The Time Is Far Spent 12-2-14

A sister in the district had an investigator (Marcelo) living in El Salvador that was preparing to be baptized and had a date set and everything. Then Marcelo was run over by a bus and hospitalized. It was suspected that he wouldn't be able to be baptized until he fully recovered and had his arm cast taken off. Being run over by a bus didn't stop him though and he was baptized with his entire arm wrapped in a bag.

The Christmas lights are on now and the square has been busy every day! Especially during the weekend. Ever trash can was overflowing with hot chocolate cups. Sister Oh and I have enjoyed being on the square with so many guests. Hours fly by when we are talking with people on the square.

Next Tuesday is the departing sisters temple trip, lunch, and interviews so this is perhaps my final email.

Outbound calls arrived. Sister Ye from China will be going to the Pittsburgh Mission! She and I are not on the same flight though. Sister Ye is amazing! She and Sister Wu would always cook together on preparation days. Now I miss Sister Wu! She is outbound already.

For Thanksgiving we enjoyed a delicious meal with a family in Bountiful, UT. We arrived early enough that we could help prepare the food. They had a piano and I learned that humble Sister Oh is a master at the piano! She also plays the flute. Why am I surprised though. After all she is Asian.

The first presidency Christmas Devotional is this weekend. I wont see it live since I already did last year. Sister Oh will go on exchanges and I will be with Sister Escobedo on the square during the devo and we will watch the rebroadcast after.

At the beginning of my mission President Gillette had a favorite Hymn, The Time Is Far Spent. We sang it at nearly every meeting. It was probably because the meetings usually went over. The Hymn keeps getting stuck in my head though as I am reminded every day how "The time is far spent; there is little remaining To publish glad tidings..."

The following is a story you may have heard before, but I hope it reminds you of the sacrifice of the atonement and of the love your Heavenly Father has for you.

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass thru freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it. 

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he looked off into the distance thru the dimming twilight and caught sight of the trainlights. He stepped to the control and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position it would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He left the bridge turned across the river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength. 

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. "Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time. The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision. 

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died. 

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we speed along thru life without giving a thought to what was done for us thru Jesus Christ?

I know that this time on earth is the time for us to prepare to meet God and His Son Jesus Christ again. I love the Savior and I know that our joy will always exceed our sorrow. I love you all!

Love, 
Sister Price