Week 2

Hello Darling Daughter,

Well, we already miss you. That should come as no surprise. Your bed is still unmade and your room is a little messy. I don't think Mom can bring herself to remove the evidence of your being here. Things are good at home. Everyone finished their last week of school. With all the goings-on, Luke was 'promoted' from 8th grade with no fanfare. I don't know if that's a symptom of having 5 kids or just the result of a very busy week. In true Luke fashion, I don't think it bothered him much. There were the usual end-of-school parties and whatnot and now we're looking forward to a week where Elsa leaves for Belize, and Luke and Wes both participate in football and basketball camps respectively. 

Today at church, the stake presidency was reorganized. Greg Hoole was called as the president, with Nathan Adams as the first counselor, and Michael Hinckley as 2nd counselor.  President Hoole will be the one to release you from your missionary service. That's kind of cool. Elder Schmutz of the 70 and Elder Hymas an area 70 interviewed about 30-40 men on Saturday morning. I was one of those interviewed. From that experience, they were inspired to call Greg, who then had a few minutes (he said 10) to select counselors, but because he already 'felt' that he might be called he already had counselors in mind. It truly is a miracle that such a big calling can be extended over such a little time and is a witness of Christ's involvement in the process. My interview was uneventful and I went in not thinking and knowing that this kind of call is not right for me now and that others would step up, but it was a blessing to be a part of the process. 

We had 2 meetings leading up to today's general session where the new presidency was sustained. In the first leadership training lesson, they did some roleplay and talked about the importance of the commitment pattern that missionaries learned and the importance of extending invitations to people to come unto Christ. We spent some time talking about extending invitations that people could comfortably accept, but still require some faith to act. For example, an invitation to be baptized might not be something that someone could accept, but they might be able to accept an invitation to read a chapter in the book of Mormon. As I thought about that principle more, I realized that when we are inspired to reach out to someone, we should always extend an invitation to do something to come unto Christ. If they can't accept our initial invitation, we should strongly consider extending another invitation they might accept. As a missionary, the gold standard of a finding invitation is can we visit with you to teach you the gospel? But maybe you could extend invitations to pray with you, pray for you, pray for peace, help you with service, and introduce you to someone who needs help. There will be so many ways you can help people to feel just some of His love.

The second meeting Heather and Don VanBoerum spoke. As you can imagine it was very powerful. They are a witness that a Christ-centered life can bring joy even in the most difficult circumstances.

Today, Elder Schmutz invited the primary children to do 3 things 1. pay their tithing 2. fast 3. read the Book of Mormon in its entirety before age 10. To the youth, he asked them to do the same thing but also added to pay a fast offering and to read the book of Mormon as many times as possible before their missions. Honestly, it made me feel a little pang of guilt as a dad about our efforts to teach you about paying tithing so that you could gain your own strong testimony of this principle. Your mom and I have always been full tithe payers. There have been times when the choice to pay or not has been a little difficult, but mostly I have just always wanted the blessings more than the money and realized it was among the easiest things I could do to show my Heavenly Father that I'm all in. Our family has received so many blessings from being faithful tithe payers. 

Today we watched "The Best Two Years". It's a 'corny' movie about missionary work, but made me reflect fondly on my time as a missionary. It goes so fast, and will be such a blessing. I'm so excited for you to have the opportunity to share your light with those Floridians.

I thought with each email, I might share my thoughts about one of the chapters of preach my gospel, and when we get the chance to talk, you can give me your thoughts. This time will be a little brief as I got a late start and you and I have already reviewed this chapter together. 1. "What is My Purpose as a Missionary". I know that it is to help people understand that they are children of God, and to give them the opportunity to be blessed by His power be making covenants and choosing to follow His son. It is easy to discount the power of those ordinances, as they are simple, and can become common. But it is in those ordinances that God's power is manifest. His power is what has the power to lift people from despair and fulfill the purpose of this life which is enduring and everlasting joy. There is no other way. You have the priesthood power to carry this message and share it in a way that will lift hearts, change minds, and bless families and generations.

I look forward to talking with you soon and hearing about all you're learning and doing.

I love you!

Dad