Monday, June 25, 2018
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A Baptism in Paphos
Elders Muller, V. and G. |
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The Mediterranean Sea
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Hello,
everyone!
It has been a good week in Limassol. We had some beautiful weather
during the first half of the week, but we are now back to Satan's Armpit.
TUESDAY: We had a
District Meeting in Paphos with everyone. We talked about Love. Love comes from
God. It cannot be created out of nothing, and we as humans cannot create love.
Only God can give us portions of His love, whether we realize it or not. If we
want to have more love, we need to increase our capacity for love. Let's say
someone has 99% love. But, I only have 45% love. The highest amount of love I
can output towards another person is 45%. But, someone else can output 99%
(remember these are max levels not the common occurrence rate). So, we can
increase our capacity by acts of faith. We gain more love for others when we
understand the pain they are feeling. That is why Christ loves perfectly. He
felt everything we feel. It is an interesting and very deep doctrine that I
can't explain well in an email. Pretty much, the more pain you have felt, the
greater your capacity to empathize and love others.
WEDNESDAY: We did
service in the morning at the Red Cross, and Elder V. made his delicious cookies.
We went and did Heart Attacks for some members that we don't see very often
[Editor’s note: Heart Attacks are when people write notes or cut out heart
shapes and stick them all over someone’s door, car, etc. to show love.]. We
found out that our address list for the members seems to be out of date. At
least one random person got a nice surprise, haha.
We had a good Bible Study
with our pastor friends. There were actually a lot of people there. It's fun to
explain the Bible to pastors of churches that are decades older than us. We sat
there and explained what the Psalms are trying to say.
THURSDAY: We had lunch
up in the mountains with a member and her non-member husband. He has been going
through a very difficult time in his life recently. It is amazing to see how
the Lord truly softens and molds people through the difficulties in their
lives. He allowed his wife to bless the food. That was a very big deal to her.
We had interviews with
President and Sister Heder as soon as we were back in Limassol. It is always a
treat to have a few moments alone to receive guidance and counsel from our
leaders. It was the last time with the Heders, so it was extra special.
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President and Sister Heder
Their three years of mission service comes to an end June 30, 2018
They have loved and cared for our sons and daughters.
We cannot thank them enough for their love and guidance.
They will be missed. |
We had dinner with the
Chinese family in our branch. They made us REAL Chinese food, and my goodness,
it was amazing. I was a little scared of the whole fish with the eyes and
everything, but it tasted amazing. The sister ate the fish head and everything,
lol. I couldn't. They invited a friend and her kids over, and we had a good
time talking about what we do as missionaries. The assistants came and stayed
at our place that night as well. (the Assistants to the President (AP) are two Elders who serve in the office to help the Mission President. They will serve in this capacity and eventually be transferred back to doing "normal" missionary work!)
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| Chopsticks! |
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| Our friends and Elder V. and the Assistants in the red striped shirts |
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| Elder Muller with their friends |
FRIDAY: We went on a
run in the morning with the APs, and I swear I almost died. My heart is going
to explode one of these days. We went to the church early to make sure
everything was set up and ready for Zone Conference. The conference itself was
very good. Elder V. has been teaching me all month about the stuff we spoke
about. So, we were really prepared!!! President Heder gave an amazing lesson on
the different Atonement theories and doctrines of other religions and
ourselves. The church is true. It is the most logical, fact-checked, and
absolutely true Christian religion. We headed to Paphos and spent the night
there with Elders S. and K.
SATURDAY: We got up
and did some studies before heading to the chapel in Paphos. We did the opening
stuff for L.’s baptism. L. is the best friend of a member here. She has taken
the lessons in England but wanted to be baptized in the Mediterranean Sea and
to be with her best friend. I played piano, and Elder V. and I performed “Come unto
Christ” once again as the special musical number. We went to the beach with
Brother C. and Elder C. and Elder G. (you will see in the videos how fun it
was) and witnessed the baptism. We had lunch at the Brown's home, and then
Elders V., M., and K. went to Larnaca to have a goodbye meal with President and
Sister Heder. I stayed in Paphos with Elders S. and N. We did some finding, and
it was good.
Baptism! See the joy the gospel brings!
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Sister and Elder Sampson, Senior Couple in Paphos
(Elder Muller's adopted grandparents!) |
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| Paphos, Cyprus Elders |
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| Elder Muller |
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| Elder Muller experiencing the joy of a baptism |
SUNDAY: We got up and
went with the Sampsons to Larnaca. I got an hour nap in the car on the way.
Actually, I fall asleep anywhere I am for an extended period of time. The
Risers (Elder and Sister Riser are the Senior Missionary couple serving in Limassol) have become used to seeing Elder V. and I passed out in the back seat,
haha.
At the District
Conference, I was sitting with Elder V. and K. as they did translations when we
got a call. Two members from Limassol had arrived 10 minutes late on the bus
and didn't know how to get from the bus stop to the chapel in Larnaca. The
morning runs finally came in handy...we took off our suit coats and booked it
to the beach. It felt like The Best Two Years or something. We made it in 3-5 minutes instead of 15-20. Let's go
boys! After the walk back, I sat with Elder S. and Elder K. at the translation.
I got to help look up the scriptures people use, in Greek, so Elder K. could
translate. I got to wear an earpiece and experience the translation for a bit. It
was a very interesting experience. We had a good
pot luck afterwards,
which was packed and chaotic. Everyone from the island comes to Larnaca for the
District Conference, so it was very busy. (A District Conference is where all members in that assigned area, in this case, the island of Cyprus, will come together to be taught by local leaders. This meeting will replace the normal Sabbath Day worship services in the respective cities.)
So yeah, it was busy
week and a lot of meetings.
Love,
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