Entitlement and Jungle Rats

Good evening! It's been an awesome week. This email will be short because my time is limited, but I hope you'll enjoy whatever I write. 

We had some fun success in finding this week. We taught a guy named Kojo in his bar and then he fed us fufu with Jungle Rat Round 1. We also taught two gas station attendants at their gas station the same day. Last Monday we also helped a bunch of fisherman pull in their catch which was sic. And I taught a piano lesson to a member! It was a little bit of the blind leading the blind but he said he appreciated it. Special shout out to my very patient and angelic Grandma Dahl for teaching me how to play the piano. 

Later in the week a member was feeding us fufu. In my soup there was a little paw. I asked her what the meet was and she said rat. So that was Jungle Rat Round 2. It just tasted like soup. 

In terms of the work, our friend Esther came to church for the first time! It was a very welcome surprise. She's a really cute old lady who doesn't really speak English and has had a really hard life. We invited her on Friday after helping her close up her shop, and she said she'd think about it. Sunday she came! Also Isaac, our miracle find from last week, came again! It was awesome. 

We also had our branch audit today which was cool. The church is true. The audit, which could definitely be construed as a temporal thing, was started with a prayer. The instructions to the auditor were to work by the Spirit as he audited. 

The audit and the week in general have made me think a lot about entitlement. Sometimes I feel myself feeling entitled to stuff as a missionary. For example, during the audit, I was feeling annoyed because I was worried we wouldn't have time to talk to our families. Or maybe we'll work really hard to get someone to come to church and I'll feel entitled to heaven's help to get them there. Or we'll line up a lesson with a member to translate and they'll have to cancel for some legitimate reason but I feel entitled to their help. Or maybe I'll feel entitled to break one mission rule because I go above and beyond in keeping another. 

The truth is though, I'm not entitled to anything. God doesn't owe me a cent. It's His phone I'm stressed about using. He's the one that gave His child the agency to accept or reject us. The strength I have and the air I breath were given to me by Him. He has every right to tell me what to do with it. 

I heard in a conference talk (can't remember the speaker or year) that "the further the giver is from the receiver, the more entitled the receiver feels." Basically, our closeness to God determines our comfort and humility. 

I've met so many people here who leave the church because they felt entitled to something that they didn't receive. Whether it was a fast offering, leadership assignment, confirmation of faith, or whatever, they felt like they deserved it, and when it didn't come, they stormed off in anger. 

However, I've also met people here who have absolutely nothing. That struggle to get enough food to eat and a place to sleep. And despite everything, they are thankful and happy. They trust God because they know Him. I want to be like that. 

Entitlement is wrong. If there was anyone who was entitled to more than He got, it was the Savior. This morning I read about his crucifixion in Matthew, and it shook me up. Throughout the whole ordeal, from the garden to the cross to the tomb, Jesus never sinned. He never said a cross word or even had a wrong thought. If He had, He wouldn't have been perfect. And He would've voided the atonement. But He stayed true to himself. He accepted His lot humbly and was obedient. I want to be like Him. 

I hope that made sense. I sure love you all. This church belongs to Jesus Christ and is true. I can't describe how deeply I feel that, but I'm blessed to be able to try every single day. 

I love you all! 

Love, 

Elder Johnson