10/12/2020
Date
November 10, 2020
Area
Bristol, England
Companion
Elder Martin
10/12/2020
SO SORRY JUST NOTICED I NEVER POSTED THIS LETTER!
Hey Everyone, sorry for not writing for so long. It has been a really good last couple of weeks. We're keeping busy which is definitely a blessing. One of the things I've learned with this whole coronavirus situation is that busy is better than being bored.
There's one experience I really wanted to take note of over the past few weeks so I thought I'd record it in here. A few days ago we went over to have dinner with a member Family named the Flakes. They're actually one of the American families in the ward, with Brother Flake working for the NATO offices in the area. We're usually invited over there every week for dinner and a game of soccer. They have three boys and two little girls that are a ton of fun. One of their boys is on the autism spectrum, but very vividly reminds me of someone from back home which is partly why this experience has stuck so much in my mind. So at this specific time we were over we had just finished dinner and were off to play soccer with Brother Flake and his boys on the side yard. Elder Sorensen and I had their son with autism on our team who is probably a better goalie than I could ever dream of being. It was awesome. Every time we would score a goal or he would block one we would give each other air high fives and tell him how much of an awesome job he was doing. But I noticed that he didn't really seem to be enjoying playing goalie. He would kind of just stand there unengaged whenever the ball wasn't in his general area so I figured we'd do a quick social distanced huddle and plan for him to run up towards the opposing teams goal and wait for us to kick the ball to him so that he could score. His face lit up and he immediately ran off to wait for his moment in the spotlight. Gosh I've never prayed so hard for someone to score a goal. To be fair I don't think I've ever prayed for someone to score a goal but that doesn't take away from the fact that I was determined to do all I could to set up this perfect moment for him. After about a half a minute we finally got the ball to him and he scored! I have never seen someone so happy in my life, and to be fair I don't know if I've ever been happier seeing someone else as elated as that. The only words that could describe the feeling I got from witnessing that are pure joy.
I find it interesting that the happiest moments in life aren't to be found as a result of our success or happiness but in helping others find a greater sense of joy and fulfillment in their lives. It's what I like to call the happiness paradox. I love the scripture in Moses 1:39 where God says "for this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" and I definitely think it relates to this principle for I believe the progression and joy of his children is not only God's work and glory but where he derives all of his happiness and joy. He loves us and our pure untainted joy is perfectly interconnected with His.
Hey Everyone, sorry for not writing for so long. It has been a really good last couple of weeks. We're keeping busy which is definitely a blessing. One of the things I've learned with this whole coronavirus situation is that busy is better than being bored.
There's one experience I really wanted to take note of over the past few weeks so I thought I'd record it in here. A few days ago we went over to have dinner with a member Family named the Flakes. They're actually one of the American families in the ward, with Brother Flake working for the NATO offices in the area. We're usually invited over there every week for dinner and a game of soccer. They have three boys and two little girls that are a ton of fun. One of their boys is on the autism spectrum, but very vividly reminds me of someone from back home which is partly why this experience has stuck so much in my mind. So at this specific time we were over we had just finished dinner and were off to play soccer with Brother Flake and his boys on the side yard. Elder Sorensen and I had their son with autism on our team who is probably a better goalie than I could ever dream of being. It was awesome. Every time we would score a goal or he would block one we would give each other air high fives and tell him how much of an awesome job he was doing. But I noticed that he didn't really seem to be enjoying playing goalie. He would kind of just stand there unengaged whenever the ball wasn't in his general area so I figured we'd do a quick social distanced huddle and plan for him to run up towards the opposing teams goal and wait for us to kick the ball to him so that he could score. His face lit up and he immediately ran off to wait for his moment in the spotlight. Gosh I've never prayed so hard for someone to score a goal. To be fair I don't think I've ever prayed for someone to score a goal but that doesn't take away from the fact that I was determined to do all I could to set up this perfect moment for him. After about a half a minute we finally got the ball to him and he scored! I have never seen someone so happy in my life, and to be fair I don't know if I've ever been happier seeing someone else as elated as that. The only words that could describe the feeling I got from witnessing that are pure joy.
I find it interesting that the happiest moments in life aren't to be found as a result of our success or happiness but in helping others find a greater sense of joy and fulfillment in their lives. It's what I like to call the happiness paradox. I love the scripture in Moses 1:39 where God says "for this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" and I definitely think it relates to this principle for I believe the progression and joy of his children is not only God's work and glory but where he derives all of his happiness and joy. He loves us and our pure untainted joy is perfectly interconnected with His.
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