It is very nice to hear what is going
on back in the states. as for me it has just been another week in
paradise. Elder Orr was sick at the beginning of this week so I had to
just sit around the flat waiting for him to get better. Then we went on
our last exchange of the transfer. then we had our last district meeting
of the transfer.
I got to teach my twenty fifth lesson yesterday which
was exciting (not counting lessons taught to members at dinner
appointments and such), also one of our investigators with a baptismal
date has read all the way up the end of Alma, and the other one has said
that he doesn't feel like drinking any more; which is amazing because
missionaries have been trying to get him to give it up so he can get
baptized for two years now. So hopefully in the next three or four weeks
I will be sending home some baptism pictures!!!
Things are going great
out here! I cannot believe I am already on week five of the transfer next
week is going to be my first dodge week! although there is pretty much
no chance that I will be going anywhere so it is not a true dodge week
but still.
I swear that the Weeks are shorter here because it still
feels like I got off the plane yesterday but I have been in the UK for
over six weeks. I am so glad that I came out here.
(please make sure
this next part gets read to the young men in the ward)
I would encourage
everyone of you to serve a mission. If for no other reason, do it so
that you can learn to more fully appreciate the atonement of Jesus
Christ.
When I came out here I thought I understood the atonement pretty
well, but now I realize that I did not have a clue. You cannot claim to
understand the atonement until you have found people who are in
desperate need of his salvation and you show them the way; you teach them
what they need to know; and you invite them read the book of Mormon or
come to church; they say that they might, and you pray and fast with all
the energy of your soul that they will be filled with a desire to do
what you invited them to do. You fast and pray like you have never
fasted or prayed in your life; and then you go to see if they come to
church or read the book of Mormon and they did not do it.
And you
experience the greatest feeling of disappointment you will ever feel in
your life, and say to yourself "Why? I did everything my power to bring
you closer to God and all that you had to do was show up to church or
read the book of Mormon and you did not do it."
And then finally you
partially understand how the Savior feels about you, because you realize
that he loves you more than you love your investigators, and that he has
done all the work so that you can come closer to God, and all you had to
do was accept it, and yet how many times have you not done it for some
foolish reason.
And you finally come to realize that when we choose not
to fully partake of the atonement of Christ, we cause him to feel the
same sorrow that you feel when your investigators do not follow through.
If you were an ordinary man you would give up after feeling that kind
of disappointment, but you are not an ordinary man any more: you are a
representative of Jesus Christ, the savior and redeemer of the world, and
he would not give up and let the atonement go to waste, and neither will
you.
So you go back again, you teach them again, and invite them again.
Sometimes this process goes on for months, until finally it happens! And
they come to church or they read the book of Mormon, and you feel a joy
that you have never felt before, and you finally realize why Jesus went
through the atonement; why He suffered so much because He knew that He would
feel this joy at bringing so many souls back to God and that in the end
it would all be worth it.
I won't lie to you, a mission is hard, but you will
never have another opportunity to learn the things you learn out here.
You will never have another chance that you can say that you went out
everyday and did work of Lord and even if everyone rejects you, you can
still have joy, because you brought one soul to to God, and that was
yours.
But I can promise you that if you have faith, and you work hard
everyday, you will get baptisms and you will have great success. and I
say these things in the name of Jesus Christ Amen
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Happy Birthday Mom!
I am so glad that P day fell on
your birthday this year, so I could send you an Email. I believe I said
this in the Email that you did not get last week, but I did get your
letter with my drivers licence and everything which is good because
President said that he wants me to start driving next transfer
(yikes!!!)
But I guess it makes sense because Elder Orr is probably only
going to be here for one more transfer while he finishes training me,
then he will go some where else and I will probably stay in the forest.
I
liked the pictures of what you did to Trev's room and with everything
else I hear your doing, I probably won't recognize the place when I get
back home (hahaha).
By the way when are Bethany and Abi expecting? I can
not remember, and do you think any of the other girls are about to make
an announcement?
Well Mom, I hope you have a very happy birthday today! I
love very much and I wish I could say that I wish I was back home
enjoying it with you, but to be honest I have too much I need to do over
here still so I don't wish I was back home yet.
Best of Britain
Elder Landon Purser
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