Week 40

Oh My Goodness what a week it has been in the great Saint Louis!

YESS I AM IN ST. LOUIS NOW! well…Maryland Heights, but that is basically St. Louis and the heart of the mission so it has been such a great experience being around so many missionaries so often.

Anyways, I am going to make a promise that I will send weekly emails out much more often than I have been… which I guess anything would be better than how little I am currently sending but I promise I will get better!!

Okay moving on..

MISSIONS ARE THE BEST. THEY ARE. SIMPLE AS THAT.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve a mission, and AGAIN for that matter. The opportunity to be back out here serving and meeting the wonderful people of St. Louis Missouri has been such a blessing.

I would like to simply reiterate the significance of these SIMPLE, yet SIGNIFICANT principles taught in the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

Faith

Repentance

Baptism

Receiving the Gift of The Holy Ghost

Enduring to the End

Faith is an "action" word. It is so much more than a hope of something being true. Faith is the idea that you are not only relying on that "hope" for the truth of something, but in fact that you are willing to make decisions and actions that will truly further your ability to understand the truth. (whatever that may be..) but in this case faith in Jesus Christ is an understanding that He is the Son of God. The Redeemer of all of the world. He lives. He loves. Faith in Jesus Christ is a willingness to serve Him, Love Him, Live as He does. Faith is an enabling trust. Trust in Him and act in a way that He will trust in you.

(So stop doubting yourself and what you feel is best for you, listen to what the Lord needs for you then…DO IT. He literally knows your capabilities, often times we fear what comes next. The moment we fear that something is not the right choice for us, but that it could be a possible good choice, trust in the Lord. He knows you better than you know yourself.)

Repentance is simply the idea of change. To repent is to recognize a need and ability to change a certain aspect of your life, and to be willing to do whatever it takes to remove that negative aspect for the growth of your individual soul. It is simply changing for the better, but with an understanding of why and how. We repent through the Atoning Sacrifice of Our Savior Jesus Christ. We seek forgiveness and promise to become better.

(Repentance is so fun! DO it often! Love it! Learn from it! Share your experiences with those around you and help them to grow, understand and utilize the Atonement of Jesus Christ in their lives.)

Baptism is THE WAY. It is literally the GATE in which we enter into the covenant path. Being baptized for the 'remission of sins' helps us to follow the example of Jesus Christ. Baptism is a promise that we make to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ that we are willing to literally take upon ourselves the name of Christ, always remember Him and keep His commandments.

(This brings us so much closer to the Savior and allows us the ability to receive the Gift of The Holy Ghost. Baptism is SUCH A BLESSED OPPORTUNITY.)

The Gift of The Holy Ghost is simply the gift of always having the Holy Ghost with you. The Holy Ghost is the testifier of truth. The comforter. As we seek to further our knowledge and ability to follow the example of Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost will help guide his in the direction we need to go.

(We receive answers to our prayers often times through the "Still Small Voice" of the Holy Ghost. As we learn to listen to that voice, we become more Spiritually in tune and we become more willing to act on those prompting we receive.)

Enduring to the end is the simple action of moving forward with all of these above principles. We must continue in faith that we are doing what the Lord needs for us, not what we feel we need. We need to continually repent and become cleansed from sin and be given comfort through hard times.

(Keep your head up and love love love every second of every day. It is truly a blessing and opportunity to be the literal children of the most loving God.

I love you all more than you could ever imagine. I miss you all so much and wish I could give you all the biggest hug. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me any time you have questions about the mission or want to share with me stories from how your life is going!!!

-Elder Shua Newbold

(Got pepper in my eye)