AUG 28

Family that I love:

This past week has been filled with cool experiences as well as the typical trials.

But here's a quick taste of what's been going on:

Whenever we tract or street contact, we almost always hand out one of the pamphlets on one of the lessons. We always put our contact info on the back, and up until about a week ago, I'd never had anyone actually end up calling us. We were in the church building making some photocopies when we got a phone call form a woman named Melody. She informed us that she had been talking to other missionaries (or that she'd gotten a pamphlet from them,) and she had a question about something in it! We met with her and found out she was a former investigator. In fact, she had investigated about three times before but she had never gone (or had been able to go) to church. She told us a story about how she got in a fight with her daughter, who she lives with and had been threatened to be kicked out. She felt she needed help, and more spiritual strength. So she was reading her Bible, and it kept on saying she needed to be baptized! She found one of the pamphlets the missionaries had given her, and called us up to see if we could help her out! She told us that she didn't have a job anymore, so she would now be able to come to church and that she wanted to be baptized! To make an already long story shorter, she's now come to church, she got a ride from a member, she has a baptismal date for Sept 7, she's committed to stop smoking, and she reads the chapters we assign her in the Book of Mormon! I'm so excited for her and it's been so cool to see someone who really HAS been prepared by the Lord to receive his gospel and enjoy the eternal blessings of baptism and confirmation. It's been amazing to see it change her life too! She's seemed so much happier ever since she's started making the changes in her life that bring about repentance.

I learned something cool the other day as I was preparing my district meeting. In the scriptures it says all over the place that the Elders/missionaries of the church are to cry repentance. I've never completely understood that, but as I was reading about the importance of commitments I learned that extending those commitments is how we cry repentance, because as our investigators keep their commitments they bring about repentance in their own lives. So if we don't "cry repentance" by inviting them to make and keep commitments, we aren't fulfilling our purpose.

As you, (family,) invite people to church or to read/pray about the Book of Mormon, you are helping (or inviting) them to make changes in their life that bring about repentance and make their lives happier. Cool eh? :D

Anyway, Monday we fasted to find new investigators. So we payed extra special attention to those guiding promptings of the Spirit. And we ended up finding 5 new investigators as well as just having an amazing day spiritually speaking.

It's been amazing to me to recognize how much better the lessons are as well as the reaction of those we're teaching as we feel the spirit really driving a lesson, as opposed to just saying words at somebody. When the Spirit is there and when it's not is beginning to become bery clear to me.

Well, I hope you all are enjoying this end of summer as much as I am. Though the sun is out less often, it's beginning to smell like fall. And for some reason, it reminds me of spring-ish time in Provo. Anyway, this place is great. I'm still getting used to Monroe, but it won't be too long. If I thought time was moving fast before, it's gone in a second now. I hardly have time to think before a week has gone by. I'm almost a year old! That's weird...!

Well, I love you all as much as youlove me. And you love me a lot. ;D Be happy and have fun!

LOVE, ELDER SEAN.