Elder Jakob Lutze: Semana 17 (Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!)

CHRISTMAS!!!!! I love Christmas so much!! And I'm just considering this entire week as our Christmas. Unless next week is full of more Christmas.... then I'll just have two!

This week the highlight was definitely the Christmas party on Friday. There were a ton of kids! Idk who they were or where they came from, but I'm pretty sure they got word that there would be presents, so they showed up. But, the party was fun! Lots of singing and yelling. And Elder Hansen and I got some pretty solid new people which was the best present we could ask for, besides baptisms of course. We will get that present this coming Friday!

Other highlights would be chilling in hammocks at the end of the night when we are going to write in our journals. We just go outside, put on some music, and lay in hammocks. It really is the life!

We also bought bread for this one dude Daniel because he was really hungry and then we invited him to church. And he showed up. He stayed for the meetings. Then he started demanding food. He was yelling, crying, complaining, and it was really ridiculous honestly. He was getting mad and lying to the members saying "The white boys promised me a bag of food." Apparently this isn't the first time this dude has done this. The most ridiculous part was that a member bought him breakfast that morning, and another member bought him more food before all of this. So, not only was he not grateful for that, but he was also demanding more money and food. It was quite the event.

We also had a big service project this week that was fun! We had the whole zone there, and we just partied it up while cleaning.

Other than that, not much else happened. So here's my spiritual thought for the week.

This week's thought came after we visited with a "hater." We taught this guy, and he was pretty cool. He had accepted the Book of Mormon, and said that he would read it. Well, the next time we were teaching this guy, he suddenly started bashing on the church. He said a bunch of crap about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. And he refused to even listen to anything we were trying to say. He also said that the Book of Mormon meant nothing to him and that he was just going to throw it away. Everything he said, honestly made no sense at all and was ridiculous. The thing is though, the Book of Mormon is the most precious gift. So, Elder Hansen and I took it back. We decided that if someone is just going to disrespect what is most precious to us it's better to take it back. Idk if that's right or wrong. But, it was definitely the first time I've ever taken a Book of Mormon from someone instead of giving it to them.

My spiritual thought is this. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and a great man. I know that the Book of Mormon is key to this religion and it brings us closer to God. I know that the Book of Mormon brings joy and happiness into our lives. It is the most precious gift we have. My invitation to each of you is if you don't know if the Book of Mormon is true, then read it, ponder its words, and pray to know if it is true. If you have done that, and you don't know it's true, then do it again because it is true. Study it. Find out for yourself if it is true. Truth is truth, and it can't change. Once you do find out that it's true, the blessings you will receive from the Book of Mormon are immeasurable. For those that already know that it's true, then study it everyday. It will fill you with the spirit, and bring so much joy to you.

I love you all so much. I can't express the gratitude I have for all of you. And I can't express how much I desire for all of you to know that this gospel is true, and to see the blessings it brings. Take the opportunity in front of you. You are 100% responsible. I can testify all I want, but until you search for yourself, you will never know. Keep praying for me and my people. But more importantly, pray for knowledge and a testimony of the Book of Mormon for yourselves. Love you all!

Oh! And I also got a pretty dope heart tie for Christmas!!

~ Elder Lutze