But all is well

Haha, I have made great progress concerning my classes. However, I won´t give you a list until next week due to time constraints and other real world complications. But all is well.

So by the way, we got hurricane rain over here. The winds didn´t hit us at all and it didn´t rain that hard, but it did rain a lot and you could tell that those were not normal storm clouds. I´m pretty sure the fact that we´re comfortably nestled in a valley in the shadow of a volcano helped with that.

Have I todl you about Alma and her family? We found Alma about a month ago searching for someone who gave us a fake address, but it turns out that Alma lived in that house and she told us that she was a member. As we started to visit her we found that her daughter Alejandra used to love church and that her husband Francisco had a great interest in coming closer to God. Alejandra was baptized this week, but will have to wait until next week to be confirmed.

We filled up the font by bucket again, but this time it was even more complicated because first we had to EMPTY the font by bucket and then we had to clean it and fill it up again. Lots and lots and lots of buckets, and now my back is sore. We managed to do all of that in an hour and a half and had everything ready for the baptism on time, it was a fantastic and spiritual experience.

José María blessed the sacrament this week wearing a tie I gave him, and Irving passed the sacrament too. Next week Augustin will bless, and I´m super excited to see it. Things are coming along here, although its obvious that we don´t live in a magical fairy land full of cotton candy and where you can eat your soup right out of the ash trays if you wanna. It takes work, and we´re going to work even harder this week. So far Elder Vergara has been able to keep up. Time to pick up the pace.

We found a lot of new investigators this week as well. Some had seen us pass by and had alwayswondered what we do, and others had listened to the missionaries years ago but had never been baptized and asked us why there are so many churches. The trick is to find the time to teach them, help the converts pass into the hands of the local members, organize the long-promised house of prayer, and lots of other stuff. Totally right up my alley.

Gotta run, say hi to Chris for me.

Love you!

We won by a landslide.

Hello again!

So Kenia and Leslie were confirmed on Sunday, which was great. There will be more to come as well. We´ve been having a lot of success finding people and helping people that are hungry for the truth and that love Christ. Some have had greater trials than others, but they´re all fighting and we are doing all we can think of to help our friends.

We have the keys to the house of prayer, so now we´re just waiting to start having services a week or two after general conference down here. I´m really excited to see and help be a part of this new branch that is being organized. We´re really a part of church history here and these people really are and will be pioneers. It´s electrifying.

So tomorrow there are interviews with the President and house revisions. That means everything needs to be spotless, and that means taking apart and cleaning fans along with everything else. For that same reason last Monday the Zone Leaders decided that there was going to be a competition among the missionaries to see who worked the hardest, and the whole zone was going to go clean the house of the companionship that one and pay for their pizza. The plan was also to spend the afternoon in that companionship´s area and contact for them.

We won by a landslide.

So I´m excited to keep pushing and working harder. We´ll probably be changing houses tomorrow (that´s the second time I´ve found and rented a house in Mexico), so the timing is perfect. We´ll leave our current house squeaky clean and everything will be packed and set to go today. We´re also planning an activity to celebrate the inaguration of the house of prayer, which will help the members to get to know each other, be familiarized with the location, and so that we all are inspired to work hard to help build up God´s kingdom here and invite friends to be a part of the change.

Elder Vergara is doing great and working hard. He´s very willing to learn and the extra study time with the PMG videos is also a great learning tool for him. He was able to get along okay when we had to do divisions on Saturday to make it to all of our lessons and visit the references we had received.

I would enthusiastically accept the bowling ball. I remember bowling with Joe and our group of friends and those are some of my good memories, although I may not be the best bowler. He will not be forgotten, and I´ll probably keep up the sport.

I´m way excited for General Conference and want to invite lots of people to listen to living prophets this weekend (and Holley´s birthday too!). It´s probably not a good idea to do so through my facebook (because it would look bad), but you guys should invite everybody I know to check out the conference videos. It´s a huge opportunity to share what we love and what they´re looking for.

So what are the Christmas plans?

