Golfing in Belize is Ridiculously Sophisticated

Hello one and all! Short and tall! Near and wide! 

 

 

SHOUTOUT: family in Moscow. I LOVE YOU. The notes made MY WEEK. You are a wonderful, talented and good looking bunch and I miss you like a fat kid at fat camp misses chocolate cake. 

(copyright Forkey family)

 

 

So I have some good stories for you all today. Real good ones. 

 

First of all, I'd like to address the experience I had today. Because, it was a 'first of the lifetime'. Firsts are generally a treat. And today...I went golfing!!! Contrary to popular belief, golfing is not horribly boring.

 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am so pumped about this. I have never been golfing in my whole life. But we did it today. Our zone went out to the boonies which I didn't even know existed in Belmopan, and we ended up in the jungle and somehow in the jungle there is a BEAUTIFUL Belizean golf course. Wow. It was absolutely stunning. I felt like I was in Tarzan or something. Of course some British guy with polo owned the place and he was super genial. It wasn't exactly our most inexpensive p-day activity, but it was wholesome and entertaining. 

 

Turns out I am not such a bad golfer. Admittedly, I have much to learn. But I look forward to taking up this high-class sport after the mission. haha! What is it about golfing that is making me feel SO pretentious right now? Maybe because there were a lot of high-class people there. Who can say? 

 

But I have a suggestion for those of you who have yet to visit Belize. Do it during a time of lightning storms. Have you guys ever heard thunder? Because I had not. Not truly until this past week. The thunder in Belize is...so...loud. It is so loud that I screamed because I was genuinely shocked and afraid. It is so loud that I worried about the conditions of my ear drums. It is so loud that little children cry. It is so loud that I thought a gun was being blown off in OUR STUDY ROOM. False alarm. Point being, the thunder and lightning in Belize is quite the experience. 

 

Another compelling experience: a man sang a song for my compa and I this week. We were visiting some members and, as tradition requires, we began with a hymn. There was a guest there , a 76 year old man, who really enjoyed our musical number. He applauded us with some enthusiasm and spent some time convincing us that we could be a choir. Then, suddenly, "I will sing a song now". 

 

I wish you could have seen my facial expression at this time. Because on the mission you learn to expect the unexpected. Nothing throws you. Not one thing ever. 

 

I don’t think I even blinked at his announcement. 

 

He started, and the song was pretty catchy. It’s still in my head now. And he had a nice voice. It was rich and soothing and sometimes it reminded me of Nat King Cole which is always a pleasant experience. He got really into it. Afterwards we thanked him for his performance. But seriously, I really liked his song a lot. 

 

We are teaching some spectacular folks out here in Belmopan. (Even though I still LOVE San Ignacio forever). 

 

One lady is a force to be reckoned with. A force for good!! We introduced the Book of Mormon to her and she is reading it. She kept saying, "Yeah. All this stuff is new to me, but I’ll read. I’ll pray. I want to know if it’s true. But this is all just very new'. 

 

I can find no fault in that. She has a sincere desire to know what is truth. These are the BEST people to teach. So she is reading and I have no doubts whatsoever that as she continues in her sincere quest, that the Holy Ghost will teach her the truth. In fact, do you KNOW what she said in her prayer at the end of our lesson??

 

I quote, roughly...because this might be apostasy...."please give me the holy ghost to know if this is true."

 

Ah. That is the high of missionary work. 

 

Maybe I have mentioned this before, but I love missionary work. Do you know what else I love?? Charity. Here is what Sister Hirschi has discovered. The ails of the world. ALL OF THEM...can be fixed with charity. The theory is still developing though so don’t get too caught up. 

 

Charity though--being the pure love of Christ--motivates us to do all good. In the words of Preach my Gospel....

 

Charity is a gift from God. The prophet Mormon said that we should “pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that [we] may be filled with this love” (Moroni 7:48). As you follow this counsel and strive to do righteous works, your love for all people will increase, especially those among whom you labor. You will come to feel a sincere concern for the eternal welfare and happiness of other people. You will see them as children of God with the potential of becoming like our Heavenly Father, and you will labor in their behalf. You will avoid negative feelings such as anger, envy, lust, or covetousness. You will avoid judging others, criticizing them, or saying negative things about them. You will try to understand them and their points of view. You will be patient with them and try to help them when they are struggling or discouraged. Charity, like faith, leads to action. You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself.

 

Man I love this! I am obsessed with this paragraph right up there. It is so powerful. I know it is true. If we love people, if we strive to love them as Christ does, we will have powerful desires to serve others and to labor in behalf of others. 

 

This, like any other Christ like attribute, is a work in progress. But I know the only way to really and truly to be happy is to love people in this way. That's it. 

 

Guys, I am sending out the love. You are all wonderful people. I know you are. And you all have SO MUCH POTENTIAL. So much. In the words of Uchtdorf, "compared to God, man is nothing. But man is everything to God." ok that is rough but that is true. And it BLOWS MY MIND. We're so weak, but so important to Him. I don’t know how or why, but it’s true. 

 

Have a great week.

Be safe. Choose the right. Belize is amazing. 

 

Love, Sister Hirschi