To my vacation bound family,
Alright so just like usual my computer is having issues so lets hope this works out! I've been having a great week and looking back I can barely remember what's happened. It seriously goes by so fast! I'm pretty sure that at this point you're on trek with the ward and by this weekend will be going to Bear Lake so have fun! Let me know how everything goes! So I was trying to decide what kind of stuff I wanted to share with everyone today and luckily I thought of a few really good things that have helped me change the way my life will play out.
Before we get to that stuff though some things that have happened this week are: I got ALL of my hair chopped of by some crazy haircut lady. Yeah she turned me around before we started so I couldn't see the mirror during the haircut. Hah, It was quite the suprise but by now I'm used to it. I'll try to send a picture home modeling my new look. Hah. It was SO awesome to see Sarah driving back this week. Seriously the chances I was there to been seen are practically nothing and to add on to that it's a miracle she saw me. It made me way happy and the only thing she had time to say was, "I love you." I know I responded but I just wanted to let all of you know that I really love you too and think about you to help me get through difficult situations. This week i've also seen Jordan Hughes driving my who saw me, i saw beau stacey, and the madson girl! It was really crazy.
Well I've been talking to my Bud Elder Rushton a bunch and one thing he really helped me start to realize is how much I really love learning, or want to love learning. I need to start spending my time in better ways that are more effective because time is so precious and before my mission I didn't really take advantage of that. So here, I've decided I'm going to do my best to use all my time learning and preparing and I love it. I am almost half way through the Book of Mormon since I got here and I don't have like any time to read (i feel like), we get like 1-2 hours a day just for reading. So this one day in a district review we were all talking and Elder Rushton shared one of his favorite scriptures and when he read it I thought," wow thats just an amazing scripture, i really love that." But when I realized that I had read past that very chapter less then three days ago and seriously hadn't even noticed it I really started to think. I was thinking, and I was trying to read as best as i could a I came upon this verse that mom used to always say to me which is, "Jacob 6:12" I think. It says, "oh be wise, what more can i say?" and i never really have interpreted it the way I do now. I followed a scripture to Mosiah 12:27 which says, "ye have not applied you hearts to understanding; therefore, ye have not been wise". From that I drew that being wise means applying our hearts to understanding. So I made a commitment to start reading the Book of Mormon differently. I've been reading it a bit slower and processing everything thats happening, and thinking a lot more about the things that are said. Since i've been doing this I really have drawn SO much more from my reading and I seriously love reading.
Last sunday we had a devotional that really helped me understand repentance in a better way. Sometimes repentance can have a negative connotation and is seen sort of as a bad thing, but it really isn't. The only bad thing comes if we don't repent. Repenting is all about turning ourselves to Christ and thats literally how easy it is. Say sorry and then turn yourself around. I had this thought in mind and today In my reading i came across a scripture I Love. Mosiah 26:29-30 and the part I love the most says, "if he confess his sins before thee and me, and repenteth in the sincerity of his heart, him shall ye forgive, and i will forgive him also. Yeah, and As Often as my people repent will I Forgive them their trespasses against me." We're His people and all He wants is to turn around and change and one of the most beautiful parts to me is that when we mess up he just says that "as often as [we] repent" he will forgive us.
I have really been loving reading the letters from the family and Absolutely Loved the letter you sent me Dad. I seriously needed to hear what you had to say and I feel like you can always just put feelings into words just the way i need to hear them. It's nice because when I read the letters from home I feel like you're standing right by me telling me how everything is and cheering me on. Mom your letters help me out so much too and I always think of the things you've taught me throughout the day and just realize that I should have realized them earlier. Hah. I know you're all living busy lives but I appreciate how much effort goes into trying to let me know how much you all care.
On P-days is the times I realize when I'm in a time warp because it feels like I have them every day. The phrase about the MTC is , "the days are like weeks and the weeks are like days" and that's so true. One thing that I've really felt like has happened this week is i've gotten a lot closer with my district. It's so fun talking with them all and just enjoying this experience together and when I get back from my mission I'm going to be best friends with some of them (but they're all great). I also just wanted to thank you for teaching me what I know here. Sometimes in my head I see people as "normal" or a little bit different based upon how much like my family they are. hah, i love them all but the point is I just wanted to thank you for teaching me how to be the person I am. I know I'm not perfect, but you've taught me to be a person who wants to improve theirself and i think that's one of the greatest things. You've all been examples to me in many ways, I promise. I love you all.
Be Excellent to each other.
Your son and brother,
Elder Jacob Stucki
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