Received November 10, 2010
Good Afternoon Family and Friends!
Hey Everyone,
I hope that you are all doing just great and that the week is going well for you. Dad, I was sad to hear that you aren't feeling well. I hope that you get feeling better quick! That was sad to hear but I'll be praying for you and I hope that you will be able to heal quickly and get back on your feet again!
Thanks to all of you, both family and friends, who wrote me letters this past week. I got a ton of letters and I am so thankful for that! I am sorry that I have not been able to find the time to sit down and write each and everyone of you a thank you letter for all that you are doing for me. But for those of you who have sent me letters, thank you. I want you to know how much your love and support means to me. Everything, the packages, the letters, the emails, and the prayers, all of them mean so much to me. I wish that I could thank you in the way that you deserve. But alas I have not been able to find the time. I promise you that the moment that I can find a little bit of time to write you a letter I will. But I hope until then you can understand just how thankful I am for all that you are doing for me! One day I will get to thank you, and that will be a happy day for sure.
I hope I didn't confuse you last week. I mentioned that I was training Elder Varner. But I did not mean that I was training him as a new missionary. He has a little over a year serving in the mission. I am just training him to be a zone leader. I don't know that I would be able to handle training a new missionary and being a zone leader at the same time. That would just be out of control! But Elder Varner and I are doing great. We are really focused right now and we are working our hearts out. The blessings from our Heavenly Father are just flowing and we are so thankful for all that is happening right now!
I told you last week about our new investigator Raul. We were so pumped after our lesson last week. The only worry that we had was that we might never be able to talk to the rest of the family. But after lots of prayers, we were sent some miracles this past week. We passed by a little early for our appointment on Thursday and we were able to talk to his 14 year-old son and on of his friends. We talked to him about all of the cool stories in the Book of Mormon and read with him about Ammon. When his dad arrived we all sat down and talked more about the Book of Mormon. It was so neat to see the way that Raul explained the Book of Mormon to his son. From the very first time that Raul had opened the Book of Mormon, he has known that it is the word of God. He wanted so much for his son to be able to know that. His son has already started to read in the Book of Mormon and is loving it. On Friday we were able to talk to his 17 year-old daughter. She too was very interested in the Book of Mormon and also loved the fact that God has called a prophet in our day. Up until Saturday we had been able to teach all of the family together except for the mom. Saturday night she came out and sat down with us as we were teaching. She was a little defensive after we taught about the Book of Mormon and asked her family to share their testimonies of the Book. We then we asked her if she would read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it was true. She said "why do I need to do that?" She said "I already know that this book is true. I have seen the huge change in my family these past few days. There is a joy in our home that has been absent for so long." She said, I know I am Catholic, but if this is the thing that is going to make my family happy, I am all for that!" They had all committed to come to church on Sunday and we were so excited.
Sunday rolled around and they didn't come to church. We left to go look for them and when we showed up at their house and everyone was gone. We got a call from Raul saying that their 6 year-old daughter suffered a really bad respiratory attack that morning and was in the hospital. We passed by latter that day and we were able to visit with the family. We have been passing by the last few days and things continue to go great. Yesterday we went by with a few of the members from the ward and we were able to give a blessing to the daughter. It has been such an incredible journey. Elder Varner and I are both so excited for this family. We know that they are being led by God and they are absolutely miracles to us. We are really excited for what lies ahead of this family. I know that this Christmas season they are going to be in white. But I cannot wait until the next year where they will be able to be in white for time and for all eternity!
Andres and his wife and their two children had also committed to come to church this Sunday. They too also were a no show. We passed by their house at around 9:30 and they explained to us what had happened. We told them there was a still a lot of time left at church and we could still make it for some of the meetings. They were worried that it was going to take to long for them to get ready. We told Andres not to worry about it and that we would wait for them! It was so fun to see them all hurrying around getting ready to get to church. It was so cool because they were all smiling and we could tell that they were doing it because they honestly wanted to be doing it, not because they felt like that they had to do it for us. We showed up with them at church right before the second hour ended and they were able to catch the last part of the Principles of the Gospel class where the lesson was about temples! The next class we also talked about temples and the sealing power. We talked to them afterward and they absolutely loved church. The mom said that her fondest desire is that her children can have a place to learn and grow and to learn about the Savior and become men like Him. She really liked what she saw at church. We told them about the Family Home Evening program and they said that they would love to have Family Home Evening. Tonight we are going to their house with another member family in our ward and we are so excited for what lies ahead. Both of these families are absolute angels that have been sent to us and our ward in a time when we desperately need them.
Its amazing to me how the Lord has led us to His chosen children that are willing and ready to listen to the message of the restoration of the Gospel. People who want the best for their families and are so excited to hear about what God has prepared for them.
I'm not sure if I told you about Hermano Vega last week, but last Sunday we talked to a man who had found a Book of Mormon in his house the week before. He said that he had started to read it and he was absolutely loving what he was reading. He said that he felt that the words that he was reading were coming from God, "they are so new but they are teaching me true things that I need to apply to my life." We were able to pass by a few times this week and teach his whole family. The only thing that this man did is that we opened his eyes and he began to look at all that the Lord has given him! He is giving our message a chance and it is so amazing to see how much power there is from the Book of Mormon. He is coming to know more and more every single day that the Book of Mormon is true. We passed by the other night and he said that there is not a doubt in his mind that the book is true, seek and ye shall find, ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you!
I know that this is the Lord's Church and His work. I know that He is at the head of it! I am so thankful for all that my Heavenly Father has done for me. I know that He lives. I know He is my Father. He gave His Son for each and every one of us. And if we faithfully endure to the end we will receive the greatest gift that a child of God could ever have. Eternal life with our loved ones in the Kingdom of our Father.
I love you all so much. I hope that you have a great week!
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