Christmas Lights, Challenging Lives, Wasted Time

"Haha, it was once again a good week! This week we had the confirmation of the .... kids [who were baptized last week], they're super cool, and it was just cool to see them sitting on the church bench afterward as they listened to the testimonies of all the people in the ward and realize that they are all members of the church and that they're just going to keep going and getting better and better! Man, they're so crazy, they've already read up to Jacob in the Book of Mormon, something most members that have been members for a long time have never done! Super awesome, then we invited them to share the gospel with their friends and they commited to share a Book of Mormon with them this week! Super incredible! They're going to be like the best missionaries ever!

"Then the lights started here in Washington D.C.! Yeah, unfortunately they're nowhere near as impressive as the lights in Salt Lake City but they're still very beautiful and they have a different concert here every night which has been cool. We've been there for three nights I believe and it has been cool to enjoy the spirit of Christmas as well as see the look of awe on our investigator's faces as they pull into the parking lot and it's all lit up with lights!

"Then we've had some other interesting experiences, some good, some interesting, and some not so good. [One investigaor] has been having some interesting doubts. We taught her about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom, and she has some problems. She's very set on the worldly view of things, in that there's no real view of right and wrong because whatever a man does is no evil. She seems to want to believe that there is a right and wrong but has had a hard time reconciling her beliefs with those of God. She wants a reason for the commandments and sometimes we just can't see all the reasons. Nevertheless we've been doing a lot of thinking and studying about it and I think I've come up with some good reasons. She has a specific doubt about the Law of Chastity, in that if "preventive measures" are taken to ensure that children don't come about because of it then there shouldn't be anything wrong with it if it's done for the sake of love and not just for the satisfaction of it. Yeah, it's an interesting concept, and we've tried to explain it to her but eventually just told her that she'll probably have to wrestle with God like Enos and try and figure out God's reasoning for herself. While she has some fairly large doubts she's still progressing, and does have a sincere desire to understand God, she's just a little too intellectual about it all and a little bit lacking in the spiritual. Still, we have high hopes for her.

"Then we had this crazy experience where we ran into this lady, a referral from a member that had had something terrible happen to her... Her son in Honduras was kidnapped... When we heard that our hearts about dropped and I had no idea what to do... I've never been placed in a situation quite like that, where something so drastic has happened and these people were looking to Elder White and I for comfort, solace, direction, and hope... It was very intimidating and my heart cried out to our Father in Heaven to let me know what we could say to help her. Luckily, the promise is real, God truly does speak to us, and our minds and hearts and mouths were opened to the spirit and we were able to share some things with her that really helped her. We were also able to give her a blessing, and it was a very interesting blessing to give... It was one of those times in blessings where some very specific promptings come to you, it wasn't about whether her son would be ok, but some other very specific things, something that doesn't always happen when giving blessings. It was a special experience for me, and I testify that God is very aware of the needs of his children, and that he can work through us even though we are imperfect servants... We pray her son will be alright...

"Then we had a rather terrible experience on Monday... I'm ashamed to admit it but we wasted a lot of time... A member took us out to eat somewhere super far away and because rides were late and such we ended up wasting almost four hours... It was terrible. I've never quite felt that bad on the mission. I could feel very strongly our responsibility to use God's time wisely and how much I had failed in it that day. I still feel that I'm repenting of that, but it was a very humbling experience for me and a reminder that this is not my time, that I only have a year left, and that I can never afford to waste even an hour or minute of the Lord's time, especially when I have so very little left... Needless to say it helped refocus and re motivate me even more.

"We also had a pretty funny experience yesterday that I think Rachel especially would like. We taught two super old ladies that were just super funny. One at first didn't believe that we spoke Spanish, and so tried to speak to us in really broken English, and then she could hardly hear at all and so we had to speak very very loudly the whole lesson. Haha and then she just told us all these crazy stories. It was super funny! A cute old lady. Not gonna lie, it reminded me of what Rachel could be like as an old lady. Slightly crazy, but good and funny. Haha it was a super funny experience.

"And that was about the week, ups and downs as Jessica says, but over all super good! We continue to find some cool people and our recent converts are super strong! [One of them] is doing so well! Man, he had been drinking coffee and he felt so bad about it he confessed it to President Ortega without us ever even knowing about it, and now he's well on his way to receiving the priesthood and it was a sign to me that he will be faithful because he was willing to repent so quickly after an offense. He's so solid!

