What a week!

Howdy! I hope everyone is well! I am loving life as a missionary so I am expecting that the Celestial Kingdom is going to be a blast because it is ALL about missionary work for our families! Elder Douglas is my new companion as of 2 weeks ago maybe.. I think I forgot to mention that. We are moving into a new apartment again today, because are current one is super smokey and people notice it at church, it's kinda funny! Elder Douglas and I are expecting a baptism this weekend and just as the ram in the thicket we know the Lord will provide, however, we have to search the thicket with all of our heart might mind and strength for that to be so! The weather here is great! I am learning a lot from Elder Douglas though this is only his 3rd transfer he is an amazing missionary! I love the scriptures and learn a lot from them each day I study with real intent, desiring to know more! That's the key.. I learned from Elder Burrows, if you want to have a good personal study in the morning you have to have a desire for whatever it is that you are studying! I love my leaders! I love the district. This is a district that knows our purpose "Our purpose is to bring souls unto Christ, by helping them receive faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end! My purpose is to baptize!". This might be the most difficult work one can be apart of but it is probably the most rewarding as well! One thing that I have learned today is that we are blessed by the Atonement because of the great understanding it gives us and the desire we receive from it to be obedient, to be safe, to be loved by Christ and to love Christ. The Atonement is not simply power over sin, but power to become perfect through Christ. How exciting is that? As a missionary you often think: "If people would only read the Book of Mormon, even one page and pray about it in faith they would know by the power of the Holy Ghost that it is true!".. I imagine those beyond the veil might think or say something similar of us all: "If they only knew what the Atonement would do for them!".. Anyway I love and miss you all! Expect good things!


Thanks for the update mom! That's pretty sad news! I will keep Dustin in my prayers..I got an email from Bryce, it was depressing.. I don't understand the whole marriage thing.. It frustrates and confuses me. But I'll get over it! I was just bummed to hear that.. weird huh? Welp we are working really hard here in Mt. Pleasant and are expecting a baptism this weekend. We don't know who it will be, but we are expecting it to be! Sometimes the strongest faith is found in expectation. Joseph Smith didn't know what the answer would be when he prayed in the sacred grove, but he expected an answer! I am loving the work as always.. I get depressed when I think of a time that this specific full-time service ends, but hey! It doesn't have to end. I am going to keep a list of all whom I am blessed to help come unto the waters of baptism even after my mission! I expect to continue to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord to be the very best member missionary period! So I asked President about the extension in my missionary report to him, and haven't heard from him yet but will find out at interviews! Thanks for the picture of G & P! I was thinking about them the other day and man, I love them, I can't think of life without them! Man, what if they had never become active in the church? The people blessed by Ben in Mexico would have had to wait longer to hear and accept the gospel, as with Arizona and Idaho and now South Carolina.. not the missions alone but all the Temple and family history work they have done and do, as well as their service as missionaries! We have a great heritage! I hope Pop keeps a journal cause I'm gunna wanna read it one day! I have a great plan for journals after my mission! I am going to compile my journals from before my mission into a small book by typing them all up. Then I will have another book compiled of all of my mission journal typed up as well as my study journal.. and then I will have another book made of my after mission life to the point of getting married.. (or whatever that's about).. and then my first 5-10 years as a parent and then another book about the next 5-10 years as a parent.. and they will be neat and nice and when I die, I will have a stack of like 10 books easily readable for all my future generations! Cool huh! Journals are important, I am learning that. I want my family in the far off future to be able to see my life and who I was and stuff! There are websites I think you can use to type up and have bind into books whatever you want.. And I'll send a copy of my mission journal to President McConkie, and my bishops and stuff.. I'm just way excited about that.. That is a goal I expect to be fulfilled after my mission! Anyway I'm gunna write the fam! love ya mom!