Bonjour ma famille et mes amis!

 

Bonjour ma famille et mes amis!

 

Hopefully, your days have been filled with happiness and good fortune is smiling upon them! Forgive me for not writing last week. I will try to update you as well as I can!

 

The MTC is going well! Classes have been fun (maybe a little too fun ha-ha) and the Spirit that I have felt has really impressed my mind. My district is awesome, and the inside jokes right now are at a premium! When we learn about the Gospel inside our classes I truly learn something new each time. Both my teachers and my classmates have wonderful insights that regularly blow my mind.

 

As for the francais itself there are highs and there are the lows. Somedays I feel like I am quickly improving and other days I feel as if I plateaued. Learning the language is like crossing a vast and unknowable sea to a promised land. Sometimes the waters are smooth like glass. Sometimes you don't move an inch for a whole day. Other times the waves seem to be too high and the winds too fierce. I try not to get frustrated when I see these obstacles because life in general is a vast and unknowable sea. We must take courage in our Savior Jesus Christ and trust in Him to help us across the stormy seas of life.

 

1 Nephi 17:13-14

 

13 “And I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led.”

14 “Yea, and the Lord said also that: After ye have arrived in the promised land, ye shall know that I, the Lord, am God; and that I, the Lord, did deliver you from destruction..."

 

I bear solemn witness that if we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ that we will overcome the trials in our life. I bear solemn witness that after we do so we will "know the Lord" and the joy we feel because of knowing Him as our Savior will be astonishing and life changing!

 

Ether 12:25-26

 

26 “And when I had said this, the Lord spake unto me, saying: Fools mock, but they shall mourn; and my grace is sufficient for the meek, that they shall take no advantage of your weakness;”

27 “And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

 

Whether it be a language, a recurring sin, speaking in public, or anything that besets us, the Lord will help us overcome. I know that I am fully relying on the Lord right now. This has been a very humbling experience because no matter how much I think I know; it is nothing compared to the Lord's knowledge. He will help us overcome all things.

 

I also had the opportunity to give my farewell talk and go to the temple. Both were amazing opportunities and I am deeply grateful for all that were able to come, to either event. I was happy to give my talk and I bore my heart to you (even if it was a bit long, sporadic, and confusing). I truly desired share my love for everyone and to bear my testimony of love for the Lord. I hope that as you listened to my message you felt inspired to live love.

 

As for the temple: what an awe-inspiring blessing. The covenants were full of tender mercies of the Lord. The ordinances display the love of a tender Father. The experience itself was rich in symbolism about Christ. At the end of the day, after all we have done, if we repent and come unto him and are obedient to him, he will save us because we have shown our love for him and He loves us.

 

It's all about love. Live Love.

Till next time, à bientôt et à révior!

 

Love, Elder Habel

 

Bonjour mon amis et mon famille!

 Dear people that I love, 

Bonjour mon amis et mon famille! I hope you all have had a fantastic week or day or at least a minute. You all deserve at least a year of good things, so I hope at least some things are going well! If things are not going particularly well have faith in the Savior and His Atonement. Go and feast upon the words of Christ. I know that helps me when I am having a rough day. 

John 14:26, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid." 

Matthew 11:28-30, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Hopefully, these scriptures give you hope! The Savior loves you and wants to help you! 

As for the MTC my mind is still getting torn apart and I am loving it! The language is coming, and I can bear witness that gift of tongues is a real blessing. We taught a T.R.C. (Teaching Resource Center) to a French speaking person yesterday in class. We did some practice lessons that did not go well for me personally. We had ten minutes to do so and I accidentally wasted 5 of my comps' time because I could not understand them when they told us to go to a certain scripture. I felt defeated and that if I were not a part of the lesson it would have gone better for everyone else. So, when we hopped on the zoom call with our ami Dorothee I was praying desperately to Heavenly Father to loosen my tongue so that I could at least share my love for her and his Son Jesus Christ. To put a long story short, I believe that was the best francais I have spoken up unto that point. I could understand her for the most part and the Holy Ghost brought words to my remembrance in the moment I needed them. The experience was very cool.  

Also, I received my reassignment to Independence, Missouri. I was excited for the clarity that the knowledge of my reassignment brought. As a missionary I am called to the work and to people, no matter the place. I cannot wait to serve diligently the people of Independence, Missouri. 

