Thank you for your letter and always bringing a good smile to my heart. You have an incredible ability to lift my day with every email and help me see the miracles that I often don't see. I think the Lord makes it all amazing and influential to others, mainly because I am definitely unable to do that myself. He blesses me so much. Especially on the mission!
This last week I had the incredible opportunity to just breathe revelatory experiences being able to be at multiple meetings, conferences, and in a car with a general authority from the Europe East Area Presidency. It was quite amazing. It was quite a week too to be honest.
Our new mission president and his wife are just incredible! They are first and foremost examples of consecrated missionaries! They have incredible unity and President involves Sister Lochhead in everything: transfers, planning, interviews, etc. He respects the ecclesiastical keys, but also he counsels with his wife at every opportunity.
We were able to be with President Per G Malm of the seventy and what a privilege that was. He is just so bold and helped me really be more bold. "Speak Up" he taught. This is really part of our calling as missionaries and members of the church: We need to not be afraid of our own ideas and opinions, but we do need to be humble enough to accept the will of the Lord as it is revealed to us unobscured by our pride. Pride's been a pretty rough thing for me this week.
My companion is a very competent man that is quite experienced and blessed with a lot of gifts that I don't have.... Whereas he has wonderful ideas, seems to be two steps ahead of it all, and very professional in all that he does. I find myself comparing my weaknesses with his strengths and just feeling horrible. It has a lot of side effects that weren't the best: lack of unity, lack of hope for own self development, and lack of happiness. I will improve.
It's quite funny how the Lord taught me that I need to be more teachable. In my patriarchal blessing it says just that, that I need to be humble and teachable on my mission especially...what an amazing thing that it did to me to realize that I could just learn from him and not need to compare myself to him. The truth began to free me as I realized that I am me and he is he. We have the same goal and are able to benefit and learn from each other, but I should not take part in the priestcraft of placing any person, myself or another, in the place of perfection that only belongs to Christ the Lord. He's who we strive to be like, not like others. Of course we can learn from everyone - especially when it is a checkpoint on our path to Christ - but the assimilation of behaviors and characteristics of others should never take the place of the assimilation of behaviors and characteristics of Christ that are our true goal.
We will create a new area (the assistants to president haven't had an area in a long time and finally we will have a proselyting area too), so we'll have to start that on Thursday; the necessity of being the best missionaries and best area in the mission; and fulfilling our administrative and counseling duties to our new president. It's a lot of stress...but it gives me an opportunity to learn: We can learn something from everyone...it's just a mind-set.
I love you!
Your Son, Elder Claypool
This last week I had the incredible opportunity to just breathe revelatory experiences being able to be at multiple meetings, conferences, and in a car with a general authority from the Europe East Area Presidency. It was quite amazing. It was quite a week too to be honest.
Our new mission president and his wife are just incredible! They are first and foremost examples of consecrated missionaries! They have incredible unity and President involves Sister Lochhead in everything: transfers, planning, interviews, etc. He respects the ecclesiastical keys, but also he counsels with his wife at every opportunity.
We were able to be with President Per G Malm of the seventy and what a privilege that was. He is just so bold and helped me really be more bold. "Speak Up" he taught. This is really part of our calling as missionaries and members of the church: We need to not be afraid of our own ideas and opinions, but we do need to be humble enough to accept the will of the Lord as it is revealed to us unobscured by our pride. Pride's been a pretty rough thing for me this week.
My companion is a very competent man that is quite experienced and blessed with a lot of gifts that I don't have.... Whereas he has wonderful ideas, seems to be two steps ahead of it all, and very professional in all that he does. I find myself comparing my weaknesses with his strengths and just feeling horrible. It has a lot of side effects that weren't the best: lack of unity, lack of hope for own self development, and lack of happiness. I will improve.
It's quite funny how the Lord taught me that I need to be more teachable. In my patriarchal blessing it says just that, that I need to be humble and teachable on my mission especially...what an amazing thing that it did to me to realize that I could just learn from him and not need to compare myself to him. The truth began to free me as I realized that I am me and he is he. We have the same goal and are able to benefit and learn from each other, but I should not take part in the priestcraft of placing any person, myself or another, in the place of perfection that only belongs to Christ the Lord. He's who we strive to be like, not like others. Of course we can learn from everyone - especially when it is a checkpoint on our path to Christ - but the assimilation of behaviors and characteristics of others should never take the place of the assimilation of behaviors and characteristics of Christ that are our true goal.
We will create a new area (the assistants to president haven't had an area in a long time and finally we will have a proselyting area too), so we'll have to start that on Thursday; the necessity of being the best missionaries and best area in the mission; and fulfilling our administrative and counseling duties to our new president. It's a lot of stress...but it gives me an opportunity to learn: We can learn something from everyone...it's just a mind-set.
I love you!
Your Son, Elder Claypool
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