The following is the written transcript from a short video our church put out this Easter Season to remind all that if we follow Jesus Christ, we will find new life.
Follow Him - An Easter Message (here's a link for the video)
"Follow me." It's a simple request; sometimes spoken from a mother to a child, a brother to a sister, a friend to a friend. It's a request that requires trust....belief, action. It requires you to put your faith in a person who will lead you to safety...to peace.
A long time ago Jesus Christ spoke these simple words to His closest friends, and His invitations still stands today, "Come, follow me." Follow me and I will show you how to love others and how to love yourself. Follow me and I will show you how to repent and be forgiven, and forgive others. Follow me to turn things around...to start over...to navigate the storms of life and,the storms of death. Follow me to find purpose. Your purpose. God's purpose.
He taught us the way. He showed us the way, and when we follow His way, we find new life".
Follow me. This short two-word phrase carries so much promise and so much hope. When our Savior, Jesus Christ was born, and invitation was extended to follow Him...to be led by His example, and to look to Him to learn how we should live our lives.
This Savior, the very Messiah of the world, then paid the ultimate price by offering a divine gift to all by atoning for each of us so that one day we may be reunited with Him and with our loving Father in Heaven. It is a gift we could never begin to repay, no matter how hard we try, and yet Jesus Christ doesn't ask us to repay Him in a way that is hopeless or out-of-reach. No, all that He requests in return for this sacred, eternal gift is that we follow Him and that we invite our brothers and sisters to come with us. He wants others to know Him, and to teach them about our Father's grace and mercy. He needs us to teach others that His Atonement brings hope, it brings peace, and it brings salvation to all who repent and follow His way. He wants everyone to know that He didn't atone for a select few.
The sacrifice He made that sacred day in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He took upon Himself the sins of the world for the sole purpose of saving us, and was then betrayed by those He loved being sentenced to death by crucifixion,was for you and me. When He was carrying the cross to Golgotha that He would be hung upon, where He would suffer, and ultimately die upon, was for all of us. And during this Easter season I hope we can truly reflect on the magnitude that this offering, this unimaginable sacrifice that only a perfect Son, Jesus Christ could perform, can have for each of us as we turn our thoughts...our actions...and our very deeds towards Him. And then remember it didn't end there. Death was not the finale of this heartbreaking love story. What happened next is the true miracle of this epic event, and the reason we have an Easter season to celebrate because on that third day the Savior of all mankind was resurrected, and because He lives, all of us will live again, too.
May you all have a happy, and blessed Easter as you give thanks to God and to Jesus Christ for this gift that is greater than all others.
The sacrifice He made that sacred day in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He took upon Himself the sins of the world for the sole purpose of saving us, and was then betrayed by those He loved being sentenced to death by crucifixion,was for you and me. When He was carrying the cross to Golgotha that He would be hung upon, where He would suffer, and ultimately die upon, was for all of us. And during this Easter season I hope we can truly reflect on the magnitude that this offering, this unimaginable sacrifice that only a perfect Son, Jesus Christ could perform, can have for each of us as we turn our thoughts...our actions...and our very deeds towards Him. And then remember it didn't end there. Death was not the finale of this heartbreaking love story. What happened next is the true miracle of this epic event, and the reason we have an Easter season to celebrate because on that third day the Savior of all mankind was resurrected, and because He lives, all of us will live again, too.
May you all have a happy, and blessed Easter as you give thanks to God and to Jesus Christ for this gift that is greater than all others.
Pictures galore, which is a great thing for me since they have been a bit sparse the past couple of months.
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| Special photo's sent to Paco (aka dad). The Elder's found this pig at PlazaVea. |
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| A walrus photo for lil'Walrus (aka Caleb) |
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| Final nights and goodbye's in Chimbote |
Welcome to Caraz
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| The first weekend in Caraz featured the celebration of Alex and Karen's baptism |
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| Elder Scott's newest companion, Elder Daza |
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| GQ poses seem to be the norm 🤣🤣 |
The beauty of Caraz
Campo Santo un Yungay, Perú
On May 31, 1970, an earthquake caused a large portion of the mountain to collapse causing a mass piece of glacial ice to fall, uprooting trees and debris as it plummeted down the mountain. It buried the town of Yungay, and devastatingly killed 20,000 people with the 50 million cubic meters of debris it brought with it. Excavation of the old town has been forbidden by the government, and it is now a national cemetery. The current town was rebuilt one mile north of the old town that was destroyed.
Elder Scott's pensionista, Mama Flor. These are a few photos from her birthday celebration. Thank you familia Castillo for being such an amazing family and for taking care of my missionary with such love.
