Mom and Dad,
Thanks so much for your emails! It's always good to hear about home.
This week was a little difficult for me. I have felt like I am not who I need to be as a missionary and that my attitude and work ethic are not up to par. I keep struggling with feelings that I don't have a solid testimony of my own and that there is very little that I can testify of. I also feel like my pride and other undesirable attributes are holding me back and that I really dont have the charity that I need to be a good missionary. I want to change and i'm trying to change but change requires a great deal of effort and time and I feel like there are so many things that I need to be better in now.
There were however good things that happened this week. Firstly, Elder Trejo and I have been getting closer which has felt good. Neither of us is the type of person who opens up much to other people so it's taken a lot of time but we have a lot in common and that has helped us start to grow closer.
Also we have 2 investigators Armando and Carlos Farfan who have baptismal dates this week. We still have a lot to teach both of them but we are really hoping for a miracle. They both could use the gospel so much in their lives. When we were on exchanges two weeks ago Elder Payne (our district leader) and I visited Armando. We had taught him about keeping the sabbath day holy the last lesson but he had worked instead of going to church that sunday because he has had a hard time finding steady work and therefore takes whatever work he can find. We passed the lesson about keeping the sabbath day holy and promised him that if he would put the lord first and come to church that he would be able to find a way to come to church and still work enough during the week. Yesterday when he came to church he told us that he had found a regular Monday through friday job that will be better than what he had before and allow him to come to church. I am always hesitant to make promises like that to investigators but wow, it really works.
Dad, thanks for telling me about the volvo. I'll admit, I hoped it had been lost and was just going to stay down there. What an expensive hassle it will be to pull it out. If needs be, pay whatever has to be paid with the money I left behind. It will be a shame to lose it all but I can always earn more when I get back. also, thank uncle John for me, He has been so generous through all of this. At least take pictures so it will make a good family story.
It's awesome to hear about your family adventures, especially the gardening with brian and skiing with kelton. That kid really is tough and it's awesome to see what he can do when he puts his mind to it. Thank you also for your spiritual thoughts. That was exactly what I needed this week.
Mom, Thanks for letting me know how Adam is doing! It's good to hear that he is working hard and has good goals and tools to help him out. I hope things go well for him. I'm nervous to hear of his going back to california but he is doing a lot of good things and I hope he will take those back with him. I don't know if Dad has sold my phone yet or what you think of the idea but if adam is going to live on his own and have his own phone I would be happy to give him mine so that he has something that works well to get him started.
I know all will go well with your PALS testing, you know this stuff like the back of your hand now. Anyone who you help at the hospital is luck to have you! I also hope everything goes well with Dads trips to LA. Put the lord first and you'll have all the time strength and energy you need for everything else.
Thank you for your spiritual thoughts. I especially love the quote, im going to write it down.
I love you guys so much, as always, It's good to hear about all the good things you guys are up to. Congratulate aaron and wish him luck in his swimming! he is faster than I ever was!
Love
Isaac