Love,
Elder Lund

Where to start today?

Well we´re teaching Gabriel, a security guard at a store called Bodega Aurrera who said he admired us and what we do , and he´s progressing rapidly. He´s reading the Book of Mormon, went to church, is searching for a job that lets him keep the sabbath day holy, and has accepted a baptismal date for the 13th of August. Fantastic! He´s a great guy. He´s living here alone because he was deported after living for 15 years or so in the states.

We also got to eat in a place called Karne Garibaldi, which is delicious "carne en su jugo" and has the guiness world record for fastest restaurant in the world. It´s actually just a couple blocks from the house, and we ate there with some members because our lunch appointment fell through. It was quite the experience. Tasty food, and fast. I mean REALLY fast.

We had interviews with the President and we also worked with him this week. He came with us to our area and participated as if he was any other missionary or junior companion. I actually rather enjoyed it, even though that was a particularly rough day where the appointments fell through and the people in the streets and whose doors we knocked wanted nothing to do with us. But we were still positive, and the next day is when we had out fantastic appointment with Gabriel.

The President´s son Mahonri, who recently returned home from his mission, also introduced us to a friend of his (supposedly not his girlfriend) and we taught her a few things and gave her a Book of Mormon. She lives kinda far away though so anything that comes out of it will be passed to the Elders who work where she lives.

We´re in the middle of planning a huge Plan of Salvation activity like the one they did back home in the stake. We´ll see how we can adapt it to the leadership and the membership here in Providencia. Just one week left until transfers, so I know I probably won´t see the fruits of these efforts, but that´s not what´s important. We´re also trying to get some materials put together to try a different way of street marketing. THere are a LOT of people in the streets in our area all the time, so it´s a great way to get the message out . More flyers and posters and things like that can help make things interesting. I´ve done similar things before.

And now we come to the big thing. I love you all very much and have come to appreciate you even more over the course of the mission. I´m excited to continue progressing in life and find new ways to serve the Lord with my time once I get home. I´ll love seeing how much David has grown, how much of an adult Holley is becoming, and what sort of schennanigans Ashley has been up to. However, I´ve been thinking very seriously about extending the mission a transfer. I know there is a lot of good I could do here in an extra six weeks.

As Holley explained it so clearly when I was set apart, this isn´t just MY mission. It´s the FAMILY´s mission, and the family should help make the decision. Thank you for your prayers, fasting, words of support, and missionary efforts up until this point. You´ve been a big part of my success and my mission.

I love you all very much and await your reply. Take care.

Love,
Elder Lund

It´s infectious

Haven´t worked with President yet, but perhaps it´ll happen tomorrow. We´re having interviews in 24 hours anyways.

So it´s been a rough week, but I´m still positive. Every single investigator we had (except Nadia) fell through this week. Some told us they wouldn`t like us to come back, others canceled the appointments and told us that they´d called us, etc., so by Wednesday there was nothing...and the people we meet in the streets and whose doors we knocked were not the most friendly either. Yikes. Some of these people had baptismal dates for this week or next week, and many had been coming to church. The only recent convert who came on Sunday was Iran.

So there was a little frustration precisely Wednesday, but we prayed and read some scriptures and found some motivational phrases and we´re good now. We´ve got a pretty positive outlook on things and everything will turn out okay. The trick is to always find solutions and not worry about problems. I´ve had worse experiences.

On a much brighter side, Iran´s family is doing fantastic, and there´s two other families who have started coming back. We´re seeing actual changes in their lives, attitudes, and family harmony. It´s amazing to see it happen. I´ll never stop feeling the "thrill of flying", as Elder Uchtdorf calls it.

So Elder Wilde goes home today. Sort of a mix of feelings there. He´s an awesome missionary and he´ll kick trash at home too. In his place arrives Elder Newman from my generation. He´s from Vegas and is pretty cool. It´s strange to know he probably just arrived in his last area.

