Called to Serve

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Hey Family!
So sorry I wasn't able to send an email yesterday. We were so busy! We didn't even have a p-day because it was so busy. It was a good week though! I will start off with the sketchy story of the week: Elder Armstrong and I were in a pretty sketchy apartment complex a few days ago contacting one of our potentials. So I started teaching Chris about the restoration while elder Armstrong was talking to a couple of other guys close by. This man that I was teaching,  was a super humble guy that had been through a lot and wanted to change. So there we were, me and him, just unfolding the scriptures and having a good lesson, paying no attention to the outside world. Elder Armstrong came up to me after a little bit and said we needed to go. He said that the guys he was talking to were part of this gang and a rival gang pulled up while he was talking to them and they almost got in a shoot out over it. I was just oblivious to this whole thing! Anyways, fast forward to sunday night we went over there to see why Chris didn't come to church like he said he would and when we got there there was 9 cop cars in the complex! So we snooped around to see what happened and apparently there was a big shooting and a lot of guys got injured. Chris was all good though. We may shy away from that complex for a while.

         Sunday was stake conference and Carsha brought her 13 year old nephew Lamaje with her to church. The whole time during the meeting Carsha was teaching her nephew out of the gospel principles manual about the church. She talked to him about serving a mission a lot too and how he needs to make sure he gets baptized so he can be a missionary. It makes every struggle of a mission worth it when you hear your recent converts teaching other people about the church! Carsha just loves learning the gospel. She has a notebook that she brings to every church meeting and every missionary lessons and she is a diligent note taker! Anyways, she is just awesome.

       Yesterday President organized a temple trip for all the leadership of our mission! It was sweet! I love going to the temple. Lately I have been focusing on revelation and how I can give myself more opportunities to receive it. The revelation I received at the temple yesterday was so clear and distinct. It's amazing how involved Heavenly Father is in our lives when we allow him to be. 

      This last week has been crazy. Between the zone conferences we had around the mission this past week and transfers, we had almost no time to work in our area. I am busy but I am happy. I love working around President Petersen. Every time I'm around him he raises my vision. I don't know how he does it but every time I'm around him I just have an overwhelming desire to improve and to help others improve. He has made a lasting impact on my life.

HAPPY FATHERS DAY DAD! Since I have been out on my mission I have realized 3 things about you: 1. You were right about all the things I always thought you were not right about. 2. You are very prone to injury. 3. You love children, even Ryan. I know that sounds obvious but I was just thinking about the sacrifices you have made for us and the ones you make every day. Thank you for being a great dad. Thanks for everything everybody! 

TELL BAKERS HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I cannot believe she is 12. Transfers are tomorrow. It's going to be nuts.