It's Still Winter???

The weather this past week has been awesome! It's been in the mid-40s or higher every day! I didn't know Wyoming was capable of getting this warmer in the winter season. This has provided great opportunities to be outside and find people to talk to! One day last week, we just took some time to walk around for a while, and we found some interesting things to do. As we were walking, this big, black dog came running behind us. It was a shock, but we noticed that he wasn't chasing, but he was being chased by his owner's grandson. We asked if he wanted help rounding up the dog, and between breaths he got in the words "yes" and "please." So, I ran as fast as I could to get past the dog and turn it around, then my companion came from behind and grabbed the dog by its collar! I realize that I would have to take a lot more time to make this story amusing, but just trust me when I say it was crazy! As we continued walking, we knocked on a door of a house that we thought potentially belonged to Hispanics, but to our surprise, a very old woman in a wheelchair came out. We talked for a little bit, and asked if she needed anything. It turns our that she has had some debris in her yard from the surrounding trees and has been very worried about getting it cleared out. She didn't know anyone who could help, and we could see the concern in her eyes as she told us how she didn't want to get in trouble by the city. That was a great opportunity for us to share the love of Christ through service, and quite frankly, our schedule was looking pretty empty at the time, so it was good to have something to do. Work is the best way to fill time, especially when the efforts go to helping someone else out!

We also took some time to go downtown to the Mayor's office to try to contact him. Thankfully, in a town like this, it is not too difficult. We didn't talk to him directly, but his secretary was very open to having him contact us. We think meeting with him will be a great opportunity to discuss the Hispanic population here in Casper and to improve our relations with the public as missionaries. I also hope to find some more opportunities for service through the meeting. I will let everyone know how it goes.

I would encourage everyone to look for opportunities to reach out to those around them. Pay attention to people, put yourselves in their shoes, and I'm sure you'll be able to find opportunities to share Christ's love. In studying His life, we can constantly find that he "has compassion" on the people he sees. When we earnestly desire and seek the welfare of everyone we see, we can feel God's love more in our lives, and I know that this practice is what Our Savior would have us do. I would like to remind everyone of Christ's response when he was questioned as to the great commandment in the law in Matthew 22:

 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 38 This is the first and great commandment.

 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

"Love thy neighbor as thyself." Do not underestimate this phrase. Anything that you would do for or wish upon yourself were you in the situations of those around you, do the same for them as much as is in your power. We do so much for ourselves every day. Christ's law is for everyone to share the load that our fellow beings carry.