Last night we had a recent convert fireside in Mortdale that I was able to attend. It was good to see so many familiar faces and great friends since I served in Mortdale for three months and served within the stake for a total of nine months. One of my recent converts who just got baptized about a month ago spoke! He's a 13 year old Samoan boy living here with his foster family and he's amazing. He has an incredible testimony for such a young boy and gave a wonderful talk last night. Plus I got a nice "shout-out" from him and another one of the speakers, Bovey, whom I taught about a year ago while in Mortdale.
I can't help but admitting I felt a little prideful as my name was announced not once, but twice from two different speakers and my name was the only one mentioned during the whole meeting of about 10 speakers.
Overcoming my prideful self is one thing I am stilling working on...
One thing I've learned is how truly imperfect I am, and how much stress I must give my Father in Heaven as I try to go out and serve, but make heaps of mistakes along the way. Having said that, I have also learned how loving and forgiving our Father in Heaven is. Because of our brother, Savior, and friend, Jesus Christ provided a way that we can be forgiven of our many sins and shortcomings through repentance and a truly changed heart. Our God, Heavenly Father, does not expect anyting more than the best, so as long as we are sincerely trying to do that, God will be smiling down on us.
Keep pushing forward with faith in Christ. He is always watching over us and will never give us anything we can't handle. Trust Him!
Love you all!
Elder Macfarlane