He Won't Forget Us! June 24, 2013

OUR SAVIOR KNOWS AND LOVES YOU PERFECTLY!

Best day ever! Just finished playing 4 hours of soccer! Yeah baby! I LOVE SPAIN!!!! Playing soccer with these incredible Spaniards ever week has done wonders for me. My footwork is better than it´s ever been in my whole life. The greatest accomplishment of the transfer came this morning when we were picking teams to play soccer and I got picked first! Ok, I think they were just being nice but still. I was pretty stoked! I may not be the best one on the field but with all the practice I’ve had out here I can finally hold my own against them. Man, I love soccer.

On to more important things. Oh yeah! All those who think I’m the biggest brat in the world please raise your hands....how on earth did I forget that last Sunday was father´s day?! I´m so incredibly sorry! I HAVE THE BEST DAD IN THE WHOLE WORLD!! Thank you for always being one of my best friends. I love you so much! If you look in the dictionary under the word ¨charity¨ you´ll find ¨Brent Israelsen¨. I love you dad! I´m truly blessed to be able to call you my dad! Thanks for everything! HAPPY FATHER´S DAY! How about we just pretend that I sent that last week ok?

Funny moment of the week. On Friday we were walking to an appointment and we came across a massive tennis match in the middle of the street. This guy was just going for it in the middle of the street. You would have thought that it was the U.S Open or something. Here´s the thing though, he was sort of missing a few minor things like a court, a ball, a racquet, and an opponent. This guy was having a full out tennis match by himself. Haha it was pretty strange but we took a minute and watched the game to show our support. It was pretty intense if I do say so myself. We think that the guy was a slightly out of his mind but we enjoyed ourselves so all is well.

  

This week was really slow for us. There wasn´t a lot of success at all but we found the good moments in each day. This week as I was reading the scriptures I came across a scripture that hit me in a way that it never has before. I´m going to teach what I learned in the same way that I’ve been teaching our investigators this week. Think about some scars that you have? Do you remember the story? Who was there? What happened? Each scar has a story right? When we look at these scars we are reminded of all of these things: what happened, when it happened, who was there, and how much it hurt. In the Book of Mormon we learn about some of the most important scars in the history of the earth. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, forever bears the scars from the atonement. They are a constant reminder to him not only of the atonement as a whole but of each one of us. In 1 Nephi 21:16 it says, ¨Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.¨ Think about how often you look at your hands. A lot right? Well. Every time the savior looks at his hands and the scars that they hold he is reminded of us. He thinks of each one of us individually and remembers EXACTLY what he felt for us. He will never ever forget you because you are engraved into the palms of his hands. He will always have that reminder of you. 

When we are resurrected we will have perfect bodies without any scars or blemishes. We, imperfect beings, will have this wonderful gift. It´s interesting to think that the only perfect man to ever walk the earth will not have this gift. Even in his perfected and glorified state he will always bear these scars of the atonement. He truly paid the price for us in every way possible. My invitation to you is to take a little time every day to remember your savior and to think about everything that he has done for you and how he has always been there for you even in the moments that you truly believed that you had been abandoned. It breaks my heart to think that I sometimes forget about the one man that NEVER forgets about me. Know that you are not alone, you are not forgotten, and you are not abandoned. I testify that Christ lives. That he is full of mercy, love, forgiveness, and second chances. He will never abandon you in your moments of heart-ache, struggle, confusion, or grief. He will never forget you. He can´t because you are engraved into his hands. I love my savior with all of my heart and I know that he truly knows how to comfort me in my time of need. He will never forget us.

Our Savior knows and loves you perfectly. How well do you know him?

Con todo mi amor de España,

Hermana Israelsen