1/25/2012

Dear family.
  Missionary work is a pretty fun subject right.  I too gave a 15 minute talk in church this last week on missionary work, well more like retention. Nicole wrote me a letter through dear elder that said success of a missionary should be married on the amount of active converts not the amount of baptisms. I thought that was very smart. We have a little problem with retention here, but we are working on that! That’s really cool about the snow! 6 inches is alot, and i can’t believe that the go kart is still running... wow. As answers to some of the questions, yes i have come across Hermana Lewis... haha i actually played basketball with her once at a zone conference. It was an activity the president did and Elder Neeves also.  He is district leader right now so i have seen him in a couple meetings. Dad it’s hot! I hope that all the talks went well.  I remember thinking when dad gave talks wow why can’t i do that! To this day i wish!
    But this last week was good. We found alot of people a few of them pulled through to be decent investigators. Hopefully they progress. It’s amazing to me though the way things happen. It seems like we work and work and work till we just want to take a break cause we aren’t having any luck and them God puts someone in our path. It’s like he pushes us till right before we break to strengthen us and then blesses us.... like my biceps! (I have been doing my exercises and I’m going to come home a beast). It’s amazing to me how many people we find that are so prepared the first visit and then we come back a second time and they hide from us and deny it. Neighbors and friends like to talk here but really it gives so much joy to find someone and on the first visit they accept the invitation to be baptized.  You just walk away with a smile on your face. We have been working with a family named the family Servin and i love them like my own family. They are fantastic. I have talked about them in these last couple emails but really she is perfect and her children are awesome. She cries when she prays and she always prays for her husband to accept the church. They are not married and he doesn’t want to listen to us yet. We told her she had to get married and she started crying thinking she wouldn’t be able to. We told her to pray and talk to him and when we came back the next day she said he said he will get married the only thing i have to do is pay for the refrigerator... haha. The only thing the guy said was that she had to do that.. What love? But they are going to get married the 4th and she will be getting baptized. I really love the people here in Pilar they are amazing! Right now we are helping 4 youth in our branch get out on missions in a little. (What mom said is right, if you see any of my chick friends there tell them that i said that they need to get out on missions!)
I love the church.  It is perfect. Recognize the organization that you have there in Eagle. Sometimes the members take advantage or don’t realize how good it really is. I love you all. What part are you in in the Book of Mormon? I’m in Alma and learning alot about the war chapters. Is Braiden winning or losing? How’s the work dad? I love you all, Elder Shaw