It was GREAT to talk with you two times this last week. You look great! We hope that you had a good week this week. Your attitude and outlook on your current situation is admirable and I am confident that the Lord is blessing you and will continue to bless you for your faithfulness and goodness.
I know that it is difficult for you to talk about how things are going with Elder Cuadra when we talk on the phone. I certainly appreciate that and I have every confidence in your ability to continue to work through this. As I have thought about you the last couple of days, I have been impressed that one of the feelings that you might be experiencing from time to time during this transfer is a feeling of loneliness. So, this week, may I be your companion? I would love nothing more than to be your companion and to walk the streets of Sao Jose dos Campos with you and teach the wonderful people with you. I am sure that I would be amazed at your teaching, humbled by your kindness, and grateful to be your dad. But, you will grow so much more without me as you rely solely on the Lord to guide you through this experience. Still, know that I will always try to be there for you - and maybe a little more this week as we are companions.
So companion, let's plan this week. I pray that as you consider my invitations below, that the Spirit will direct you to know how to work so that the Lord can bless you and the people that you can help come closer to Him. I invite you to print this email. Read only the invitations that apply to that particular day. Don't "Heather" the assignments and read through each one for the following days. Let the Spirit direct your daily choice to know how you can give all of yourself and all of your time to the Lord each day regardless of Elder Cuadra's decisions.
Monday, December 30
* BE TAUGHT. If your proselyting time does not begin on Monday at 6 PM as you would hope, then find a quiet place and ask the Lord to teach you something that will help you draw closer to him. You have become a great student of the scriptures. But, tonight begin your study by considering an inspired question that will help you draw closer to the Lord. For example, your inspired question may be "How can I hear your voice more clearly?" Or, "How can I hear your voice more often?" Once you determine your inspired question, then study the scriptures and let the Lord teach you.
Each day, I will invite you to enjoy some extra personal study. HOWEVER, please note that this extra personal study is just that - extra! Do not change your current study routine. In addition, IF you are actually able to teach outside your apartment all day and you do not have extra time, then we will end that day and thank Heavenly Father for the blessing of being able to work hard.
** BE MORE LOVING. Be prayerful, and find something that you can do that will help you love Elder Cuadra more. Perhaps you can find someway to serve him.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. If you are not able to get out of the apartment to teach someone, then find a member of the ward from the ward directory to call on the phone to teach of Jesus Christ and extend an invitation to that member that will help them come closer to Jesus Christ. This week starts the new Come Follow Me study of the Book of Mormon. Perhaps you can identify a single member, a widow or widower, or someone who does not have a family to study Come Follow Me with. Ask that person to study with you this week. They will study each day on their own, but you can call them each day the rest of the week and have them share with you something they learned that day. Don't think of reasons why you cannot do this. Hopefully you already know some members of the Ward who would benefit from this study. But, if you do not, call the Elders' Quorum President, Relief Society President or other Ward leader and ask them for a few suggestions of individuals that you can help with Come Follow Me this week.
Tuesday, December 31
* BE TAUGHT. Continue with your personal study as you are currently are studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. Start your study with personal prayer, but ask this question - "Lord, what would you like to teach me today?" Then, begin your study. Ponder more than read. Listen more than you speak. Then, express gratitude to the Lord for teaching you once you learn what He wants you learn that day.
** BE MORE LOVING. Learn something about admirable about Elder Cuadra today that you did not know before. Ask him questions about his family, his growing up experience, previous meaningful experiences on his mission - anything that will help you learn something about him that will help you respect him and love him more. Listen carefully. Listen as the Lord would listen.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today, but if you are inside during proselyting hours, then, if you were successful in identifying a member of the Ward that you could study Come Follow Me with yesterday, call that person and follow up with them and see what they learned. Then, expand your Come Follow Me study group by identifying another individual in the Ward and calling them on the phone and extending the same invitation for them to do Come Follow Me this week. This is the first week of Come Follow Me with the Book of Mormon. It is a great time to start.
Wednesday, January 1
* BE TAUGHT. Again, continue with your personal study as you are currently studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. Ask the Lord to teach you today more about faith. What does it mean to have faith in Jesus Christ? How can you increase your faith in Jesus Christ?
** BE MORE LOVING. Perform an act of service for Elder Cuadra that you know would be meaningful to him. Don't do something that you would like or that you think he should like. Do something that you know he will appreciate, and then do it. Don't worry about his reaction. Don't expect recognition or thanks. Just serve Him and then ask Heavenly Father to help you love Elder Cuadra a little more today.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today, but if you are inside during proselyting hours, then if you were successful in identifying two members of the Ward that you could study Come Follow me with the last few days, continue to follow up with those two individuals to see what they learned. Be prepared so that if they did not study you can encourage them, and then share with them something that you have learned. Once you have followed up with the two members that you have already invited to study Come Follow Me, expand your Come Follow Me study group by identifying another individual in the Ward and calling them on the phone and extending the same invitation for them to do Come Follow Me this week. Keep at it until your group is at 3 by the end of the day today!
Thursday, January 2
* BE TAUGHT. Again, continue with your personal study as you are currently studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. Ask the Lord to teach you today about repentance. What blessings come as we exercise our faith in Jesus Christ and repent? As you study, ponder how repentance helps us literally come closer to the Lord.
