Το Άγιο Πνεύμα

Well, this email will be kept pretty short, but I promised my mother I would try to write something. So I'm gonna try, Maman!

This week has been a lot self-reflection and trying to learn how I can better improve myself as a person and as a missionary. Which, ironically, one of the things I want to improve on is not focusing on myself so much. After all, I'm not here for me, I'm here for God's work.

I feel I have done a decent job focusing on the work during my mission, but I felt something in my mind really switched this week. I can't really remark the moment it did, but I seem to recall a moment sitting on our --surprisingly comfortable-- rug. An overwhelming feeling of desire, not only to see things improve but, to be a part of it. It's difficult to describe, which it reminds me that it might be more associated to the prompting of the Holy Ghost more than I realize. One of the episodes of the Joseph Smith Papers Podcast about the First Vision (highly recommended!) touches on the subject that there is a lack of information on how Joseph Smith received revelation. It's not so hard to imagine why when you've felt the spirit for yourself. Where do you even begin at times? So it would make sense why it would be so difficult for Joseph Smith to begin to descibe his feelings. I think back to many of the spiritual feelings I've had this last week of God pushing me in a certain direction and I can't begin to describe them. I could describe the moment, but not the feeling.

My favorite people to talk about spiritual feelings are those outside of the church.

We met with one of our friends this last week that often says he struggles to feel anything at all. However, this last visit, he talked about a moment, he prayed in the kitchen of his home after being prompted by the missionaries.

He described this most intense feeling of heat overwhelming his body. It started in his feet, and crawled up over his entire body.

"It was overwhelming! And when I met the missionaries again after that, they told me I could feel that all the time! How could I do that? It was too much!"

We affirmed to him that is was the Holy Ghost. Through the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we can feel that guidance all the time. It might not be overwhelming every moment, but the spirit is always present. As you try to remain worthy of it and repent daily, you will feel that guidance-- even idly.

I've seen who I am without the Holy Ghost. I am going to work hard every day to keep it in my life.

One of those is in my progress with Greek. There is no CHANCE my comprehesion should be where it is. I have still more work to do and I really want to push my studies until the end of my mission. I'm nowhere near fluent. And this will sound funny, but I'm glad the first hill didn't come easy. I've learned to rely more on the Lord in the process.

We were walking through a bookstore today, and kept thinking about things that I used to consider purchasing as momentos and such, but I kept feeling pulled away from it in my mind. Finally, as I spoke with Elder Bonney about my thoughts, I realized the only real souvenir I would really want to take home. If I can take home the Greek language, it would be the only thing I want. That would be the most meaningful thing I could ever hold on to. I could take it with me everywhere, and it wouldn't take any space in my pocket! Even if I don't get to use it a lot, to thing that God has given us missionaries the chance to learn a language we might have not even thought to learn is such a special thing. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but it really meant a lot to me.

I don't have a lot of time, so I guess I'll conclude with one of the big thoughts from this last week, during my studies as well as in lessons.

I believe one of the hardest things for us mortals to wrap our heads around is we don't know everything. We literally couldn't. This thought doesn't always stress us out because we certainly know a lot about our own little worlds, but we don't know everything. I always think back to Moses when God showed him a portion of the vastness of everything. He nearly burst into flames! If he hadn't been translated, he would have! Thus, we can't even imagine everything.

How are we supposed to make any sort of decision without even knowing all the variables? Of course, we do the best with all the knowledge we have and that's sometimes what God asks us to do.

But guess what? There is someone that does know all things. And a literal member as the God Head has the chance to reside in us at all times to guide us. And not even just that, but he let us choose to follow or not. Do you see how special that chance is?

How could I ever turn down that opportunity? Everyone is certainly different, but for me that's enough for me to try my best each day.

I love you all, and I hope you do well! The weather was rain today, but it's really starting to feel wonderful outside!

Πρεσβύτερος Ντίλαν Χάνσεν (Elder Dylan Hansen)
Στην Αθήνα, Ελλάδα (in Athens, Greece)