"What work of  love was wrought for me in the stillness of Gethsemane!"  

(Finland – Week 61)  

08 Mar 2016

Terve!

Car adventure of the week: we didn't have our gas card yet last Saturday, but we were sure we had enough gas and wouldn't need it so we told everyone in the office that they could go home. Kids, always check your gas before you tell everyone in the office not to worry about your gas card for the weekend. To our dismay we learned that we were abysmally low on fuel. No worries! I had my card. Well they didn't accept my card. We then had to concoct a righteous scheme to obtain our gas card on Saturday when no one was in the office. Thankfully one of the senior missionaries just happened to be in the office! We never even had to push the car.

Wow it's been another good one here in Finland. My Mission President's family has been visiting for a few weeks, they're wonderful! They helped us wash our car today (see attached picture). They also sang a beautiful song for us called "Gethsemane" by Sally DeFord, it goes like this:

Gethsemane lay still and dark; creation watched in silent awe

As Jesus suffered His Father’s will to satisfy unyielding law.

He knelt in earnest prayer alone. His friends, o’ercome with sorrow, slept.

Beneath the burden of grief, He groaned; beneath the weight of sin he wept,

And with his blood so freely spent, He bought my soul; He paid my debt.

What work of love was wrought for me in the stillness of Gethsemane!

“This bitter cup wilt thou remove? Yet not my will, but Thine be done.”

Behold His anguish, and weep anew for love of Christ, the sinless one.

With His wounds my own are healed; my ev’ry pain o’ercome in His,

My shame, my weakness, my grief untold find ranson in His priceless gift.

For with his blood so freely spent, He bought my soul; He paid my debt.

What work of love was wrought for me in the stillness of Gethsemane!

This song is a beautiful reminder of what our Savior has done for each of us. And it was so wonderful to hear their children sing this song! It reminded me of a verse in Mosiah 3:19, "For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love," Christ was the perfect example of being humble and submissive to His Father, He knew His Father knew best. And I am so grateful that He completed the will of His Father! Because of that, the words to this song are true. So really, being childlike is not being childish, trusting in our Heavenly Father and turning our will over to Him is truly the most mature thing we can do.

I wish you all the best! Have a wonderful maaliskuu!

Rakkaudellani, Sisar Mendenhall