"A sad side of things... My eyes are ever more opened to the sad state that some of these people are in. There's a lot of poverty, a lot of drugs, violence, lost hope, kidnappings, everything. There is a great need for the Gospel to be preached to every person. They all seem to be trapped in a darkness to which they can't see an end. It's been amazing to see the light of the gospel pierce the darkness and give them hope where they had none. Haha D.C. is kind of a dark city as you all may remember, a lot of crazy things go on, but there are a lot of good people as well. A lot of people that are fighting for the right, and looking for something better in their lives. I'm very grateful that I have the opportunity to be a bearer of that light and hopefully warm their souls a little bit in the midst of the winter of their lives. (I think I've been reading too many talks by President Monson ;))

One of the Best Weeks of the Mission

From Derek's November 30 letter.

"This week was super awesome!!! haha probably one of the best weeks that we've had on the mission! I'll pretty much just focus on Sunday since it was a day of miracles! The... family was baptized this Sunday by their Father who recently received the Melquisedec Priesthood, [the other investigator who was baptized the week before] also received the Holy Ghost, in short an amazing day at church!

"The baptism was once again incredible just to see a family fully united in the Gospel. It's always super touching to see them all dressed in white and know of the eternal significance of the step their about to take. It's super incredible!

"[The brother's] experience was also incredible, he's super solid and has a very firm desire to follow his Savior and recognizes the difficulty and the joy of the path he has decided to take. We're excited for him and he's already starting to get more involved in the branch, tonight he'll be helping out with a service project, and there's definitely no better way to fellowship than through service!

"So that was the beginning of the awesome day of Sunday! Then we had some other super sweet miracles. First of all this girl we've been working with ... finally came to church! We've been working with her for probably about two months now, and two months ago she didn't even believe in God. She's been faithfully reading and praying and has felt the spirit strongly on so many occasions, and now she finally decided to come to church and really loved it! Man, it was so sweet! She loves the unity that is felt there and just the way it is, she says she's looking to see if her life will change at all by living a "religious" lifestyle, meaning going to church. We assured her that it most definitely would! Later that night we went to the Visitor's Center with her as well where she almost accepted a baptismal date, but at least accepted to be baptized, just not yet with a specific date. So she's doing super well and God continues to give us so many miracles!

"So earlier on in the day on Sunday we also had an incredible lesson with a lady we were trying to teach but whose husband hadn't seemed too interested, luckily God works in mysterious ways and opened up the way for us. We were coming back from checking on their door when we ran into them and it turns out they were coming back from the doctor because she'd been assaulted and robbed a few days earlier and they were doing some check ups on her. Yeah, crazy place! Anyways we were able to offer to give her a blessing and the husband was also there. It was honestly one of the most spiritual experiences on the mission. As we gave the blessing and explained the implications of the authority of God on the earth, namely eternal families, the spirit of the Lord filled the room and clearly testified to these people that this was God's church and the path they should take. We asked them to describe their feelings and the hermana said that it was like her heart was opening up to God again, and the Husband said that he just felt a peace in his home that apparently he hadn't felt in quite awhile. It was so cool and the wife accepted a baptismal date, and the husband did, just not as firmly as the wife. Unfortunately since that point, as happened with Jessica, Satan has been working hard through his family members to convince them to no longer listen to us.

"In times like these I've learned that all we can really do is pray, work hard, and trust that the Lord will do his work and touch their hearts. It's interesting, because it breaks our hearts, and then I think of how Heavenly Father must feel and how it must just tear him apart, but at the same time he is their father, and these are his children and he is very aware of the plan that he has for them, and they will never be lost or dropped to him, even if we may lose them or have to drop them.

"That same thought was also manifested in another incredible miracle. Do you remember ... the guy that ditched us at the metro stop? Well, Sunday he randomly called us and asked if he could come to church or the visitor's center that day! Yeah, super weird, but we went with him to the visitor's center that night and had a lesson with him. Haha it was kind of weird because we went on splits inside the Visitor's center so I ended up teaching [him] kind of alone. It helped me realize how important companions really are! Nevertheless we were able to figure out his doubt. It turns out he ran away from baptism and from us because he felt so bad for something that he'd done pretty close before his baptism. Luckily we were able to help him and give him some hope again and help him to repent, he is once again on date for the 18th! We'll see how it goes this time! Haha still it was crazy, definitely a testimony that God is very aware of his children and will touch their hearts at the appropriate time.

