El. Backstrom Walker of Long Distances

Hello friends. 

Due to the sad internet and my desire to send photos, I am currently writing you from wordpad offline as google slowly uploads various images. Good. However, this week has been rather enjoyable. We haven't had many lessons but we set up a capo week for this next week. Week five of the transfer already! time is just skipping by.

Hmm, our branch president's daughter, Ayixa (no it's not any better to say in spanish) is currently in the hospital. Hopefully she is cured soon because she is supposed to be going on a mission in tree months to Rio de Janero, Brasil. Also it makes Pres. Malki rather unavailable to assist with other things, of course understandably, but it is hard on the small branch to be down one of the four families we have...

Yeah. I just sent an email with images of life in Argentina to everyone on this list also. So there is that.

We had a really weighty lesson with one of our investigators who is having a difficult time with her husband/but not married/boyfriend/has a child with/ partner I guess is the word for that? and it helped me appreciate a greater degree the reason we're here, which is to help people with all sorts of problems, including those. it also made me appreciate how much she trusted us, to talk with us about a sensitive mater such as that.

On to the things I got out of my study of the scriptures this week, I encountered several really striking passages but I would like to highlight one in particular, which is the poem known as the psalm of nephi in 2 nephi 4:15-35. I the spanish scriptures, all of the psalms are divided or written in verse as opposed to the paragraph form the rest of the scriptures take, and I found it was rather interesting, and quite powerful on an emotional level, to read the passage in verse; so I'm going to divide it more or less into the same form it takes in the Spanish scriptures here.

 And upon these I write the things of my soul, and many of the scriptures which are engraven upon the plates of brass.

For my soul delighteth in the scriptures,

and my heart pondereth them,

and writeth them for the learning and the profit of my children.

Behold, my soul delighteth

in the things of the Lord;

and my heart pondereth

continually upon the things

which I have seen and heard.

Nevertheless, notwithstanding the great goodness of the Lord,

in showing me his great and marvelous works,

my heart exclaimeth:

O wretched man that I am!

Yea, my heart sorroweth 

because of my flesh;

my soul grieveth

because of mine iniquities.

I am encompassed about,

because of the temptations

and the sins

which do so easily beset me.

And when I desire to rejoice,

my heart groaneth

because of my sins;

nevertheless,

I know in whom I have trusted.

My God hath been my support;

he hath led me through mine afflictions

in the wilderness;

and he hath preserved me

upon the waters of the great deep.

He hath filled me with his love,

even unto the consuming of my flesh.

He hath confounded mine enemies,

unto the causing of them to quake before me.

Behold, he hath heard my cry by day,

and he hath given me knowledge

by visions in the night-time.

And by day have I waxed bold

in mighty prayer before him;

yea, my voice have I sent up on high;

and angels came down and ministered unto me.

And upon the wings of his Spirit

hath my body been carried away

upon exceedingly high mountains.

And mine eyes have beheld great things,

yea, even too great for man;

therefore I was bidden that I should not write them.

O then,

if I have seen so great things,

if the Lord in his condescension unto the children of men

hath visited men in so much mercy,

why should my heart weep

and my soul linger in the valley of sorrow,

and my flesh waste away,

and my strength slacken,

because of mine afflictions?

And why should I yield to sin,

because of my flesh?

Yea, why should I give way to temptations,

that the evil one have place in my heart

to destroy my peace

and afflict my soul?

Why am I angry because of mine enemy?

Awake, my soul!

No longer droop in sin.

Rejoice,

O my heart,

and give place no more

for the enemy of my soul.

Do not anger again because of mine enemies.

Do not slacken my strength because of mine afflictions.

Rejoice,

O my heart,

and cry unto the Lord, and say:

O Lord, I will praise thee forever;

yea, my soul will rejoice in thee,

my God,

and the rock of my salvation.

O Lord,

wilt thou redeem my soul?

Wilt thou deliver me

out of the hands of mine enemies?

Wilt thou make me

that I may shake at the appearance of sin?

May the gates of hell be shut continually before me,

because that my heart is broken

and my spirit is contrite!

O Lord,

wilt thou not shut the gates

of thy righteousness before me,

that I may walk in the path of the low valley,

that I may be strict in the plain road!

O Lord,

wilt thou encircle me around

in the robe of thy righteousness!

O Lord,

wilt thou make a way for mine escape before mine enemies!

Wilt thou make my path straight before me!

Wilt thou not place a stumbling block in my way—

but that thou wouldst clear my way before me,

and hedge not up my way,

but the ways of mine enemy.

O Lord, I have trusted in thee,

and I will trust in thee forever.

I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh;

for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust

in the arm of flesh.

Yea, cursed is he

that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh.

Yea, my God will give me,

if I ask not amiss;

therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee;

yea, I will cry unto thee,

my God,

the rock of my righteousness.

Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee,

my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

Thanks, sorry that's long and I have to rush to head now, but have a good week,

El. Backstrom

walker of long distances

P-Day Adventures

With the Zone Leader Elder Huaman