Elder Rhett Aaron Shaw

Hey all!

Happy Memorial Day!! Can't believe that this week I will be hitting my 10th month mark!! It has already gone by too fast!! #pleaseslowdown :/  What is even weirder, is that this past Friday marked a year since I graduated...so weird...it feels like an eternity ago!

As far as the work goes, we have been keeping ourselves busy, by not wasting any moment to share the gospel...it makes time fly because we are always go, go, go! It makes me excited for p-days because I need that time to sit back, relax and rest from my labors! (Shows how important Sunday's are! Remember to keep it holy ;) We have been busy teaching over 20 lessons a week, going on exchanges to help other missionary's in their areas the best that I can, and . . . . . WE GOT A NEW CAR!!!! 

A 2015 Subaru Legacy!!! And guess what??? I GET TO DRIVE IT!!!! It is literally a dream! I love that new car smell!  #iamsospoiled! :/  #lookout!  #thecarissooofast  #thankgoodnessfortiwi! (For those of you who don't know what a “tiwi” is, it is a small annoying box that monitors our speed and writes us up if we go above the speed limit or if we drive aggressively. Don't worry! I still drive like a granny! ;)

This past week had to be one of my favorites in the mission! I was able to participate in ANOTHER wedding on my mission! I got to be one of the witnesses for Tammi and Logan's wedding this past Friday at the church. I got to sign an actual marriage license! Pretty cool! Bishop Rawlins performed the marriage and said some pretty amazing things. The next thing for them is to be sealed as a couple in the temple!! AND GUESS WHAT???? I will still be on my mission so I will be able to go and support them! Super exciting! I left my family to help bring families together for eternity! I have grown so close to that family and I am super excited for Logan AND Tasha's baptism taking place this Saturday at 5! Don't worry, I will make sure that I will send pictures! ;)

Logan & Tammi's Wedding

After the wedding, they took us out to a fancy Italian restaurant for dinner! Boy was it yummy! Then they took us downtown for the "Star Light Parade," an amazing firework show down by the waterfront in downtown Portland in celebration for Memorial Day weekend. I was super excited to go!! I only have 2 opportunities on my mission to go and I was able to go on my first year!!! Wow does Portland come alive at night! Super crazy, yet super exciting! So sooo many people of different cultures and backgrounds...smelt more alcohol and drugs then I wanted to :/, but overall it was a fantastic experience. I got a picture with the Oregon sign and got to get several videos of the fireworks!  :) Such a neat experience on my mission! My mission has taught me to not just endure life, but to also to enjoy myself every now and then. It is ok to enjoy yourself every now and then. I guess Portland has taught me not to stress the small stuff and to live in the moment! It is weird...I thought my mission would teach me to be more obedient and to work hard, when in fact it has taught me to relax and enjoy life! Such a blessing.

We finished the week by being amazed by all of the fruits of our labors! 5 Investigators at sacrament meeting! :)

This past week has been great and busy as always...I have been working REALLY hard!

Sometimes it is hard to stay motivated when people around you don't have that same fire as I feel I have sometimes . . . ugh, it is hard to motivate others when sometimes I have to work on motivating myself! Satan is really good with making us think that what we do is good enough and that we don't need to continue to push ourselves . . . but I know that there is no growth in the “comfort zone” . . . we just gotta keep pushing and doing our best everyday, 110%. Something that I have learned on my mission about the atonement is that it helps us keep moving forward when it feels like we can't. We are all given willpower and sometimes the willpower isn't enough, sometimes we don't have enough for the entire day.

Team Shawsome!

For example, you could be working on losing weight, so you create a weight loss plan by eating right and working out a lot. In the morning, you wake up with loads of energy and willpower! You will work out and eat so well during the day. Hours pass, and you find yourself letting small things slip, so you take a bite of a small cookie, which leads to eating a small bowl of ice cream etc. After eating those things you don't feel well enough to work out . . . so you won't. This is a silly example, but do you see how Satan tries to make you slip over the small stuff??? When we center our lives on the Atonement we understand that by grace we are saved after ALL we can do. When we give things all that we got, usually it ends up being enough to satisfy the demands so we begin to trust the Savior. We pray, we read the scriptures, and let his light come into our lives. He helps cover the rest! I have felt this very thing when I was experiencing migraines everyday for those 3 long months. I worked and tried my hardest, but it wasn't enough, I had to trust the Savior and do MY very best! At night I would pray to my father in heaven and ask him to bless the work that I have done, although it wasn't perfect, there are many things I need to improve on. I would then feel him accept my very best and then would feel the Spirit testify to me that what I had done was enough for my Heavenly Father. In this life, we will NEVER be perfect, what matters is that we keep trying and NEVER quit!! Do your very best! That is all that our father in heaven asks of us. He requires our very best effort, so give it to him . . . don't you ever hold back! If you do then you are keeping yourself from ALL of the blessings Heavenly Father wants to pour down on you. I am so grateful for the atonement that strengthens me to do my best every day!

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Remember how much I love you and how much you mean to me, but most importantly remember how much your father in heaven loves YOU!!

Have the best week ever! Happy Memorial Day! Don't sweat the small stuff . . . because after all, it is all small stuff!!!! :)

All my love and more,
Elder Shaw