"In short, we are seeing so many miracles it's ridiculous. While it is at times stressful, like when church is started and none of your investigators are there yet, even though they're supposed to be baptized that day, it all seems to work out in the end. Like them showing up in the middle of the sacrament hymn. Yeah, super crazy, stressful, fun, joyful, and legit! ;)

"Haha as for the other things during the week, it flew by, haha I honestly only remember Sunday. Oh, and Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was sweet! We went to the former Branch President's house... We ate dinner with all of their family and we all dressed up as pilgrims and Indians, haha super crazy! The food was great, as was the pie, ah so much pie! :) It was also cool because they really made us feel included in their family and not just like the outsider missionaries, so I was grateful for that, and Mom you can rest easy knowing that a kind lady out here in Maryland... is super generous and made your son feel at home on Thanksgiving, so no worries ;)"

"Well that is it family. 11 months have already gone by, ugh terrible. Have a good week though! Until next time! :)

Baptism, Families accepting the Gospel, The power of attitude and perspective

"Haha, so I know you want me to write at least a little bit about the hard or scary times, but the thing is I honestly don't even think of them! The mission is incredible with daily miracles, as long as we're looking for the miracles it seems like we notice them! For instance this week was incredible! I'll try and give a quick run down of it all.

This Sunday we were supposed to have 3 baptisms, we ended up only having one, but that was because the family of the less-active will be baptized this coming week because the father is coming back from Utah where he was working and so he'll be able to baptize his kids! So that'll be incredible! However, the baptism for [P] did go down this week and it was awesome! He was super excited and super prepared, when we went out of a meeting on Sunday morning to call him to remind him to bring extra clothes he was already there about a half hour early before sacrament meeting dressed in a white shirt and tie for the first time! It was just incredible to see the change that has already begun to happen to him in his life. He has a very sincere desire to change his life around, and while he's passed through some sketchy times in his life he's extremely willing to turn it around and he has become a true follower of Jesus Christ. He was extremely grateful to Elder White and I. For some reason our companionship was able to touch him strongly and the spirit called him to baptism and he responded very willingly. It was one of those instances where the person accepts you as a representative of the Lord and so they were willing and accepting to do everything that was asked of them. Granted, it is not always like that, but there are those that have been extremely prepared and have almost no doubts whatsoever! He'll be a faithful member, and once again it was incredible to just the feel the joy of the Lord as we witnessed another of his sons coming to baptism and starting on the path back home.

This work is so individual. God really cares about the individual, for him it is in no way about the number of people that make it home, but whether or not Juan or Pedro or Josue make it home. It was a good reminder to me of my purpose out here on the mission. We've also seen some other incredible miracles! We were able to teach a family that will hopefully quickly be baptized, as well as another family that was very receptive to the gospel! Two families! It's the best thing when you get to teach families! It's been awesome because the members have really been stepping it up over here. Generally in wards that I've been in or heard about, the members haven't always been too receptive to doing missionary work. Thus, missionary work becomes hard, it's a lot of tracting, a lot of slammed doors and rejection, and a lot of perseverance just waiting for the miracles of the Lord. The miracles do definitely come! As we saw in Olney, after two transfers of nothing Francisco just appeared out of nowhere as a blessing from the Lord! Here in Mount Pleasant the members have thankfully been doing some missionary work and because of that we have these two families to teach, it's super awesome!

Let's see, what else can I share. Haha man it rained a ton the other day, which is always kind of fun, riding down the streets on bike is, as I would say, Epic! :) Hm, as for scary experiences, there haven't really been any. As Jessica said, things just aren't as scary when you have the spirit with you. The streets of D.C. are super sketchy and we approach people that probably aren't the nicest looking people, but you feel no fear because you know that the Lord is with you and that if they were going to do anything to you you would be warned. Haha we do have plenty of strange experiences with people that are drunk coming up to us, occasionally yelling at us, and sometimes hugging us. Yeah, those are the awkward ones ;) It's sweet though.

I think one thing about me that has really changed on the mission is that I've learned the power of attitude and an eternal perspective. When things are tough you just embrace it, give thanks for it, and keep working hard knowing that the Lord will bless you with things ahead. Trials come in different ways, through investigators not wanting to progress, to companionship problems, to just days where nothing happens, but miracles are always right behind the trials and we grow because of them. It's really been a blessing for me to learn that lesson!"

General Authority, Metro

From Derek's Nov 16 letter.

