Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Email from John--Oct 28, 2008

well it looks like Stacy is gonna make the 1st. there’s a lot of little miracles that happened all at once that made this possible but now instead of going to his old church on Saturday nights he’s going to singles activities. He’s thinking about the ward choir. And he’s committed and ready for the waters of baptism. His baptismal interview went well. He’s got a good testimony and he wants to share it! I’m excited to see him get it done. It’s been hitting me more and more that this is probably my last week in xroads... i dunno how I feel about that. I mean, I’m ready for change I guess, I’m just going to miss the people here, there’s some amazing people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and still so much work to do with them. I guess it’s just not my work to do.Like I said before I’m not going to be able to finish the book of Mormon by the time I wanted to but I did get it back into my teaching and I feel good about that much. It’s amazing though how it seems like I’m right where I should be in it. i just finished Jacob 2 this morning which couldn’t have come too soon because there’s things I learned last night about one of our less-actives that Jacob 2 is perfect for but I wouldn’t have realized it until this morning. I’ve seen things like this happen throughout my mission worth of studies thus far. Even if I’m just reading in the book of Mormon the Lord leads me to the things I need to read the exact moment I need them.Sounds like you’re figuring out the miracle of the atonement. I cannot with words describe what your feeling but I’ve felt it too as the loving arms of Jesus our lord lifts you out of the slums of darkness that the natural man is apt to be engulfed by. It’s amazing how it works and all we have to do is ask for it.I hope Jake's ok. He wrote me a letter the other day I plan on responding today. What kind of plant was it Jess got you? I like her too. She’s a really special person.Well I can’t think of much else to share with you for now. but rest assured I feel your prayers as I’m lead and guided each day to where I need to be and when.Love ya, john

Dad's funny like that. He gets excited about things and then sticks to em. That’s probably how he went through all those years of crap without letting it get him down.
Well like I told dad there’s a lot of miracles I’ve been able to see with my reading and with the people here and with Stacey. Stacey is good to go for Nov 1st. he’s asked me to baptize him. AND I think I may have a way to help one of our less actives with something I read this morning in my studies.
And as far as singles wards and Tim and piano lessons go I was thinking I’d like to live in downtown Boise at least until Tim leaves for his mission. That’s the plan right now anyways.
The ward is going to be so different when I get back it’ll feel like getting transferred again haha. Glad you could see the Phillips. They’re awesome folks.
I’m so happy to hear about your missionary experiences. I guess I just like hearing about thinks I’m focused on too. If I were back home I’d love to hear about music movies and theater but since I’m here I get a lot of joy from missionary stuff. That’s really neat that that lady is finally getting to have the opportunity to join the church. It’s been a crazy road and while it may have left her a little battered and bruised the end result of baptism into this church outside of the hostile opposition is well worth the fleeting pain.
I’m also glad to see that maybe you’re recognizing your role right now in people’s paths to Christ. I was noticing that if people humble themselves and focus on the simple things that Christ asks us to do our lives are build to be the absolute best way for us, personally, to get the closest to where Christ wants us to be. for Charles Hayden maybe he had to be raised by a hit man to eventually find himself a faithful member of the church, he had to pay a finger and a leg for it but I’m sure its worth it to him. For me maybe I wouldn’t have been able to convert from something else, I needed to be raised in it, I need this mission. and in an interesting way maybe some women need to go through some crap and marry idiots and get divorced so you can step in, help them up, dust them off, and let them know just how much their loved by someone who matters so that they can also be led to Christ.
Well I wanted to tell ya one more story before I finished this thing. This week we had a wonderful opportunity to check back on one of our referrals we had received. Turns out this family had been prepared to the core. They have a relative who had served a mission. They saw the change in him and heard the miracles he had to share with them. He told them about the family and its import. So they were excited to see us. We taught them the restoration message and they were excited to get to church and to begin reading and praying. They’re VERY Pentecostal but I think they’re ready for a change. They saw their church change its morals and values and they recognized that that wasn’t right. It’s amazing how ready they are for it all. We’re going to try to get out there this weekend. Hopefully we can.
Well I love ya and hope you have a good week john

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