January 25, 2021
გამარჯობა მოსმინელებო,
This week was a mix. The events were great, and the emotions wavy. My emotions have been wonky for a couple of weeks actually. Here's an example. A couple of weeks ago, we watched "The Incredibles II" in Georgian with our tutor. For the first 20 minutes, I was on the verge of tears. Why? I don't know. Maybe the music? I honestly don't love the movie too much as a whole anyway, so I couldn't tell you. Then last week our trip to Kojori and the fortress there really reinvigorated my sense of adventure. It was a real good high.
Then this week we had zone conference. Elder Boom of the Seventy and his wife joined us. They are absolutely delightful. He interviewed me and told us how much the Area Presidency trusted us. He said that they don't ever lose any sleep over us. This statement was confirmed for me when he told me he was really proud of the two of us. Those of you following along know that there are actually three of us here in Georgia. An easy mistake to make, I suppose. I'm sure with all their responsibilities, they are losing sleep over other things, like the fact that Sister Mafi still isn't home. The actual conference part of zone conference was wonderful. Elder Boom is very real. He told us about his mission to England and how much he disliked it. He told of the challenges he had learning to love those he served, and it was really refreshing. He's such a sweet and inspiring man. Some of my favorite things he said included:
"Some of you are surprised by that. Well, don't be. Don't be surprised. The Lord can do it." (In reference to how much the work is rolling forth, especially through Facebook, despite our many restrictions.)
"Get creative!" (In reference to how we do our Facebook work. This was also in slight lamentation because of how little creativity was allowed in his Mission when he served in England.)
"The Invisible Hand of the Lord is managing all things."
This week the biggest group of Georgian missionaries there has ever been, went into the (online) MTC. Okay, so there's only six of them, but to my knowledge, that's double the previous record, so that's something. We look forward to the day when they come to the country, but we are still going under the assumption that I leave before they come. Maybe the Book of Mormon will be printed in Georgian by the time they get here! Let's keep the hopes high!
This week I have studied obedience. I implore you all to be more obedient in your lives. "Obedient to what?", you may ask. There are many ways to answer this. Obedient to your bosses, to your leaders, to your teachers, to your parents, to your moral philosophy, to the law of the land, to the laws of God. A free and independent thinker may ask, "how can I remain free and independent if I restrict myself to the idea of obedience?" I will respond by saying you have to look at freedom in context. God has endowed us with our moral agency. When we choose obedience to any of the above mentioned higher powers, we are choosing a certain result. As it turns out, depending on who your boss or teacher is or what country you abide in, you will get a different result from your obedience or disobedience. But when we stay faithful to the laws of God, we can be certain of the result every time. Both obedience and sacrifice bring forth blessings from the Most High. One of these blessings is a continuation along His path and the continuation of our abilities to make choices and remain in obedience. The invisible hand of God isn't all that invisible, and it does more than manage all things. It leads all things as we harken unto Him.
Well, this has been one more hello and one more goodbye from Georgia. God loves you all, and I'm sure of that.
სიყვარულით,
უხუცესი იაკობი