Haha, as usual the week was kind of crazy with a lot of cool miracles! First of all this week we had a mission tour by the Seventy Elder Kearon (the one that spoke on the scorpion analogy thing). It was super incredible! Man, I could obviously tell a lot of things that I learned, but to be brief I learned a lot about what a good leader is and the power of the spirit. Not so much by what he said, but by the way he was. It was super cool to be able to be taught by him and his wife specifically to the needs of our mission. It was incredible just to see the change that happened in him, and it was a testimony to me that we truly are the products of the spirit. If we allow the spirit to work on us we truly do become more like Jesus Christ. He told his conversion story, and from what he said he was kind of an arrogant punkish guy that would never believe in anything. Then the spirit touched him and his life was changed! Now you can see so clearly in his countenance that he has truly been born again and become a new Creature in Christ.

Then we had some other rather disappointing and difficult trials, as well as some cool miracles. So this story could be a lot longer but I'm going to try and tell it briefly. We got in contact with the investigator that was going to be baptized. We set up a time to go to the visitors center with him and he said he would be meeting us at this metro station at 7:00. That's always a very risky thing to do, considering the fact that if he doesn't show up we will have wasted a bunch of time, but we confirmed the appointment a half hour before we headed out and then got on the metro. We get to the stop at 7:00 and start calling him to see where he is. No answer. Call again. No answer. So we go to another metro stop where we were going to eventually end up to see if he maybe went there ahead of us. Not there. Call again. No Answer. So we decide to be a little tricky and see what's up and we call him under the restricted number *67. We call him and he answers! Yeah, but then he doesn't say anything, we hear some laughing in the background, and he hangs up. Hm, you can imagine how we felt about this point. Slighly betrayed, frustrated, and owned. So we try some other calling tricks but he's eventually turned off his phone because it just goes to voice mail. Hm, Elder White was super frustrated and betrayed feeling. I was trying to keep the mood light and laugh it off, because the moment you get super frustrated and depressed Satan will own you, a lesson I've learned far too many times in life. So I was still laughing, and meanwhile the thought keeps coming to me that we must be there for some other reason! So we get back on the metro and I'm just praying almost demanding a miracle you could say, in a non-blasphemous way, but that was my attitude, I was determined to see something happen from this trip. Luckily my determination was not in vain! God had indeed prepared a person who was then placed directly in our path! We barely manage to board this metro and as we get on we're just looking for anyone we can strike up a conversation with. There's a ton of people with headphones and then this one hispanic guy. We sit down and just start talking to him because we're not allowed to directly proselyte on the metro unless they ask us about it. Haha the first thing he asks us is if we're from a church! Yep, door's opened! It was super sweet, he was very interested, he'd heard a little bit about our church, but what he was really looking for was peace in life. He says the world is just too crazy and he knows the only way to find peace is in a church! We testified to him of the Book of Mormon and of the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was super interested and wanted the Elders to pass by as soon as possible! Unfortunately he lives in Virginia so we won't be able to teach him, but it was a very very powerful witness to me that God places us in the right place at the right time even if we sometimes cannot understand it. He knows exactly where we're going to be and he places his prepared people in our paths, we just have to be aware of them. It was awesome, and as we left the metro we looked back on the train and he had already begun to read the Book of Mormon! We don't know what will happen to him, but we do know that we did our part in his path to Salvation and it was just a blessing to see the tender mercies of the Lord so clearly! At the same time it's been very sad with [the investigator]. He no longer answers our calls and our Ward Mission Leader called him and said that he was very standoffish and didn't even really want to talk to him... It's not looking too good, and it's been saddening... But, This is still the Lord's work and I have gained an even more powerful testimony that we truly are instruments in his hands!

Another experience was also similar. All of our appointments dropped one day so we decided to go check on some referrals super far away and we taught a lady that is also super prepared! A referral from a member in New Jersey. It was a powerful lesson and once again a testimony that we were where we were supposed to be even if we hadn't been planning on being there. God truly does guide us in his work!

Anyways those were the coolest miracles of the week, and the saddest. It was an interesting week, but the work continues to move forward and it is truly a blessing to be serving the Lord right here, right now! There's nothing better! It sounds kind of scary not that I heard that story about the Texas missionaries, but I really do wish that I could be a missionary forever! There is nothing greater than this work and giving everything we have to the Lord! I feel that I have come to know him and our Savior in a much deeper way than before the mission. I've been thinking a lot recently because it's scary, I'm coming up on the year mark... That means that what I've done will be all I have left, and I feel like I haven't done anything! Yet when I look at it I really have become a different person, a better person. Haha the same me but hopefully a litle better I guess. It's a huge blessing!

An Emotional Week

From Derek's November 9th letter.

