Saturday, October 5, 2013

July 15, 2013



Dear Family, (So on this computer the commas are periods. So yeah. I promise I know how to form sentences.)
Jealous that you got to go the Uintahs. I'm sure it was beautiful up there. :) Be grateful there is no humidity there!! Has it been pretty hot?  Good to hear about President C! It's awesome that our ward is sending out so many incredible missionaries. Especially because we need them!!!! Did I tell you that I can email my friends once a month? So in August I will be able to email them again. :) 
Yeah I did play tennis with Sister W.  She said she was from Vernal so we played the "do you know this person game."  So that was funny. I totally forgot that I knew people she knew.  Sister W is a tough character. But as soon as we I played tennis with her she turned into a completely different person. Good thing I know how to play tennis...:) It's like God prepared me for specific people, and knows what he's doing! :) Magic. :)
I'm glad you liked to postcard.  The Blue Bunny place has this challenge if you eat this giant bowl of ice cream in 15 min you get a free tee shirt...I'm probably going to do it next p-day before transfers. But I know that I will be staying in Le Mars because I had my first mission president interview!  And he told me that I would be staying here. I was so scared! But it was a really good interview, he basically told me that every lesson we had needs to be a member present lesson.  Because lack of friends is a big reason why people become less active.  So every convert needs three things and one of those is a friend.  So fellowship as many people as possible.  Invite non-members into the home and have dinner with them.  And if they allow have the missionaries over at the same time...:)  We were counseled that it isn't our job to find people to teach our job is to teach the people members find. I've probably said that before but that's what we have been focusing on like crazy!  I also had my first experience with exchanges this week. I really liked them it was fun to learn different things from different people.  Although at the end I was just like give me my companion back! But that's alright. I'm sad for transfers...My companion and I get along really well and when we don't it is easily and quickly fixed. She's is one of the BEST teachers you will ever meet. :) 
This week was hard.  I learned a ton though.  One when you don't read the scriptures you don't have the Spirit with you.  Two, there is opposition in all things.  When we have super good days where we teach with the Spirit and feel the  Spirit testify to people through us there naturally has to be bad days.  Like the other day when everyone we set up appointments fell through. Every door we knocked on was someone who hated Mormons and wouldn't listen. Or we would try to find less actives/new people who were moving in the ward and we couldn't find them and we ended up using a lot of our miles for nothing.  When we got home we planned quickly prayed and we went to bed because we were frustrated and discouraged...which are not fruits of the Spirit so we knew that Satan was working extra hard on us.  However despite the set backs we had a successful week.  We taught a lot of people.  One of those was R.  We have been doing service for R for a couple weeks.  He has two fields that have a plethora of this weed called Sour Doc (sp). So he this is 60 year old farmer who loves to say "I reckon" a lot and it takes everything I have to not laugh at him. :) Oh man. :) Anyway when we started doing service we would try and teach him while we were chopping weeds and wouldn't listen and would just walk away. Last week we told him we wouldn't talk religion we would just help him out because we love to serve people.  Because he wouldn't let us teach we sang Hymns while we worked. :)  This week he let us teach him! I don't know if he will ever get baptized but we've taught him the Restoration and he has felt the Spirit through our words and the Hymns. :)
My companion spoke in church yesterday because she worked at the trail center her whole mission so she talked on the pioneers and sang a really cool song about them. :)  She talked on how we can be modern day pioneer's. She said a quote that I don't have the exact words but basically it says that God doesn't ask us now to go across the plains pulling handcarts. He asks us to go over to non members houses. He asks us to give him our time and our resources to bringing about the church. Something like that. :) I wish I could find the actual quote But yeah. I'm doing well and loving being here.  People keep asking me "have you wanted to go home yet?" and I can honestly say no I haven't wanted to go home.  I miss home and you guys but I know that I'm supposed to be here. I know that what I'm teaching is true.  I know that the Book of Mormon is the most powerful book of scripture we have today. I know that Joseph Smith was right when he said "I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth and the keystone to our religion and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book." It breaks my heart to visit all of these less active people who have forgotten the doctrine of Christ. Because of stupid reasons like it's to far to drive, I'm to tired, it takes to much work etc...
We were talking about this in ward correlation and our Ward Mission Leader said something I liked a lot. When it's judgment day and we are talking to our Heavenly Father and pleading with Him and he asks "Why didn't you go to church?"  "Why didn't you go talk to that person?"  "Why didn't you read the scriptures or pray?"  Are you going to say "Sorry Heavenly Father, I was to tired." "Sorry, Heavenly Father I was afraid of what people thought of me."  "Sorry I didn't read the most powerful book ever because I was to busy." 
Are we even going to be able to speak when he asks those questions?  Eye opening right??  That was motivational for me to work even harder! I want to stand blameless before God and honestly say Yes, Heavenly Father I worked my very hardest and I did my very best with my allotted time on earth! :)  Of course this can only be done through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. So we must utilize the Atonement.  Well the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true.
Love you so much.  I miss you guys a lot. Have a great week. Thanks for all of the support. :)

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