** BE MORE LOVING. The invitation regarding your companionship and your feelings towards Elder Cuadra today will require tremendous spiritual focus. Ask Heavenly Father what Christ-like attributes Elder Cuadra has that He (Heavenly Father) appreciates. Find a very quiet place to do this. Take your time. Listen carefully. Do not think of this as sitting around in a circle in a Sunday School class and saying something nice about each member of the class. This is a lot more than that. Really listen to hear the Lord's voice. Take notes on the impressions that you receive, but keep those private.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today, but if you are inside during proselyting hours, then if you were successful in identifying three members of the Ward that you could study Come Follow me with the last few days, continue to follow up with those three individuals to see what they learned. Be prepared so that if they did not study you can encourage them, and then share with them something that you have learned. Once you have followed up with the three members that you have already invited to study Come Follow Me, expand your Come Follow Me study group by identifying another individual in the Ward and calling them on the phone and extending the same invitation for them to do Come Follow Me this week. Keep at it until your group is at 4 by the end of the day today!
Friday, January 3
* BE TAUGHT. Again, continue with your personal study as you are currently studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. After spending the last two days with extra study of faith in Jesus Christ and the blessings of repentance, begin today with a focused study on the ordinance and covenant of the Sacrament. The last few years as we have made an effort to improvement quality of our Sabbath Day observance, my appreciation of the Sacrament has significantly increased and the impact on my Sabbath Day observance has been significant as I have understood better and focused more on the Sacrament. So, start today to prepare yourself for the covenant that you will make in a couple of days when you receive the Sacrament.
** BE MORE LOVING. Perform an act of service for Elder Cuadra that you know would be meaningful to him. Don't do something that you would like or that you think he should like. Do something that you know he will appreciate, and then do it. Don't worry about his reaction. Don't expect or demand recognition or thanks. Just serve Him and then ask Heavenly Father to help you love Elder Cuadra a little more today.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today, but if you are inside during proselyting hours, then if you were successful in identifying four members of the Ward that you could study Come Follow me with the last few days, continue to follow up with those four individuals to see what they learned. Be prepared so that if they did not study you can encourage them, and then share with them something that you have learned. Once you have followed up with the four members that you have already invited to study Come Follow Me, expand your Come Follow Me study group by identifying another individual in the Ward and calling them on the phone and extending the same invitation for them to do Come Follow Me this week. Keep at it until your group is at 5 by the end of the day today!
Saturday, January 4
* BE TAUGHT. Again, continue with your personal study as you are currently studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. Continue your study of the ordinance and covenant of the Sacrament that you started yesterday. Today, as you conclude your study, ask Heavenly Father if there is anything else that He would like to teach you about the Sacrament today. Then listen.
** BE MORE LOVING. Spend some time today thinking about what you have learned about Elder Cuadra this week. A couple of days ago, you asked Heavenly Father to share with you some Christ-like attributes that He sees in Elder Cuadra that He appreciates. Today, you consider Christ-like attributes that you have seen in Elder Cuadra that you appreciate. Write Elder Cuadra a letter. Share with him your observations of these Christ-like attributes. Be sincere. Be specific. But, don't share the letter with him yet.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today! By now, you have helped 5 individuals come unto Christ by studying Come Follow Me this week a little better than they have in the past. Call each of the 5 individuals that you have taught and learned from this week. Ask what they learned today. Celebrate their success with them! Then, invite them come to Church tomorrow to have a great experience worshiping the Father and the Son as they receive the ordinance of the Sacrament.
Sunday, January 5
* BE TAUGHT. Again, continue with your personal study as you are currently studying. But, if you are not able to get out of your apartment to teach today as you would like, find another time during the day to dedicate yourself to learn from the Lord. For your extra study today, write an extra journal entry detailing some of your thoughts on the ordinance of the Sacrament based on your experience today. If you did not feel or learn anything special in the moment of the actual ordinance, don't be discouraged. More importantly, don't think that your opportunity to enjoy a rich experience with the ordinance of the Sacrament has expired. Earlier today, you participated in the ordinance of the Sacrament. But, we receive the ordinance of the Sacrament as we are faithful to the covenants that correspond with the ordinance of the Sacrament. So, the blessings of the Sacrament can extend well beyond the moment the deacons return the Sacrament tray to the priests as we take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, remember Him, keep His commandments, and are faithful to the other covenants that we make that correspond to the ordinance of the Sacrament.
** BE MORE LOVING. At the appropriate time, share your letter that you wrote yesterday with Elder Cuadra. You can either give it to him in person or leave the letter in a place that he can find it. As you have done throughout the week, do not give this letter with any expectation of thanks or reciprocation. Then, as you say your prayers tonight and counsel with the Lord, consider with Him if your feelings towards Elder Cuadra have changed for the better this week.
*** TEACH SOMEONE OF JESUS CHRIST. Hopefully you are able to teach outside the apartment today! But, if you are not able to teach outside as much as you would like, hopefully you have had a good experience with Come Follow Me this last week. Today, consider how you can improve on this creative way to teach others so that you can give of your entire self and time to the Lord, or consider other creative ways that you can teach others of Jesus Christ even if Elder Cuadra makes it difficult for you to work as hard as you would like to.
This week, my letter began with my offer to you of my companionship. But, I anticipate that tonight you release that you have had a much better companion. You are not alone. You never have been alone. Your goodness and your faithfulness qualify you for the promised blessing in the Sacrament of having HIS SPIRIT with you ALWAYS. He will continue to be with you. We will continue to pray for you. You can do this!
Dear Elder Dudley - I love you. I respect you and your calling from the Lord. I trust the Lord. I trust President Miller. I trust you. You can fulfill this current assignment to serve in Sao Jose dos Campos with Elder Cuadra. God bless you!
Love,
Dad
