Time for a Real Email

 August 10, 2020

ოკ, გამარჯობა კარგებო.

So, first off, I'm sorry. I really haven't given a quality email in a long time. Hopefully, I can put some real quality into this one. The four of us here are having a grand old time together. It's tough because we all have a lot of work. We are going to be closing down two more apartments in Tbilisi as well as the one in Rustavi. We got that news, and it made us all a little sad because, to us, that's a sign that we won't be getting new missionaries for a good while. We found out an answer to the question. We will not be getting any new missionaries until President Picard has access to the country.  So when the Armenia/Georgia border opens up, hopefully, we'll get some people returning. Nobody thinks that'll be until the new year, so that's unlucky. 

There are three stages that we have to go through before we get back to full scale, regular missionary work. As of Sunday, we are officially in stage 2 (Armenia is still in stage 0), so now we can use public transportation.  Oh, how I love riding the metro! We can start meeting with people in their homes too. The American families invited us over for dinner and that was amazing. They're so sweet. 

Next Saturday we'll be going down to Rustavi to start moving all the stuff from the church building. We also have some great news. We extended a baptismal date to one of our friends. His name is Lado. He's been learning for a while, but he has a few reasons why he doesn't want to get baptized soon. He set the date for May 17th...so we'll try to get it moved up. He may think he needs more time, but as far as we can tell he doesn't need that much time. He knows a lot because of all he's read, but he doesn't quite realize how much more there is to learn about the gospel. 

As I have begun reading the Old Testament from the beginning, the condemnation of idolatry pops up again and again. Idolatry is so terrible that the Lord commanded the complete destruction of the Canaanites so that their idolatrous traditions would not find themselves among the Israelites. The real question is what forms of idolatry do we find among the children of God today? The first two of the Ten Commandments are against idolatry and false gods, but we can add a third if we take Paul's words in Colossians 3 and Ephesians 5. Covetousness is idolatry. Why is that? When we covet, we put trust and care toward something that is not the one true God. Caring too much for the things of this world is, in part, a rejection of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is also, in part, the worship of a false god. Something that may provide temporary security in some things pertaining to this world, but not a sure defense against all of the fiery darts of the Adversary. We must be sure to put God the Father as our focal point of worship. We all must humble ourselves and see the false gods that are developing in our lives. They may not be physical things. Maybe titles, degrees, dreams for the future, affection from a certain individual. Obviously, these are wonderful things that we should work for, but all things in moderation. We must all go boldly before the throne of God and acknowledge Him and ask for forgiveness for not having our eyes single to Him. 

Anyway. I'll leave you all with that. Have a wonderful week because it's a wonderful life. 

--უხუცესი ფიშერი