Don`t worry about Elder Hernandez and I, we´ll be cheerily working hard, trying to find solutions and having a positive spirit about everything. It´s infectious. It´s hard to be frustrated when you think about all that God has given us, and it´s hard to complain about Friday when you know that Sunday will come...that Christ has gone through all of this and much more.

"It´s funny how you find you enjoy your life when you´re happy to be alive" - High of 75 - Relient K

Love,
Elder Lund

they gave me a tie.

Thank you!!!!! My birthday was cool. Also, I´ll see what I can do about a guitar once transfers blow over. I´m sure I´m staying, but there´s always lots to organize within the zone. There´s leadership conference again tomorrow and wednesday.

So on my birthday we had lunch with the bishop, and they attacked me with confetti and made me brownies w/ ice cream. Also, they gave me a tie. Other than that, I worked as if it was a normal day. In the morning Elder Perez made me breakfast. Yay!

Nadia couldn`t be baptized even though she was ready in all other aspects because she and her couple couldn`t resolve whether or not they´re getting married. Now the trick is getting the process taken care of, but it shouldn`t take long because his family is full of lawyers. She´s still excited, from what we can tell.

Mayte, the girl who has been going to various other wards before finally finding out that she belongs here in Providencia and who we´ve been teaching, is planning to be baptized on the 25th. She´s excited, spiritual, and learns quickly. She´s a 24 year old photography major as well.

I got to do three baptismal interviews this week as well (a good sign, besides) and it was and always is a great experience. You have the opportunity to see someone sharing their testimony for perhaps the first time in their life. You have the privilege of being there with someone as they express their desires to follow the Lord. It´s wonderful. Only two were able to be baptized this week, but it was a good experience with all three.

Well, have lots of fun in the keys. Take lots of pictures, and I´ll try to take more too. Elder Novoa goes home in six weeks, and I´ll be home in eighteen. I´m 21 and have lots to do with the time I have left.

But obviously, my service will only just be beginning when I land in the Orlando Airport. This is just the start of things.

Love you!
Elder Lund

Well you know...nerd.

Sometimes ideas come from other activities, which I modify to meet the situation, and sometimes we create them from scratch. The trick is to just think about what needs to be accomplished, and everything else just comes. This Sunday, there were seven or eight members who promised us references, and we´ll be running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to contact them all in addition to the ones we already have. CRAZY. It will take lots of careful planning.

So Angel is sick. He ate come chicken cordon-bleu thingamajig and he´s been throwing up like there´s no tomorrow. He couldn´t make it to church to receive the priesthood and he´s spent the last while in bed. Hopefully everything turns out okay.

Lots of investigators in church this week, five to be specific. One is our neighbor, a member of the "Luz del Mundo" church, which has its headquarters here in GDL and is mildly interesting. She had a great time though and is reading the BoM. Also, Andrea, one of the kids from the big family that used to come to church without their parents, showed up as well. We stopped visiting the family because the adults didn`t do squat and so the kids couldn`t progress, but Andrea hunted down a primary teacher and got a ride to church. Persistent little girl. She also got a hold of my hymnbook and wrote her name in big letters on it a month ago. She´s only 10 years old.

I almost lost my voice this week, and I haven`t a clue why. I find it really strange because I just felt tired and could hardly talk, but I didn`t really have any other symptoms this week. I´m fine now though, which is good, but I don`t know what I had. I hope it isn´t insanely contageous.

Also, the heat has been picking up quite a bit. Two weeks ago it was hotter here than in the desert south of Arizona (Sonora) and supposedly broke some heat records. 41 degrees celsius. Now it´s a little cooler. Heat doesn`t affect us too much though, we´re used to it by now. I don`t know if its hotter here than at home right now.

We ate with a half Japanese half Mexican family this week, and they fed us homemade hamburgers. They had some church books in Japanese, and I thought that was pretty darn cool. Well you know...nerd.

Well we´re off to Tala. There´s some things to take care of and clean up, although this district is doing much better than the other one. We had to deal with an Elder who wanted to go home not too long ago, but he´s doing much better now. Always lots to do. I´ll tell you how goes the food this coming week. Take a picture of the family together and send it to me please! It´s awesome that everyones getting back together.

