Mission President - Water

Dear Sisters and Elders,

We love you very much!

As you probably know, Sister Ostler,  Caleb and I are from Arizona in the United States. It is a beautiful  place with many faithful members of the Church. For four or five months  of the year the weather is perfect--comfortable temperatures and  beautiful blue skies. For the remaining seven or eight months of the  year, the weather is very hot and dry. The average daytime temperature  in August is 40 degrees (104 F). Sometimes the temperature gets as hot as 46 degrees! (115 F) We learned to love it there, but first we needed to learn how to survive in the heat.

How do people survive that kind of heat? The answer is WATER. Our  bodies need water to be healthy. Our bodies use water in every cell,  tissue and organ. Your body is made up of 55-60% water. Water cleans out  your body. Water helps your body fight disease. Water helps your body  stay the same temperature even when the air temperature is much hotter  or colder. This is important: HAVING ENOUGH WATER IN YOUR BODY ALLOWS  YOUR BODY TO AVOID OVERHEATING.

Your body loses water by breathing, sweating and digesting food. The  higher the temperature, the more quickly your body loses water. If you do not drink enough water, your body will suffer from heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Taking paracetemol, tylenol or ibuprofen can help your heat headache but it won't solve the real problem-a lack of water.

It is now summer in the Philippines. The weather is hot and humid. This week it will be 35 or 36 degrees every day. In order for you to serve the Lord with all of your strength and not be exhausted by the heat, please follow these simple steps:

1. Drink at least 2 liters of water every  morning before 11am. (Why? Waiting to drink water until you are out in  the afternoon sun is too late to save you from getting overheated.  Drinking before 11am gives also gives you the chance to use the CR (restroom) a couple of times before you go out to work.)

2. Check the color of your urine. If it is almost clear, you are  drinking enough water. If it is yellow or dark yellow you need to drink  more water.

3. Use an umbrella to shield you from the intense tropical sun.

4. Drink another liter of water in the evening after returning to your apartment.

SPIRITUAL APPLICATION

We  live in a difficult world. There are many temptations and  distractions all around. As you walk the streets of this mission sharing  the gospel, you use lots of spiritual energy. Just as your body loses  water by breathing and sweating, your soul loses spiritual energy as you  live every day in this world.

Do not wait to read your scriptures and pray until your soul is  empty and exhausted and suffering from spiritual heat stroke. Your soul  needs the water of everlasting life every day. To survive the heat, we  drink plenty of water before going out to work. To survive this world,  we read the scriptures and pray every morning. Then, when the heat of  the day comes, you will feel much better physically and you will be  much stronger spiritually.

"Whosoever drinketh of this water [from the well] shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14)

May the Lord bless you to use wisdom in taking care of your body and your soul.

Mahal ko po kayo,

President Creg Ostler