Week 11

Hey y'all!! As I finished up August and went into the first week of September, I realized I've been out here for 3 months already!! I can't believe how fast it's gone by...it doesn't seem that long ago that I entered the MTC and got to Texas. Hopefully the rest of my mission will not pass me by too quickly. I do not think it will, however.

This last week was much better than the week previous. Monday night we were finally able to see the Lewis' and I'm glad to report they are still doing amazing! We had to move the baptism to September 6th instead of the 5th because of scheduling issues but everything worked out fine.

Tuesday was pretty good as well. We had a really good district meeting that morning and then we were pretty busy that afternoon. We finished Geocoding the wards and were able to do some tracting before dinner. We didn't find anyone, but we've been praying that we will, so hopefully we can talk to people and find those that are truly ready to hear the gospel. That night we had another great appointment with Mendi and we talked a bit about baptism. She's still fairly unsure about it, but hopefully we'll be able to set a date with her tonight.

Wednesday we didn't have anything planned until that evening so we did a lot of tracting during the day. We found a couple people that could become investigators, so we will try to see them this week and see if they're interested. That evening, we went on exchanges with the Little Elm Elders Quorum again. I went with Brother Leyer to see the Lewis' and President Grumbles and Elder Hatfield went to see Delia & her family. Sadly, Jose (her husband) wasn't there and they were pretty busy, so they didn't end up teaching anything. We taught the Lewis' the rest of the commandments, though, and Kelly was still really excited for the baptism.

Thursday was our lovely planning meeting...which I still don't like. But the rest of the day was alright. We had dinner with the Greens (TC2). Sister Green is the Relief Society president in that ward and is pretty excited to get the Ward Mission Plan going. That night we didn't really have anything to do so we did some drop-bys and saw a few less active families. It was a pretty good night.

Friday I went on exchanges with Elder Holt. His companion (greenie) went with Elder Hatfield to our area and I went with Elder Holt to his area. It was a way good day and we had a lot of fun. We had things to keep us busy and we were able to teach some investigators and see some less active families.

Saturday was a lot of fun. We had Kelly's baptisimal interview that morning (which went well, of course =]) and then we spent some time just going over things making sure he was prepared for his baptism the next day. That afternoon we did some service for a potential investigator and tried to see a few less active families, but no one was home. That night we went and had dinner with the Lewis' (they're pretty much awesome) at a place called Roma's. It was reaaaallly good. There were TVs in the restaurant and I know we're not supposed to watch TV on the mission...but BYU was on playing Oklahoma. Then Kelly invited us to come back over to his house to watch the game...and I definitely wasn't one to say no. It was a great game too. If y'all didn't watch it...then you missed a good game. Go Cougars!

Sunday was a great day. We had a good time at church, lots of people bore their testimonies, and it was really spiritual. That evening was even better. First off, Jordan Smith, my "Father", came back to perform the baptism, and it was great to see him again and to meet his parents, who are wonderful people. I still miss him, but I'm glad I was able to see him again and know I'll see him again. The baptism itself was great and was a beautiful service. I'm so happy for Kelly and his family and can't wait until they have the opportunity to be sealed in the temple. It's so amazing to see the gospel bless their lives each day. I know they will continue to partake of its blessings every day and it is such a testimony builder to me to see their lives blessed by the power of the Atonement.

Well, that's all from me!! I hope y'all have another great week and hope to hear from you!!

Love,
Elder Grondel