July 30, 2012

Hello hello! Tis great to be here. Emailing my family for the 103 time... minus a few weeks I was "really" busy (aka... too much to do in London). I really do like emailing the family. It is fun to give a weekly update. Sometimes I don't want to after reading all the family emails... but once I get started... I just can't stop. Jojo! She was not baptised this week... but I think that it was really the right thing. I didn't feel right about it and when I prayed about it... I knew it wasn't the right thing. We had seen her every single day and she was stressed and just wanted to get everything over with instead of enjoying it. Sooo this Saturday at 5:00, Ashford Chapel. 110 Canterbury Road. Anyone want to come? She is ready... passed her interview... it was announced in church! All is good! I can't wait. It will be a busy busy week this week. Which is also good! Tues: Work over with Gillingham. Wed:District Meeting and football in the evening. Thursday: Workover with my Son, Elder Paul in Canterbury! And District Meeting in the morning. Friday:A well earned dinner in the evening (we helped their family gather and stack 300 bales of hay, my arms are still sore). Saturday: Zone Leader Council in the morning, District Leader Council in the afternoon and Jojo's baptism in the evening. Sunday: Tracting! I am really looking forward to putting in everything. President told me to get the runners kick! That is the plan. Sprint to the December finish! I love jojo because she gets it. Yesterday she told us... "look boys (she always calls us the boys)... I've already been baptised... the only reason I'm doing this is because of the Authority. So you don't need to worry about me." She is going to add some serious spice to the sleeping Ashford Ward. I can't wait! She will really help the Ward to blossom and grow. This week was Karma. My whole mission I can count the times I've done service on one hand. This week... we spent. 10+ doing service. I was beat. Plus it was hot here... well hot for the english. About 85 degrees in the sun! I can only imagine AZ. It felt good though. Gardening is fun... but just for all the Gospel Analogies. There will be some major fruits from it though... and I think it will really help the ward. How have I grown spiritually this week? I've been humbled this week. Sincerely humbled. Things that I feel I had learned and had command over... showed signs of re-growth. I think it was the Lord's way of saying... "yeah yeah, you've almost finished your mission and you've done the best you can... but I'm not finished yet young man... this is only the beginning." I'm grateful for it. God is great. Change is difficult. But possible through Christ. Something that really helped me was what President Monson said. "Be of good cheer, the future is as bright as your faith." We need faith to do good. To be clean. I know that faith can move mountains... even the mountains of personal weakness and sin. We can move away from sin... and into the light of Christ! I love you all... have a smashingly great week!