Another Week

Week 2 of 3,

The MTC is great. No really it is. If there is one word or phrase, I could use to describe my district it would be: dysfunctional unit. We hit an all time low on Thursday. I won't go into much detail, but we were all hanging on to a short ledge, ready to give up and fall. I really don't know how we have made it through the week, except for the fact that we are all meant to be here. Since it has been a hard week for everyone, I would like to share what has got me through the week:

Gratitude. This principle is so important and more important that I had ever realized. It began during a study session of the Book of Mormon. We were reading Alma 36 (I encourage everyone to read it and look for gratitude, which might seen random but do it) with my teacher Brother Smith. At this point half our district had left to go meet with the new district in our zone, so it was just six of us missionaries reading on the lawn with EFY music blasting in the background wary of the impending crisis of the sprinklers going off at any second. Anyways, here we were discussing the phrase "have mercy". We came to the conclusion that rather than asking for forgiveness and focusing on himself, Alma was accepting Christ and the Atonment, realizing that Christ changes our hearts. The process of change begins with gratitude. Appreciation for the gift we have been given. This week I was lucky enough to have a whole bunch of free time. I was able to relisten to President Monson's talk on the gift of Gratidude. I invite everyone to go to mormon.org and listen/read it. It's great. 

In all honesty this week has not been that hard for me in comparison to the rest of the district. I've been happy. I got a package from the Roddins with coconut clusters and raspberries from the Richards. Everything was going my way. But the negativity of others can be very challenging to deal with. Through gratitude I have found peace. I have been able to increase my patience and understanding. Through gratitude, I have become happier. By commencing everything with thanks and appreciation I know I will be able to get through two hard years. 

Thank you for the support and love. Also big thanks to my father. Happy Father's/Birthday. Thank you for going to the temple with me and being a great example. I love you. 

- Elder Bodine

Food makes me very happy. District sand volleyball. View from my classroom... is that the SWKT?