New Companion

Hey everyone,

How is everyone doing? Did Dad end up going to LA in the beginning of Nov? Is it pretty cold? I had a pretty good week even though we don't have any real investigators. Elder Porter, a member of the 70 came to our mission and spoke on the Atonement. It was a very powerful talk and I really enjoyed it. He talked about the Savior suffering in Gethsemane and on the cross for us. Without the Atonement there would be no way for us to progress and be saved. It is so important to try and understand what Christ really did for each of us personally.

This week was my first week with Elder Jacobson. We're both getting along pretty well and working hard. It was kind of sad saying goodbye to Elder Sudbury. I probably didn't appreciate how much we got along and became friends. He was really good at teaching me how to teach people and he's already back in the area so I might see him today.

One thing that I have learned on my mission that I will bring home is the ability to control my attitude. Doing this much work is not exactly "hard" but if you are discouraged or mad the days seem double in length. I'm appreciating the outlook I have on each day as I see some missionaries having a rough day. Each day really is a gift and an opportunity we have to serve the people around us. In Elder Ballard's talk from general conference he talked about serving others. He said that we should pray everyday for the chance to help someone. It is really powerful to recognize the spirit guiding my efforts as I pray to find people who are ready to follow Jesus.

The other night, Elder Jacobson and I were riding around (still always on bike) and we see a lot of people and a lot of the times we pass them. We passed a bus stop and I could kind of see from the back that there was a person in there. I really felt like we should go talk to him so I made Elder Jacobson turn around and we went back. The person was actually a man named Jeff who I had already talked to and we had called last week to see how he was doing. He told us that he decided that God wasn't real because of all of the trials that he went through in the past ten years. He thought that God turned his back on Jeff. It was sad to see him at that point in his life but I knew that the spirit prompted me to go and talk to him. I was able to tell Jeff that God really was there and that He was putting us in his path to bring him closer. Ultimately he still didn't want to hear about the message but it was still powerful for me. Sometimes it is really hard to feel the spirit but I know that as we live worthily and pray for that guidance we can experience it. Of course, after you are baptized you have that gift of being able to have the presence of the Holy Ghost always. He has really brought me peace when I'm stressed or sad. I just know that everything is going to turn out alright.

I hope everyone at home is doing well! Did Noah get my card?

Love you! I have to go...

Silas