Love,
Elder Lund

100000000 words per minute

Zone conference was good. There was lots of talk about what happened with Peter between the crucifixion and when the Lord appeared to him on the shores of Galilee, and how he really obtained his testimony...and changed completely. It was good. Also, the practices were lots of fun, spiritual, and productive. President said they were the best practices he had seen. I don`t know if that´s entirely true, but I do know I enjoyed them.

Our ward mission activity was also this week (this thing has been inthe pipes for about a month). We taught the members how to share the gospel and answer simple questions about our faith. We started everyone out together and President Saucedo gave an introduction (pro of having him in our ward), and afterwards we divided the members in groupos. Each church organization was assigned a specific theme with common questions, and the groups went through each room/station and spent about 10 minutes learning about the theme and practicing how to explain it to a nonmember in simple words and with the spirit. The themes were Book of Mormon, the Restoration, Baptism, Temples, Traditions, and the Purpose of Life. The members had a great time, and at the end they grabbed materials to give away and also a card we designed (with a member who is good in graphic design) that had scriptures to answer common questions like "why don`t you use crosses in your church?". The bishop also commited the members to bring a new friend to church next week. We´ll be praying and working for that.

We helped out with two baptismal services that weren´t ours this week as well. One was for another area (I did the baptismal interview and conducted the service) and the other was for a child of record from our ward. It was good though because through the other area we found out that the members of that ward have a few references they want to give us with people who were going to church in Utah and are hanging out with the YSA. Also, the other baptism gave us lots of contact with the Rojas family, and that´s a big family where not all of them are members. They like us a lot and there´s actually a baptismal date planned for the 18th with the wife of one of the Rojas brothers. More details later!

Well I´ve gotta run, as usual. Love you much, and take care. Say hi to everyone I don`t manage to write to even though I´m writinga t atl ike 100000000 words per minute to try to get everything in.

Love,
Elder Lund

I know it for myself.

It´s interesting how much I´ve learned about the importance of doing things from the heart lately. There have been so many experiences with people who don´t do things for the right reasons, and its been something we´ve been fighting against a lot. There´s a member (we´ll call him Carlos for privacy´s sake) who is in the middle of getting divorced. He´s well off and has a successful business, but he´s not happy and he´s not completing with the commandments. We talked to him about things and got to the core of it. He never received a testimony. He is convinced that missionaries are sent from God, he was baptized, and he completed with his responsibilities for a time, but he never prayed and asked God with sincerity of heart if it was all true.

You can´t live that way.

So we explained how he was a "miembro de cascaron", or in other words that he wasn´t doing things from the heart. Something that must be understood, and something we´ve been explaining to all the investigators and members (active and inactive), is that you need to honestly humble yourself before God, trust Him more than you trust yourself, and ask Him if it´s all true. You have to be willing to sacrifice ANYTHING that may be necessary to follow whatever the answer is. It doesn´t just apply to the truth of the church, but to all things. Is tithing really a commandment? Will my family truly be protected if I keep the sabbath day holy? Does living the law of chastity really lead to true and lasting love and happiness? How important is it to share the gospel with others?

People who don`t know need to get down on their knees and plead for revelation that can only come from above. That´s what we told this member. That´s what we told an investigator who was considering dropping everything because he´s not sure if its worth it to live the commandments. That´s what we told the members when we gave talks in church this week. And why is this so important?

"When true doctrine is really understood, attitude and behavior changes" - Boyd K. Packer

There is only one reason why people don`t live up to what they can be...the way God sees them and what their infinite potential really is. And all of this, everything I teach here is true and the only really way to find true happiness and salvation. The message I teach is the most important message people will ever hear.

I know it for myself.

So that was my week. This week is zone conference, and I´ll be leading the practices. I think you have an idea of what I´ll be focusing on.

