Opposite of Last Week 6/26/2018

Hola todos!

Hope you all had another fantastic week! Especially those of you who went to the Grand Ol' Lazy J! Sucks not being able to go up to that plot of heaven on Earth with y'all, but I hope you had a blast! (please send pics if you can! thanks). Mine was incredible! So many cool things went down, I'll go from awesome to awesomest, haha, but I'm going to try my best to keep it all short, onward!

We did meet a good number of people this week, most we have only me tthe once with though, so not much to talk about yet. One lady named Elena we met while knocking around a neighborhood. The neighborhood in general was not awesome... We got a lot of slammed doors and unhappy campers, haha. But we met Elena about 3/4 a way through, she was on the phone though, but said we could come back. A bunch of unfriendlies later, we came back. She was from Puerto Rico and her husband passed away about 20 years ago while she was there. She said he liked meeting with missionaries though, and she said she felt very calm whenever they would stop by, and she asked if we could come by next Saturday to talk! so that was awesome! 

Friends whom we've known have been doing well too! Sybil finally got back from her vacation to Jamaica, and she's as happy to see us as ever! Her husband still hasn't read from the Book of Mormon, but she has started being much more confident with inviting him to do things! We have also been meeting with a kid named Rey, his parents were baptized a few years ago, but kinda fell away fro a bit. We've been meeting with them though, and they came to church! Rey is also super excited for baptism now too! He's a really funny kid, and its been a blast teaching him.

Next! We had our zone conference, and a member of the Quorum of the Seventy made a surprise visit! It was soooo awesome! He explained that our mission had been chosen to pilot a new missionary program, and so he explained it, and it sounds really cool! He also talked about a lot of other things that will be happening in the church soon, and we aren't allowed to talk about it, but my favorite line from him was a quote from Elder David A. Bednar from a meeting with the church leaders where he said that "with everything that President Nelson has in store, these recent changes (elders chorum thing, ministering program, etc.) are just snowflakes in a blizzard, this is Christ's true and LIVING church!" So yeah, that was pretty darn neat! It was also super inspiring as far as missionary work goes so...WOOT!

Alright, best for last! Warning: tear-jerker! (sorry mom). So we volunteer at a place called Give Kids the World, basically a little villa for kids with life-threatening diseases and their families to stay at while they get to go to Disney World, Universal, Seaworld, etc. for free! Its super fun, and the kids always have a smile on their face despite the challenges they are going through! We volunteer in a place called the Castle of Miracles where the kids get to come and write their name on a little yellow metal star (avout the size of a silver dollar) that is then put up in the "sky" to stay forever! Basically there are around 136,000 stars stuck to the ceiling of this place, and families come back (usually after the kid has passed) to see it. Its really neat, but this wednesday, we got a call from the office. They said that a family of 11 was going to be coming through, and the doctors have said that the kid is not going to live more than a day. So the family wanted to come do his star, and we were told to make it super special. Sure enough, family of 11 comes in, I put on the most fun show I can throughout the whole thing, the kid looked around 11, and the mother was struggling to hold him the entire time, but refused to put him in the wheelchar. He was mostly unresponsive, but we got it all done, I distracted them while holding back tears as a worker got the start and went and put it up really quick, they where led to the star, which was in a seperate room, and asked if they could just stay in there alone for a while. As soon as they were in there though, I ran to the back room and bawled like a child. The sight of this adorable mother cradling this child, knowing it would be the last time she could was a lot to handle. Her love for him was very clear, and all I could keep thinking was "this is the last time she will be able to do that" as I cired. A few minuted passed as I started to calm down, and the phrase once again repeated in my head, and I just whispered "the last time" as i thought about it. Just as I thought and said it this time though, I heard a voice, strong, yet silent say "NO, it's not, and YOU know that!" I just stood there for a second comprehending the sentence, and began to cry again, as I realized just how true it was! That phrase I kept saying was a blatant lie, and I know that! That was not the last time that mother would hold her child. because death doesn't end or destroy anything! Thanks to the Savior and our Heavenly Father's plan, death is nothing. I suddenly felt a rush of joy and energy followed quickly by this next sentence that flowed through my mind: "This is what you have to share with the world! Many don't know what you do, so tell them, please". After collecting myself after the whole episode I came out just as the family was leaving, tears began to well up again, but not tears of saddness this time around. I watched as the famiy left and told the mother simply: "I hope you have a blessed day, and don't worry, you'll see him again!". A slight smile came across her face, she thanked me and they left. It was an experience I will not soon forget, and I hope that it offers something for you all. For all of you who know of the glorious truths that have been brought forth with the Restoration of Christ's Gospel, you are blessed. You have knowledge that can change the world! And can most definitely change someone's life. The knowledge that families are an eternal unit. The knowledge that God is our loving Heavenly Father. The knowledge that Christ knows exactley what we all have gone through, and is willing to help us in every aspect of our lives. The knowledge that "death has no sting; the grave, no victory". The knowledge that we are never alone! Please, stay worthy of the Holy Ghost, and don't shy away when he asks you to share what you have! I promise, as an authorized representative of Christ, you will change someone's life, and your own will be improved as well! I love you all so much, thank you for reading all of this! Have an awesome week!

<3 Elder Fox