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