Happy Birthday, Aaron

Hello, Aaron;

Your 8^th Birthday Countdown:  1 day!

Your Baptism Day Countdown:  3 days!!

  How blessed you will be to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost is a special gift that will last way longer than any regular old present.  He wants to be your special helper and guide for the rest of your whole life.  On Sunday, you will be entering the “gate” and starting on the path.

  And here we are in Chile.  We would love to be there to see you baptized.  Please record your special feelings of that day.  We love you very, very much, Aaron.    

The port

Small passenger boats with Navy ships in background

All heading back home

  So down here the Chilean Navy (armada) and some ships from the USA (including the USS Washington aircraft carrier) have been playing like there was a war down here – to see if they could work together and get things done.

 So the “war” ended today, and all the ships have been coming back to their regular ports.  They have special (water) parking places where they dock.  But the docking places are very crowded, and some of the bigger ships can’t ‘park’ on their own.  Today we saw how they do it.  The big ship stops, and two powerful, but little “tug boats” push and pull the big ship into its docking place (berth).

  We thought how the tug boats are like the Holy Ghost – small, but super powerful.

  He (the Holy Ghost is a spirit person) can HELP you get out of tight situations, SHOW you the right way to go, REMEMBER things, DECIDE the best thing to do, PROTECT you, and lots of other things.  What a GIFT!!

  These quotes are from the Conference talk by Elder Lawrence:

“As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher....”

“The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home.”

Great traveling companions too!

“The Holy Ghost really does give customized counsel. He is a completely honest companion and will tell us things that no one else knows or has the courage to say...”

Going to Church every week and partaking of the Sacrament is how we stay on the path

“The Holy Ghost doesn’t tell us to improve everything at once. If He did, we would become discouraged and give up. The Spirit works with us at our own speed, one step at a time....”

“The Spirit can show us our weaknesses, but He is also able to show us our strengths.

Sometimes we need to ask what we are doing right so that the Lord can lift and encourage us.....”

“Heavenly Father knows our divine potential. He rejoices every time we take a step forward.  To Him, our direction is ever more important than our speed.”
"What Lack I Yet?", Elder Larry R. Lawrence, Of the Seventy, General Conference October 2015