Love you!
Elder Lund

only six months left

Hey, its been a crazy week. We´ve been running all over the place trying to find new investigators and help out the ones we´ve got. Angel is getting baptized this weekend. He´s super awesome, lessons are always super spiritual, and he´s been reading a lot. He´s also gone to activities with the young single adults and done service as well. That´s the good news.

The bad news has to do with his dad, who he came here to take care of because of his health situation. We gave his dad a blessing on Friday, and his breathing immediately improved. However, he was completely bedridden and they couldn´t move him to the hospital. Saturday at 8:55 he passed away. It was rough for Angel, but his uncle was with him. The bishop also made an appearence to help him out. We saw him last night and he´s doing okay now, and we prayed together and left him some things to read that can help him out and keep his mind on better things.

Andrea and all the little kids came to church with one of the primary teachers who picked them up, but Betsy and Patty (the mom) were no-shows again. It´s frustrating because Andrea and Adriana are constantly asking us when they can get baptized and yesterday asked for us to show them the baptismal font. It´s fantastic that they have such love and desires to do the right thing, but we´re stuck between a rock and a hard place because there´s not much adult support.

We also accompanied Juan Carlos to church, a 23 year old who is separated from his daughter and is friends with Guillermo, who is from Guadalajara and is serving in the Mission Cuernavaca. He´s progressing fast as well and wants to set things right with his family and with God.

In total there were 6 people in church as far as our counting is concerned, but with small children and less actives there were about 12. It was a miracle week, as forces outside of our control helped us find these people and help them in the right moments and prepared them to come to chuch and have a great experience.

There´s more to tell, but there isn´t enough time, sadly. I´ve written it all in my journal, because it´s been a crazy week, but those are the basics. President was thinking about taking us out of Providencia, but I´m pretty sure he´s changed his mind now.

That´s awesome that you helped out the sisters....that sort of help is so important and so useful. For us transfers are passed (they tell us) Monday night at like 9pm and we must be on our way to our new areas (directly) by 8am the next morning. Bus or taxi, depending on what´s going on, and zone leaders have to make sure no missionaries are stranded without companions for any given time, unless they´re traveling from city to city by bus.

yikes, there´s only six months left, and waaay too much to do.

Love you!
Elder Lund

Bus rides!

Hey! Today we´re going to Tala for district class. Bus rides!

There´s a family we´re teaching with lady named Patty whose kids are named Betsy (28), Enedina (23ish), Patty (11), Andrea (10), and Salvador (4). Betsy has two kids named Thomas (7) and Adriana (9), and Enedina has two kids named Irving (5) and Regina (2). They all live in the same house and there are no husbands. They have had lots of problems and trials, and are trying to straighten things out. The kids have all really noticed that when they read and pray and go to church and anything like that things get better. Also, Andrea is basically the boss of the group and takes care of all the little kids while the adults wander off in the store they run and things like that. She gets everyone up on Sunday morning and gets them ready for church, and she´s only 10! She´s totally willing to get baptized...we just have to make sure she´ll have the support of her family.

There´s also a 23 year old from LA named Angel who came to church with his uncle too. He seems pretty excited, so we´ll go visit him tomorrow and let you know what happens.

In general this week has been a lot of searching and praying hard, because we don`t have very many people to teach. We´ve been contacting and setting up appointments and getting references, but very few people (actually, almost nobody) has been there for the appointments when we come by. We´re working hard with faith though, and I know God will bless us with success. We just have to be patient and diligent.

We´ve been reading the missionary reference library this week, and I´ve learned a lot more about the pioneers. I´ve been thinking about the family history and whatnot a lot more too. It´s really cool, and it makes me feel closer to them and closer to the work.

Gotta go, Love you!

...I plan on dusting off my hammock!

Well now we know everyones transfers except mine. There´s a new way of doing things, and I won`t be told where I`m going until Zone Leader Council tomorrow, where all the ZLs will be told their transfers at the same time. All I know is that I`m packing my bags. Crazy, no?

