
Elder Vance
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