Week 3

Well its been another week and this one went by much quicker and it seems to be only speeding up from here. First off a couple questions. Could yall send me family pictures please? Everytime i go down to print off pictures for yall the line is a mile long but i will work on it soon.

On sunday we had a fireside from Richard I Heaton who is a head administrator here. It was really good and i enjoyed it alot. It was all about, "How do i define success?" It helped me realize that success is a gift. Although it is determined through others agency, it is influenced by my hard work, faith, and influence. It requires obedience, sacrifice, and a will for me to want to bring others unto Christ.

On Tuesday the devo was by David F. Evans of the 70. It was harder for me to pay attention for this one, but afterwards in our district meeting i decided to pose a question to everybody so they could answer it. It was because of the Devo i thought of it but i really wanted to know what everyone true desires were on why they were on a mission. The spirit was amazing and i loved hearing everybody's testimonies on why they want to be here.

We had an interesting experience that i had to deal with. We have one sister is my district who loves to make connections with people everywhere she can and sometimes might come off a little too friendly i think. But even because of that this was unnacceptable. There was another elder here in the mtc who ended up writing her a letter(even used a stamp to mail it...) Well the letter was confessing is love for her and how he "yearned to see her more often. Tis Strange, i have not known you long but feel as if we were destined before this life." The whole letter was written like shakespeare and needless to say he got in some trouble for it.

On a lighter note, a couple thoughts i had this week. There was a certain word that hit me one of the days here, PERHAPS. ITs an interesting word and if you look in the scriptures it is used quiet often. Perhaps, i will baptize people. Perhaps, I will touch hundreds of souls. Perhaps doesn't mean i will. It is up to God and up to the people i come across. I will do my best to be the best missionary possible and consistently following guidance. The number of baptisms or number of anything else will not define success on my mission. Another thought i had this week is the power of prayer and the power of a testimony. I haven't counted yet, but other missionaries in my district have and it turns out we pray an average of 25 times a day... i struggled with 2 before now and now i don't think i could even get close to getting by on only 2 prayers.

This morning i had the opportunity to go do some sealings in the temple. It is an amazing feeling. I want each person who reads this letter to know something. I LOVE BEING A MORMON! There is nothing like it. Seeing a family being tied together for eternity is indescribable. I also saw Hermana Martino in the temple and gave her a big hug.(I asked permission).

My companion, Elder Anderson, and I have been teaching an investigator for 2 weeks now. Even though it is our teacher acting, it stills brings the spirit and makes me so excited to talk to people wherever i will be. Teaching has become easier and easier and I'm enjoying it much more. We are also teaching random people from around the area who come in and want to be taught. They used to pretend to be an investigator but they just changed it last week. Now we teach them as members just as they are. It makes it much more challenging, But it is true. If you can teach a member then you can teach an investigator.

Thank you Mom and Nicki and whoever else for the packages! If you are reading this Robin, thank you so much for the package. I have treated everyone in my district with treats.(Except for the bread. That i am selfish about). I love getting letters from each of you. Its nice to come home at nights and lay in bed and see how everyone is doing. The more letters the better, to an extent. I will try to write each of you back individually but it kinda gets expensive...Mom or dad if you want to send stamps that would be amazing :)

I am finally getting over a sickness I have had. It was a cold but turned into asthma. I called DR. Evans office and had them call in a new inhaler for me and I'm feeling much better now. (this paragraph is going to be all jumbled). Early this morning we lost one of our sister missionaries. She left for the mtc in the Dominican Republic! Pretty exciting to see someone moving one. So everyday i gym time i go and play basketball. Some elders do work on me the entire time. For example Elder Monson who played for Utah. Or a kid who just got here who was an all-american football and basketball player and played for Stanfords football team last year. Besides that i love it. I wish it was longer then 50 mins though.

Not much else is new. I'm studying for 10 hours a day about..

Dad- Thank you for letters. I do enjoy getting letters from you and i enjoy the advice you have from your experiences here.

Mom- Thank you for everything as well. If someone will send me Nickis address, i wont have to send them home first. But thank you for everything.

Samye- First off, sweet deal on the camera. Second off you and my niece or nephew are in my prayers every night.

Dustin- Thank you for sending that to me! keep em coming!

Nicki- I'm not sure how you got that glass pickle jar through the mail but thank you! I love it!!

Alex- I love you and keep on being who you are!

P.S. Dad you told me the other day about the heat back home and i accidently said to everyone, " Man if it stays above a hundred degrees til Friday, it will break the world record in Texas for longest its been this hot."

So apparently in my mind Texas is all that matters in the world. Sometimes i need to think before i say something. I love you all!