Here We Go!

 Ajmo!!


Our travel plans came in officially yesterday, and I'll be flying out on Friday to Houston, from there to Frankfurt, Germany, and from there to Zagreb, Croatia! I'll be finishing up the MTC there as well as seeing the sights and culture of Zagreb for a couple weeks! It's still very surreal, but I am so excited to meet the people and begin this experience in the Balkans! We'll be staying in a sweet 5-star hotel with missionaries quarantining from all the surrounding missions and the sisters will be in what's called the "mission palace" (a duke used to live there), so we're all pretty stoked for that. 


This week was full of opportunities and light. I saw a lot of friends from BYU in the virtual MTC this week which was really fun and inspiring to see us all on this journey together! I also had a lot of experiences following the Spirit and sharing the gospel. God truly puts people into our paths and lives. Today I am so grateful for those in my life that got me to where I am! Family, friends, and my Savior Jesus Christ. 


My spiritual thought today is about angels and Christ. Often in the mission field, missionaries are referred to by people as "angels" that brought them to the gospel (keep this in mind). In the Book of Mormon, there are a number of times when angels appear to people. I want to talk about two in particular. Laman/Lemuel and Alma. In both cases, an angel of God appeared to these men. However, the results in each case were drastically different. Laman and Lemuel went back to their old habits and ended up being cast off, while Alma chose to change himself and became a great prophet. What was it that made the difference? The answer: Alma chose to turn to Jesus Christ. As missionaries, we might appear to be "angels" to those we teach. However, our efforts are meaningless unless the person chooses to turn to Jesus Christ. Only through Him can we change and better ourselves. I would invite you to ponder this question: In your own life, how can you choose to turn more to Christ?


Pictures to come next week!



Thank you again for the thoughts and prayers :)



Starješina Neil



P.S. We met our mission president and wife yesterday, and they are SO FUNNY! I'm super excited to actually meet and serve under them. They are amazing people!

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