We don't have to walk alone

 

2-15-21

Hello beautiful people, 

Transfers have come and gone. I have now been in Kaw Valley for 6 weeks. I am staying here with my current companion Elder Unsell (I'm happy and content about that). My district leader who lives with me is leaving. I'm so sad - Elder Forbush is gonna be a district leader and a trainer whitewashing into an area. (District leader- responsible for a group of missionaries, trainer- training a brand new missionary, whitewashing- two people going into an area together with no prior knowledge.) But yeah, that is exciting.  Also, I have a friend being made an STL (which is a leadership position for sisters).  She's gonna do great! 

Another Note: we made contact with people that we've been out of contact with (that were on date for baptism so we seriously needed to be in contact with them). So yeah, that was a huge blessing. But our way of contacting was door knocking grey dots (please read my past emails for an explanation of grey dots). So Elder Unsell and I were out knocking in 10° weather, and then Elder Hooper and I were on exchanges and went out knocking in 2° but it felt like -16° because of the humidity and wind. But yeah, changes are coming.

Spiritual thought: 

A lot of this is references and quotes from a BYU devotional called "It Is Not Good That . . . Man Should Be Alone” by Kevin J Worthen. In reading it, I learned a lot. 

"Very little that is positive is solitary. When was the last time you laughed uproariously? The last time you felt indescribable joy? The last time you sensed profound meaning and purpose? The last time you felt enormously proud of an accomplishment? Even without knowing the particulars of these high points of your life, I know their form: all of them took place around other people." - Dr. Martin Seligman

These questions were heart opening and soul searching questions for me. I think often we can tend to think we have to do everything at once and be perfect NOW. In the words of Russell.M Nelson, "Perfection is pending." 

We don't have to do anything alone, nor should we. Heavenly Father wouldn't have given us friends and families if that were the case. Now sometimes we lose dear loved ones or friends, and that is all about God's timing. It's like a chapter book where you laugh with some characters then cry with other characters. Then at some points you turn a page and a character leaves. (There's a lot of that in the mission). But sometimes characters can come back, and sometimes they don't. 

But the point is we don't have to walk alone. A perfect man already did that. He walked up a hill carrying a cross and kept walking up the hill to accomplish his Father’s will because he loves you and me. To think that you need to walk alone or are unworthy of love is completely disregarding wounds and pains of loneliness that the very Son of God closed himself in a private garden then on a public hill.

 I am afraid I'm guilty of feeling unworthy and at times I disregard the love and gift of the Atonement. I'm terribly mistaken at times. None of us should walk alone. Even when it feels like we are alone, we are not. Heaven's angels are always near on both sides of the veil, and the Holy Spirit is always lovingly nearby. 

Love you all, 

Elder Hedrick

He calleth them all by their names

February 8, 2021 

Hello everyone,

How is everyone? I hope you are doing great. Alex and Julee are on date for baptism on February 20th, and Eli had his date bumped back to March 20th so yeah, they all have work, but they're all willing to work and I'm super excited for them. So yeah, please, please, keep them in your prayers!!!

Superbowl Sunday was a tad bit slow - fast Sunday (so no food or drink until 6pm). Then we couldn't contact people because of the superbowl. But it's cool; the four Elders I live with are funny. This one member gave us these huge cinnamon rolls- they were huge like as big as my head, crazy stuff. Kaw Valley is currently covered in a white blanket of snow; it's 7° and feels like -7° because of the humidity. This Californian is freezing! But I'm doing good. 

Here's the spiritual thought: 

In the talk, Am I a Child of God? by Elder Brian K. Taylor of the Seventy in the April 2019 General Conference, he says the following, 

"Moses learned of his divine heritage talking with the Lord face-to-face. Following that experience, ‘Satan came tempting’ with subtle yet vicious intent to distort Moses’s identity, “saying: Moses, son of man, worship me. And … Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God.”

