Lift up the hands which hang down

Hey everyone!

This week seriously flew by so fast. I made a ton of progress in Spanish, teaching, and reading the Book of Mormon. Every day is a grind but I'm really, really happy here. Less  than two weeks until I get to go down to Chile! I can't wait.

I thought my Spanish was great until I was asked to join the fluent speakers for some discussions.  It was clear that I was the weak link, lol!  I loved it though.  It gives me motivation to be at that level before I leave el CCM.  

I heard this awesome story this week that I want to share:

A senior missionary told me a super cool story about Zeus and the other Greek Gods. They were all talking about where they should hide their divine godly power, or light, so man doesn't find it and become like the rest of the gods, because then the gods wouldn't be gods anymore because everyone else would be like them. One god suggested, "we should hide it at the top of the highest mountain." Zeus responded by saying man would eventually climb to the top of all the mountains in the world and find it. Another god then asked "should we bury it in deep inside the earth?" Zeus said no because man would eventually dig down to the center and obtain their divine power. A third god suggested they drop it at the bottom of the depths of the ocean where no man can go. But Zeus again said that man would find a way to get to the floor of the ocean. Zeus, being annoyed with the helplessness of the other gods, finally concluded, "we will hide it in man himself."  All of the other gods were puzzled and questioned Zeus´ sanity.  Zeus replied by saying that we will hide it there because man will never think to look there.

I really love this story. Sometimes we forget where to look when we are struggling and need help. We tend to blame things on other people or believe that things are out of our control. We all have this divine potential, this great capacity, this light of Christ inside of us. We can all do amazing things, we just need to remember that we are capable of doing them!

This week President Bennett gave a devotional about goals and visions and I loved it.  Here are some of my notes:

1.  Those who accomplish most in life are those that have a vision.  They set goals to keep them focused on their vision and have a plan to achieve them.

2.  Knowing where you are going and how you expect to get there can bring meaning, purpose and accomplishment in life.

3.  Goal setting begins with the end in mind.

4.  A key to happiness lies in what we want most and pursuing it.  

On Monday I memorized a great quote from Gordon B. Hinckley "Quiere ser feliz? Olvidese a si mismo a pierdase en esta gran causa.  Dedique sus esfuerzos a ayudar a la gente... viva en un plano mas alto; fortalezca a los de rodillas debilitadas y levante a los de brazos caidos.  Viva el Evangelio de jesucristo."  In English, "Do you want to be happy?  Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause.  Lend your efforts to helping people... Stand higher, lift those with feeble knees, hold up the arms of those that hang down.  Live the Gospel of Jesus Christ."  

At the end of the day I was reading the letters I received and in my moms letter she told me to look up D & C 81:5 which reads "Succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees."   That's an insane coincidence.  Mama, we may be far apart but we are still on the same page!  

I love you all so much and hope you guys have a great week!

D&C 128:22-23

All my best,

Elder Vincent