Iokwe from OK! Captains Log: Rations Are Low

Iokwe!

For the first time in my entire life (as a missionary, and probably the first time ever), I finally managed to ration my food to run out during breakfast on P-Day just before I go shopping. Having usually run out on Sunday or so (due to poor judgement), I am very pleased with myself. 

Elder Nicholas with a very large spoon

For those of you that asked about Elder Kilmer's
scary (to the Marshal Islanders) face from last week, he took a picture.
Here it is.

In other news, not too much news this week.

Also, I've tried to write this email about 5 times now with no success. Here's my final attempt (and I'm not changing it, so this is what you get). We're facing some pretty big struggles right now in our little group of Marshallese missionaries. I'm not going to share what we are dealing with because I don't really feel it would be beneficial, but I do want to say that I have really learned a lot from these difficulties.

One thing I have learned the most is the strength of humility and the value of charity. It is soooo easy when someone else wrongs you to withhold forgiveness to justify your injured feelings, and then continue to fault-find and look for all of the things they are doing wrong. It's easy to hate them for it. 

However, it is so much more of a relief to just let all of that go. Forgiveness is as much an act of mercy on ourselves as it is for the person that we are forgiving. It has brought me so much peace to catch myself mentally raking someone over the coals and then to just derail that train of thought and let it go. It has felt so good to pray for the people that I really don't even want to be around in the first place. I have noticed that life is so much easier when you don't let what other people do wreck your life.

I hope this turns less into an "Elder Kilmer is so great because he condescends to forgive everyone" email and more of an "Elder Kilmer learned something from his struggles and wants to share a nice experience" email. I'm really not perfect at this. But I do want to express that as I have tried, I have felt a difference in my life. I felt much, much happier.

What that means for you, I will leave open-ended this week. But think about how forgiveness can bless you in your life.

Alright, out of time. Talk to you later!

Jerammaan!

Elder Josh Kilmer
Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Mission, Marshallese speaking

不動心
Fudoshin:  immovable spirit
www.mormon.org