Thanks, as always, for reading my little speeches if you are one of those readers who make it to this point. If you didn't, I don't blame you, I write a lot. What's important is that you read the beginning and end of my letters.

Wisdom of the Week: 

Don't tear others down. Tearing down and berating others is easy to do. It does not show any courage or intelligence. All it reveals is fear, jealousy, and pride. Instead do as the Savior does: build people up! Listen and console. Be kind and encourage everyone for the good they do. Everyone has a story; we just need to sit down and listen. When we are a loving friend like the Savior is, that is when we grow true valiance, courage, and strength within ourselves. Build others up. Be kind. 

As always you all have my love. Till next time, may you always live love and may God bless you for the good deeds you do unto your fellow people. 

Love, Elder Habel

 

That Missionary Life

Bonjour et bienvenue from the home online MTC (Missionary Training Center)! These first couple of days have been so awesome! It's kinda hard to put into words, but I will try, right here, right now I guess! To begin, let me first talk about how awesome my district is! I have been blessed to be in a district with eleven grand and determined missionaries! On the first day of MTC we got to know each other better and let me just say these Elders and Sisters are some awesome individuals! Elder Winward and I are called to serve in the Republic of Congo, Brazzaville mission. All of the other missionaries in our district are going to Tahiti and they are learning two languages! They all have warm personalities which melted the ice between us very quickly! I can't wait to keep learning about the language and growing in the sight of the Seigneur (The Savior) with them! 

Elder Winward was assigned to be my collègue (companion). He started out the first day in my contacts as 'MTC companion'. After fifteen minutes I was able to call him my 'new best friend'. Elder Winward is a sporty, outdoorsy type of dude that also loves action movies. We were able to hit it off right off the get go. I am stoked to be able to learn how to better teach the Gospel alongside him.

The glue however which keeps our district together are two wonderful individuals. Their names are Fr ere Sebra and Sœur Corrigan. They are our teachers for our MTC classes. They are as good of people as is their french (which is très bien, very good). When we first hopped online to start class, Fr ere Sebra, talked only in french. The fear and anxiety that coursed through our little district was immense as we thought he didn't know how to speak any anglais! However, sure enough, he started speaking English and class ensued. On the part of Sœur Corrigan she started teaching us a little later than Fr ere Sebra. When she did though, the Spirit filled my heart and witnessed to me of her patient, kind, and long-suffering soul. Sœur Corrigan reminds me of the Savior with her sweetness.

As you can see my teachers and classmates are some wonderful people! The MTC experience has had its share of ups and downs but with those individuals the experience has definitely been mainly ups. I would like to take this next part to share a tidbit on why I am serving a mission and to invite you all to do something.

I could probably write eight college thesis' about why I chose to serve a mission but the Spirit whispers to me to share a simpler message. I am serving my mission because I love my Heavenly Father and I love all of you. Heavenly Father has blessed my life in so many ways for in order to record them all I would have to write a whole library worth of books. I have been blessed to be His spiritual son and to know so (which in case you were wondering you too are a beloved son or daughter of Heavenly Father. I know super cool!). He has blessed my life with wonderful family and friends! He has blessed me with the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon through Joseph Smith and the First Vision (a miraculous series of events! If you have questions about it, email me. Most importantly He has given His son for me. "For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life," (John 3:16). Through Jesus Christ and His Atonement all the pain, misery, sickness, heart ache, and despair we feel in this life can be relieved. 

I invite you to come unto Christ, study His works and ponder his love for you. For I know without a shadow of a doubt in my mind that both He and Heavenly Father love you more than you could ever comprehend. So please if you are going through a rough spot in your life or are feeling down trodden, forgotten, or straight up invisible know that you are not. Jesus Christ loves you and died for you so you can be happy. Please reach out and please be kind to one another. 

The world is a mean place. People have a lot on their plates. Be kind. Love your neighbor. Be slow to judge. Be perfectly honest. Be quick to comfort those who stand in need of comfort. Mourn with those that mourn. Fall on your Savior and He will make your burdens light. 

Trust Him. Love Him. Love Others.

Till next time, always remember my love,

Caleb :)