Lots of big news! This has been an
exciting week, and to top it all off, today I get a new companion! I'll
be staying in the Meridian/Eagle area in which I've been serving for the
past month and a half, but will now be companions with Elder Reid! He
and I served around each other in Middleton, ad we're great friends, so
I'm super excited. I'm sad to see Elder Wheeler leave, but he's going to
do some great things down in Nampa!
As I read
in the book of Luke in the New Testament, I came across Christ's parable
of the Woman with the Ten Coins. For those of you who may not be
familiar with it, a woman has ten coins, and loses one. She cleans and
sweeps the house until she finally finds it, and she celebrates with her
friends because of the recovery of her lost possession. Christ used
this parable to illustrate the joy He has (and we should have) when one
of our lost brothers or sisters is found and brought back into the fold.
Here are a couple thoughts I had which I thought I'd share. In this
case, contrasting with the parables of the lost sheep and the prodigal
son, the coin was lost because of the woman's own neglect or lack of
attention. Although the decision to desert the Gospel of Jesus Christ is
a personal one, we never want to be a reason or driving force in
someone else's falling away. We need to be diligent in helping our loved
ones progress and learn more about their Heavenly Father. Another part
of the parable that I loved was that by the time the woman found her
lost coin, the house has been cleaned! As we help others return and
grow, we often end up learning and growing ourselves! That's one of my
favorite parts of my mission; I get to become a better man, brother, son
and disciple of Christ as I help others do the same. I invite you all
to seek opportunities to serve, and be the type of example through which
others come to know Christ because they know you. I love you all and
love hearing from you! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Doyle
