Time in Guayaquil 
This week was another great one. I finally have a
workout companion...which is a lot better than trying to make up ways to
stay in shape by yourself. We are on a program approved by the mission
called Tapout XT. Super fun! They are workout DVD's and we just about
die of water loss and muscle failure as we do it, but we get a good laugh
out it!
Elder Ashman and I fed a deer! One of the members in
our sector has a pet deer. It is so strange. It is so tame and you can
feed it as you would a horse or some other type of tame animal. It
actually gave me a kiss...do you think I have to confess for that?? ;)
I
guess this week was just the week of the animals...we found ourselves
in the path of a giant turkey too! So we cornered it off and were going
to catch it but the owner came out and asked us what we wanted with her
turkey. We turned it into a finding opportunity however and shared a
message of Jesus Christ with her which was really neat.
On
Tuesday night we headed out to Guayaquil for an early morning temple
session on Wednesday and a Zone Conference on Wednesday afternoon. I
LOVE TO SEE THE TEMPLE! It truly is the greatest. What a blessing it is
to have been given a place holy enough for the Lord to reside in upon
the face of the earth today that we can enter in and make sacred
covenants. What a blessing it is to have the Lord's house upon the earth
today.
After the conference, which was great, we had to head
over to the office to grab a few boxes of Books of Mormon. Man are
those boxes heavy. Elder Ashman and I were laughing our heads off as we
could barely hold them in our arms because of Tapout XT. After catching a
few buses, a few trips and falls, sweating some more, and leaving our
arms with NO STRENGTH, we made it to the final bus to get back to La
Troncal.
One of the days this week we threw on the aprons!
Our lunch appointment got cancelled so I cooked up some potatoes. I have
failed you Mama Noll...I have failed you...Not that they were
BAAADDD...but I put a little bit- a lot a bit- too much pepper in the
mashed potatoes and we didn't enjoy them as we would some Mama Noll or
Mama Ashman potatoes...but we did our best!
I can't get over
the spirit that I have been able to feel this past week! We have had
some pretty incredible teaching experiences...
Elder Ashman and
I had the chance to give a sick little baby girl a blessing of health.
It was incredible to see the Lord's mercy. When we got to the house this
little girl was hysterical. BAWLING. We were not sure how we were going
to give the blessing in circumstances like this. We decided that Elder
Ashman would do the anointing and I would give the blessing. So Elder
Ashman placed his hands on the small child's head and began to anoint
her by the power and authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood...I could
hardly hear his words because of the screaming child...and then came the
words...``and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ...`` and the crying
stopped. The screaming ceased. The tension halted. Everything in the
world seemed to be put on hold apart from the overflowing spirit
entering each of our hearts. We then both placed our hands on her little
head and gave her the blessing and not a sound was heart except the
words and promises that our Heavenly Father wanted said and that
moment. What a testimony of God's power. What a testimony of the power
of the Priesthood.
AHHHH! I am running out of time! We had so many great experiences!
We
were hungry one day and we walked right under a mango tree...good thing
Elder Ashman played baseball because he chucked some rocks and knocked
down some mangoes to snack on. If it had not have been for him we would
not have eaten...there is no way my arm would come near to one of those
mangoes! Haha!
We had to fill up the baptismal font on
Saturday and in order to fill it up you have to turn a valve that is in a
sprinkler box in the ground...but it had a lock on it...so we went and
found a big old rock and smashed the sucker until the lock broke. We got
the lock off and felt pretty awesome. We felt unstoppable and powerful.
Then we realized that breaking the lock was unnecessary because the
whole sprinkler box can come out of the ground without any problem...but
I think we will just stick with the fact that we broke a lock with our
bare hands to be able to have a baptism...sounds a bit cooler...so don't
tell anyone that we could have done so without breaking the lock ;)
So I guess we will get to the message...
Elder
Ashman and I were blessed with the opportunity to baptize the biggest
stud on Saturday. We had been working with a less-active family for
quite some time so that they could be reactivated and so that their son
could be baptized...and everything just kid of fell together on
Saturday. It was the testimony of this kid that really had an impact on
me and has caused me some deep thinking.
``I feel so clean. I
feel so pure. When Elder Ashman baptized me I felt as if Jesus Christ
Himself was baptizing me.`` WOW. I was caused to ask myself some self-reflecting questions:
What are we really as
Priesthood holders? Who are we? What is it that our Heavenly Father has
trusted us with as He gave us His power and ordained us to our
Priesthood offices? Mosiah 5 explains to us the ``taking upon yourself
of Christ`s name`` through baptism. But if we think in a sense of
Priesthood we can answer these self reflecting questions. ``...for he
shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the
name of Christ.``
How sacred of a calling it is we have. We
act in HIS name. We heal in HIS name. We baptize in HIS name after by commissioned of HIM. We do what HE DID as we use the Priesthood. My dad always taught me something so valuable that I LOVE... As a Deacon I
had the same power that Christ had as He administered the sacrament. As
administers of the sacrament we literally allow people to partake of the
Lord`s Atonement. Your duty is more sacred than you think...I hope you
can feel as if you are the Savior`s hands...offering eternal life to
those whom you pass the sacrament to.
The Teachers have the
sacred responsibility to prepare the sacrament. What could that mean?
What could it symbolize? I find it interesting how you have to fill up
the trays with the water cups one by one...then you must fill up the
cups one by one with water until every cup, in every row, of every
column, of each and every tray is filled...just like our Savior payed
the price of sins for each and every one of us...one by one...until He
had payed the price for all. Without the preparation of the sacrament by
the Teachers the Lord`s Atonement does not exist. How does the Savior
feel as you fill the cups with His blood?
As you Priests part
the bread you are the Lord`s hands. Doing exactly what He did. You
offer and part something that offers every partaker to ``always have His
spirit to be with them``. How are you breaking the Savior`s body? How
are you kneeling? How do you look as you are representing so sacred an
ordinance?
The list of Priesthood ordinances could go on and
on and on. But the fact of the matter is that we are the hands of the
Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ. Each time you anoint the
sick...KNOW that Christ is anointing them...and that only THROUGH
you...and for a moment...you are Lord`s hands.
Each time you
place your hands on a child`s head take a moment to pause...look at your
hands...and visualize the Savior`s hands in place of yours...look at
the prints on His hands...feel of the love that those hands have for the
child and for you...and live in that moment as the Savior. You are His
hands.
Oh Elders of Israel let us go forth as the Lord`s
hands. Oh Priesthood holders of the Latter-Days let us represent the
Almighty Redeemer of the world...BE HIS HANDS. WE ARE HIS HANDS!
Love you all!
I look forward to another week filled with miracles and life changing experiences!
Elder Noll
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