The Elephant

¡Buenos Dias a Todos!

Ha ha I always feel so proper when I say that! :) How are you all doing? Wow so things around here are going great! Today is the first day that is actually feels like SPRING here!!!! I am SO excited. I was talking to my comp about the weather today and realized that I won´t see winter again for like a year... yes that is probably the best news of the week. :)

Everyone here is talking about the crazy weather in New York. I sure am glad that most of our loved ones are on the western side of the states. Kyle and Carolyn... Are you feeling any of the effects of the weather? Really I don´t know that much about it but I sure hope that everyone is doing ok.

So everyone here thinks that automatically since I am a girl that I know how to cook. One of my punch lines is "Hna/Hno/Elder if I knew how to cook, do you think I would be in the mission?.... No I would´ve gotten married!" Ha ha it´s always funny and everyone always laughs. Also it makes all the members love me more and also all the wives give me recipes to help me get married after the mission. As my bishop always tells me, the way to a man´s heart is through his stomach. Anyway the point of this story is that a bought a notebook this week to put all of these in. I was pretty excited about that. basically all that I have learned how to make will shorten your life drastically because of the amount of calories due to the oil or the butter but they sure are tasty!

Yesterday in church a lady gave a talk that I loved! (Mostly I love that I can understand now as well :)) She started off by telling a fantastic story. One day a little boy was at a circus. As he walked by the elephant he noticed that from it´s massive leg was a small chain and an even smaller stake in the ground. The boy stood there in amazement... How could it be that this gigantic animal didn´t simply rip the stake out of the ground free itself. For years the boy thought of the image of the elephant but could never come to a rational conclusion. One day, a man finally was able to resolve his childhood doubts. The man explained that from the time the elephant was very little he had had the same chain and stake on his leg. As a baby elephant it had been quite a large chain and stake and after many attempts at trying to free itself, the elephant gave up in defeat, NEVER to try again. And with it´s impressive memory, the now adult elephant remembered it´s earlier failures and so kept itself hostage, by it´s own now personal defeat.

I loved this story because it is so true. How often do we let the past hold the future hostage in our own lives? As I was thinking about this story I love to relate it with Heb 12:1-2
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the asin which doth so easily bbeset us, and let us run with cpatience the race that is set before us,
 Looking unto Jesus the aauthor and bfinisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him cendured the cross, despising the dshame, and is set down at the right hand of the ethrone of God.
As we run this race of life we must set beside us EVERY WEIGHT and run with patience the race that is set before us.

The member related this story to a scripture found in Eph 4:22-24 which I also think is really appropriate.
 22 That ye aput off concerning the former conversation the bold man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful clusts;
 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
 24 And that ye put on the anew man, which after God is created in brighteousness and true holiness.
As we put off the old natural man of sin and follow God with all our hearts and minds, we will be able to rise above and overcome all the the obstacles that we face in this life, whether they be of a physical or a mental nature.

I love you all tons and tons!

Think about you often, pray for you always, and love you forever!

Hna Scanlon