Good morning everybody!
So I found that quote that is the subject of this email on the floor of the cultural hall today as we were working out on a nice, small piece of posterboard. It made me happy because that is so true and I am now making it one of my many life mottos. Whenever we are unwilling to change and not happy with where we are at, we are truly looking back, that accomplishes nothing. Whenever we are looking around and feeling embarrassed or discouraged by what we see around us or people who are better, we are worrying and therefore still not accomplishing anything whatsoever. But if we look up and trust in Heavenly Father, then we have the faith to keep going on the path that we are on even if it ends up getting hard or difficult. It all depends on our perspective. Anyway, a little bit of inspiration that hit me this morning as I was working out from some flier that someone had left on the floor. Alright, to answer all of your questions. Yes! I could really use a camera! I was going to buy one today, but if there are still extra at home I will take whatever one you could send to me! My camera is dead, I have tried to fix it and get others to look at it and fix it and none of us can figure it out. I don't know what happened at all, but all the SD cards are fine and work great and aren't full yet, so I am good on that account. But if you would send a camera up, I would really appreciate it! Go ahead and forward me other missonaries' emails, I enjoy reading them and it helps me to see what I can do better as I read their ideas and experiences. Plus I get to really feel the Spirit strong by reading other people's stories! I only don't have any time to respond to the message because the time is so short. I am used to having a lot more time to write everything that I want to, but oh well. 14 pounds of chocolate pudding, huh?!? CRAZY!!! That is one big answer to clean up and work with. So that means Nathan and I both went to our first homecoming with the Richardson family, kind of weird how that all works out. But cool. I still can't believe Jamie is married. And Lucy, And Aubrey is well on her way. Everyone that I ever went to a dance with is now married or engaged, well almost everyone. Haha, I love the Mickey Mouse socks! They are awesome, thanks for getting them for me. I haven't yet found a chance to wear them with moving people in and out of our apartment, but we finally got everything organized again and now I will! My coat is plenty warm enough, it helped me to survive one winter just great, I have the faith it has the ability to help me survive another. Plus the sweaters and the wool socks help a ton too. Of course, I remembered it was 9/11. I can't believe it has already been 9 years though and that it seems like so many people have forgot. It is interesting to look back and see how far our country has come from that point and how that one event has changed the entire way we do our daily interactions in the United States and changed the complete course of our nation, communities, and lives. I am good on slacks, I have plenty of other pairs that will work just fine with no problems. That is the only pair that has any holes or anything, the rest all still look very nice and almost brand new. Thanks to semi-frequent drycleanings. The only thing I am truly struggling with is not having a camera, so if you could send one of the other ones up that would be awesome! That is all really need. Sister Johnson sent you that picture on Saturday night, I have come to really love that family and all the people in it. She was really glad I wasn't transferred because she wanted to send home a picture for the past 6 months or so and keeps forgetting everytime we visit them. Well, the mission is out to change a lot now. Elder C. Scott Grow from the the first quourum of the Seventy visited our mission on Friday and he turned everything upside down and shook it and President Miller is all over it. No more weekly temple attendance, takes too much time away from proselyting (which I can agree with). No more calling in at night, we are old enough to take care of ourselves and to get in on time because it is the rule without having to be accountable to anyone. No more exchanges, too much of a waste of time. No more district meetings every week, but less frequently. A lot more time needs to be spent doing actual missionary work and talking with people and so those were the solutions that were proposed and selected. I have a feeling there might be many more to come as well. Let's see, what else? Oh, we are getting a list of every less active member in every ward to go out and contact. We are asking each bishop for a list and for information to be provided on what their next best step needs to be to progress. Whether that is receiving the priesthood, becoming endowed, getting sealed, renewing a temple recommened, whatever. We are to go out and invite each person on that list to make that change and step in their life. That will keep us busy for the next 4 months at least! Considering we cover 17 wards and about half of each ward is less active so that is at least 1700 people and more like 2500. Lots of visits to be made and invitations to be given out. The whole theory behind it is that many less actives have many non member friends that the active members would never dare to think to spend time with. As well, people watch the bishops and relief society presidents and active members of the ward, and they are never home. They are always too busy serving, who want to join a church with that impression? But the less actives have more than enough time to spend at home and don't even attend church, so people watch them and think that our church isn't too bad. The idea is to get the less actives out and their non member friends will follow suit and then the baptisms and everything else will go up. That is just a lot of people to visit, but we are excited to go out and do it! All of our bishops and stake presidents are really enthusiastic about it as well!
