As Torres Gêmeas

Well, it has been a very wet week, which has kind of been the norm lately. My companion and I are the tallest pair in our mission. It´s pretty cool. Everyone thinks Americans are tall to begin with, but a Brazilian and a Japanese. Yes we´re very tall and everyone comments about it. It´s pretty funny. If you think I´m tall, you should meet Elder Gonçalves and our mission president (they are both taller than me...) Thats ok though. We had our Zone Conference this past week. The only missionaries that haven´t changed since October are Sister Lúcia and I. We´ve been here for a while, but that´s ok. I like São Luís. Time is going by faster and faster everyday. It´s hard to keep track.

I read a talk given by President Uchtdorf recently, that humbled me. He talked about pride and how pride, when we think of ourselves as better than others, is a sin. Sometimes we are self-righteous, egoistic, and even esteem ourselves as better than others. More physically fit, more intelligent, more beautiful, and even more spiritual. How do these things make us better than others? In the eyes of our loving God, we are all His precious child. No one is better than another, each one of God´s children is worth more than any human or mortal mind can conceive to understand. So, let´s all be more humble. Instead of looking down on someone, think to yourself, "What can I do to help them?" Let´s all look for ways to serve our neighbor. I know that the Lord loves us all individually, and that we can all return to His presence if we repent of our sins and humbly follow the gospel. Let´s not be prideful. It´s just another tool of the adversary to lead us away from God. Because pride is sin, it stains us, but it stains us in a way, that if we are not aware, we will not be able to tell that it is staining us.

The stain of pride reminds me of my white shirts. My shirts started out brilliant, but after time of not carefully washing, they become a little more yellow everyday. Until one day I realize that my shirts are turning yellow, and I need to do an intense job of bleaching my once white shirts. When we repent, it´s like bleaching a yellowish white shirt. But we need to carefully wash our shirts or repent of our sins (in this case the sin of pride) frequently. There are many things that I need to work on to become a better person. I know that the Lord lives and that He loves us. He is our loving father, and we are His children. I pray that we can all better ourselves a little more everyday. I love you and hope you are well.

-Elder Samuel H. Chiba

p.s. a link to the talk given by President Uchtdorf

http://lds.org/general-conference/2010/10/pride-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng