Testimony

We currently have some awesome members and some awesome investigators. I am really learning to teach by the spirit, to study according to their needs, and to follow up on promptings I'm given as I watch immediate blessings bestow upon the people I interact with and myself. A mission is lots of fun.  The church is truely inspired. The missionaries that are with me in South Carolina are the best missionaries in the world that could have been called to serve here where we are serving, as it is with all the world. I have been put in a situation where I will grow the most, where I will learn the most, where I will learn to apply charity as the savior has shown unto us. My mission is truely a blessing. I love it. I know that the church is true! I know it. There is so much to learn, so many areas for me to grow, so many people to bring to the knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Life as Usual

So we did have a mission wide conference last Saturday (two days ago). Elder Cook wasn't able to make it, that's too bad; Elder González (pres of the 70) and Elder Gibbons member of the 70 were both there though and we had a great meeting. I also got a copy of a DVD of Elder Holland's MTC address that is a very very good talk. I'll send it home after I make a copy, with possibly other talks so you can watch it for family home evening (make sure Joshua is there, it really is very good and energizing and fills you with purpose devoted energy).

Day After Mother's Day

Elder Benjamin Walker Skyped home yesterday for Mother's Day. It was really good for everyone to hear from him. In today's email home he wrote:

My collection of stories is constantly increasing! The only worry I have is that eventually I'll run out of money for the cost of copying them, 10 cents per page... no, I'm just kidding, I have more than I need. Tell Joshua and Robert that when they go on a mission I'll either send 1 story a week to them or all 100+ pages of talks/stories/poems/other all at once at the most inconvenient time, right before I think they are going to get transfered to another area. (s\So they need to make room for it all after it is too late! muahahaha!) 

So, like I told you while skyping, I went to the temple last Tuesday... I am surprised I forgot to tell you last Monday that I was going. It's kind of a rare even that most missionaries don't get to go in their mission before they are preparing to go home and go with President Holm. The member that brought us doesn't even have a temple recommend and we asked him Monday night to bring us because others couldn't do it. He'll be blessed for it I'm sure! Then, after the temple, the member friends that baptized Lee Ray Ragsdale took Elder Peterson and I out to eat. It was wonderful to be able to do that. I'm glad I've been blessed so. 

I am going to finish my backwards journal soonish... it's almost finished... I think then I'll start a journal that is written all in "short-hand" so I can write a lot in a little space. As this is the reason I don't like to write in my journal, because it takes so long... I'll practice in a new journal so I can write down all the stories of stuff... I have a request for you now. This is what you can send me in a package: papers of stuff that will describe to me in detail for how to write in shorthand. (Probably printed off the internet somewhere). I imagine that it won't take much more time than double the time it took for me to learn to write backwards comfortably. I don't know where you can send me that... Dad might know how to get something like that better. (Because he's probably more technologically advanced ... or Joshua ... or even Robert or Monica for that matter...you should probably hand this responsibility off to someone).

From the Missionary

Next week is Mother's Day! He'll be skyping the family! Yay!

Meanwhile, Ben wrote:

I'm learning to be bold. Turns out, when you are lovingly bold with people they will commit to things more easily and also will either knowingly deny what they know is the right thing to do or accept it... it helps with "sifting" the investigators to figure out which ones are sincere and which ones are not.

We've been working with more and more less-active lately. They are pretty awesome, the relationship between us missionaries and less-actives is pretty good. Now they just need to start coming back to church.