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From: Seraphin Decker <seraphin.decker@myldsmail.net>
Date: August 17, 2015 at 9:13:00 AM PDT
To: Robin Decker <robinlynnd@gmail.com>, D Decker <7halcon@gmail.com>
Subject: ~~~~

So, these 2 Elders (Dutson & Riveira) are going home this week. This is sad stuff, they taught me so much here on my mission. They both served as my Zone Leaders and Elder Dutson lived with me for 12 weeks. He was honestly only supposed to stay for 6 but he extended his mission and effected a lot of lives, including mine. It's sucks though because I wanted to go to the transfer meeting and say bye to all the missionaries that are going home but I have bag duty at the bus station -__- Whatevssss.

This week was a pretty good one, I learned a couple big lessons. I learned that 1. I looked like 50 cent according to an investigator I have and 2. That i have a lot to learn. This week I studied up on a subject that's a lot of times misunderstood (including me, I feel like I still have a lot to learn), maybe I'm just speaking for myself because what I learned really stuck out to me. It's about grace and turning strengths into weaknesses. When we talk about grace usually it's what?  We do our part and Christ makes up the difference right? No that's wrong. Christ actually makes all the difference, if you are not receiving the blessings of the Atonement of Christ in your life you cannot be saved. One of the most common phrases about grace is "Hallelujah, we are saved by grace!" something like that. But that's not really a big accomplishment to be saved by grace....everyone will be resurrected and brought into the presence of the Lord, but the true purpose of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be prepare people to one day have eternal life, at least that's what Moses tells us. "No unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of God but no unchanged thing will even want to." So if Christ walks in and says, "So did you use my atonement to perfect yourself? Please tell me you did." What will be the answer? I'm pretty sure it'll be Christ begging you to stay....So are you saved by grace? Yes. Are you changed by grace? Idk, but that's why God demands, what seems like, so much because there is no greater gift than eternal life. And almost all the time, we can't see what God sees. I hope this is making sense because I'm trying to just throw my thoughts onto this computer screen but I got these things from a couple talks and one talk in particular talked about how Christ is like our mom that pays for piano lessons for her kid.....I hated piano lessons......but there is no way that mom can be repaid for what she already gave. She receives joy by seeing her gift used. Sometimes, maybe a lot of times the kid taking the lessons will practice and play a wrong note. He messes up, and sometimes he messes up bad. But we don't tell him that he's not worthy to play anymore. So, he says "that was dumb"and starts playing and plays a wrong note again....he sighs and goes "That was stupid, I'm never gonna do that again" one more time he starts playing again and once again plays a wrong note. By this time he doesn't even wanna play anymore. But if we were the mom what would we say? Obviously we wouldn't care, we just want him to get better ! Why is our salvation any different? It's God's plan for ALL of mankind to return and live with him. So we must understand grace and understand repentance. Understand that it takes time and if we continue in patience we will be perfected. I promise you that. Don't feel inadequate or unworthy of help. God's love is infinite. Seek out the Lord Jesus Christ because he is the way. Seek him out everyday in every word and in every thought, He isn't waiting at the finish line, waiting for you to earn His grace. He will walk this path with us. DO NOT QUIT. God loves you.

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Élder Serph Alain Decker

        Missão Brasil Salvador 

A Igreja de Jesus Cristo dos Santos

            Dos Ultimos Dias