Here's my question, why would Satan tell Moses he is a son of man when the Lord just told him he was a son of God? Because he knows Moses is a man and could fall to fear and doubt, Satan knows you and knows your weakness. Please never forget you are a son or daughter of loving Heavenly parents, made in their image. 

Psalms 147: 4 says the following, "He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names." 

 

So if God knows the names of every star, why wouldn't he know your name? Why wouldn't He love you? He made you and you are special to him. Always remember your faith and your identity of being a child of God will touch the lives around you. 

 

Love you all! 

 

Elder Hedrick

Angels on our left and our right to bear us up

February 1, 2021

Hello everyone, 

It has been another week in Kaw Valley. It's snowed, rained and been foggy recently. It gets down to about 24 degrees at night plus the bone chilling humidity of the Kansas oatmeal air. So things are moving here in Kaw Valley. We finally got over 20 lessons this week, and we found a new person and got him on date for baptism. His name is Elisha, and he is planning on being baptized on the 20th of February. He has a long road ahead of him, but we’ll help him all we can. So please pray for him!  Alex and Julie are doing good. They are a younger couple we're teaching. They are amazing. We invited them to be baptized on the 20th of February, and they both said yes! So 3 baptisms are planned as of now for February 20th! Also, Tamera is doing good. She is such a sweetheart! Please pray for her and her anxiety, she's very stressed out with work and Covid and everything going on in the world. 

We had a zone conference in Wichita, and Elder Rassen from the quorum of the 70 was there, (a high-ranking church authority). And he gave a lot of good advice about raising our vision as a mission. Zone conference was nice because I got to see some old friends from Manhattan and the Salina area. The Elders I live with are fun, my companion is funny, he breaks everything by accident, but we still love him. My district leader is sarcastic like me and is just a wise old owl (even though he's been out as long as me, and he is so smart!) Elder Hooper hates physical contact so I try to hug him as much as I can. 

Well, here is my spiritual thought: Angels 

In the book of Mormon, Jacob 7:5 says the following, "And he had hope to shake me from the faith, notwithstanding the many revelations and the many things which I had seen concerning these things; for I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me. And also, I had heard the voice of the Lord speaking unto me in very word, from time to time; wherefore, I could not be shaken."

So basically Sherem is this bad guy that is speaking bad about Christ and trying to destroy Jacob's testimony and his faith. And Jacob has great faith. He heard the voice of the Lord and has literally seen angels. I love when he says, "For I truly had seen angels, and they had ministered unto me." 

I now ask you, who are your ministering angels? Because I know for a fact that angles are real and can witness them in my own life. Heaven is close, and Heavenly fathers Angels are even closer. I also believe our friends and family on the other side of the veil are ministering to us. President Joseph F. Smith said the following:

“I believe we move and have our being in the presence of heavenly messengers and of heavenly beings. We are not separate from them. … We are closely related to our kindred, to our ancestors … who have preceded us into the spirit world. We cannot forget them; we do not cease to love them; we always hold them in our hearts, in memory, and thus we are associated and united to them by ties that we cannot break. … If this is the case with us in our finite condition, surrounded by our mortal weaknesses, … how much more certain it is … to believe that those who have been faithful, who have gone beyond … can see us better than we can see them; that they know us better than we know them. … We live in their presence, they see us, they are solicitous for our welfare, they love us now more than ever. For now they see the dangers that beset us; … their love for us and their desire for our well-being must be greater than that which we feel for ourselves.”

Please remember you're not alone. Christ and Heavenly Father are with you. His spirit is with you. Angels are here now and today and forever to bear you up. I have seen angels in my life from both sides of the veil; they are real, and they cheer us on. I have never felt closer to my family that has passed in any other time than now. President Eyring said the following, "The Savior has promised angels on our left and our right to bear us up. And He always keeps His word." I testify that the Savior always keeps his words and that his Angels are here on our left and right hands and here to bear us up! 

Love you all, 

Elder Hedrick