Hello all! What another fast week we had here in Witham and Braintree. Time seems to be speeding up as I speak. This week we had a lot of rain, gardening, and an all around good time.
We've had many opportunities for service this past week by doing gardening and painting. We dug a vegetable patch on Thursday (we also found a bed frame buried and had to dig that up), we moved a whole trailer full of horse manure to a members garden on Saturday, and we cleared an allotment to make it suitable for planting again. I forgot how therapeutic digging in the dirt can be! I also find painting to be relaying as well. We had the opportunity to paint the living room ceiling at a members home on Wednesday, and I managed to keep the paint on my face to a minimum.
We also got a lot of rain here this week. On Friday it was as if someone opened up a fire hose above us. We had umbrellas but they were pretty much useless. We were soaked and had to go back to change and wait out some of the downpour. We also walked around in the rain for a few hours on Wednesday, because the car was in the shop getting an oil change. I don't mind the rain, so all is well.
What I learned this week is how great it is to be part of a few "big families". Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints means you are part of a huge family that exists all over the world. It is the most open and friendly family that literally knocks on your door to tell you about it. I am also grateful to be a part of the amateur radio family as well. This week I met Chris, 2E0KDG (M6KDG). We were walking in Witham and I noticed him carrying a radio and walking the dog, just like I used to do. I just love having this instant connection with people all around the world in these "big families" that anyone is welcome to be a part of.
As I was thinking about all the service we got to do this week, I was thinking about the great examples in the Book of Mormon. In Mosiah chapter 2 verse 17, a leader named King Benjamin teaches his people that "ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in service of your God". In Alma 17 when the sons of Mosiah leave on their missions, Ammon decides to serve under King Lamoni as one of his servants attending his flocks. Service really does bring a joy that cannot be replicated by anything else.
Hasta la proxima semana,
Elder Ammermon