4-15-13

Hello Blog-readers near and far!

Hope you are all doing well. :) Things are going pretty well here. Found a cool guy that is possibly from Africa, and are getting some good work set up with some less-active families. Also! The weather finally warmed up! We are enjoying warm weather finally! Yesterday we walked to an appointment with just our suit jackets on and were sweating a bit, and today we are walking around in t-shirts. Wonderous.

Random German thing!

They have lots of McDonalds and Burger Kings here, as well as a Pizza Hut here and there (none of them truly taste like the ones back home, but it is similar). They do not, however have Wal-Mart, and the similar stores are not nearly so well set up, and usually have a much smaller selection than you would find at someplace like Wal-Mart. Apparently the government tends to favor (taxes-wise) the smaller companies that focus on one genre of products. Then the bigger companies have to pay heavier taxes. Interesting system. Makes it a bit harder to do one-trip grocery shopping, but it works out.

There is also lots of candy from the States here. And most of it tastes rather the same. Snickers, Skittles (they look like the red-bag kind, but have different flavors), gum, M&Ms, etc. Funny thing though, the Milky Way bar here is like the 3 Musketeers that we have back in the States, and the Mars Bars are like our Milky Ways.

Along these same lines of Americanizing, there are -lots- of American influences over here in general. Very good examples are found in the German language. They simply adopt a lot of Enlish words: 'Remake', 'Management', 'cool', etc. (Though they all struggle a LOT with the 'th' sound, and our 'r' sound.) They also wear t-shirts from colleges in the States (and often have no idea what they mean) listen to more American music than German (probably not understanding half of it) and all are required to take English as a foreign language starting at something like 5th grade.

Spiritual Thought!

I have been thinking a lot about the idea of 'standing where your feet are'. Working where you are and not concerning yourself too much with hypothetical situations or with comparing yourself to others. Starting where you are. Not stressing over how little or how much progress you have made.

Elder Holland said something very good in this last General Conference:

"I would say to all who wish for more faith, remember this man! In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. It was of this very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know."

I loved this idea. This concept of recognizing and appreciating what we have, and holding fast to it. We can only work where we are. We can only make progress up the hill from where we stand. Don't stress it too much. I testify that God does not expect us to suddenly be perfect, or even to attain perfection in this life. It is a direction. The only true direction. But life is a journey, not a destination. Focus on what is before you. Keep taking steps forward. You got this. :) God loves you and will help you progress as far as you let Him. And I close these remarks in the name of our Great Healer and Shepherd, Jesus Christ, amen.

- Elder Michael Miles