This week there were no baptisms, although we came close. There´s a kid named Ruben who is the boyfriend of a member and has been coming to church for the last year more or less (including seminary), but he`s never gotten baptized. We´ve been talking to him, helping him out with some things he needs to change, and answering his questions. He liked the idea of getting baptized this Saturday, but while we were confirming everything another member (who is rather troublesome) showed up and started mocking him, telling him that he doesn`t recommend it, and things like that, including that he´s glad he never went on a mission. Yeah, that was super lame, and that guy has caused other problems before (and continues causing problems). There is a baptismal date for this Saturday though.

Her name is Maria José, and she´s the daughter of Margarita, who is also our investigator. We´re teaching the family together, but Margarita doesn´t feel ready to be baptized yet although she wants to do it (because she`s an angry person), but Maria José is sure. She´s also excited about what she´s learned about chastity and the importance of having a temple, eternal marriage. For a 13 year old, she´s looking very far ahead. This family now has a number of friends in the ward and they´ve already changed a lot. It really amazes me how the gospel changes people. I`m sure the whole family will take the incredibly important step of baptism, the sad part is just that I won`t be here to see it. There´s also another investigator, Dahiam, who is super excited and will be baptized soon (she´s the granddaughter of another member and she´s 19 years old). At least I know I`m leaving the area and the zone in good hands.

We had a meeting yesterday to review how to fill out baptismal records (because apparently there´s been a problem with that) which was really long and detailed, but I learned a thing or two from it. We also cleaned up all the existing record problems in the zone yesterday. All set for the next transfer. There´s so much I`ve learned here, and so much that I`ve done and tried to do. Although it has been by far the hardest part of my mission, I`m very glad that I got to be here in this area and this zone. It´s amazing how God works that way, no?...and how often he forces us to mature and grow. There´s not much else to say for now, and I´ve gotta run...

...but I plan on dusting off my hammock!

Love,
Elder Lund

But have no fear! Elder Lund is here.

Writing a day late (with permission from the President) because we didn`t have time yesterday. We had to shoot down to the offices, the class went long for some things we had to resolve, and we had appointments at night. But have no fear! Elder Lund is here.

So Carlos was baptized on Monday. It was a fantastic baptismal service with lots of people and the spirit was felt very strongly. His wife was also there and she seemed very proud of him. He was confirmed on Sunday. All has been okay on his end. I´ll get pictures to you soon.

Transfers are next week. They still haven`t been finished, or so I`ve been told, but I`ll put my money on going to Puerto Vallarta. I`m usually bad at guessing things like this, but who knows. It`d be nice to get the hammock out again. Here in the area we´re working with the ward mission leader, trying to plan a mini MTC for the ward with mission calls and everything. There´s also a movie night activity for the stake planned for this weekend.

Oh, and EFY is coming to Guadalajara for the first time. Crazy, no? We´re trying to get some investigators signed up for that. We´ll see how that goes...it should be awesome for them. There´s also some sort of single adult EFY. That would be cool to do coming home. Also, oh snap. I don´t like talking about home to people anymore because it´s not that far away! Yikes!

I´m super sore from working out too...Elder Flores is a beast. We´ll see if I can keep it up and inflate these little plastic arms a bit.

So I`m thinking about mathematics with respect to career choices. I don`t know too much about the requirements in the field of computers, but I´ve always had lots of ideas about programs and ideas about how to make the most out of the internet, since its an obscenely powerful tool with a lot of potential that the majority of us don`t make the most of. I think the church is doing a lot of good things with technology and the internet, but I`ve thought of a lot more ideas lately.

No time to write much more since we have an appointment and I still need to register one of our investigators for EFY, but take care and know that I love you. I`m super excited for all the changes that are happening and will be happening soon.

Love,
Elder Lund

P.S. Hopefully those who I can`t really write or who I have no contact with are in possession of my address, so that they can send me stuff (err...I mean....stay in contact with me?). I got the package yesterday (THANK YOUUu!!!!!!!) and will fill out the paperwork ASAP.

