Once upon a time there was a five Elder apartment

Good morning friends and family, 

Spanish word of the day is: madrugador (early riser) 

Forgive me for not sending an email the last week, things have been a bit crazy as we recieved two more elders in our already limited space apartment. The day before transfers we got a lovely call from our mission leaders saying "Elders! You're making mission history tomorrow!" 

So there we were, preparing to fit two Japanese elders in the beloved Rumny Flats. We thought we were all set, but spoke too soon. No hate though, they're good guys, all we needed to do was set a few standards of living with them. 

The weather is falling into fall little by little. The ocasional tree with colors and the cool brisk nightly winds have arrived. 

I read a neat story in John 8:54-59 this week. It's when Jesus is teaching on the temple mount during a large Jewish festival. The Pharasees and Sadducees were trying to discredit Jesus by trying saying he was younger than the prophet Abraham. We then read in verse 58 that Jesus says: "Before Abraham was, I am". 

I find it really interesting that Jeses spoke as himself in the present tense, and not past tense. I wanted to find out why, so I searched other places that says the words "I Am". We find in the story of Moses in Exodus 3:14 these same words. It is while Moses receives his prophetic calling on Mount Horeb. Moses was expressing his doubts when all of the sudden the Lord says "I AM THAT I AM". To help provide some insight on what the phrase "I Am" means, we need to go to the Greek translation which is ego eimi. This literally means absolute, timeless existence. So we can imagine why they became so angry when the Lord spoke this, because He was literally claiming His divinity as God (because He is). 

I love how bold and brave Jesus was when it came to speaking the truth. We understand the the wicked take the truth to be hard, but we also learn that the truth can make us free. So when Jesus taught that we must love one another, He meant it because it's the truth. It doesn't matter what the person has done or how they look. Never, ever judge someone because of that. Too many times we get caught up in all the church culture and we are blinded by our own self-righteousness. Is that really how Jesus would act? So when you ask "What would Jesus Do?", mean it, and more importantly, live it. That is why we have reptentence, the change to be more like Him, the great I Am.

I love you and He loves you. You are His child, you are of divine lineage.

Hope you have a wonderful week! 

con mucho amor,
Elder Rasmussen