Getting Old...

This week sure has flown by. It seems like it just gets faster and faster. Sometimes I don't even remember what we did that day when we get back home, because we were so busy. So I have to ask Elder Damon. It makes me feel like an old man lol. But I am grateful that we are able to stay busy. It is not the most enjoyable when have no appointments that day so we spend the whole day looking for people. Even on those days the Lord still blesses us with miracles and we end up teaching people.
Something special that happened this week was zone conference. We had half of our mission there. It was a wonderful experience. I was able to see my trainer Elder Toki and that was so awesome. You never truly understand why the lord put you with that companion until after you are no longer together. There were definitely times when Elder Toki and I butt heads because we were both being a little stubborn. But now I love him so much. I understand why he was my trainer and I am so thankful. We were able to sit next to each other in zone conference and catch up. It was so nice. Even though it was nice seeing Elder Toki and other missionaries I haven't seen in forever, that was not the best part of zone conference. The theme for this zone conference was "The Worth of Souls". Something our mission president, President Jardine said was something to the effect of "One of the greatest lies the devil tells us is that after we have sinned or gone down the wrong path in life that our soul in not as precious in the eyes of God anymore. That is absolutely not true. There is nothing we could ever do that can degrade the worth of our soul to God." The worst sinner and the most perfect person, are looked at the same to Him. Obviously they are on different paths and God is more happy with the decisions the righteous one is making, but he loves them both unconditionally. We are all his children and he will always love us. I learned so much from this zone conference that helped me greater understand my purpose as a missionary and why I am sharing that amazing message with others.

So this week we have been still been meeting with Deborah Davis over Skype because she has been in San Francisco. She gets back on tomorrow. She has been making great progress even though we haven't been able to meet with her in person the last week and a half. She is almost done with her smoking addiction and she said that as she has been reading the Book of Mormon it has just been taking away her desire. When we started working with her about a month ago, she was smoking almost a pack a day and now she is almost done. It has been so amazing to witness the change that has happened in her life as she has relied on the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He truly changes lives. I know it sounds so cliche because you hear people all the time who say the "found Jesus" but nothing has changed about them. To truly follow Jesus Christ and show our love for him we must keep his commandments and change our lives. To follow him is not just a passive statement, but a promise to always remember him and live you live like he lived. "If ye love me, Keep my commandments" - John 14:15. Deborah has shown her love for her savior Jesus Christ, as she has followed him, kept his commandments, and changed her life. She is still scheduled for baptism on the 24th. We are so excited for her. She has gone through a lot in her life to lead her up to this point. Heavenly Father has never forgotten her. Through her life experiences he has lead her to exactly where she needs to be.
Another person we have been teaching is Evelyn. She is another person who has gone through a lot in her life, similar to Deborah. As I talked about in previous emails Evelyn is the sister of one of the members of our ward. She said she has always wanted to feel like her brother and his family talk about when they get home from church. We have been meeting with her for a few weeks now and as she has been reading the scriptures with us and learning about the gospel, you can totally see a change in her countenance. She is always happy and smiling now. She is excited to have us over so she can learn more. When we first started meeting with her she always seemed weighed down. It is almost as if she has found relief from her burdens. We have invited her to be baptized on October 8th. It is something she really wants to do so she can follow her Savior Jesus Christ. She just doesn't know if she will be ready by then, so she is praying about it to see if it is the right date for her. I will let you know how things go with her next email.

Well that has pretty much been the highlights of our week. Like I said earlier we are so busy everyday I could write 50 pages every week. But since I don't have time for that I just do the highlights. There are so many more spiritual or special experiences we have as we visit people throughout the day, I truly wish I could share them all. I love it out here. I love the people, I love my companion, I love serving the Lord, I love the weather right now as well. It is going to be in the 70's all week. What a blessing! This gospel is true, Jesus Christ changes lives. I have personally witnessed this change in many people, Including myself. If we will enter on that "straight and narrow way" he has talked about in the scriptures we will receive more joy than we can ever imagine. "Follow him and find new life"