"Well, it was a crazy week... I can't remember exactly what happened but I'll try and go through the highlights! First of all the baptism did not happen this Sunday... That was pretty tough, we'd been in contact with him for all week and he was super excited for it all, but then come Sunday he didn't come to church, we called him a bunch of times and went by his apartment and nobody answered... It was pretty tough especially since he was so solid and we still haven't been able to contact him because now he's changed his phone number and we don't have his new one... Yeah, so we're not sure what's going to happen with that, haha and to make it even more interesting President Matsumori decided to come to our baptism and we had to break the news to him that it wasn't going to happen.

But, we do have some good news. First of all is that we have three very solid baptismal dates for the 20th! The less active family... that just randomly came to church last Sunday, both of the kids are now on date. They're super cool and excited to learn about the gospel. They look so young, haha even though they're 15 and 18, but they're sincerely seeking the truth and you can tell that they feel that it's true, we just have to wait for the requirement of three Sundays for them to be baptized! We've been to the visitor's center with them as well so they're doing super solid!

Then we still have [another young man] who's doing very well as well. The spirit has touched him strongly and for some reason he feels a special connection with us as well. Let's see, what else. Oh yeah, we're working with this less active part-member family,... and we had an incredible lesson with them! We were able to testify strongly of the restoration of the gospel as well as the difference it makes in families and the opportunity it gives us to have an eternal family. It was an extremely powerful lesson and we were able to feel that we were guided by the spirit to really teach and testify to his needs. Then this week we also had to drop one of our investigators that used to have a baptismal date. He just wasn't progressing, and it was super sad... We were very bold and very frank with him, and with that he finally told us that he was in reality never planning on coming to church... It's just been a rather emotional week I guess. Some disappointments and some successes.

Oh, this week was also transfer week and Elder White and I will be staying together!! It'll be sweet, he's a super hard worker so we'll continue to see a ton of miracles! Haha while this letter sounds kind of disappointing in parts, it's really been a good week. We see daily miracles of people that are prepared to listen to us who we get the opportunity to help in even little ways, and sometimes big ways. It's truly a blessing to be a missionary! So crazy that another week has gone by though..."

A Crazy Week of Miracles!!!

Haha, yeah, pretty sure I say something along those lines every week, but, we continue to see so many miracles!

Well this week was crazy! I'll start with Sunday. We had four or five people lined up and committed to come to church, when lo and behold, every single one of them told us they weren't coming at the last minute. However, we'd recently had a lesson with the cousin of one of the members, Pedro who has a baptismal date for the 13th, and had originally told us he wouldn't be at church on Sunday. We were able to give some promised blessings by the spirit and he felt inspired to come to church. It was awesome when we called him and he said he was coming! So that was the first miracle on Sunday.

Then we had the husband of a less-active randomly show up, and then we had another less-active also randomly show up that has 2 kids that aren't members, one of which is almost positive that he wants to be baptized. It was honestly insane and Elder White and I were just stunned by the miracles!

The Lord is truly revealing his arm in this area! We also had an incredible experience afterwards. We went to an appointment that fell through and as we were leaving we felt that we had to go visit one investigator. Right as we pull up we see another investigator that we had dropped hobbling up the stairs on crutches. It turns out that a week ago he'd been shot three times and hadn't even realized it because he was so drunk and high... It was pretty sad to see what had happened to him, but we were able to testify to him of the purpose of life and how we have to choose God's path in life or the Devil's. Elder White also was able to share some experiences from how he's seen some of his friends lives destroyed by drugs and alcohol. It was a very powerful experience. We'd only taught him maybe twice and yet for some reason he was one of those people on the mission that you can just feel God's love for so clearly. It was incredible as I looked at him I could feel how much God cares about this guy, his son, and how much he really wanted him to make it home. It was a powerful experience, and almost overwhelming. By the end of our meeting with him he called out to us as we biked away "Hey, if I can walk next week maybe I'll see you on Sunday!" It was truly incredible to see how God placed us in the right place at the right time and put the right words our mouths to be able to touch him!

Later that night we also went with that one guy that recognized the prophets as prophets in conference to the Visitor's Center. He is going to be baptized this Sunday!! We also went and saw a John Schmidt concert while we were there. I'm not sure how spiritual it was, but it was a good experience, and pretty enjoyable as well! We've also seen a lot of miracles with a less active family really opening up to us, we hope they'll be coming back to church soon! In short, it's been pretty awesome.

