11/5/09

Hey family and friends,
I have already been here for 36 days. Or something like that. It is really weird here. The days still go by like weeks but the weeks go by like days. We already have to teach the third lesson in English tomorrow.
Last week was actually really boring. We had a good fireside and devotional and we have been learning a lot. Last Thursday we went to the temple and decided to do sealing’s. It was really fun because I had never done that before. That’s about all that we did last Thursday. We also helped with the old zone leaders welcome in a new group of missionaries so we could have practice. Then on Friday we had a stress ful day. We had to teach the second lesson in Mongolian. Also we had to practice buying stuff in Mongolian. It was really scary. I learned from the week before that I needed a better attitude so I applied that this week. I could feel the spirit helping me go through the activities. I was able to say what I needed to say and help my companions successfully get through the lesson. Then on Saturday it was Halloween. I really wanted to be home for the party. I even wore my batman cap and jack the pumpkin king ears. It was good. I took some pictures and I will send them home. Nothing else really happened on Halloween so it was kinda a drag. Sunday was our first fast Sunday. We were focusing on fasting for our visas. They have been having some troubles getting all the other stuff taken care of. We have 3 senior couples that were supposed to leave a long time ago but they can’t get their visas. Hope they come soon. We found out a church attorney is there right now trying to get it figured out. We got a lot of picture with our good friends the indo because they left this last week. We also took some with the elders and sisters that are actually from Mongolia. It was fun because they brought a Mongolian flag up with them and we took a bunch. That day my companions and I were also called to be zone leaders. It is fun but we had meetings all day Sunday which was a big drag. That night we had a good fireside from brother and sister Beeson. Sister Beeson talked about have we need to count our many blessings. Also we need to be a companion who lifts up and acknowledge the companions who help. Brother Beeson talked about how we need to praise the lord and also to pander a new, what the great lord can do. It was really good. Monday was full of goodbyes. We sent off 4 of our really good friends that are going to Indonesia. We sent off 2 of the sisters and 2 of the elders. Also we sent off a English district that was in our branch. It was kinda sad. That’s all that happened that day. Tuesday was another day that had goodbyes. We sent off the rest of the Indonesian district. Our branch only had us 5 in it that night. It was really quiet.
We had a great fireside from the Rasbands. Elder Rasband is in the presidency of the seventy. Sister R talked about a young missionary who was in New York. He wanted to get his shoes shined so badly, but he was assigned to the Bronx. Then one day an old man was walking around yelling shoe shine. The young missionary ran up and asked how much. The old man replied, as much as you are willing to pay. The missionary thought it was great because he could get a cheap shoe shine. Then the old man bent down and started rubbing the polish on this missionaries shoe with his fingers. The old man took great care while he did this. He made sure to get it everywhere on the shoe. Then the old man took a piece of his shirt and started to buff the shoes. Once the shirt was of no use, the old man started to use his bear arm. When the missionary saw this he started to cry. This old man reminded him of another person. He reminded the missionary of Christ. The old man took such great care of these shoes. He was even willing to use his own body to do a good job. Much like the savior was willing to give up his life so we could live better. When the old man was done this missionary gave the man all he had. He even took some from his companion. Much like this old man called out “shoe shine”, the lord is calling out to us saying “soul shine”. The lord will shine ours souls through the atonement and will make a clean again. The question is how much we are willing to pay. If we pay all that we have, the lord has already paid the rest. It was such a great message and it hit me really hard. I know that through the savior we can be clean. He gave us the atonement so we could be saved. I have a strong testimony of the atonement and what it can do for us. I am so grateful for it and it has truly blessed my life. Elder Rasband talked about the importance of being finders. We can’t teach unless we find first. That was a great devotional.
Then on Wednesday we go to do our first thing as Zone Leaders. We got to welcome in new missionaries to our branch. We had 15 new missionaries come in. they were going to Alaska, Toronto, san Diego, Indonesia and Singapore. They are really cool elders and sisters. One of them actually went to hillcrest, Small world. That was a fun experience. Tonight we have to teach an hour long lesson on planning. It will be interesting. This is my week in review. I need a clever sign for each week. I think I will try and find one this week. If you have any suggestions let me know. I hope everyone at home is doing wonderfully.
I love you all and pray for you every night.
Your favorite elder,
Elder M Scott Draper