Hey it's always good to hear from y'all!
Yesterday was Veteran's day so we weren't able to get on the
computers cuz the library was closed......
Things are going so great this week. I just want y'all to know that
I am so grateful for your prayers. You've definitely taught me
something this week. Never ever give up on people. When I first got out
here I had a rough time adjusting to the fact that we'd have to stop
seeing people if they weren't progressing and basically know when to
move on. It really bummed me out having to stop seeing some people but
I've gotten better with dealing with that. What you've taught me this
week though is that while we may have to stop seeing someone for awhile,
I should never give up on them. Always keep them in my prayers and be
anxiously awaiting the day when they are ready to hear the gospel
whether in this life or the next life. That said, the reason why I'm
bringing this up is because {a man we've been working with} is going to be baptized
this Saturday! I'm incredibly excited and so grateful for your prayers.
Basically, jail was a very humbling experience. He really saw where his
life could end up by seeing and interacting with people who have totally
ruined thier lives. He basically experienced a small portion of eternal
torment knowing that he could be better and that he had a loving family
outside of those prison walls. He spent a lot of time in deep
contemplation and knew where to go to change. He called us as soon as he
got out of jail and told us he wanted to be baptized. He's been
following all the commandments since getting out of jail last week so
he's good to go. We've been teaching him and he's really excited to be
baptized. I'm so excited for that little family. He's an awesome guy
and I definitely see lasting conversion in him. Thank you so much for
your continued prayers.
Also, I wanted to tell you about William who's being baptized this
Saturday as well. He's a really sincere guy who's just super geniune in
everything he does. He suffers with anxiety sometimes but the gospel has
really helped him experience change and have a calmer life. He's loving
the Book of Mormon and he's really interested in the Civil War and
stuff so the war chapters of Alma are really speaking to him. He just
got interviewed for baptism today and I'm super excited for him.
To answer your question, L's been dying to be baptized but we're
just having trouble working things out with her mom's schedule. She
works a lot and L's brother got really sick but is doing better now.
We're hoping to help her be baptized soon. L was at church
this Sunday but her mom wasn't. She's a fantastic little girl with such a
bright outlook on the future.
That's pretty much summed up the week. I'm super excited for this
weekend and am so grateful to the Lord for all the success that I've
been able to experience. I'll move onto questions.
Dad wanted to know if you've had a chance to write to Joshua? If so, how did that go?
I haven't gotten a chance to write Joshua yet. P-days have been
kind of crazy up here and I haven't had a whole lot of time to sit down
and get all my thoughts together. I'm really praying for him though and I
hope he'll go on a mission soon. This has already been a lifechanging
experience and I have no doubt in my mind that it will keep getting
better.
Are you able to exercise regularly and keep fit?
Yeah,
we have thirty minutes every morning to exercise. Because I've been in a
driving area I haven't been biking much, but I'm not getting obese or
anything haha. I've always held my weight pretty well so I'm not worried
about it. It's hard to eat well up here but I'm taking vitamins and
stuff.
No cavities? NOPE :)
How's the trailer holding up in the weather there? It's been good. The weather's actually been alright. It's gotten a bit cloudy and rainy here but nothing bad. We're pretty blessed to not be seeing the effects of the hurricane.
How has it been, using Elder Bednar's teaching method? His teaching method has been working really well. It's really increasing our investigators' understanding and helping us travel at their pace by really knowing what they understand. It's helping them keep commitments too because having them feel the Spirit is increasing their desire to change on their own. They feel the truths and want to live them more.
Temple visits upcoming? I'm super blessed. One of Elder Memmott's recent converts is going to the temple. Her year mark from being baptized is next Monday so we get to go to the temple next Tuesday! :D I'm so excited. I've missed it so much. It's going to be a super great experience as always.
What's your biggest challenge(s), if any, and how are you overcoming it/them? My biggest challenges, hmmmm... it's hard to say. A mission is tough stuff no doubt. There's so many things that you can always work on. It's disappointing when people don't keep appointments. We had a pretty 'dry spell' last week. A lot of people didn't keep appointments and we didn't have really high numbers. But again the numbers aren't everything. Working hard and truly doing your best really helps. I'm just grateful for the success Elder Memmott and I have been able to have and I'm a little bummed that he's probably getting transferred on the 21st. I've just been really blessed so far to have such a great companion and have such great people to work with. Apparently the amount of success we've been having is out of the ordinary but I hope it continues. My expectations are high and there are just so many wonderful people here that need the gospel in their lives. I just want to keep trying my best and be a worthy conduit for the Spirit to work through. I love Heavenly Father and I'm so grateful for him letting me experience so much success and see these awesome people's lives be changed through the restored gospel. Being out here has sincerely deepened my conversion and I've never felt so close to God in my life. I know these two years are going to be awesome but I also know that this work is continuing after my mission. There's no doubt in my mind that I'm going to live the gospel forever. No challenge is impossible to conquer and this testifying truth to people just helps me strengthen my testimony. I feel so blessed to be born into this church and not have to deal with so many of the whack situations and worldly influences that people deal with alone. I love the gospel, I love Jesus Christ, and I'm prepared to serve him for the rest of my days. I love you guys and I'm so happy that you've been such great examples to me and that we're an eternal family. Thanks for everything :)
No comments:
Post a Comment