Hiya!

That's "hi, how are ya", not the death cry of a ninja warrior. 

This has been a great week. I have to say, I felt kinda weird packing up all my stuff to move across town. But it has turned out to be a great experience. The work is going really well in this area. There are so many opportunities to teach and serve. We had the opportunity to help out with a fence building project up in the mountains. That sound kinda epic; "In the mountains". I tell you what, though, I didn't feel epic climbing that last slope. I wanted to curl up and die. Its amazing how little energy you have in a low oxygen environment. 

On a more spiritual note, I have gained a greater testimony of the healing and converting power that service has, both on those serving, and those being served. We also had the chance to help an inactive man. All we did was hang some kitchen cabinets for him. But that man came back to church this last Sunday, for the first time in over fifty years.

I worry that sometimes we think that the work of salvation is too hard. How can we, through our own efforts, help others to come unto Christ? Well, that's the whole point, isn't it? If we try to do the Lord's work on our own, how would we ever succeed? Who in their right mind would send out a bunch of 18+ year old's to share the gospel with the world, if the work depended on their own strength and abilities? The work would be doomed.

But the Lord's work is just that; His. He stands at the helm. I will admit, there are moments when the work is hard. There are times that the Lord needs to teach us a lesson. But never, for even a brief moment, believe that we are shouldering this work alone. We may at times look around, and all we can see is the talents and abilities of others, and the fruit of their efforts. But when the Lord of the Vineyard called His laborers at the end of the day, to give them their wage, who received more? No one. All were rewarded equally, because each had done the duty assigned to him, and had labored while the day lasted. So it is with us. We are the laborers, and we have each been given a work to do. No matter how "great" or "small" that work is, if we do our part, the reward is the same: everlasting salvation in the Kingdom of Heaven. I know that these things are true, and I bear that witness in the name of the Lord of the Vineyard, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Elder Miller