el 21 de Agosto 2010
FAMILY!!
So much luv. So much mushy luv.
Haha…anyway, como estan? Here is your weekly letter from your man in Guatemala, preaching the Gospel of Christ.
I’m writing this my first week in my new area, Santa Elena. The circumstances ward-wise are a little harder here but I can see the good from just a little bit of stress to push me. It really is impossible to realize how much humbler your conditions can get. If I ever thought Juana de Arco was a change, it’s nothing like here. The biggest part for me right now is forcing myself to take cold showers in the morning. I still don’t have the courage to stand under the water, just my head and limbs and let it drip over me a bit. It’s so hard in the morning!
In my last email to you guys I mention that I was reading Jesus the Christ. Today I read a page that stood out to me because it concurred so strongly with my own testimony. It’s titled, “Pleasure verses Happiness.” I would write the whole of it but it is a bit long. Still, I feel impressed to share some with you. In this part of it, it is comparing the two to different things, like so: (remember that this is solely a small part of it, the ending few paragraphs.)
“…happiness is true food, wholesome, nutritious and sweet; it builds up the body and generates energy for action, physical, mental and spiritual. Pleasure is but a deceiving stimulant which, like spirituous drink, makes one think he is strong when in reality enfeebled; makes him fancy he is well when in fact stricken with deadly malady.”
“…happiness leaves no bad aftertaste, it is followed by no depressing reaction; it calls for no repentance, brings no regret, entrails no remorse; pleasure too often makes necessary repentance, contrition, and suffering; and if indulged to the extreme, it brings degration and destruction.”
“…True happiness is lived over and over again in memory, always with a renewal of the original good; a moment of unholy pleasure may leave an barbed sting, which like a thorn in the flesh, is an ever-present source of anguish.
“…Happiness is not akin with levity, nor is it one with light-minded mirth. It springs from deeper fountains of the soul, and is not infrequently accompanied by tears. Have you ever been so happy that you have had to weep? I have.” From an article by the author – Improvement Era, Vol. 17 pp. 172,173.
You should find a copy of Jesus the Christ and read the rest of it; it’s very impactful. It goes right along with my own testimony of being happy and spiritually clean and just thinking that you are. I will tell you that I am so happy here I don’t miss TV. I don’t miss computer or movies or heavy music. The feeling I have just sitting here writing my loved ones and listening to truly wholesome music brings me peace, something so many unfortunate people hopelessly look for without avail. There is just an indescribable feeling that comes from living a righteous lifestyle. 2 Nephi 1:23 is a very powerful scripture. Alma 29:9 is one of my recent favorite finds. “…And this is my joy.”
The longer I’ve stayted in Guatemala, the more I’ve noticed my tastes changing. For example:
HATE CAN EAT LIKE
Tomatoes - - - - - - - - - - -X
Oatmeal - - - - - - - - - - X
Granola - - - - - - - - - - -X
Lettuce -- - - - - - - - - - -X
Cold Hotdogs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - X
X - - - - - - - - - - - Ramen
Pineapple - - - - - - - - - - -X
Warm rice milk - - - - - - -X
Tamales - - - - - - - - - - - -X
X - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cookies, Chocolate, & Junk
Coconut (still hate)
Olives - - - - - - - - - - - - - X
That’s a pretty good chart for now. A lot really has changed in these past few months; even on your guys’ end. Hey mom if you really want to miss me, read Mosiah 28:7, and listen to “In the Wink of an Eye” from the Best Two Years soundtrack on my computer (or Wesley’s computer now).
Love you all so very much, every one of you and am so proud of my amazing family back home.
Amor inquebrantable,
Elder Bronson
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