Well anyway, on to a little bit of what happened every day.
Tuesday we were out contacting all day long looking for more people to teach. Not much luck, lots of nice people to talk with but no one sincerely interested. We were able to teach the Nay's on that day at the Mendenhall's house. The whole family is excited for Kamomi to get baptized and I have never seen anyone more excited to receive the priesthood. The whole family is actively attending church and keeping commandments like crazy. They read and pray faithfully everyday, and have started to have FHE. I can't believe the complete turn around that has happened. It has been nothing short of a miracle comparable to Moses parting to the Red Sea or anything else in the scriptures. Once people are willing to take the gospel into thier live sand start to live the principles that are taught in it, the blessings are immediate and astounding.
Wednesday we started to teach Thomas Woodworth, and talk about golden contact and investigator. He was willing to get baptized on that day but we are waiting for his families and friends to be here for the special event so it is going to happen on September 25. When we showed up to the stake center to start teaching him, he came with a Book of Mormon and Preach My Gospel in hand. At first I thought, it was some kid who had pulled our leg wanting to be taught and instead was trying to get ahold of the missionaries to prepare for his mission. But we started talking with him and he has not been baptized yet, but wanted to study out of the book that missionaries had and so obtained a Preach My Gospel. He believes everything that we go over wholeheartedly and has one of the strongest testimonies of anyone I have ever met. He has already prayed about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith and received an amazing answer to both. Heavenly Father does truly answer prayers and the most sincere desires of our hearts, Thomas was the investigator that I have been praying so hard for and it is a miracle! He has a great desire to get married to his girlfriend in the temple too, I love him!
Thursday was another big, long contacting day. We had Elder Hoehn with us. He is being trained by the zone leaders but they had to go to a leadership meeting so he came with us and we got work done. I love Elder Gosch, but he isn't totally socially there and is easily distracted. Elder Hoehn was a firecracker and we worked so hard and met so many people and made so many contacts.
Friday was the day we listened to Elder Grow all day. It was a good meeting and I learned a ton and felt the Spirit more. I already told you what all he is changing and the things that happened. It was good.
Saturday was another conacting day. I think the members in my area know me well enough now to understand my facial expressions. They could tell before I started talking that the work has been slow and that we are struggling to find more people to teach. All of them got recommitted towards spreading the gospel with their friends and families and we got quite a few referrals as a result. A lot of the members now too are asking their neighbors and friends to meet with us instead of us having to cold contact. They see the difference it truly makes if the invite comes from them and not us.
Sunday was very awesome! Church all day is always a highlight for me (something my companions always think I am crazy for and weird). A truly exceptional miracle happened yesterday. I was fasting all day for the son of that bishop's family that sent you my picture. They have one son on a mission in Argentina, and his twin is still here and has gone less active and kind of dark. I fasted for him all day to have a renewal of his testimony and for the desire to be born within him to go on a mission. We went to a stake fireside that night for the youth put on by a motivational speaker where she talked about a lot of great things. But guess who we sat with? Josh Johnson was there, he had only come to drop off his little brother and then we going to go hang out with friends or something, but he felt like he should stay, so he did. He followed my lead and sung all the hymns with us and listened attentively all night long and guess what she covered? The blessing and the returns that come from taking the time to serve a mission. Heavenly Father answered my fast that day and there was a spark of something in Josh that wasn't there before that night! It was an amazing and inspiring miracle to me!
Well, I am out of time so I need to go. But Tony Knudson now has a testimony as well, means he can soon recieve the Mechezedik priesthood and then get sealed to his wife. They are so excited!!!
Love and prayers,
Elder Hughes
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