The Power of the Atonement.‏

Though out my mission to this point the Lord has really provided me with constant opportunities to grow and repent, and progress and become better. The mercy and grace of our Savior is so great, we must be ready for it, and prepared mentally and spiritually to allow it place in our life. Justice on the other hand is just that, just. It has to do what it has to do and there is no room for this or that. Truly the Atonement must be understood, so that we can understand our role in our life here on earth and what our Savior truly has done for us.

I am tremendously grateful for Jesus Christ. I pray that one day, it will perhaps in the eternities become an incomprehensible gratitude, but as for now, I imagine my gratitude for the Savior is measured in what I know and understand about him here.

The other day as Elder Hancock and I were riding down the main highway that runs through Elgin (which happens to run from the Florida Keys all the way to Maine) a car honked and pulled over. This is a pretty normal thing in missionary life. Well we rode up to the window and say a young man driving and his mother in the passenger seat. The one driving looked at me and said something to the effect of, "What's up Elder McMurry?". I felt pretty confused but understood that they must know me, I had to ask though cause I didn't know what to say. After a few minutes the boy driving told me who he was. It was a missionary that was here only a few months ago but finished his mission. The primary reason I didn't recognize him was because he had grown his hair a little longer and also grown a goatee. Well we talked for about a minute and then continued on down the road. It was strange, but I redetermined that after my mission I would continue to look like a missionary, as that has been my plan.

Welp! We are working away. We have an awesome Sister, Sister Canty, on a baptismal date for July 31st! She is awesome! Right now her testimony of the Book of Mormon is intellectual, but that wont stand the tides, so we are determined to help her gain a spiritual testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost. Missionary work is so important, it is the work of the eternities. If we don't like it now, we won't much enjoy the Heavens in the life to come! That is what it is all about. Finally I got my bike tuned up today, it has gone quite the ways past its expiration date, so I got a few things fixed on it today, but not a lot. So! There are big changes coming to the mission. Our mission is starting the pilot program for the rest of the southern states and then there were some other changes as well. Primarily we are now having leadership meetings ever couple of months, in fact we are starting tomorrow. We will be going down to Irmo and will be having meetings for 4 whole days. It's pretty crazy. They start at 1:00pm on Tuesday, and will go till about 5:00pm, then we will head back to our own areas. Then they start on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at about 9:30am and will go till 5:00pm. The meeting will be for Zone Leaders, District Leaders and New Missionary Trainers. So Elder Hancock will be serving in Columbia the next 4 days while I am at the meetings. Starting in May 2011 the MTC will be teaching a new way for the missionaries, so our mission is getting ready for it now, that way it will be nothing new when those missionaries next year start coming. Neat! Anyway I love you all!