Elder Rhett Aaron Shaw

Hey all!

I hope everyone had a great week last week! Hopefully the weather will cool down soon! Bring on the Fall! ;) Wow! I can't believe a week has already pasted! I swear that the weeks go by faster and faster!!

The work in the Estacada ward is picking up fast! We started this new program for the ward to get more referrals. We just visited one family and received 5! We also gained 4 potential investigators and are meeting with them this week! We are keeping busy! The field is ready to harvest!!! 

Portland Temple

So were you able to watch the Women's conference on Saturday?! It was great! I loved the talks and I can't wait till this weekend for conference! Elder Olsen was battling sickness on Saturday and since we have Wi-Fi in our apartment we just went to lds.org and watched it live and ordered pizza. That was fun! I made sure that he pushed the fluids and brought on the vitamin C! I was also able to deep clean the entire apartment. Surprisingly it was a productive day!

 I am proud of my family! Every time I look at my name tag I smile! It has not only has Christ's name on it, but it also has my family's name on it! I am so lucky to have the parents and siblings I have. We are so truly blessed! Many people out here are from broken families. I feel so blessed to have the love and support I receive from my family.

I am super excited about conference this week! What a blessing to hear from our prophet and receive direction from our heavenly father! Make an effort to watch conference. Sacrifice your weekend so you can watch conference with your family! I promise you that as you do, the Lord will make sure that the things on your “To-Do” list will be accomplished. You will begin next week with so much enthusiasm and will feel refreshed. Your spiritual batteries will be charged!

This week I wanted to talk about trails. I love this quote from Elder Neal A. Maxwell:

"The soul is like a violin string: it makes music only when it is stretched. God will tutor us because he loves us. Because our lives are foreseen by God, he is never surprised by developments in our lives...developments are foreseen by God, though not necessarily caused by him." 

The trials in life help us stretch. The trials that we receive in life also help us grow and reach our true potential. It isn't comfortable or easy to be stretched, but God will help us! In our life "battles" the Lord will fight for us and we will hold our peace! (see Exodus 14:14) If we rely on Christ through our trials he will deliver us. Don't be afraid of the trials. We all will face them. Think of trials as a way of growth and a way to strengthen ourselves. Life brings many hardships, but luckily we don't have to go at them alone. The savior is always there waiting for us to come to him! If you have a couple of minutes watch this Mormon message. It is great! "The Will of God": God uses love-inspired correction to guide us to a future we do not or cannot now envision but which He knows is the better way for us. 

Always trust God! Never Quit! Continue to have faith in him! There is so much power in daily prayer and scripture study. As we do the basics in the gospel we are able to have the spirit leading and guiding our lives on our journey back to our heavenly father!

I love being a missionary! It brings me so much happiness and joy! I know that our Heavenly Father is in the details of our lives. He knows us: our needs, dreams, goals, and desires. I have been able to see how the Lord prepares his people. I have been able to see so many of his tender miracles, they are all around us!

I love and appreciate all of you! I can feel all of the love that our heavenly father has for each and every one of you individually. He knows us better than we know ourselves. 

I hope you all have a fantastic week this week! Always keep on the look-out for the lords tender mercies for they are EVERYWHERE!

Love,

Elder Shaw