Hey folks!
This week has been awesome! We have been able to find a whole lot more new
investigators and more and more have started to progress. One of them continues
to progress well towards his baptism on the 15th of July. We have a few
communication difficulties but we are getting by and everything we have taught
so far I think has sunk in at this point. He is becoming more and more
repentant and I can see his faith developing. On the other hand, I think that
we can do a bit more still to help his intent grow and even shift to something
better. We've found another new investigator who is a German man. His name is
Sascha and he said that he is looking for happiness in his life--something we
talked a lot about originally on the street. He told us it would bring him
great hope to know that there would be a way back from addictions and other
problems in his life, and so we have been teaching him with that focus. We were
on a split when he was taught The Gospel of Jesus Christ by my companion, so I
wasn't there, but he apparently had a change in countenance between the first
and second appointment. We have also met a really cool man from England named
Tenzor (Probably spelled wrong) who has defined himself as a truth seeker, and
while having opinions of his own, is extremely open to finds out it those
opinions he has are true and if the message we share is from God. All in all,
there are people coming in rapidly and we're excited to work with them and see
some good progress.
In other news, we got to plan a lot this week for zone activities. We had
zone conference this past Monday, and the topic was goal-setting and using time
wisely. It was an awesome learning opportunity for me and I have been trying to
apply a lot of principles since that point. And before you tune out and say
"oh, he's just talking about some weird missionary thing that doesn't apply
to me", JUST WAIT: Did you know that you can triple your income by living
strictly according to the principles taught in chapter 8 of Preach My Gospel,
"Using Time Wisely"? That is a promise from a general authority, apparently.
So, I would recommend for you all to take a look in that and try to apply those
principles into your lives. But anywho, the zone conference was great. We
learned a whole lot and I am more inspired to use my time more wisely and become
a more organized person, both to help my in my mission and my life afterward
someday.
We also got to go on a split with two sets of Elders--both the Heidelberg
and Rhein-Pfalz companionships. There are some very good Elders in the zone and
they are working hard to bring the work forward. I tried to focus the exchanges
on chapter 8, and I believe (or hope) that we were both able to learn from
it.
This week I was studying about how we can all, collectively, have better
lives and avoid sin and transgression. I studied a little bit in True to the
Faith and I came up with an acronym for a sin-resistant life:
C.A.P.S.I.L.:
Center your life on the Savior - Stay true to covenants to always
remember Him. Can you picture your life being classified as one of a disciple
of Christ?
Avoid tempting places and situations - Just as a dieting person
wouldn't hang out at the Hostess factory, we want to be sure to put ourselves in
situations where, if possible, we won't be exposed to things that would make it
both easy and available to commit sin.
Pray morning and night daily, as well as in between - Seems small,
but over time will either make or break us spiritually. Grants us energy and
strength to avoid the evil of the world. You will be filled with Gods love and
light and be guided by Him.
Study the Scriptures daily - See above.
Influence others for good - The more we serve other people, the
greater resistance we have to do bad or cause other people harm.
Live a life full of goodness - Don't be idle, but rather fill each
day with meaningful hours and activities. If you're too busy with good you
shouldn't even have time to consider doing bad!
I can assure you that living according to these principles will ensure that
we are living lives in accordance to the will of God. It is perhaps easier said
than done, but if we do this, we will not be vulnerable to Satan's efforts, and
we will never go inactive, and we will never lose our faith. Finally, we will
find joy. If you find yourself struggling to improve or progress, I would
recommend considering each of these points. Chances are, at least one thing is
amiss.
Thanks for the support and love, my friends! Have a great week and make
sure Idaho/anywhere else stays cool! I'm burning over here! I would be dead if
I was serving in South America (just kidding!).
Love,
Elder Wallentine
Here I had my last interview with President Stoddard! He has been a great
Mission President and has done a lot for all the missionaries here, including
myself! We will all miss him and I also anticipate the coming of the next one
in late June!
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