Surprise Mission Tour

Last Friday we had a surprise Mission Tour. One of the general authorities of Brasil, Elder Godoy the first councelor in the Brasil area Presidency and his wife Sister Godoy, visited our mission. We were advised a week in advance. Which was short notice in comparison with the last one, which we had a month to prepare. So, I had to scramble to get my hair trimmed. Wednesday morning, Sister Dias (the President´s wife) called me and asked me to prepare a musical number to sing on Friday. It was short notice, but I managed. I sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing," I added a Portuguese translation, and corrected the translation so that it would have a better meaning. It was fun. There wasn´t time to find an accompanist so I sang a'capella. It went well. The conference went well, and I learned a lot. Right before the conference, Elder Godoy had a meeting with the leadership of our zones. We got to have a small training, a little more intimate, with Elder Godoy. It was very rewarding. The thing now is to put everything that I´ve learned into practice. Which is a little challenging. Also, today I made sushi with the help of my district and some members. It was delicious. (good sushi filling - tuna[from a can], cream cheese, garlic, and carrot. also deep fry it like tempura.)

Recently, I´ve been thinking a lot about the importance of obedience. Especially obedience to the commandments. I started thinking about obedience because of something I read in the book of Alma in the Book of Mormon, as well as something I read in the book "Jesus the Christ." There was a scripture I read in Alma, somewhere in the first 1/4 of the book that made me think a lot about the importance of keeping the commandments. Unfortunately, I left my notes at the house, so I´m not sure exactly where it´s at. The part in Jesus the Christ led me to a reference in the Pearl of Great Price in the Book of Abraham 3:25. Which says the following,

25And we will ^aprove them herewith, to see if they will ^bdo all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;

It refers to the importance of obedience to God's laws during our life. Our life is a test. Our success in the life depends on our obedience to God´s commandments and His gospel. If we truly live the commandments and apply them in our lives, we will be greately rewarded in the kingdom of our Father. Life is kind of like the olympics, and the three kingdoms that God has prepared for us are like the medals Gold, Silver, and Bronze. Let's all aim for the Gold and do our best to be obedient to will of the Father. Remember,

Alma 34:32-33
32For behold, this ^alife is the time for men to ^bprepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of ^cthis life is the day for men to perform their ^dlabors.

33And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many ^awitnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not ^bprocrastinate the day of your ^crepentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the ^dnight of^edarkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

The prophets have spoken, and still to this day speak. Let´s do our best to earn our great reward. I hope you´re all well.

Love,
Elder Samuel H. Chiba