Ego #43

Hey, This week was awesome. 2 exchanges, one with Elder Netelbeek and one with Elder Fisher. Also we became 15 feet away from Putin and got some pictures of his snipers on our roof. This week I've had a lot of cool experiences feeling the love of the Lord. Every morning I wake up thinking "man I am blessed to be here". From dawn to dusk there is energy and excitement in my heart to love God and my fellow man. My thought - ego Ego is the root of so much misery. It causes us to compare, to politic, and to cheat. Many missionaries (including myself) make the mistake of being overly serious. Bourn out of a feeling that we must be the best (our ego). But this robs us of so much joy. It turns selfless service into self centeredness. When we do things to "be seen of man" we are robed of the most pure and beautiful feelings in life. I'm done with this whole serious missionary stuff. We are in the work of the Lord... not in the white house, pentagon, or on wall street. We are in the business of sharing God's love, and the grace of Jesus Christ. We do this through laughing, smiling, serving, dancing, teasing, joking, wrestling, giving shoulder back rides, mourning, rejoicing, and testifying of a loving God. Pride, ambition, seriousness, and ego rob us of joy. But humility, meekness, a compassionate heart is the gateway to joy. This doesn't mean, be lazy... but just don't think about yourself while working. "Never let the problem to be solved more important than the person to be loved" Thomas S. Monson Love yall, Elder Bateman (Love to hear from you all on how you fight pride, ego, overseriousness, and vanity)