Week 55

Mon, Jul 8, 2013 at 9:54 AM

Hey family,

So life's been going well.  Sounds like y'all are staying busy.  Where are y'all going on vacation??  Anyways, I honestly can't believe how fast this past week went by.  It's crazy stuff.  So, let's see...what to say this week.  Hmmm...well...I did receive I think only 1 letter this week, from mom #54 I think.  It was good.  I should probably mention how appreciative I am of you (mom) and Grandma for writing me so consistently. :)  It truly means a lot and I am very grateful.  And as a side note, people are pretty impressed when I tell them my mom writes me a hand written letter every week.  How grateful I am that my mother cherishes the little things.  While writing this, it just made me think about how so many other moms in the world are  so much into the world, and into working, and always being busy, busy, busy doing things for them or doing things for money or doing things for status, except you don't do any of those things, and I am so grateful for that.  I honestly can't imagine the difference there would be in our family--in our relationships, in our conversion, in our testimonies, in everything--if you had chosen to work so we could have fancier cars or more extravagant vacations.  Simply put, y'all are the best, and I love you so much.  And dad, the fact that you made that a priority for your wife to be a mother, a mom, a mommy instead of just a birth-er means the world to me.  How you all did it and how you knew escapes me, but I am eternally, and yes, I mean eternally, grateful for it.

But anyways, 4 of July was interesting, that is to say, completely uneventful...honestly, holidays don't exist on a mission.  All that holidays do is slow the work and make it ridiculously difficult to get exchanges.  The most exciting thing that happened on the 4th of July was when we were biking home that night after trying to visit some people, a full on flash bang grenade blew up in the neighborhood we were biking by.  Okay, maybe it wasn't a flash-bang grenade, but it was ridiculously loud and I saw this orange-ish light flash across my vision, and I wasn't even looking the direction of the explosion.  Intense, to say the least, and definitely illegal.  In North Carolina, if it goes bang or up, in terms of fireworks, they're illegal.  South Carolina is their Wyoming, if you catch my drift ;) 

Sad day that Colorado's on fire.  That's no fun.  I hope we get some rain soon. 

So, things are still going well in terms of the work.  In fact, things are going really well.  We are seeing a ton of growth.  We had 5 investigators in sacrament meeting yesterday.  We learned yesterday that we will be having a baptism on the 20th for a girl who was being taught in California, the daughter of the High Priest Group Leader, who will be receiving a convert baptism here.  Most likely due to some extraneous-to-you details, we will be having to interview her again, which has to happen by this Saturday, so again, things in the mission are always fast paced and crazy, but amazing all at the same time.  Then the following week we will be having another baptism for the wife and 2 kids of this returned less active which will be absolutely amazing.  This work, the work of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is absolutely amazing and unstoppable.  I love it. 

I can't believe though how fast it's all going by.  I can't believe this transfer is over next week.  I think I got here yesterday, and I'm pretty sure I stepped off that airplane no more than 2 weeks ago. 

Did I ever tell you that in December, I get to go to my first sealing ceremony!!!!!  I'm so excited!!!  One of the individuals we baptized in Morehead is getting married to his long time member friend, and because I was part of it, I get to go!!!!!  I love those people soooooo much.  I'll tell you what.  This right here is what missionary work is all about.  Seeing people enter the waters of baptism to begin their journey on the strait and narrow path back to our magnificent Father in Heaven and experiencing the incredible joys of the temple covenants and promises along the way as they seal their families for the eternities.  I.....LOVE....IT......SO......MUCH!!!!!

I'm really coming along in my Spanish though.  Which is good.  Me gusta Espanol. 

We had a good zone conference last week.  Our whole district (which is the best district in the whole world) was beautifully unified by the vibrancy of the color purple.  That's right.  District Unity.  We definitely learned a lot.  I know I did.  You want to know what's weird.  Well, at this zone conference, an Elder who will be departing this next week after serving for 2 years bore his testimony.  He was my first district leader...and what makes that even more bizarre...is that he was about my age when he was my district leader...and now he's leaving...

Well, family.  I love you all so much  and friends too :)  Thanks for all the love, support, prayers, and care you send my way.  Know it is much appreciated.  and also know that I know this Gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the prophet Joseph Smith is true, and it is the one and only way established by our Heavenly Father to return to his presence, perfected by the Atoning blood of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.  It was created long before this world was, and it's the only thing that will ever bring us lasting joy and peace, unite us eternally with our spiritual and earthly families, and make these 80-90 years, if we're lucky, worth anything at all.  I hope we all, everyone, capitalizes on these miracles that we take for granted much too often.

I love you all.

As always, until next time :)

Love,

Elder Patty