Elder Henry 2/27/2012

Sorry people, I cut out all the family stuff--if you want to know about Spencer's play, Tori's school troubles, or Sherry's love life you'll have to ask them ;o)


Hey Mom!
     I haven't got the new shoes yet. They may be waiting for me in the
Mission Office but because we are about 20-30 minutes away, we don't
get mail from there very often. About once every other week. What
are the non-cheapo insoles? Last time I got the Dr Scholl's back
support insoles for like 12-14$ and they help... kinda. Its way
better than not having them. How many dots have to turn red before I
get a visa? Keep me updated!! (Not that I'm excited or anything)
     The work keeps trucking along here. Not a whole lot of new
investigators at the moment, but the ones we do have are making huge
spiritual progress which is AWESOME! Elder Dixon will probably be
here as long as I am, from what President Bubert told us two weeks
ago. Transfers are next week though so I'm not sure if we will get to
stay companions or not. I really hope so ;).
     The weather down here is about summer. People keep telling me its
winter time, but when its consistently sunny and in the 80's, and
there are no clouds in the sky... I call that summer. Even the
tomatoes don't know what season it is! People's tomatoes are bearing
fruit right now, and its the middle of February for goodness sake.
I'm am very bored by the weather down here, it just stays the same day
in and day out.
     Anyways, I'm sure you are excited to hear about my week.
Last week was a pretty tough week as a missionary. We faced a lot of
rejection and ended up dropping a few investigators. We also ran in
to a few very rude people that just doesn't make you feel very good.
It can be very discouraging, but we press on and great things happen.

     L was baptized yesterday, and that has been the highlight of the
week. L has made a huge change in her life since she has accepted
the gospel. She has diabetes, arthritis in her knees, and genetic
obesity. As such she has a lot of aches and pains, and used to
complain to us for hours about how terrible it was to be her, and how
hard she had it. The last 3 or 4 times we have gone to see her, after
she accepted the baptismal invitation and really had a spiritual
witness that this is the truth, she hasn't once complained of any
aches or pains. She has been happy, found answers to questions she's
had her entire life. In two days she read through the whole gospel
principles manual and now she has a quad, so she is going to re-read
everything with the Doctine &Covenants scripture references.

L is a completely different person now, someone who is truly happy,
because she has felt the power of the holy spirit. L as well as
myself have found this through reading the Book of Mormon. Anyone who
wants to feel the power of God, rather than just talk about Him,
should read this book.

     N is also making huge progress. She told us that she feels that
the Book of Mormon truly is the word of God. The next time we came
over, she had given up coffee, and is very close to quitting smoking.
She has a baptismal date for March 6th. We are doing it on a Tuesday
instead of the weekend so that her husband can be there :). N
has been through a lot in her life, and I'm glad that the gospel of
Jesus Christ can take away the pains she's seen and experienced. She
also came to church yesterday! :D
St H. also had a huge spiritual breakthrough. He's been coming to
church for 16 years now, and finally said he knows that the church is
true. He's scared of committing to baptism though, but told us he
would pray to find out if he needed to be baptized. He and his family
weren't at church yesterday, but hopefully the Spirit of the Lord will
work on him. He's come a long ways though :).
St R. is still working like a dog. He works from 9am-10 or 11pm.
Its the crazy season for tax accountants. He comes to church every
week though, and he took the day off yesterday to spend time with his
family. He is choosing the right things. I'm very grateful to see
him really step up to the role of being a Father. He may not be
baptized while I'm am here as a missionary, just because we can't meet
with him, probably until April 16th, but I know that he will join the
church one day :) He's an awesome guy.
     That's pretty much been our week. We are also teaching a couple BIOLA students, which is certainly interesting, we are hoping they will
begin to progress, or we will have to drop them soon. It certainly
has increased my knowledge of the scriptures though, having tough
questions dropped on my feet about all sorts of crazy things. Stuff
like scriptural evidence of an Apostasy, the trinity, and Salvation by
works or by grace. It has strengthened my testimony of both the
truthfulness of the gospel, and the role of the Holy Ghost in
conversion. This isn't about who has the best knowledge of the
scriptures, this is about receiving revelation from God that he has in
fact called a Prophet, like Moses, in our days. That the same Church,
not a sect or division, that Christ set up is now restored on the
Earth. You can't convince somebody that is truth, you have to feel it
for yourself. A great lesson to learn about missionary work.
     I have so many other great experiences to talk about and no time to do
so. So you will just have to wait 17 more months till I come home
with my Journal to hear them all ;).
Love,
Elder Henry