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When Life Gives You Bananas... Eat Them?

 Alo-

Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the cool weather. It has been nice here in the North having some chilly days, but Spring will soon be upon us. We are hoping for a little bit warmer weather, clear skies, and an air quality index below 250. I hope all of you are staying safe and if you have friends or family affected by the Californian fires that they are doing the best they can. A lot of people in Vietnam have been talking about it and say it looks really scary and sad. Most of the members here I have heard are worried about the temple, which is sweet. 

This week nothing out of the ordinary happened. The most exciting event was our transfer call - we thought for sure some of us were going to get moved to a different area. Turns out - our entire district stayed the same! We were pretty shocked to say the least. We are looking forward to spending the Tết holiday (Lunar New Year) together and in this branch. There are going to be lots of activities to make some Traditional Vietnamese food, so it should be an exciting week. I am really excited and grateful to have a Tết here in the North, because I have heard people love decorating their homes and the streets in all red. Last year, the city of Hanoi did a massive drone show which would be really neat to see. 

Our friends have been doing good and have some that are close to making their baptismal commitments. For those of you who have followed me along on my mission have seen I haven't had a lot of opportunities to participate in baptisms. Most of the time, the people I was teaching that progressed to that stage would get baptized after I left a branch or area, so I never got to see them.

One of our friends who is on date for baptism invited us over to his Grandparents house to eat together which was fun. They prepared lots of Tết treats and other traditional hosting foods that were made of rice and jello, complemented with an assortment of all different types of sweet fruits. All of the food tasted pretty good - but the volume of it all was too much. We were forcing down tons of this thick jello and rice desserts, and the grandfather kept handing me bananas to eat... which are my least favorite fruit. I know, a lot of people really like bananas. I like the flavor of them, I like smoothies, I like the candies - but I just can't do the texture. They are too mushy and I just don't enjoy it. If you like bananas don't take my dislike for them personally, I just won't willingly choose to eat bananas. I felt so sick after eating so much we came home, I sprawled out on the couch, and felt so full I just went to bed in my white shirt, pants, and tie, belt still on. 
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Spiritual Thought:
This week I have been reading in the Book of Mormon (surprise) and came across some scripture that I enjoyed. The stories in Ether always give me an interesting perspective and thoughts. Specifically, it has really taught me about patience and trying to align ourselves with the Lord. Many times throughout the first 10 chapters Ether and his family are shown a small revelation or given a bit of guidance, and then they have to continue for a long period of time without it again. Their example of trust and patience of the Lord timing is really powerful to me.

Come unto me ... and I will show unto you the greater things - Ether 4:13.

I know the Lord can show us greater things as we trust in him and have patience with his plan and his timing. It is not always easy, but it is the best for us.
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Thanks for the read! Have a great week and I wish you all the best.

Anh Cả Giây Nô Lds

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