God is the one who changes things.

It`s actually fantastic to know that our family is blessed with a strong history of faith on both sides. I´ve wanted to learn more about my family history for some time now.

Tuesday and wednesday of last week were leadership conference. This time there was less watching J Tyler and more practices. My companion and I were asked beforehand to give a demonstration of how to introduce someone to the Book of Mormon. I had a great time, recognized a good number of things I want to change in the way I work, and we also got to go to the temple. I learned some important things about how to help out the zone and the area (since our job is to turn it around). Honestly, God is the one who changes things and works miracles, but we`re putting a lot of faith into the work and trying really hard to do things right, and we`re seeing progress. There were baptisms this week and within a month I really believe there will be baptisms every week. These are the Lord`s people and He is preparing them. We simply need to have faith and do our part, praying for His help, and He takes care of the rest.

Take Carlos for example. He`s an older man of 68 years who has been smoking and drinking all his life. Yesterday and last week, however, he came to church in a white shirt, well shaven and with his hair combed, and had a great time at church for the second time. He will be baptized today. Britanny was baptized at last on the 5th. I`ll try to send some pictures. It was a beautiful service and it really has helped strengthen that family, which has been through a lot. She`s acting different too...more mature, actually.

Tomorrow is zone conference, and I`m in charge of it. I have to give two themes (prayer and the BoM) as well as run and organize everything. It`s crazy, but also crazy fun. That`s what I`ll be spending all of today doing (and getting ready for the baptism).

In other news, one of our investigators, Yuri, just had her baby and is now on bedrest for 40 days. They´re super excited and happy, even though it`s a lot of work. I can`t believe I have friends approaching that stage. Crazy. Also, there`s a young man who is the only member of his family who we`ve taken under our wing and comes with us to lots of appointments all week. He wasn`t planning on going on a mission and his friends are bad influences, but he`s changing a lot. His name is Toño.

Well I`ve gotta run. Love you lots, and take care!
Elder Lund

It changes EVERYTHING!

I don´t know if its because of your prayers mom, or if its just a special blessing, but yesterday marked the third time in the mission I have been gifted shoes by a ward member. My shoes don´t look bad at all, but they always seem to have the shoes of some relative that are just my size. Now I can do church shoes, work shoes, and a spare pair.


We´ve been working on an experiment in the house as well. My companion got an "ancient Aztec power drink" recipie from a relative, and we´ve spent the last two weeks preparing it. It basically involves roasting and then grinding up into powder a billion types of beans and corn and whatnot and using it like a protein shake. Its supposed to give lots of energy, help build muscle, and also clean you out (WARNING!!!) Elder Wilde tried it...and I know the last part is true. I plan on trying some tomorrow after working out...or maybe tonight. We´ll see.


This Sunday we put a plan in action to try to get thte ward members to help out with missionary work. 7 certain members have helped out a lot, but there are two companionships in the area and a lot of people to visit. We bought them gifts and candy and made a giant thank you card (the gifts included a tigger doll, a soccer ball, yoga mat, boxing gloves, CDs of church music, a bunch of cups, and some place mats) and handed them out after sacrament yesterday. They loved it, and the members that keep promising to help us but cancelling last minute or not showing up all were saying that next time it´ll be THEIR names on the card. I´m more than happy to make more thank you cards...they just need to earn them first! You have no idea just how much of a help it is when members participate in missionary work. It changes EVERYTHING.


Concerning my future, I´m thinking more about things I want to do..not careers, but rather things I would like to accomplish. The trick then is simply knowing how to sustain myself and my family while still being able to do these things (certain books I´d like to write, things I´d like to try creating, etc.). Being a professor is one possibility, but I´m still thinking these things through.


There are a number of investigators close to baptism, but they´re not quite ready yet. Pray for them, and we´ll do what we can to help them. They want to do the right thing, they´re just missing a few pieces. I know the miracles will come though, and for now I will do what I always do: keep the head down and keep working with faith.


Love,
Elder Lund