Week 21 - I've always wanted to be on Survivor anyways

This week was in fact grueling

I don't really know what to say, cus I'm not gonna talk about the tough situations here, but I also don't wanna just say "it sucks" w/ no context and sound like a pessimist

Hmmm

Okay some good things

I went on exchanges with Sœur Hamilton and we taught some little kids (wholesome), we ate at McDonald's???!!! That made me feel like I was living in a nice clean country

we were driving and these guys on a motorcycle were passing us but then saw us and just kept pace with us right next to sr Hamilton window and were staring right at her and making heart hand signs and all that and she was so uncomfortable because they were RIGHT there next to her face and she just had to keep driving, and so I immediately reached in my bag and all I said was "roll down the window" and she did and I reached across her and handed them a pamphlet about the restoration of the Gospel of Jesus christ and they took it and rode off. IT WAS SO FUNNY!! Everyone else on the highway saw, we were dying laughing

Freaking carnaval is going on so every boy is just out in the street practicing whipping? All the time??? With actual whips? Even the little little boys have tiny whips? It's really wack and I feel like I'm in a video game and this is just like a holiday update or something

Oh we went and helped some member in another branch with her garden. All I gotta say about that is 1) good food and 2) lady stick to a schedule 

Worry not about me, 1 more week and it's transfers. Wheeewwww

Saw a cool iguana walk by

Had a video call w the Paris missionaries for a virtual temple tour thing for a lesson. France missionariesFrench Caribbean missionaries

SAW THE TINIEST BABY LIZARD JUST SITTING ON OUR SINK! We see a ton of lizards but this one was so so tiny. I caught him (then freed him) his name is Crandle. Then when our district leader called, I showed him Crandle, and he was like CRANDLE G (G as in gangster) and I was like YEAHH cus it's funny cus he only kinda knows English cus he's Tahitian and his accent + American slang makes it so much funnier. then I was like "where did you learn that?!" (meaning g) and he was like "you sista!" HAHHA I guess I've said "I like ya cut g" to the elders one too many times

Skimmed through the chapter headings of Job, that was interesting to see. What did I learn... Well,  God wants us to use our agency SO bad. And when life is "chill" and we're doing fine, we tend to not have some huge strong random desire to make extra effort on things. Because we are content. We're not actively making choices (aka we don't progress. And when we don't progress, we slowly degress without knowing). So, sometimes God gives us huge trials to MAKE us use our agency. (hah oxymoron) He's like no, I don't want you to just chill with me and go to church and pray and say you're member of the church because it's a good thing and there's nothing better to do, you have to CHOOSE me, and if I'm not worth the trial to you, then CHOOSE THE OTHER. which is way hard for him to say because he knows there's only one right, joyful option. Which is choosing him. But yeah, sometimes those trials are wake-up calls. If he didn't give us trials, we would just fall away from him because of a lack of CONSTANT use of our agency to choose him. Trials are testimony rescuers made possible by the one who rescues all. 

So that whole thing with Job? Yeah Mr perfectly righteous, then everything good in his whole life is taken away? Don't just think "oh I could never be at his level of righteousness, he got those trials because he was so much more righteous than me and that means he can handle them and I cant" yeah no. Well I mean yes, but actually no. God gave him those trials to SAVE him. Because Job probably would've eventually fallen away and chosen the devil just cus of the natural course of life! So yeah! Job wasn't Mr. perfect! HE COULD NOT SAVE HIMSELF WITH HIS OWN RIGHTEOUS ACTS! NOT AT ALL! He's just like us! we all have our moments of "choose God or choose the world". God is saving us with our afflictions

Which is so cool because guess who KNOWS EVERY AFFLICTION TO EVER EXIST???

His name starts with a J and ends with a esus Christ

and HE is the one who SAVES us. He is the one who made it all possible AND the one who DELIVERS YOU FROM YOUR AFFLICTIONS! AND THEN TEACHES YOU AND BLESSES YOU AND HEALS YOU AND FORGIVES YOU AND COMFORTS YOU AND STRENGTHENS YOU ETC ETC!

Because all things good are of Christ

Please read the screenshot I'm putting here

Zoom in on the cemetery one; they make their cemeteries like neighborhoods here I can't remember why but yeah. On the day of the dead everyone "takes a walk through the neighborhood"