Oh Say, Can You See?

 Dear Family and Friends,

Wow! this week has been so amazing! So much has happened! Let's start with the 4th! It was really cool. We had a special devotional about being disciples of Christ and Why 'Merica is awesome:) It was a really good talk and then we watched the movie 17 Miracles! It was the first time I had seen it and I almost cried...... Maybe I'm a wimp, but that movie is so moving. I can't imagine having to do the things that those Pioneers did; however, I know that if the Lord is on your side you can overcome anything. After the movie we went out and saw the fireworks from Stadium of Fire! It was super cool. We stayed out for a couple extra hours and I still can't believe how tired I was the next day. This place is so exhausting that without all of those 8 hours of scheduled sleep time it is pretty tough to make it through the day. 

The next thing I want to talk about is Sunday night devotional! Josh Wright came and talked to us about his mission and played some amazing pieces on the piano. He is incredibly talented and he attributes it all to the Lord. 

Tuesday night's devotional was given by Elder Anderson! He spoke on the Gift of the Holy Ghost and what it means to us. Something he mentioned was that we get so used to having the Spirit with us that we start taking it for granted. It takes a huge experience for us to notice or it takes a lack of the Spirit. We need to be hyper aware of the little promptings and feelings that the Spirit is constantly sending us. We as missionaries also need to be aware of the way the Spirit is making the investigator feel. Often it is a completely new feeling to them and they can't identify it. We have a responsibility to identify it for them as the Spirit of the Lord. In the very moment it is impossible to deny that feeling. The entire talk was so good and answered a lot of the questions that I had going into it. 

During the talk the man sitting next to me and, in jest, said "It's all about who you know". He was talking about a missionary that knew Elder Anderson personally, so it was a complete joke....... but I felt like it was so profound. It had to have been the Spirit that took that comment and guided its way through my mind. So I began to think about people that we should know. Of course it would be nice to know an apostle, but the most important person to know is Christ. When we KNOW him and know what he is like then we can BECOME like him. I love the scripture in Mosaiah 5:13 that says:

For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?

That is so true! We have to know Christ. We need to know Christ, and the only way to know Him is to read about Him, know what He did for us, know about the atonement, and experience the atonement and the beautiful blessing that it is to be able to repent. Then, on top of all that, we have to serve Him. Only then can we know Him and only then can we become like Him. I am so grateful for the atonement and what is means to me. I am so grateful for the sacrament. I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve a mission and serve my brothers and sisters and to serve Christ. I know there is no more important thing I can be doing right now! 

I am so sorry but I have to stop writing! My hour is up! I love you all!
Love always,
Siebach Choro

P.S. SPENCER!!! Thank you so much for coming to see me! I love you man! Thank you so much for the packages and all the love! Mom will you please express my gratitude to Sister Palazzo for her letter to me! it was so inspiring! I love you all!