#lovethatgrind Aug 12, 2013

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: August 12, 2013 11:38:29 PM MDT
To: Cyndy Weiss <cyndyweiss@gmail.com>

Crazy week! Man this missionary thing is an emotional roller coaster. Some days it's so hard. Some days it's so exciting.

Today we got to go to the temple and right before we walked inside my comp checked the phone and told me our investigator had read!!! This hasn't happened before! I was so stoked!

Will is training one of the Elders from my Room in the MTC. We joked that he would train one of my roomates! They are gonna kill it! I'm pretty sure Elder Knecht could be training right now! He's a stud! Our Spanish is about the same when we left but he's probably leaps and bounds better by now because he gets to speak it all the time. . He's SO bold! I hope he's doing well with the language because I'm at the point where I can understand a lot but the speed of thought isn't there. Once Elder Knecht gets there he'll be "straight killing it!"

What happened this week? Things were pretty tough and we'd get back to our flat and night and all I wanted to do was lay on mom's bed and be like, "Gee, what a day!" Nothing more theraputic than a heart-to-heart with your mama. But I've been praying for a stronger witness that this is where I need to be and this is what I need to be doing so I'm content and happy.

(Measuring by results is) so tricky. My comp has been in this Spanish branch his whole mission with zero baptisms and so the other day we were talking about "the grind". I decided that when you focus too much on the result, the process will suffer. But if you focus on the process the result comes automatically. "Come what may and love" it kind of thing. My goal for my mission is to learn to love the grind. When things get harder, I get stronger and I enjoy it all the while. #lovethatgrind #nodaysoff (That's for Deb).

We played tennis last week and it felt so weird. I felt so awkward at first. It felt like I'd never done it before but then it came back. I'm terrible so at least that won't be a distraction. haha. I'm getting fat. Not really but at this rate I will be by the end of the mission. I'm working on eating better and getting up and working out hard right away. Food here costs a dad gum arm and a leg! It's ridiculous!

Ok so none of that really mattered. Here's the small plates:
 This is kind of heavy but it's what was on my mind this morning. We got to go to the temple which was sweet. A thought that hit me is there is kind of a stare down between Lucifer and Jesus Christ. Satans enmity for Jesus Christ and God's children is real, It's as if he says to Christ "You win for now, but we'll see how hot you look when you are suffering for their sins. I will make God's children suffer. I will confuse them so they will not be able to distinguish the evil from the good. I will make them hate you and despise you and I will carefully lead their souls down to hell... So I hope you enjoy paying for their sins."

I just imagine how much Satan hates Jesus Christ. If he can get us to sin, that's more pain Christ would have to have felt in the Atonement. It just kind of helps me to picture how brave a faithful Christ was during his life knowing that Satan had prepared and was preparing a sort of "hell" for him that he would have to pass through. Jesus Christ is my hero and my Savior and Redeemer. I guess it's like dropping in a 6 foot half pipe on a skateboard for the first time. Kind of... not really. Something I can't explain...but it's like that moment of heart wrenching fear that Jesus Christ had to face. I guess it's just that moment when you have to stare fear in the face...when you have to fight with the opponent within yourself...that egotistical person inside each of us that is scared out of his mind deep down. I don't know exactly what I'm trying to say but I'm grateful that Jesus Christ overcame all and that he understands me and what I'm going through.

One last thought. I was thinking the other day how there is a reason that I came here to Australia and not to Concepcion with Elder Weiss V. I know there are people here that I can connect to. People that maybe only I can help, that I've been prepared to help. I don't know who these people are yet, but I can find out as I treat everybody as if I have been prepared specially for them and as I open my mouth and talk to everyone.

I love all of you! Sorry my letter was so disjointed but "it is what it is".

Love, Elder Weiss VI