Being a Zone Leader is a lot of fun. As I'm sure you know my character already, you know I like to talk to people and get to know new people. That's one of the things I get to do as zone leader! Just last night, two new districts came in and Elder Finuf and I got to go meet them and take them on a tour. It was sweet! They all seem real cool. One group is going to Indonesia to replace our one Indonesian elder (Sadly his visa got delayed so he's still here. haha). The other district is a mix of elders going to San Diego, Arkansas, and Alabama. I seriously love introducing them and taking them on the tour because we're like the first elders to get to know them and spend time with them. It's way cool. On the flip side, you have to spend a lot of time away from your studies doing things for the zone so it is kind of hard. However, I would have to say that it is a great experience to see how the Lord blesses you for doing His work. Even though Elder Finuf and I are constantly away from Mongolia doing Zone things, it seems like the Lord is helping us to learn Mongolian that much faster so that we can stay with the rest of the group. In fact, I KNOW that He does that, because I have felt it so much already.
About the whole warming Mongolia up with our missionary spirit, that might be a good idea in the winter, but I recently became aware that 100+ degree weather is not altogether uncommon in the two months of summer they have. Guess when those two months are? Yup. Right when we get to Mongolia. haha. We have an Elder in our District named Elder Plowman. He's from Idaho and he thrives on the cold weather. I'm pretty sure he about cried when he heard the news. Meanwhile, my companion and I just looked at each other and laughed because it would be just like home!
I got to see Tyler yesterday, it was awesome! I knew he was coming in so I was looking for him all day and he found me during Dinner. We talked for a good amount of time and then I saw him again as I was giving the tour. Turns out he is in my residence hall so I will definitely be going to his floor alot.
About Aca, when I first talked to him, he said to call back at the beginning of the July. So i'm going to wait about two more weeks and call him up again. It's a really exciting idea because if he has read the Book of Mormon and if he has prayed about like he said he would, I can just imagine the blessings that will have come into his life. I've been praying for him all the time and I know that if the Lord wills it and if Aca is willing to open up and follow the Spirit's promptings, he will be blessed.
Serving this mission has opened my eyes to so many different blessings and I've started to understand just a little bit about the intricacies and many wonders of it. As we were in class the other day sharing scriptural insights, I shared a scripture from Isaiah 10. It's verse 13-15 i believe. It just talks about how we, as instruments in the Lord's hands cannot boast over the things we are doing. It would be like an axe boasting about the tree it chopped down even though it was really the hands using the axe to chop it down. I really love that analogy. It also brought me to remember the words of King Benjamin in Mosiah when he talks about being an unprofitable servant to the Lord. He says that even if we spent every second of every day serving the Lord, we would still be unprofitable servants! When you first read that, it's quite sad. Even if you want to pay the Lord back for all he's given you, you could never be equal with him. King Benjamin elaborates that the Lord is constantly giving us the breath to live with. More than that, he gives us commandments to follow and as soon as we follow them we are blessed and so we again are in debt to him. What a merciful concept! To thing that we, even the most worthy of us, is an unprofitable servant, and still God is willing to do all that He can to bring us back to Him. It makes me want to do the very, very best that I can so that I can be the least unprofitable servant out there, but it so hard. That's why I love this Gospel. It's a Gospel of love. What else beyond love could drive our Heavenly Father to do this much for us?
In a choir I'm in (I'llL tell you more about this later) we are singing This is the Christ. Those lines in the song that say "how many drops of blood were shed for me?" just sends shivers down my spine. How much anguish have we caused the Savior, and how much more will we cause Him? My hope is that I would never pain the Savior again and that is what I strive for. Still, he is our Saviour, our Redeemer, and our Lord and he atoned for our sins willingly, not being forced. He has taken on our sins and he will willingly forgive us of them if we will just follow the way He has prescribed. Moreover, he knows EXACTLY the pains that we suffer in our everyday lives. Who better to turn to in our struggles and trials than God and Jesus Christ? They have said time and time again that They will carry our burden if we will give it up to them and follow them. It's amazing to think about isn't it? That so many wrong choices can be overridden if we work to change our lives, repent, and strive to become like Jesus and Heavenly Father.
I know this church is true, more than I've ever known it before. Keep trying to read from the Book of Mormon every day because it is from there that we can find the strength of the Lord. I love you all so very much and I will be writing you letters if I haven't already. I will also be writing Dad and Crystal today. I love them too! They are definitely included in the "I love you all category". Thank you so much for everything and I hope things go good for you.
Your Elder,
Elder James Cappuccio
P.S. could I get more contacts sometime soon and like more razor edges? Love you!
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