“Patience and Persistence”
Ukraine Kyiv Mission
Quote:
“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2)
“Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:1-2)
Dear Elders and Sisters
We want you to know how proud we are of each one of you! When we see you or pray for you, we feel the Lord’s love and gratitude for your service. You are doing better than you think you are! The members are commenting about the commitment they see in the missionaries and the difference they feel in your spirit. Please work closely with the Lord, the members and each other. You are not alone in this work. If you feel alone in your companionship, do something to reach out and serve your companion. If you and your companion are feeling lonely in the branch, reach out to the members and do something nice for them and you will build relationships.
Loneliness is a strange thing. You can feel it even when you are surrounded by hundreds of people; sometimes this is when you feel loneliness the very most. Be sensitive to how those around you are feeling. If you don’t have a friend then be one. Make this the best transfer you can for your companion and I promise you will be happier.
Patience
While riding in the car as a family and discussing the dangers of popping “one’s knuckles” (who knows how these conversations get started?), Dallin, our oldest son, told us that there was absolutely no truth in superstition that popping one’s knuckles would give you arthritis in the future. He cited a resent You tube video he had seen on the subject where a man had religiously popped the joint on only one hand for 60 years to prove to his mother that she was wrong. I found the article on the internet”
“Donald Unger, from California, began cracking the knuckles of his left hand at least twice daily, but never cracked his right hand's knuckles, so he could compare the two.
After a staggering 60 years of one-handed knuckle clicking, he had not developed arthritis so he declared his mother was wrong.
'I'm looking at my fingers, and there is not the slightest sign of arthritis in either hand,' he told the LA Times, after publishing his findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3011085/Can- cracking-knuckles-cause-arthritis-One-man-cracked-joints-one-hand-60-YEARS-out.html#ixzz3pYlnnTVN
The video Dallin watched concluded that maybe the real lesson learned from Donald Unger was that of patience and persistence.
We want you to know how proud we are of each one of you! When we see you or pray for you, we feel the Lord’s love and gratitude for your service. You are doing better than you think you are! The members are commenting about the commitment they see in the missionaries and the difference they feel in your spirit. Please work closely with the Lord, the members and each other. You are not alone in this work. If you feel alone in your companionship, do something to reach out and serve your companion. If you and your companion are feeling lonely in the branch, reach out to the members and do something nice for them and you will build relationships.
Loneliness is a strange thing. You can feel it even when you are surrounded by hundreds of people; sometimes this is when you feel loneliness the very most. Be sensitive to how those around you are feeling. If you don’t have a friend then be one. Make this the best transfer you can for your companion and I promise you will be happier.
Patience
While riding in the car as a family and discussing the dangers of popping “one’s knuckles” (who knows how these conversations get started?), Dallin, our oldest son, told us that there was absolutely no truth in superstition that popping one’s knuckles would give you arthritis in the future. He cited a resent You tube video he had seen on the subject where a man had religiously popped the joint on only one hand for 60 years to prove to his mother that she was wrong. I found the article on the internet”
“Donald Unger, from California, began cracking the knuckles of his left hand at least twice daily, but never cracked his right hand's knuckles, so he could compare the two.
After a staggering 60 years of one-handed knuckle clicking, he had not developed arthritis so he declared his mother was wrong.
'I'm looking at my fingers, and there is not the slightest sign of arthritis in either hand,' he told the LA Times, after publishing his findings in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.” http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3011085/Can- cracking-knuckles-cause-arthritis-One-man-cracked-joints-one-hand-60-YEARS-out.html#ixzz3pYlnnTVN
The video Dallin watched concluded that maybe the real lesson learned from Donald Unger was that of patience and persistence.
Missionaries often struggle with patience; but those who gain this Christ like attribute are happy and successful. One
dictionary defines patience as, “the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without
complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.” Dictionary.com
Below are a few questions that may help you determine if you need to work on patience.
Below are a few questions that may help you determine if you need to work on patience.
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Do you complain?
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Are you easily angered?
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Does your companion or others irritate you?
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Are you discouraged?
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Do you feel more than normal stress?
I believe the heart of patience is selflessness and humility. The opposite of patience is selfishness and pride. (Mosiah 3:19) We are impatient when we want something now and don’t want to wait. We may think or believe that we deserve a quick fix to a problem or that we are entitled to a desired outcome.
I love the great Russian writers; they endeavored not to fix the ills of society, but rather to point them out so that they could be seen and worked on. A quote by Leo Tolstoy captures something that every missionary wrestles with. “The strongest of all warriors are these two — Time and Patience.” (Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace) Time and patience are battling constantly in our work. I personally get discouraged, annoyed or cross when I don’t know how I can accomplish all that I think that I must with limited time. It is at these times when time begins a battle with patience.
As a new missionary, I thought that I needed to be further along in the language than I was, despite the fact that I was doing everything I could not to waste a moment. I compared the results of my language ability to other missionaries and questioned why the Lord wasn’t helping me as quickly as them even though I believed I was working harder. I was unhappy during this time of my missionary service. A quote by Elder Maxwell sums up perfectly what I learned during this time on my mission.
“There is also a dimension of patience which links it to a special reverence for life. Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be.” Neal A. Maxwell, Patience, BYUDA 11/79
I have also learned that resolution to our problems and concerns usually comes in the 11:59 minute. We need to have patience and wait on the Lord. This means we do all we can but we trust Him and we trust His timing. The Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build. Many who worked on the temple didn’t live long enough to see it completed and to participate in ordnances there in. There motivation was that they knew others would participate in ordnances including their family on both sides of the veil. This thought was enough for them to continue the intensive labor it build that sacred building.
Below are a few practical ideas that may help you increase your patience:
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Increase your faith in the Savior’s atonement,
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Prioritize your activities and feel good knowing you did the very most important things even if you didn’t get everything
done.
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Simplify what you are doing so that you aren’t just rushing.
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Learn to Delegate those things you can to others.
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Make a list of things that make you anxious. Work on them.
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See the eternal perspective (things take time).
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Celebrate the victories and forget about the defeats.
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Create realistic expectations for yourself and others
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Every time you want to complain say something you are grateful for or give a complement.
Add others to this list it is only a beginning. I know that patience is something that will help each of us become more like the Savior and find more joy in this work. We love you and pray for your success.
Love President and Sister Packer
P.S. Can you all please send Sister Packer a separate message with a miracle that you have seen on your mission this year that has broughtyouclosertoChrist. PleasesendthistoSisterPackercaripacker@gmail.comtoday.
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