July 6, 2026

Yup, Côte d'Ivoire is officially out of the ranks. But they made a good running. Had the whole country tripped up thinking they could finish with a tie, but Holland is too strong 💪. 

Ok let's jump in 

Spiritual thought: Now

This whole world is a test of now. We move through this life little by little. There will never be a time in your life where you can hit a fast-forward button. I hope that I'm not the only one that feels that way sometimes. But what do we learn? God has put us on a course, where each step along the way is essential to our progress. Each step forward; each step backward; slowly shapes the way we are. Our ULTIMATE goal is to become as God is. So, little by little, precept upon precept. 

Becoming like God is a life-long process that is not easy. It takes diligent effort, a willing mind, and integriful actions. Our missions president's final words before he left really touched me. 

He said that the church "will continue to move increasingly toward a higher and holier way of living, not back to an immediate implementation of severe penalty as was the case under the law of Moses". Oftentimes people look at these changes in principals and see it as a lifting a rule for the church. Finally! Some may exclaim, but we can see that this is just a lack of understanding. The church isn't lifting rules, but turning them into choices. We then, must accept the consequences that follow from our own truth seeking paths.

Alma 5:26,
"behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now"

Alma asks if a touch in their hearts has come before unto the people he's talking with. But then he asks the real question, "What about NOW". Because from NOW we can make the changes necessary to progress like God. We can't change our past so leave it as the past. 

The most impactful moment is and will always be; now. Not your past, and not your forseeable future. Don't push things off to tomorrow, for they "procrastinate the day of [their] repentance". Longing for something else is always a form of comparison, and "Comparison is the thief of joy" as sister Joy D Jones put it so well. Comparing against the past, or other possible versions of yourself or others will not lead to joy. Only through "living in the moment" can real joy be felt. 

It can be hard, but thats the test of this life. Will we stick it out through the tough times as well as the simple times? My hope is that we can, and that we know we can. One family quote that I love (I know you'll be proud mom) is "we can do hard things"; because it's true. We tell ourselves too often "I'm tired" or, "I can't go on". I know that there will always be a better "now", so use your time now, to prepare for those better days. I know God loves you. He has consecrated you afflictions for your gain. Take your time to appreciate the blessings you do have; and by being grateful, you will see changes that I want you to see for yourselves. So be grateful, (try saying a prayer of gratitude, by starting each sentence with, "thank you for...". I know that if we do this we can be happy in whatever circumstance our life is in. The air of gratitude is contagious so spread it with others. This keeps up an eternal perspective that let's us feel peace and satisfaction from our current situation. 

Ok weekly update

- Like I said before, Côte d'Ivoire is out, but the US is still in it baby. GO EAGLES!!🦅🇺🇸

- We had our new mission presidents come in and it seems like it'll be a wonderful year and 2 months with them! Welcome president and sister Tailor! 🇨🇮🤗

- Temple today, and I'm so stoked!🏛 Its been 4 months since the last time😫😭

- We had a handyman come fix our toilet that's flooding our bathroom, only to find out the next day that it did absolutely nothing. Zilch, nada. 🚫⛔️🚰🚮🚼

- Barely anyone showed up at church because it rained again... 2 for 2 goes so hard!!! 🎆🎇🎉✨️💥🔥☄️🌊⚡️❄️💧☔️

Good fête de 4th of July for you alp and make good choices. Tchao

- Elder Hill 🇨🇮 

Also a split with this goofy goober

Rain, rain  and more rain. (This day was bad) 🌧⛈️🌧☔️

Made cinnamon rolls which turned out great🌀🌀


Another "I will go the distance" 👀

Photoshoot🫈🫃📸

World cup up to date (The 1st July 8:00 African time) 🏟⚽️🕺🏿





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