10-5-09

Dear Family,

So last week was a great experience. We in the Roswell district did something that I never dreamed I’d do in this mission. This mission is flat. No mountains anywhere. I never dreamed of hiking a mountain in the TLM, but that’s what we did. An hour west of here is a pretty town called Ruidoso and Ruidoso is real hilly and even has a few mountains nearby. We hiked up the mountain named Sierra Blanca, the highest point in the Texas Lubbock Mission. Honestly, it was really hard and I was not physically ready for it. I did ok, but it wore me out a ton. However, when we made it to the peak and then when we made it back to the vehicles, I felt a sense of accomplishment. My legs felt like jello, about ready to collapse. It seemed as if my lungs were about to give out on me. I experienced altitude sickness and almost lost it on the drive home (um yes, never thought I’d say that, but Roswell is 3000 and jumping suddenly up to 10,000 in one day drains you). Now I have a big rash that is really hurting me right now that may or may not have come from this hike. But do you know what, I did it. I climbed to the peak. I made it to the top, conquering the mountain and the physical ailments that came with it. I applied this experience to life and found that it perfectly aligns. In life we are going along an uphill battle. Lots of obstacles come our way and many of them we are not ready for. Opposition comes your way, totally catching you off guard. But what do we need to do. Press forward and put one foot in front of the other. It’s not a race. We need not compare ourselves with the progress of others. All that matters is that we make it. We make it through life, being as valiant and faithful as we can and we can conquer life. We can make it to the top and look down and say ‘I did it.’ Then comes to us a great feeling of love and joy that will never go away.

So also to report on last week was the baptism of Charlie Harper on September the 27th. It’s not very often that you see an 85 year old entering into the waters of baptism. Its truly an inspiration to me to know that anyone, no matter where they are in their life and what has happened can come unto Christ and repent. It’s not to late, never to late. Charlie had a lot of opposition. Satan didn’t want him to go through with this. His family was against this decision. They were confused and angered as to why he was being baptized into the Mormon church when he’d already been baptized a Baptist when he was young. It made Charlie question himself and his decision. We talked about it and then got him committed. He was interviewed and all ready when what happened? 3 days before he gets baptized a 500 pound horse falls right on his leg and puts him in the hospital for the weekend and immobilized him for nearly a month. He healed very quickly, especially for a man his age. I know some people that it would’ve taken them a year to recover when Charlie recovered in a month. However, in that month he also had time to think. A thought arose that maybe God was punishing him for deciding to be baptized into this church. We quickly dismissed that, telling him it was merely a test. Through all that, he made it and I am happy for him.

Now on to this week. Conference was this last weekend if you didn’t get the memo. We were given a wonderful spiritual feast. It gave me the added motivation to press forward through these last few months and knowing that, even though I am already sad about leaving the mission, everything will be alright. God has a plan for me. Serving Christ doesn’t end when I’m released as a missionary. I’ll just be moved to a different part of the vineyard. I felt that in conference, we were given the great instruction of knowing that God’s arms are opened for us. He lives and loves us and wants us to repent. He doesn’t want us to compare ourselves to others, but wants us to do our own personal best. That comparison can hurt us. If we compare ourselves to others, many times we will feel unworthy, unwanted, underappreciated, and will ultimately give up and go through an identity crisis. We were instructed of the love that God has for us as an individual and told to follow the basics of the gospel, to read the Book of Mormon, to pray, and to attend our church meetings. Ultimately, we need to show God our love towards him and everything will fall into place. We need to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost and seek the personal revelation for us in our own lives. We were instructed on how we are to go about receiving that revelation. Ultimately were comforted in knowing that God lives, Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. My testimony is the same as the testimony our leaders gave. I know for myself, independent of any other person that God does live. He is my Heavenly Father and loves me. He sent his son Jesus Christ to atone for my sins and to support me in my weaknesses. Joseph Smith was called of him to restore his gospel. This is the true and living church, the only true and living church, and believe me, there are many. I am grateful to be a part of the Lord’s kingdom and am truly grateful to have had this opportunity to serve Him as a full time missionary and look forward to the months that I still have. I am signing off now, but I will talk to you all soon, next week even. Peace!


Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester