Uneventful Week

Hey Family,

This week I`ve been missing my last area pretty bad because there a lot would happen every week and I would have plenty to write about on Mondays, but here in Tierra Blanca every day is much of the same. It`s okay though, I just keep myself focused on the fact that my time is running out quickly and that I just need to work hard and study my best until I`m released. Three more weeks...okay, my baggy moment in this email is over, now I can talk about the good stuff.

I was really happy to hear that our family is going through a little bit of rough times right now because recently I`ve heard a new phrase that I really like. The phrase goes more or less like this: "Heavenly Father never sends big trials and challenges to the weak, only to the strong." He does this because He knows that we have the ability to endure and come out on top. He does this to make us stronger. He sends small, trivial challenges to His children when he knows that they are weak and cannot handle the big challenges yet. He sends to BIG stuff to His children when he knows that they`re ready to grow and learn and become even stronger than they were before. In my case, I think the Lord put me in my current area for my last change NOT to make me baggy, or to make it hard for me not to think of home, but to help my patience grow even more and to help me spend time reflecting on and relearning ALL the wonderful lessons that He has taught me over two years through the Scriptures, my companions, my Presidents, and the people I have served. We receive trials to make us stronger, but we NEVER receive trials that we cannot overcome. That`s the lesson that I`ve learned this week. I hope it helps some of you to look at your/our situation with new perspective and give it all you`ve got to come out on top. I know it`s hard. I know it`s not fun. But I also know that the rewards that await us are worth every second of effort that we spend in consulting the Lord and doing His will.

The only news that I have from my area is that we`re teaching a 18 year old girl that is the only child of a less active family that hasn`t been baptized. She wasn`t baptized with her family because she had been baptized in another church as a baby and didn`t want to offend God. We`re teaching her the Gospel on a very simple level and we`re preparing her to be baptized on the 29th of January, my last Saturday in the mission.

I love you all. I think about you often and pray for you constantly. Help me and my prayers to have an effect in your lives. Listen to the Spirit of the Lord, NOT the spirit of Satan. Be strong. The Lord and I have faith in you. Remember that we love you and that I`ll be home soon to listen, teach, love, and serve you once again.

Love Always,
-Elder Preston William Tucker