Alii everyone I love!

To begin, we have started to be a lot bolder over here on Palau. So many people are not coming to church because of other people! So we keep having to remind them of why they go to church. It is not for other people but for God and our Savior. We go to church for our salvation and to show Heavenly Father how much we love him. It does not matter what others are doing as long as you are there for the right reasons!

We are also starting to be a lot more bold with people in lessons and stuff because Palau is such a small place that people see the missionaries all the time and it is just really normal for them and they start to get really casual with us and start to think that we are just there to say some good words and be their friend. So we have really started to be a lot bolder with people about why we are there and why we come to see them. It has been really good and being so bold has really started to make people realize that they actually are not doing what they are supposed to and that they do need to change and they are! Which has been super cool!

Sometimes as missionaries we tend to kind of hold back and try to be all super nice because we do not want to offend anyone but as long as we are super bold and we are doing so with the spirit people will not be offended. Just because we are meek does not mean we are weak!

I mean was Abinadi all timid when he was talking to King Noah about repentance? I think not! He was straight up with him! That is exactly what we need to do! As long as we do it with the spirit because if we are just bold without the spirit then it is just rude! Haha But it is just so powerful when you are that bold with people.

I mean the other day I just asked someone “do you want to live with God again?” and they said “of course” and then I said “are you doing what you need to do get there?” they said “No” and I said “well there is your problem, you are expecting to get blessed without doing any work and It does not work that way.

At baptism you make a two way promise with Heavenly Father where you promise to endure to the end and He will bless you. NOT He gives you blessings and you do nothing.” That was pretty bold right? And she was not offended at all; she actually had her eyes opened and immediately committed to changing her life! It was awesome and the spirit was so strong! So do not be afraid to be Bold! And remember… meekness never was weakness!

Okay onto the rest of the Week! I actually had an amazing experience this week.

So a few weeks ago we got a call late at night that one of the Sister missionaries investigators had just had her baby prematurely. And that the wanted the baby to receive a blessing. So we raced over to the Hospital and to the emergency room. I had never seen someone so small. The baby so beautiful and there was such a peace in the room. We then proceed to explain how the blessing would work and how there are 2 parts. The Mother Picked me to do the second part which was the part that actually had the blessing. At first I was a little panicked; that I would not know what to say, but then as soon as I put my hands on that baby’s very tiny head a calmness came over me and the spirit took over. It was a really special experience.

So that was about 2 weeks ago and then the other day we got a call from that same mom. The baby that we had blessed was now in need of blood and they needed someone to donate the blood because the baby needed O+ but they did not have any. Guess what blood type I have, O+. So I told the mother I would love to donate the blood to that child and that is exactly what I did.

This week I was able to save a life and that is exactly why I am on my mission. To help people. I love to serve and I love these people and I am so happy that I was able to help that child when It was in need. It was an amazing experience.

That should do it for this week. I love you all!

Love Elder Rupp