Easter

We had a fun Easter weekend spent with family. There was an Easter egg hunt, lots of playtime, and a delicious Easter dinner. The weather was beautiful, so it made for a perfect few days of fun.

We also received pictures from Cody in Canada showing us that he spent some time carrying on the egg coloring tradition.

I will share Cody's testimony of the Atonement he sent to us in his weekly email. After-all, that is the true meaning of this beautiful Easter weekend. We sure love our cute missionary. His words continue to uplift and inspire us.

"Romans 5 is one of the most well written chapters in the scriptures that talks about the Atonement (in my opinion), and I have really grown to Love the teachings of Paul in his different epistles. The Bible bears such a strong witness of the Savior and his divine mission and the more one reads it, the more they can see how it fits directly in line with the testimonies of the Book of Mormon prophets. They all testify of one thing: Jesus Christ. In the Bible dictionary it talks about the Atonement being the setting "at one" with those who have been estranged. Sin is what causes the estrangement. And no matter what has happened or where we are, we all have need of the same Atonement. I have seen it work in my life- and I continue to see it work every day for me- and I have seen it work in the lives of others. And I am so blessed to be able to help others learn about and understand how they can apply it in their lives- there is nothing more rewarding than that. I have seen it change people that I have been blessed to be able to work with thus far on my mission, and I know it is changing me in the process to become better. Granted we will never become perfect- it's not about that. "God doesn't expect perfection, but he does expect progression." And it's through the Atonement-understanding it more and more each day and in learning about the Savior's life-and using it's power continually that changes us as we do our best to "become a saint" And I loved the quote from conference "A Saint is a sinner that keeps on trying" How true that is. I love my Savior and Redeemer, I love His work. I love this time that has been given to me to help others come unto Christ, I love y'all- my family and friends, and I love the people here that I am able to teach in their own language. There is no greater happiness than that which is found through living the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

Love, Elder Cody Warren Ritz