Life is Good Right?

 

                     

blogg update,

                     so i ended up getting some talks from our old mission president, they are kind of like motivational speeches that he used to get pumped up and do what he had to do. there is this pole vaulter named bob richards and i have a few of his talks. he always talks about how just thinking positive can change a persons life. i agree 100 percent. i was thinking a few weeks ago about why i do or did the things that i did i life before the mission. i was surprised when i found out that i did most of what i did do in order to avoid a consequence, and not to obtain the prize at the end. i started naming a bunch of moments in my life when i had to make a decision, and yup i found that im all about avoiding the negative and not really about obtaining the positive. but i have a question, which is better, to try and avoid the bad or to embrace the good. they could be close to the same thing but i think there is more to the story than what there seems. ive started trying to do things thinking about the positive instead of what ´could´ happen if i didnt do something. honestly ive seen that life is alot more fun when it is concentrated on the good things and the possibilities instead of the bad and the possible hard times. i am still trying this out and its great. i should get a new comp this wednesday but i still have no idea who itll be. life is good right? :) love elder hayden summers

My Mission is the Greatest

oh yeah,
             so lets start off by saying that my mission is the greatest! oh man our investigator got baptized last saturday. he is the coolest, and his whole family arent members. we were waiting to start the baptism until his family arrived, we waited half an hour and the all showed up together. all of his family was there to watch it and it was just so insanely spiritual. babies crying and everything it turned out being great. so then my comp ended his mission after that. so now i am without a companion for a few days. so i am working with random members and random elders so that i am never alone. it feels really wierd to, but this is a great oportunity for me to show what i got and to show that i have what it takes to be successfull in this great work. i talked about this a bit with my last comp, about trials through fire. sometimes you just have to do things head on. if your in the ocean and a big storm raises up out of nowhere you have a choice, keep going, or turn back. i remember many times with my dad when he would think about going into the storm or just going home. we had put so much time into just getting out onto the water that going back would be a waste of time, money, and effort. very few times my dad has turned us back to go home. usually he looks at us, smiles, and says here we go. in life sometimes things happen where we have a choice to either back down, or take it on with our chins up. the ones who take on the challenges face first are the ones who are successfull in this life and secure their spot up above. nothing is to hard for us to overcome. trials have been put in our life specifically for us, so that God can try our patience and our faith. have a great week! love elder hayden summers

Little Tid Bit

hey there,
                well another little tid bit of what i have learned this week. its all about how we as people need to be given the same rules over and over again. i mean i think about it and 2000 years ago Christ was teaching his gospel, before that it was taught, and now we are teaching it today as well. our mission president gave us a lecture on studying all the doctrine over and over again. as members we have heard and read many times the rules and restrictions that we have in order for us to live safe and happy lives. but for me i always rolled my eyes when someone would start talking about the stuff i thought that i knew. yeah i was aware of the rules and such, but after time the natural man takes over and numbs those rules that we know. before i knew it i was making exceptions and justifying things i knew was wrong. then BOOM. someone gives a talk or says something about those rules again and i get reminded that i know what im doing is wrong and that i need to go back to following them exactly. in the moment of being chastized it is easy to say that i will change. then a few hours after my mind isnt so willing. that is a part of life, and the ones who can fight that fight and win are the ones who will have eternal glory. i got a lot of work to do hah. love you all, have a sweet week, love elder hayden summers

The Hand of the Lord in Your Life

argentina update,
                           isnt it great to see the hand of the Lord in your life? honestly He has been lifting me up for my whole life, i just havent noticed it until ive been out here and litereally in His hands. in the mission tough times smack you in the face out of nowhere. things turn south, then they rocket boost straight down. ive thought to myself alot about whats happening and it seems to me that there is hardly ever an easy way through the pain. something that ive noticed though just keeps re-occuring as i face harder and harder times. i get beat down and low in the dirt, try to get through it with a smile, then things get harder. i have in those times been to the point of not knowing what else to do. but then something triggers inside my head. and i say ´hey after this im going to be more manly and strong´, hah. its strange yes but i tell myself that. then i face the whirlwind of tribulation that is in front of my with my chin held high. once i say i can do it, the Lord´s hand swoops in and takes all the burden away. to be honest its incredible. and i even sometimes feel like i wish the burden didnt get lifted or made easier but it did! we are always helped out in our lives. sometimes it doesnt seem like the help is coming at all. but once we buck up to face the odds, we are givin strength, we gain confidence in ourselfes and in others, and we fight through the bad and burst out into a world that we can handle. sorry if thats confusing haha im slightly confused myself. but i know its true, be safe, love elder hayden summers

Confidence in Yourself.....

hello blog.
            this week was fantastic. its interesting for me here because with every companion that i have i definately learn something new from them that just clicks in my head. what i learned this week is some stuff about confidence in yourself. we were discussing confidence and how it relates to faith and what not and it was interesting to ponder. in the church our callings come from inspiration and revelation through the holy ghost. which then means it is from the big Man himself. so every calling we get in this church is God himself telling us that this is where we need to be. he calls us there because he knows that we will do well and progress how he wants us to. he has confidence in us that we can do the tasks that are put in front of us, and, well, he knows everything so he is obviously right hah. now for me i have a hard time having confidence in myself. i feel nervous, on edge, and like i cant get over some of the tasks that im asked to do. especially now. but if i lack confidence in myself than that means that i lack confidence in what i am called to do. which in turn means that i lack confidence in the Lord and ultimately just shows everyone how much faith that i dont have. now if the Lord knows we can do it then there should not be a doubt in our minds that we can. he knows already that you will do it, so i say to myself just buck up and trust in Him who called me here. i love the mission :)

How to Love Others

dear blog,

               the life of a missionary is quite spectacular. one learns how to accept change, how to live with those who annoy, and how to deal with rejection. you also learn how to study the right things, how to accept people for who they are, and how to adjust to peoples needs. most importantly for me, ive learned how to love others. not just a fake love, but one that you feel for someone who you really care about and a person that you truly wish the better for. as a missionary its pretty important to love others, actually if you dont love the people than your not being Christlike which then means you cant completely have his spirit to be with you to teach. thats my little message for this week is to love others. if you love others than you are willing to sacrafice something of yours in order to make their life easier or simpler. if everyone were to do this for everyone else than there would be a billion less problems in the world. thats why Christ is so cool, he knows that and he loves us perfectly. he even told us all the secrets to be like him and even at the end of his mortal life he asked our Heavenly Father to forgive the people for crusifying him. thats super love and he has it for all of us. some day we will make it to that point but we cant make it there unless we are headed in the right direction. im going to try my best to stay going the right direction. youll never get the the good fishing hole if your going the wrong way :) love you all, elder hayden summers

Happy BDay America

hello there,
                so this week was cool. we got another elder in our pench so we are in a trio until wednesday when i leave and go somewhere else. an unknown place with just a goldmine waiting for me to find and try and teach hah. happy bday america, the best nation on earth, the good old United States of A! we are going to celebrate today just us gringos with meat and american football and fire and a big american flag. should be fantastic. enjoy the time you have with your loved ones cuz you never know if youll be in argentina for the 4th of july, hah or two of them. but really hard times are ended with the best times of our lives, that is all. love elder hayden summers