• I want to thank you for coming out to our stake last night and giving that training. I feel that it will really improve the work. The stake is great, and with that it will only improve. It was an amazing day yesterday. We had Elder Perry in the morning. He told us how important it was to get missionary work going in America. He also warned us that if we didn’t with in two decades America would be like Germany. I thought that was pretty intense. He told us the church is going to close 13 missions and open 9 new ones sometime if it hasn’t happened already. He said that a member oriented program is the key to success. He told the bishops and the stake presidents mainly that they NEED 1) enthusiasm and also 2) spirit. That will get the ball rolling like no other. He said that the high councilor was like the catalyses. He causes the reaction that gets things moving. He makes better what’s already good. He said the ward mission leader is like the quarter back. He makes or breaks!! Then he made us stand up and tell him how many lessons we taught. He said, “Elders that’s not good enough.” then he said "did you hear that?" then ha said "we need to NOT waste our missionaries." it was intense. Then he told us about how Brigham young had the idea to make a huge sugar beet crop. The best place for sugar beets was found in England. He told john Taylor to find the best man with sugar beet experience, baptize him and send him over, so he did. He related that story to us, and then he told the bishops that they NEED to be like john Taylor. Find the people who will be the BEST for the job. Whether it is less active people who are ready, or non members, or something of that sort. Yeah it was a wonderful training. Thanks again for the time you spent in our stake. (If you read Elder Perry's comments above please express your opinion of his challenge in your weekly letter.)
• Scripture: Mosiah 13:23.  My definition is quick and to the point.  Don't gossip.
• We baptized a 17 yr old YW and it was a very spiritual baptism. We were talking to our ward mission leader afterwards and he said he always gets worried about the convert. He gets scared about what happens next and if they stay active or not but he said he did not to have to worry about this one at all!!! It was amazing because there was so much ward support and especially from the YW president! The best part about the baptism was at the end of it! all the young women came around her after the closing prayer and started giving her hugs and then they all got a group hug together and were laughing and having fun and it was a powerful moment!!! to just see a new convert have so much love and support showed me what fellowshipping is at its BEST!!! I was really happy to see all the love and attention she got from the ward and I am grateful for all the ward has done and for what heavenly father has done to have her prepared because her baptism couldn't have happened at any better time!!!
• A less-active woman whom we taught a couple of weeks ago have now been back to church three times, and each time more members of her family are coming with her. I saw her yesterday after sacrament meeting, and she gladly told me that her husband has promised to come to church with her next Sunday. It's so exciting to see people who have taken a step off of the path come back.
• I learned this week that my personal study time in the morning should be more specifically directed to our investigators. Before I would spend a little time reading from the Book of Mormon, and then move on to Preach My Gospel, but now I study topics and lesson principles more closely, and save reading time for later. I know that will help me to keep my mind focused on helping others.
• This week we talked about the things that we were going to sacrifice because we weren't sacrificing meaningful things. And we have begun to see the blessings from it already. We had investigators come to a baptism which made us really happy, and we are going to invite all investigators to our next baptism.
• I have started the Book of Mormon challenge.  Honestly, I didn't believe there would be time to do it, but I can see now that there are many opportunities throughout the day to do it.  The Lord has opened my mind up in how to use time more effectively.
• We just had a baptism for a young lady. She was quite solid from the beginning. We had about 70 people show up to her baptism. The area is slowly picking up but we are working with really good leadership and members.
• D&C 6:12- I think this refers to the advice of not casting you pearl before swine.  In other words, not everything you know or can do should be shared.  Everything has a time and place, and our gifts should be used, as we have been instructed, for the benefit of those around us, and not for any other purpose.  These gifts are sacred and God has entrusted us with them.  If we abuse them, they will be taken away. Also, applied to teaching, this goes along with the instruction that we are not to teach everything we know, just the "portion which shall be meted to every man."  Our investigators do not need to know everything, and cannot know everything.  And as they build up their knowledge, they must learn line upon line, just like anyone else. And finally, we are not to trifle with sacred things.  This would apply to our covenants certainly, but also the scriptures, our gifts, and our very calling and conduct.  We must act as Christ would, give proper reverence to the things which deserve reverence.  We our example to our investigators, but also to everyone who sees us, and if we do not hold precious these "sacred things," we will be a negative influence to everyone around us.
• We were not able to catch a lot of our investigators home.  However our baptism went very well.  It was a 13 year old boy and we got a lot of support from the ward.  It was probably the most people I have seen at a baptism ever!  IT WAS GREAT.  we added a new sacrifice of waking up a 6 AM every day so we have time to work .  We are tired but we think we are seeing the blessings.
• We are pursuing new investigators on several fronts, tracting, Bishops and Auxiliaries, Potential investigators from our area book, and this week part member family lists.    We are also making a chart of fellowshipers for each ward so that we know at a glance that is available on what day, so that it doesn't take us forever to find the right fellowshipers.   That has been one of the problems in this area.  Our goal is to have not only a member, but the best member at every lesson we teach to both less active members, and non members.  We are still teaching about 20 lessons a week regardless of how many investigators we have, which is building the strength of our stake.  I hope that through them we will find additional investigators.  We pray with them to think of people they could invite.
