Hey guys!
This has been such a good week. Thank you again for all your emails. They really help me so much. Every Monday i feel like i get a new boost from the emails i get from you. It sounds like you you guys had a good week at the lake with Uncle Ron. Thats so good that you were able to spend some time with him. I kepp forgetting that we actually have seadoos now. That is going to be so fun this spring. That is pretty sad that Julie got sick on her birthday. Hopefully she still had a good one. I need to write her and Shawna today and wish them happy Birhdays.
Like i said, we had such a good week. Since we met Ed about two weeks ago, we have met with him almost every day. The first lesson that we had with him, he said that his whole life, he has never been able to feel anything in religion. To him, God was something he could only think of intelectually but could never feel that it was true in his heart. So all of our lessons have been focused around the Book of Mormon and gaining the witness of its truth not just in his mind, but his heart as well. Ever since the first lesson we had with him, he has been progressing at such a rapid pace. In every lesson, there will be moments of silence where Ed will just close his eyes and say that this all feels right. On Wedanesday this week, We had the most powerful lesson that we had had with him up until that point. Long story short, Ed wants to be baptized this coming Friday! Its only been two weeks! We are so excited. I cant wait for you to meet him when we come back out here. He is such a solid guy. In that lesson that we had with him, he again closed his eyes after he decided to be baptized, and we just sat in silence for a couple minutes. When he opened his eyes again, they were tear filled and he said, "I know that this is true. I can finally Feel it." After almost 60 years of searching, Ed has finally found what he was looking for. I love every bit of my mission. There can be nothing more sweet and more rewarding than being an eye witness of the power of God working in someones life.
Then on Saturday night, another really powerful experience happened, only it was a little bit different. Our neighbor, who is an Atheist came over and asked if he could use our laundry. We let him throw his cloths in the wash, and then he left. He came back at around 9:45pm to put his stuff in the dryer and then started to question us. This guy has probably spent the last 5-10 years of his life studying Philosiphy and Physics and all this stuff that is way over my head. He told us that there was no logical need for a God and he used the most complex and fancy language to describe scientifically why there is no God. After about 15 minutes of him giving us this shpeal about how the Book of Mormon and the Bible contain no real evidence, he stopped and let us speak. At this point, Elder Bond and i both felt completely overwhelmed with the Spirit. We sat down, stacked our bibles and our Books of Mormon, and placed them behind us and said, let us tell you what we KNOW. We dont know this from these books, we know this from every bit of our souls. We then Bore testimony of what we KNEW to be true. Then we asked him what he KNOWS. As he began to speak, he started making reference to some other book or person, and we said, No, we just laid our Books aside and told you what we KNOW, we want you to tell us what you KNOW from your heart, not from what you studied. He struggled with this for a minute and there was silence. He realized at that moment that he didnt know what he knew. He then said im not saying that there is no God, i am just saying that i am 99 percent sure there is not God. Than one of us looked at him and said, "Do you even know who you are?" He stayed silent. Then one of us said again, I know exactly who you are." Again, he stayed silent. We could tell by his eyes and knew by the spirit that he started to be afraid. Then one of us said," You know that I know who you are." Elder Bond and i had never felt the spirit of dicernment so strongly than at that moment. Right after that was said, he was completely dumbfounded and he didnt have anything more to say. And right at that moment, the Buzzer for the Dryer went off. He got up, got his cloths out of the dryer, and left our apartment almost without a word. It was a very intersting night.
There were many cool experiences like that this week. I have felt very peaceful about everything and i am just happy. Im sorry that i cant explain things very well in words. That last story propably doesnt make any sence, but at the time it did. I wish i could explain it better.
Anyways, the weather is getting very cold. I pulled out my jackets this week. Is it really still in the 90's at the lake?
I love you guys so much. I dont really know what i need yet as far as Christmas goes. I will think of something. I wont need too much considering i will be home less than 4 months after Christmas. Mom- I love you. Dad- I love you. Thanks for everything:)
Love, Josh
LETTER OCT. 13
Mom and Dad-
That is crazy that someone else is coming in and buying echoe. I really hope they dont turn it into a huge fancy resort. I like it just the way it is. That is good news to hear that the Angels are making it pretty far again. Do you remember that really akward year where that reporter came over to watch the World Series game with us? That is really sad that the webbs are moving to
to san diego. Isnt that going to add another hour or two to get the lake? Are the still going to go very often? I am looking forward to the family trips out there again. This Spring is going to be so great. It is still really wierding me out that i have under 6 months left. This could be my last area, but i have a feeling that i will have one more before i am done. I am hoping that i get to spend Christmas here in Troy with Elder Bond.
Troy is a very interesting place. I am still getting used to it here. I just feel like i am out in the middle of nowhere. The Branch here also does does some wierd things that makes me wonder sometimes. It is so different serving in a branch. It seems like there are alot of the little doctrines and rules that just kind of get brushed aside. Its a little strange, but were working with them. As far as the rest of Troy goes, it is great. Like i said, most of the people here are african american and very friendly. Some of them are a little crazy, but that ok, we get a good laugh sometimes. The other day we were teaching this middle aged black man about prophets, and we were done he said, "Well, the Prophet Martin Luther King Jr. once said....," and then he went on to say some crazy things. So we went back and tried to further explain the exact definition of what a Prophet really is. Then he said, "ok i see, well, In the words of the Prophet Barrak (Obama).....," and after he said that Elder Bond and i had to bite our lips because we almost lost it. The people out here looooooove Barrak, its pretty crazy. Itll be interesting when i get home and i am actually going to have to start caring about what is going on out inthe world, because i dont have a clue about anything that is going on right now.
Our investigators are doing great. Ed, that one guy that i told you about that ran after us, is doing so good. We have met with him almost every day this past week. He is in his 40's and teaches Law over here at the University. He used to be a lawyer but he retired, so he is a very smart person. He is one of the most open minded, and humble people i have taught on my mission. I have never met anyone in the past 18 months as golden as Ed is. The lessons that we have with him are all so powerful and it seems like the spirit works through hime more than it does with us. He loves the Book of Mormon and just cant get enough of it. He has been reading it non stop. He can recognize the spirit in his life and he is just so excited. Alot of things that he has struggled with in the past, he has found answers to in his reading. I am so excited for him! We have some other investigators that are really solid as well, but for now, just pray for Ed, he is the best.
Thank you so much for that package that you sent me:) I really appreciated that. I have been eating the stupid cookies all week. Thank you for your emails as too. I love hearing about everything that is going on back home. I hope everyone is doing well, including the dogs. How is the home ward doing? Has there been any big changes? Any move ins or move outs? I love you guys so much and i miss you too! But we will talk on the phone in just a couple months so i am looking forward to that. I love you!!!
Love, Josh
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