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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Week #91 - Why Don't We Just Dance?

Hey Everyone!

Things are going well here in Petaluma. We had an excellent zone conference- the spirit was pretty intense during the testimony meeting and President Bunker's instruction at the end. He read us a letter from a missionary that went home a few months ago that I had a lot of respect for. It mentioned a lot of things that he was worried about that I worry about as well, so it was a very comforting thing to hear.

The past few months I've just been thinking a lot about my growth throughout my mission. It's a pretty hard thing to look back and wonder if I really used this time the way that I should have. Even after being out for 22 months I'm learning new things, better ways to go about the work and things I should have focused on when I was brand new. During the testimony meeting at zone conference I thought about where my desires are now, what my perspective on life is now, where my goals are, things I want to accomplish, etc. I finally started to see how far I've come. It hit me pretty hard that the Savior has changed me. I still do dumb things, I make a lot of mistakes and I'm a whole lot farther from perfect than I'd like to be, but I'm at least a much better person (I think) than I was when I left. It's kind of a depressing thing to know that soon I won't be able to devote nearly as much time to other people and help them feel the joy that comes from the gospel. It's a real thing!

Anyway, two months is a while, so I've still got time. Suffice it to say though, I felt a whole lot more comfortable with everything during conference. As far as things in the area go, we were able to have some really good lessons this week. Two brothers that we're teaching set baptismal dates for May 8th. We had a great lesson with one of our investigators. He's a great guy and loves the the Bible and the Book of Mormon. He wouldn't commit to a solid date yet, but he fully understands that he needs to if he finds this is all true (he pretty much already knows it is though). We really focused on teaching how we feel the spirit and how we recognize it- and I think it made a pretty big impact. He's one who struggles with faith in general, but he said he's really starting to develop a faith in Christ after meeting and studying with us. Alma 32 and Alma 30 were big hits with him.

Stuff's going really well in the area. We'll be teaching a friend of a member on Wednesday who apparently is really excited about the gospel and has been to church a few times already- so we're pretty thrilled. Life is good and the gospel's true!

Much Love,

Elder B

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Week #90 - Happy 21st Birthday Alex!

Hey Everyone!
Thanks for all the birthday wishes and packages and other stuff! The movie list was classic and I read it to a lot of missionaries who also got a kick out of it, the cookies were delicious, the razor does a beautiful job on my face, and I went ahead and got the Droid already to make the Mother's Day phone call easier.
Things are great in Petaluma. I'm really happy to be working here- there's a ton of potential and the ward members are great. I was also really excited to hear that the work in Sonoma had some huge things happen the day after I left the area; an entire less-active part-member family that we'd been working with came to church for the first time in years yesterday after their son and daughter both set baptismal dates for May 1st last Wednesday. Brian (the son) is 15 years old and it sounds like he's taking the lead in his family to get things on the right track. He really recognizes that the gospel is the only thing that will bring things to where they need to be in the family. I'm so excited for them! This is a HUGE step for the family. Plus, our other investigators FINALLY followed through on coming to church for the first time, which is pretty amazing as well.

But...as for things in MY area, life's great here. We taught some good lessons to a few of our investigators. One of them had a baptismal date for April 24th, but the first thing he told us when we met him was that it was too soon. He's very set on working out some personal struggles that he has before he gets baptized.

Aside from that, my new companion's name is Elder M. He's a really good guy and he's also way into music, so that's a major plus. He sings really well so we've had some fun with that already. In response to the Chief's question about me getting taller, I'm currently 6'3'' and still growing, or at least it looks like that's the case from that picture. I didn't even realize how short those two were until I saw it. Hehehe.

Anyway, stuff's good here and this week we have zone conference. I'm pretty excited because I was asked to teach a workshop dealy on goal setting and making use of our weekly/daily goals. It's a subject I had mentioned to other missionaries that I wish I would have learned better sooner, and apparently rumor spread...so now I have to teach it to everyone. This is a pretty common topic that I feel no one ever really takes much from (including myself) when it's taught, so I've come up with some awesome things to tie it into. If everything works out as planned, this will be legendary. I'll let you know how it goes.

Stuff's good, I'm 21, and thanks again for everything! The Gospel's True!
Elder B

Monday, April 12, 2010

Committed to Preaching the Gospel to All Who Will Listen

Week #89 - I'm Still a Guy

Hi Everyone!

Well I can't say I wasn't shocked at the transfer news, but I'm pretty excited! I love training- and I suppose it would have been easy to get too comfortable had I ended my mission here in Sonoma. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the change!

Here's the new address once again:
Elder Alexander William Balagna
1124 Baywood Drive #119
Petaluma, CA 94954

Things went pretty well this week. We had a good lessons with Lauren all about Joseph Smith and then she committed to go on the Stake Temple trip. Unfortunately, she's still very set on June 26th for her baptism, but I guess she'll do it either way- so we can't be too disappointed.

We picked up a new investigator last week named Morgan. We had quite the discussion with him- it started off pretty heated on his part and he was convinced we were false prophets and deceivers- he's also read his fair share of anti. We started talking and ended up sitting down with him for quite a while- and it got better and better. He agreed to start meeting with us and by the end we were laughing and hand-shaking, so I think there's some potential there. The more he comes to realize the logic in this church and begins reading out of the Book of Mormon, I think he's going to be blown away. At the very least, he's a truth seeker, so although he may think we're false prophets and deceivers now, I think his harsh opinions will change soon.

I don't have too much more time to update, but I hope everyone enjoys my birthday week! Happy birthday to me!

The Gospel's True!

Elder B

Monday, April 5, 2010

Week #88 - Mud on the Tires

Happy Easter!
So this wasn't the most eventful week work-wise, but general conference was incredible! It was somewhat sad to realize that this is my last one in the mission. However, I went into it with some questions and concerns I've had about life and the obvious "mission coming to a close" idea, and left with more than sufficient answers. Those people are so inspired! It seems like they're getting more and more direct. Favorite talks included but are not limited to:

President Uchtdorf (both)

President Eyring (both...favorite was the mention of when we complete a task for the Lord, it's not license to rest. We pray, thank Him for the opportunity we had to do it, and ask what we can do next.)

Elder Christofferson

Elder Holland

Elder Oaks

President Monson

Anyway, I was also glad to see that the Mom is still an active member of the Tabernacle Choir. Last conference I didn't see her, but she was definitely back this time. She did an astounding job- the choir was terrific.

Transfers are next week, so we'll find out what's going on this Saturday. It sounds like things will be staying the same in our companionship (hopefully) but we'll see. I think either way I'm locked in Sonoma for the rest of my days, which I'm happy with. This is a nice place to finish out. I'd like to see some more things happen but as of right now it's still good. Hurrah for Israel! We have a lesson lined up tomorrow with someone who's agreed with our ward mission leader to start meeting with us. We're pretty excited to see what happens with there- it sounds pretty promising.

Well...things are good. My birthday's coming up, in case anyone forgot. April 15th. I always enjoy mail and new electric razors. Fun Fact: I turn 21 months old and 21 years old in the same month. I also hit the two year anniversary of my mission call and my endowments.

That's about all I've got. Have a great week and the gospel's true!!

Elder B