11/08/2010

Hey Ya'll

I have developed a bad habit of rushing through Mondays and sometimes fore go a weekly email to everyone. I feel terrible. Some of the most wonderful and respected people in my life are those in my family and I think you deserve at least a quick email letting you know I'm still alive and loving life.

Some of the sweetest and most precious moments of my life have occurred on my mission. I have been contemplating why this is. Why do I feel more peace here than at any other period of my life? I've come to discover in trying to answer this question, a principle of eternal worth. It is summed up in this scripture which I have paraphrased:

"whosoever will lose his life for my name's sake and the gospel's, shall find it"

I wonder how much I have really immersed myself in the service of others. I believe that my joy and satisfaction is directly proportionate to how much I lose my life for the Savior's sake and for the gospel which He taught.

I have found happiness in lots of things, but it was never lasting. It would come for a fleeting moment and then slowly fade away and I would have to search again for something to replace it. It was as if there was a big hole in my heart i was trying to fill, but try as I would, nothing could fill it. Everything was temporary. It makes me think of this poem by Robert Frost:

"Nature's first green is gold; her hues are yours to hold,

Her early leaves a flower, but only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf, so Eden sank to grief.

So dawn goes down today, nothing gold can stay"

After serving my mission, I don't know if I completely agree with Robert Frost. I think the fact that change is always imminent is true, but I believe there is a lot of gold things that can stay.

A lesson I learned this week relates to giving up your selfish wants and replacing them with desires to serve others. It was what Christ not only taught, but what He did. I am thankful for His example and for His teachings. This is where true happiness lies.

Thank you all for your emails and letters of support. Thank you to those who are making my mission possible with your support. I love you all dearly and pray for you often. I hope the Lord continues to bless each of you in all your doing. God bless!

--
Elder Cabrera