LOTS OF TEACHING, KEEPING BUSY AS A MISSIONARY!

Hola a todos!           June 4, 2012

            Well this week we struggled at the beginning, but we were able to finish it off strong. It is something that we continue to do every week, battle. These last couple of weeks we have been back and forth with a lot of things, but I think that everything should really start to pick up.
            The weather lately has been pretty amazing. The week before it was so bipolar, but this week it has been in the 80s the whole time. It is tough to adjust to the warmer weather, especially after being used to it be cooler the whole time. The biggest thing was that this week there has been a lot of humidity. It has been quite overcast the last few days and has acted like it wanted to rain, but it would only sprinkle. This area really does need some moisture, that is actually what all the Stakes here fasted for yesterday. I have been enjoying the warmth and we have actually been able to get out and walk around.
            We have had some pretty good lessons this week. We are teaching this lady named America. She has such great faith and really enjoys learning. This was confirmed this last week with the two lessons that we had with her. I asked her point blank if she was interested in learning and joining the Church. She said she did and that she wanted to get baptized. Now we just need to work on her marriage situation. So that will be something that we need help with, so any prayers in that behalf would be great! We have also been working with a less active family to help get them active and able to go to the temple. They have been really progressing lately. We had a great lesson on the blessings that come through our obedience to the commandments. So that will be a great day to be able to see them be sealed in a Temple of God.
            A random moment this week: we were out knocking on some doors of some people that the missionaries used to visit. We went to this smaller home, one that you would think a newly married couple would live in. Anyways, so we knock the door and this girl comes to the door and we are talking and asking her some questions. She actually was from around there, and then she said she was already a member of the church. I didn't want the contact to end there, so I asked if she lived there with her husband (hoping he was a non-member). Well she just starts busting up laughing and says "that she isn't married, and she is going to be a senior in high school." So it was a pretty random thing, but I blame Utah and all the very young marriages that happen. J
            We were able to find quite a few new people to teach this week. One is a 9 year old kid named Logan. He is probably one of the funniest kids that I have ever met. While we were there, his babysitter asked if he was baptized, and he just turned to her and said, "No! Why do you think they are here?!" It was a super funny comment. He really knows a lot and wants to be baptized. We invited him to be baptized and he is planning for the 30th of June to do so.
            We went on exchanges to Wellington. It was a pretty weird thing, because I saw so many people that I had met when I served there. (Chad served in Price before going to Cedar City, and now in Castle Dale.) It was a good experience, but also very strange. I wonder if it was a strange feeling for me now, what it will be like when I come back after my mission, or even in like 10 years. While I was there in Wellington, we were talking to this guy outside his house, and my companion was throwing a chunk of wood for his big chocolate lab. This dog and the way he acted reminded me a lot of Bear. (Bear was our black lab we had in Boise.  He loved to run after toys -- we would have to hide them before he would stop!)  Anyways this dog had been chasing this chunk of wood for quite awhile, and he came back and dropped the wood at my feet. What I didn't realize was that he had gone through a little stream on his way back from retrieving the wood. So as all dogs do, they shake to get all the water off. Needless to say I got drenched with water and mud. It was pretty funny when I think about it now, but at the time I wasn't so happy. The worst part was that it was my suit pants, so I had to take those to the dry cleaners. (Chad has always cared about how he dresses and is particular about looking nice.)  We also found out that one of our investigators was involved in a car accident this week. He and his wife took a trip to Colorado to visit some friends, and on the way back they got in a wreck. The worst part was it happened in Price. So it was only 30 minutes away from getting home. Our investigator is only sore and bruised, but his wife is pretty banged up. She is in a neck brace and dislocated her collarbone. It has been a humbling experience for him and a good chance to see how the ward supports them. Hopefully this will soften his heart and let him receive the answer he is looking for.
            The last lesson I am going to talk about was with a Spanish couple. Their names are Veronica and Gerardo. We had stopped by a few weeks before and talked with them, but never really got an actual lesson with them.On Saturday we had a really good lesson. We talked about the Restoration of the Gospel. We had talked about Joseph Smith and we were introducing the Book of Mormon and how they could know if the book was true. At the end of the lesson, I asked them if they had any questions, and the response from Gerardo really shocked me. Keep in my mind that this was the first lesson that we had with him. He said, "No I don't have any questions, but what you could do is leave that book for us, so we can read it and find out if it is true." That just blew me away. I can definitely tell that he is a "sincere seeker of truth". I am excited to see what happens with them this week.
            NEWS FROM HOME: It is good to know that Pops is getting all his tests done, so that everything else can proceed forward. (Darin has had 7 body scans, a brain scan, ultra sounds and a full body PET scan.  He feels like he should glow in the dark! Just one more test before getting approval for chemotherapy treatment at Univ of Washington.)  It was also nice to hear that Emma and Chay came to church this last week. Hopefully that can continue to happen. But I am grateful for you support once again, and it is nice to know that you are always there for me. I know that this is the Lord's church and this is His work!   Live it! Love it! Preach it!   con muchismo amor!    ELDER D