• Things are going well with the Book of Mormon study.  I'm creating my own topical guide of the verses with Christ like attributes and keeping track of all the names of Christ.  It's amazing how much content is contained in such a small book.  I've got a page front and back so far of Christ like attributes for 1 Nephi alone.  It's been great to go through the Book of Mormon so quickly.  I haven't read it like I am since just before my mission.  It's a new experience every time I read it.
• We had a very good week, it was a very spiritual week for me to realize so many things for our investigators.  The Lord really has so many things in store for me.  He really is my Eternal Father.  We had a baptism this past week, and we met a family that I met in my old area!  They are ready to get baptized, and we are working hard to be able to bring as many people as we can back to Christ.
• We had 4 baptisms this week and have 2 more new investigators. After our 4 baptisms this week we would have 2 people on date and I was a little afraid that the work might seem to slow down, but I pleaded with the Lord and it hasn't! We are continuing to receive new referrals from the ward members and the work is just constantly flowing now. We are teaching more and more people, more regularly. I love being a missionary! It's such a blessing to feel the concern, worry and love for others and to be able to learn a little more how much Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ truly love us. And putting names on the temple prayer rolls does wonders!!
• Now it actually feels like winter and the snow on the ground justifies it being cold.  Plus, a lot more potential investigators let us into the house when everything outside is frozen. We are planning on having three baptisms this Saturday.  That's really exciting.
• This has been the most incredible week. We had three baptisms this weekend and we are continually getting amazing referrals for people who are ready to be taught.
• We started teaching a young woman in one of our wards. The ward has been working with her family for a long time. On the day she expressed that she would like to be baptized, several people were fasting for them. We taught the first lesson, and she accepted to pray about being baptized Dec. 5. She has an amazing spirit and really wants to learn.
• We had a lesson last night that I just want to tell about. We've been teaching a 14-year-old girl who was adopted from the Ukraine by a very active family here. We've been teaching with translators (two sisters that just returned from their missions in the Ukraine, and who actually speak Russian, not Ukrainian) and we're often not sure how much is actually getting through and making sense. We taught lesson 3 last night, and we were planning on giving her a date to be baptized. We started teaching, and she was a lot more talkative and more willing to ask questions than usual. When I asked her if she wants to be baptized, she said she didn't know. We asked her what concerns she had, but we really couldn't get out of her what she was worried about. (This is all through the translators, of course). We asked her how her scripture reading is going and she said good. When we asked her how she feels when she reads the Book of Mormon, she said in English, "Happy." We tried to explain to her that that was the Holy Ghost, and that feeling can also mean that something is true. We've been trying to get her to pray about being baptized, but have been unsuccessful thus far. It finally dawned on me that she has no concept of what baptism is, not just why it is important or what it means, but the actual concept of being placed under the water and coming back up. It was so much easier to understand what she was struggling with, and why she was so unsure. So, we took a few steps backwards, but they were necessary steps. We were able to really dig and make much more progress, than if we had droned on talking about faith, repentance, baptism, etc. Luckily, it will be very doable to have her come to a baptism in our zone in the next couple weeks, so she can see and feel what happens there. That lesson had a huge impact on me. As we tried to explain the Spirit to her, I really felt like the Spirit was guiding us.
• This transfer is really amazing. We had the wonderful blessing of having 3 baptisms this weekend, and we already have 13 lessons lined up for this week. I am so thankful to be serving in my area. I can see the lord’s hand in all the hours of the day. He is moving this work and we are just following the path he makes. I am so very optimistic about this coming week. I am so happy!
• I am thankful. I am doing the assignment which was given. I am almost done with marking the names of the Savior. I will have to go and underline his attributes and what he says.
• I am working fast to catch up on my book of Mormon reading. I did not start on time but I still plan to finish in the 90 day time frame. I am also studying the lessons from PMG and the recent conference talks.
• Things are great President; i love the area and my companion and the people we are teaching. We have had a lot of people on date recently and now we are baptizing them so things are getting done. Mosiah 13:23 - Don't lie, don't lead people astray, be honest in all your doings with yourself, others, and God.
• This week was great as we had a wonderful baptism of Friday. I have also thought a lot about personal revelation this week. What has stood out to me is the effort that is required to receive personal revelation.  We need to ask, seek and knock.  I think that to knock means to take action.  We need to have 'real intent', or be willing to act on the revelation that we receive and also be worthy to receive revelation by keeping the commandments.  I think that these insights could help many of our investigators.  A scripture that I really like that refer to this is 1 Nephi 10:19. "For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto him by the power of the Holy Ghost..."
• We found a new investigator this week and we will pick up a new one today. We are getting a lot of referrals in correlation. We will be having five baptisms this week end. A family of three. Mosiah 13:23 I means to me to not lie about other or start rumors. Like the hypocrites