Bipolarity

Transfer calls come in Thursday morning and then we have the official travel the following Mon/Tues. It'll be my last mission companion. Crazy.

As for the week, though, it was an awesome one!! We had a few good lessons with Joseph, and let me tell you, he may be one of my favorite old men I've ever met. He's just so...awesome. Everyone needs a Joseph in the Celestial Kingdom, I think.  Also. We were teaching Konstantin this week (on his birthday, St. Patrick's Day), and as we spoke about the Spirit more, I told him that I wanted him to be baptized, for him, because of what the Spirit's constant companionship has been in my life. I told him some of my conversion story, and he lit up. Something sparked in him, and he got really excited and accepted to be baptized. He's on for May 30th, but we're flexibly maybe going to move it sooner if he's ready. He came to church this week and afterwards spoke more about his excitement to be baptized and his need to "clean myself and align my life with God's."  He's such a stud, and our friendship is growing. I am so grateful that I'm still on my mission to see these miracles and be of use, and that I'm in Novi Sad.  I'm grateful for those I've met and been blessed to love and be loved by them.  

Also, some of my reading was in Enoch this week. I really learned a lot from Enoch. How he is a fearful lad, but has his eyes anointed and becomes a seer, and "so great was the power of the language" that the Lord gave him, that he spoke the Language of Faith, and commanded the elements, and none could disbelieve his words, and it was, as with Nephi late in the BoM, done unto him "according to his words". Then, he sees all of creation, and sees the flood. He sees the heavens weep, and he asks God how He can weep, seeing that He is eternal and from eternity to eternity. And then we get a glimpse of the Atonement and it's effects on the One who performed it, the meaning of "the bowels being filled with mercy", that penetrating awareness He has still now with us, the depths he sunk to in order to reach our very core. God answers, in effect, "How can I not weep? I asked them to love each other, yet they kill each other and hate their own blood." How could this God who created them, and wrought a sacrifice for them in order to pay for them and make Himself full of that mercy, to reach us and suffer with us in all things as we suffer them, how could such a God not weep with them?

So we, alongside Enoch, see and taste firsthand of this Atonement, of this sacrifice and see the Great One ache and tremble and weep because of the hatred of those He loves. What a sight that must be, to see One as great as He, weeping.  Enoch is moved by this and a partial change is wrought on his body.  "His heart swelled as wide as eternity, and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook." He was yoked to the Savior in that moment, and labored alongside Him in that suffering.  Then he sees Noah's day and the earth's suffering and the floods. He petitions the Lord to spare the Earth, and also to spare Noah's seed. In the next chapter it is stated that the Lord spares Noah because of Enoch. That's gotta have some Elijah ties to it.

Well that's my rambling about my studies. Enough of that. It's been an awesome week. AND  I received loads of pics from Elder Bailey and McAllister of Bentley's (Elder Wilson) wedding. 

Wasn't Bentley just such an ugly mug and Alexia just an angel? How does that work? haha. I love those two, though. Gawl. Made my heartstrings tug. I don't have the right words to describe the emotions. I miss those guys so much. Look at that beard!

Gid gets home Wednesday. That blows my mind. Wyatt is so excited. We're almost all going to be together again and I'm just going to cry. That being said, I also don't want my mission to be over yet. It's a bipolar battle I'm having haha. I love it here. We're having a great time.

Love you all,

Elder Hixon