We've had a lot of miracles, and now transfers are coming up next week... It's crazy to see how quickly time goes by, I've now passed the 10 month mark, Elder Lee my [old] companion, is finishing his mission in a week, and it's almost winter again... It's crazy, over a year ago I received my call, was endowed in the temple, received the Melchizedek Priesthood, started my first semester of college... So much has happened in just one year. It feels shorter and longer at the same time... Haha, it really surprised me to read in Jonathan's letter that I'd almost been out for a year... It seems like I just saw all you guys! It's crazy... But the work is amazing, and I love to see so many people progressing and really coming to Christ. We have a lot of investigators right now, and a lot are progressing, it is a huge blessing to be working in DC right now. The best mission in the world! Sorry Jessica! :)

Hermana Croft, People Prepared for the Gospel

"Haha, it's awesome, the Croft family now has two missionaries out at the same time, Hermana Croft, and Elder Croft! There truly is nothing greater than the mission, and it is the biggest blessing that any of us could receive from our Father in Heaven. To our parents, don't worry too much about Jessica, she'll be in Provo for awhile, and then after that you can trust in her mission president, it's incredible how much they really care for us out here, they become a type of parents, never quite the same, but they'll be taking care of Jessica, and the Lord gives them an extra abundance of Love to make up for the fact that we're away from the family. I imagine it's been a rollercoaster of emotions for everyone, but I am confident in the Lord's promise that our families will be protected on the mission, especially spiritually.

I'm proud Jessica has also decided to serve a mission, it's a super cool blessing, and there is honestly nothing better than serving the Lord and bearing testimony so frequently each day! I hope all goes well, and I think you guys just barely dropped off Jessica, crazy stuff, it's going to be one wild ride! And no worries Mom and Dad, I'll be home in something like 14 months, so you'll be seeing me soon! :)

For us over here the week has been pretty interesting! I'll keep it brief, but we have seen a ton of miracles! We've had some incredible finding miracles where the Lord is placing prepared people in our paths in the exact moment when we have to be there! We were knocking this one guys house looking for a referral we had received, and when we knocked the guy told us he had some Mormon friends (he wasn't the guy we were looking for by the way) and that just two days ago they had given him a Book of Mormon and he had been reading it and had some questions for us!!! Yeah, it was an awesome miracle!

[A woman we've been teaching] continues to progress, she was reading in the Book of Mormon one night because she had gotten scared by some ghost stories and it was late at night and such, and as she started to read the Book of Mormon she said she felt "protected". It's awesome, she is slowly coming to develop a relationship with our Father in Heaven. It's been a blessing to see her progress and just eat up all that we're teaching her. She is extremely willing to learn, and it's been cool to see the spirit come more and more into her life.

Oh, this Sunday we also had an incredible fireside by one of the Seventy. Elder Alfonso, his talk was extremely powerful and he spoke on not hesitating to be baptized and how we must be grateful in all things. He told this story of how on his mission he was at an investigators house and they had no food, nothing but two eggs, and they gave these missionaries the two eggs. They of course tried to refuse but the family insisted, and said that they would instead fast. The missionaries ate the eggs, and the children, who didn't quite understand what was going on began to cry because they had no food... Later that day the Father returned to the house laden with food and money. He'd been out all day selling some things, and at first nothing was happening, but then at some point in the day he began to sell everything, and he returned home with food for his family. He began to sell at exactly the same time that the missionaries were in the home with the family and they made the sacrifice for the missionaries. It was a confirmation of my faith that God truly does watch over the people we are here to serve. He cares for each of his children so deeply and is just waiting to open up the windows of Heaven.

So much of the world doesn't seem to understand that God does not want to punish us, he wants to bless us, lift us higher, and help us to become incredible. He is not just to be feared, but to be trusted as a close friend. I feel that so many people that we speak with just see him as the great punisher, or the one thing you pray to when you have problems. They fail to realize the true relationship we have with our Father. If we could all understand that, I feel like a lot of problems with the world would be solved.

Well with that fireside we had an investigator there that was really impacted by the Seventy's words. The next day we taught him at a members house and he committed to baptism! It was incredible, he is so ready,... and he can already feel the truthfulness of the Gospel all through the testimony of this one man.

In short, God is pouring out the blessings of heaven upon this area and we are able to see the fruits of it! I have gained a powerful testimony of the fact that God truly does pour out his spirit to prepare the people of the earth to hear his message. People are drawn to us as representatives of Jesus Christ, both the Good and the Bad, and we have the opportunity to serve them both. There is truly nothing greater than wearing the name of the Savior on my chest every day!

Other than that it's continued to be a good week of hard work, and I love it!"