May 5, 2014

Hey Mom!

Sorry it took me a second to write you back. We had to hurry over to the grocery store!

We had a really great week! We went on exchanges on the weekend. I was with Sister Barnett and Sister Seaman was with Sister Summerhays :) I love Sister Summerhays!!! I miss her. And I really love Sister Barnett. We have gone on exchanges 3 times now :) She really is a lot of fun. Some of my favorite things about mission life include getting to know other sister missionaries. They really are such special women :)

Sister Seaman and I pretty much had the best day of our lives yesterday. An investigator family that we have been loving and helping came to Church for the first time! The whole family! All 5 of them! The father is a little nervous about being baptized and the teenage daughter has complications with her mom (the family consists of second wife and half siblings) that is keeping them from being on date, for now. But their fellowshippers are outstanding! I am really, really excited about them. I know they will be baptized soon, they just need to know for themselves! They know the Church is true, though! They are basically already Mormon! The mom was teaching and testifying in one of our lessons last week. She always says she is ready to be baptized as well as her sons, just waiting on dad. They even went with their fellowshipping family to the Stake youth baptisms on Saturday! It was so sweet, yesterday, after Church, we went to their house for a lesson and we went back over the Plan of Salvation for the dad's benefit. The 10 year old boy said, "So it's all kind of like a car! Our spirits are like the gas and the car is like our body. We put the gas in the car for it to go, but it can only go a certain distance before it runs out. And the gas coming out as smoke is like our spirits going up to the spirit world." Uh.....WHAT?! This boy isn't Mormon?!! We are soooooooo excited about them :)

I want to tell you about my study of Preach My Gospel this week. I was reading in chapter 4: "How Do I Recognize the Spirit?" The first sentence after Joseph Smith's quote really stood out to me. It made me think about how the Work of Salvation (the new name for missionary work) isn't my work, the ward's work, my family's work. I shouldn't do things my way, my companion's way, the ward's way. We need to do the Lord's work, the Lord's way. That's what we have Preach My Gospel for! True, we receive revelation for our specific needs, but it all boils down to the true and everlasting principles of the gospel. The "how" might be a little different, but the "what" and the "why" and the "when" are all the same for every person who wants to help God in Hastening the Work of Salvation. Will you as a family read Elder Ballard's talk "Following Up?"

Next week we will call at about our 3:15 which is your 4:15. I hope that still works :) I love you so much! Thanks for everything, Mom :) See you soon!

-Kady