May 10, 2011 - Letter Home

Grand Finale


Hey Famly!

This week was awesome; Elder Persinger and I are getting more and more on fire as the transfer goes on. That's why it would be AWESOME if I got to stay here with him next transfer. He's getting to be my best friend on the mission. Heh, I think it's pretty awesome how now each of my new companions gets better than the last. I love my companions.

Elder Olsen

Unfortunately, it seems like we're still just getting started after the last couple weeks, we had to move on from a bunch of investigators that were really awesome and that we love a lot and who want to have the blessings of the gospel, but just don't seem to want to make the sacrifice to get to that point. Man, this part of missionary work has got to be the hardest: seeing people you love not ready to choose the right.

However, we've had victories this week and are finding new people every day. One cool thing this week was finding Sister Mara, who had studied with the missionaries a couple years ago but then they were emergency transferred and she got left behind. She had been going to another church here, but after our visit, she went to our church Sunday, was treated very well, and even though she was hesitant to pray and go to church and study with us and accept the invite to stop smoking and get ready to be baptized.... we asked her to do it. And that's when the Lord did his part. It's hard, and maybe not right to describe these experiences through text, but we had a very spiritual experience with her, and she decided to change everything in her life just to follow the feelings she had felt. It was awesome. So thats how we inherited like a million cigarretes and ashtrays and stuff, which are in our apartment right now til we get rid of them. Weird. We traded her for oranges (vitamin C helps against tobacco poisoning) anti-toxifying tea, and cinnamon gum. It's gonna work! We passed by today and she's saying it's still a bit hard but she's resisting the temptation. Yeah! I'm pretty excited about her and I'm excited for her family too, who were a bit less interested and doubtful that she could stop smoking, but they'll probably be inspired by her act of faith. All right!

We were dragging pretty seriously Saturday, because a lot of things fell through and we didn't know if anyone would come to church. We prayed and fired eachother up that God was going to make a miracle happen, and sure enough, we get to church and discover that an inactive guy, Joao, that we had invited to church really quicklast time we saw him, came to church with his wife and two daughters (not baptized), and said that we should come and talk to them to see how they could be baptized. Awesome! Miracles! They seem really cool, and have two other teenage sons we haven't talked to yet. Great!

Anyway, this Sunday was great and I loved the phone call, and while I did get a LITTLE trunky for about an hour or two after, just because of the realization that it was my last phone call, right now I'm right back on top. Like Brendon and Elder Clay, me and Persinger made a promise to eachother to keep running until the end of our missions (a little easier for me than him, the guy's got forever to go! :P) For sure, there's a lot of baptisms and success and suffering and sweating and getting tired and miracles in these next couple months for us. :) Awesome.

Well, I have to e-mail tomorrow for a college test I'm doing, and my camera ran out of battery just now, so I will wait till tomorrow to send photos.

I love you all, I am happy, and most of all, I am thankful. I have so many blessings! And not just that; so do my family, friends, and many people I know. We are all so blessed. I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he'll cure us and save us. Going about life with the intent of following Him at whatever cost gives us the greatest rest and satisfaction. I love you all my families.

Have a good week! Keep fighting every day! Love love,

Elder Con