Hello everyone,
The life of a missionary is a life of sacrifice. Growing up
as a Catholic, I learned much about sacrifice especially through the lives of
those who have sacrificed much, if not all, in the service of God. These
people, saints of God, did not care about the world and what went on in it that
did not bring them and others closer to God. They concerned themselves with the
spiritual and not the temporal.
The sacrifice we suffer is but a faint shadow, but an
important type nonetheless, of the sacrifice of the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
As a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I wear a
name tag that bears the holy name of Jesus Christ. I am literally one of His
messengers here in Idaho. It is a solemn responsibility and calling. I have
been called to sacrifice.
The interesting thing about sacrifice is that it brings
about greater blessings and increase than what would have come had the sacrifice
not occurred. Jesus Christ brought about immortality and eternal life for us
all through His Atonement. As a missionary, I am sacrificing time and contact
spent with my family. We call home twice a year and get to email once a week.
This is the toughest. However, I know that after this life, I can spend
eternity with them. Two years out of eternity is all right. We also sacrifice
movies, music, news, other forms of entertainment, etc. In the long run, these
are all small, insignificant things.
As I've been out here in Idaho, I have gained a greater
desire to sacrifice temporal wants and to focus more on the spiritual. The
sacrifice hasn't been easy, but greater blessings have come from it. So,
basically, I'm living a two-year Lent and it is awesome!
The reason I bring this up is not to boast about what I'm
doing, but just to explain why I'm choosing to sacrifice this time for God. I
want to help others. We meet quite a few people who think that we believe that
we work our way to heaven and don't accept Christ's Atonement. I believe that
Jesus Christ's Atonement saves us. I have faith in Him and I will only be able
to return to God because of that sacrifice. However, works are necessary. They
are necessary because they help me become someone different. They are the
physical manifestation of a spiritual changing. Faith without works, without
sacrifice, is dead.
I have had a good week. It is inspiring to meet people who,
Mormon or not, work diligently to strengthen their faith in Christ so that they
will be able to stand before God at the last day.
Love,
Elder Adamek
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