Elder D Meets an Apostle of the Lord!

Hola Mis Queridos Padres!        September 19, 2011

Well this week was pretty amazing. I was able to have so many memorable moments!  There were definitely some ups and downs, but I was able to push through it and find the good. Hopefully, I will be able to portray all my memories here to all of you through these words, but typed words can only do so much.

First, I want to talk a little about an investigator I am teaching. I say "I" because we are teaching here in Spanish, and since my companion doesn’t know Spanish, I am left alone to try and teach these lessons. Rosie is a middle aged lady with two kids, but the craziest part is that her husband is in Eastern Washington right now. They have spent a bunch of time up in the Tri-Cities, so we have that connection to help me out. But more then just talking about common things, she is completely ready for the Gospel. The Lord has definitely prepared her to be taught at this time. There is so much potential and I am happy to have the opportunity to teach her. She has asked some really great questions, and had some really good experiences that have led her to this point. I am just waiting for her husband to get back, so that we can set a baptismal date and have them baptized at the same time.

          This week I was also able to go to Ephraim to have leadership training with President Leonard. It was pretty humbling and inspiring. I definitely learned a ton and was able to have the Spirit to help me learn and have those epiphanies. To answer your question Mom, my opinion of President Leonard has changed immensely. I really am grateful for his love and guidance.  Before I used to think that he was very timid and not very personable, but he is definitely coming out of his shell and I am able to see the good in him. The training took almost all day, so when I got back to Price, my companion wasn’t in the best state of mind and I could sense some tension there between us. So I had to try and get him to open up to me and tell me what the problem was, that didn’t happen very easily. We eventually arrived at the point and we had a little companionship intervention. The Lord is definitely testing me with my current companionship, but I am taking them as learning experiences.

I also had a really good talk with Elder Hultgren. He is my ex Zone Leader and the new Assistant to the President. We have had a pretty good relationship and have known each other since the plane ride to St. George. So we had a really big heart to heart about our missions and we were able to uplift each other by the things that we talked about. The Lord definitely places people in our lives to change our lives, and I can definitely say that Elder Hultgren has changed not only my mission, but my life as well.

          As part of being a District Leader, I have to go on exchanges, or go to other areas in my district. So this week I got to experience MOAB! It was so amazing! I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go there and to see all the sites and meet the people down there. I was able to help them find a new investigator that is going to be baptized in a few weeks, so it was very fruitful. But Moab is unlike any place I have ever seen in my life. It is the place that truly has adventure written all over it! It ranges from mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, hiking, to my favorite Jeeping! There were so many Jeeps all over, I thought I was in heaven! I had another pretty random experience down there. I had to do a baptismal interview down there, and the girl's father served a mission in Hawaii at the same time that Pops did. His name is Harlan Hawks, or Pops might know him as Elder Hawks. Does it ring a bell? (Chad’s father does remember an Elder Hawks that served in Hawaii towards the end of Darin’s mission.)

          This week I am still learning the importance of planning and how it benefits us to have a set plan. Things don’t always work according to our plans, but planning is there to help us. We also had a baptism this week! Her name is Nicole, and she is 10 years old! She is pretty amazing! Her family is less active and didn’t really support her too much through her whole learning experience and journey to baptism. So she basically had to do everything herself. She even got up and went to Church without anyone else’s help. Pretty amazing, because how many 10 year olds do you know that want to wake up at 8 in the morning to go to Church? Her baptism was super amazing, and I had the opportunity to baptize her myself. I was pretty excited about that! She had a pretty memorable experience herself -- She was able to peek into a meeting where Elder Holland was, and she got a wave and a kiss blown to her from Elder Holland. It was a pretty good way to remember her baptism. Nicole's grandma also came up to me with tears and thanked me for helping Nicole and Braxton. Braxton was another kid that got baptized a few weeks ago, and Nicole and Braxton are cousins. So their grandmother is extremely thankful for the missionaries and being able to help her grandchildren to come unto Christ.

          Next, Sunday like always was extremely crazy! We had to run around like chickens with our heads cut off, but it all worked out. We had the confirmation of Nicole in the morning, and then afterwards we rushed out to Wellington to go to their special Stake Conference. At this conference, we were able to sing in the choir, so we were right up on the stand. This is significant because Elder Holland was at this conference. We were sitting literally 5 feet behind him. It was so amazing to hear him speak in person. That man speaks with so much power and authority! His talk really opened my eyes and I had some pretty humbling realizations from that talk. The best part came after the conference. I was able to go and meet Elder Holland. Yes, I did meet Elder Holland. I shook his hand and I expected that to be all, but I talked with him for about 2 to 3 minutes about missionary work and my mission is going. It was probably one of the greatest memories from my mission. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever meet an Apostle face to face. So it is pretty crazy to be able to talk with him, but I also counted and between the MTC and now, I have seen 5 Apostles in person. Pretty strange fact to say that I have seen almost half of the Apostles in person.

          Well just to let you know, I did get the package and I am satisfied with the shirts, and they will fit the bill. Thank you for all the other little gidgets in there as well. Thank you for sharing the story about Verna with me. It really touched me. I feel sorry for her and I know what she is going through. But you both know that as well, so you can be there for her and help her out through all of this! (Verna sent her youngest son off to college and was missing him terribly. She realized we have it a bit tougher because we had to say goodbye to Chad for two years!)  You are great people and will know what to do! Well my time is almost up, but thank you for everything that you have done and helped me out with, it means more to me then you will ever know! Just keep on moving forward and everything will work out!

Live it, Love it, Preach it!    Dios les bendiga!  Les amo!     ELDER D!