Monday, September 8, 2014

Andy's Baptism was Amazing!  Andy was so excited to get baptized.  Now they are planning on getting him the Aaronic Priesthood so he can baptize his 8 year old son AJ.  Now we are also planning out a temple trip for Jamie and Andy to go do baptisms for the dead in November.  They are such a great family and will be great additions to the Church.  



Elder Sully and I had a great week this week!  He is a great missionary and we work well together.  He speaks 4 different languages French, Creole, Spanish, and English.  French sounds pretty sweet.  He has been out for 18 months now. 

 We had a really good week missionary work wise!  There was a member in our YSA Branch that referred us to teach one of his friends named Erika.  We have been making a lot of progress with her as she has been reading and keeping almost all of her commitments.  We committed her to be baptized on the 21st of this month, but we are not sure if she will be able to make that date because she might be going on vacation with her parents.  So, I will let y'all know when she plans on getting baptized.  When we taught her the Restoration the first time we met her, the spirit was so strong!  It was an amazing lesson and the spirit obviously touched her because she has been doing most everything we ask her to do.  The Restoration is the best lesson ever.  If you want to feel the spirit, talk about Jesus Christ's Earthly Ministry and Atonement, The Great Apostasy, and The Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  

  We have also been working with Ken Jones a lot.  He has now read to D&C 84.  He was reading scriptures out of D&C and correlating them with the bible.  It was sweet.  We continue to make good progress with him.  His friend wasn't able to make it down this week, but will be coming soon.  He didn't make it to church this Sunday because something came up with his wife.  I have never taught anyone like him though.  He just has soaked everything up like a sponge. 
 
  This week I got sick and was out teaching people with the low raspy voice of a cold.  It hit me pretty hard on Saturday, but we just pushed through it and I feel a lot better now.  It's funny though, because on Sunday I was still sick, and I got up to bear my testimony at YSA.  I don't remember anything I said.   My companion told me that it was good, but who knows? haha.  What I do remember is that I tried to correlate wake boarding to always holding on to the Savior and putting our faith in Him.  In a way, when you first get up and you are holding the rope, if you try to pull yourself up you face plant.  You have to hold on and allow the Savior to lift you up.  Anyways, who knows how it went haha. 
 
  We were also able to see Brother Duncon this week.  He continues to read from the Book of Mormon daily and has been taking notes as he reads.  He is making great progress.  His wife got up this Sunday and bore her testimony on the change of her husband's heart and thanked us missionaries for being consistent with him.  He is definitely changing and we can see that in the way he acts in lessons.  He has gotten less and less contentious.  I love the Gospel and the changes it makes in our lives.  It has had a huge impact on me and my life.  

Recently, I have been praying for the Gift of Charity.  It can be hard sometimes to put others before yourself, but I am learning and growing as I seek to follow the example of our Savior Jesus Christ who always turned outward instead of inward.  I have realized that Mom and Dad have that down very well.  They always think of what they can do for us as kids before they ever think of themselves.  For instance, Mom drives y'all around everywhere, cleans the house and does so many things for us as her children... I can't even count.  And, Dad goes to work all day and comes home and teaches us as kids, coaches our football teams, and he is always wearing his old worn out clothes.  I have always respected you Mom and Dad and will never forget your examples.  
Love your son, brother, and friend,
Elder Willden

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