Derek: Putting Off the Natural Man (and Getting a Haircut)

19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.(Mosiah 3:19) 

Fun fact about the DR: in most Spanish countries they say, ''Te Amo"' to say I love you but here they say 'Pato Devolver" (duck return???) which I think is pretty cute. 

So, last Tuesday the first thing I did when I finished my email was to get a haircut. I mean, I was planning on getting one, but I decided I really needed one when the MTC President came up to me at lunch and told me that the barber was coming that day and he expected me to be there. So now my hair is the shortest it has ever been. 

The next day we were supposed to go to the park to do some service. Now this park used to be a zoo so it is absolutely huge. It has a giant playground, a gym, a theater, and a literal forest. So it’s a beautiful sunny day when we started, but by the time we get to the other end of the park it starts to pour. The teacher with us tries to hurry us into this really little children's library but on his way there he and two other kids slip and land flat on their backs. It was really bad but super funny. Anyway we stayed in there until our ''service'' was over but as soon as we started heading back it stopped raining.

So that whole week my companion and my District Leader, Elder Jackson, were super sick. I caught a bad 24 hour fever, but they had stomach cramps and spent a two whole days being only on the toilet or in bed and eating nothing but some saltine crackers. Well I was able to give my companion an anointing and a blessing and now they are both relativity back to normal, which is good because I wasn't able to play basketball all last week but now that I have my partner back we can get back in the game. 

Yesterday we went to the La Teinda, or store, and I had to spend a bunch of money on socks because I apparently left all of mine at home. But that's not the only clothes emergency I have right now. I just found out that all my whites are missing from the dryer here and I don't have any clue on where there went. And this is bad because most of my clothes here are white, so as of now I got nothing to wear tomorrow. But I’m on the hunt. I will not eat, I will not sleep, and I will not stop until I find my whites. 

I have been learning so much from everyone here. All my lessons, devotional, and classes have taught me so much. My favorite part of each day has been my personal study as I feast the scriptures to find doctrine and blessings that I can use to bless the lives of my future investigators and everyone in this beautiful country. I hope and pray every night for nothing more then to become God's hands in blessing the lives of all his children and to bring them unto Christ. Every day I feel myself continuing to put off the natural man as I start to listen to the spirit and I grow and become more meek, patient, and full of love. I feel my self already beginning to be molded by the Lord as I become a saint in Him. I know that This Church is true and though Jesus Christ's Atonement we can return back to our loving Heavenly Father as long as we follow his gospel by showing faith in our lord Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism by immersion with the proper authority for the remission of sin, and if we receive the Holy Ghost. And know this to be true and I yearn for the day in 4 weeks when I can begin to teach this to God's children in the mission.

Elder Derek VanBuskirk

Hey mom, Can you edit one of these and post it one my account with the caption, "I finally get to be my own Hero"  I gotta Go. I love you. Tell every one else I love them too.