23 March 2011
Hello,
Well this week is transfers again. I can't believe that another transfer has come and gone. Elder Liu and I will be staying together for at least one more transfer. I am really excited because we got all the kinks out of our teaching and we are working together very well. This means that Elder Liu and I will spend six months of our missions together.
It is going to be a great transfer. We have a new Elder coming into Pendleton. His name is Elder Joseph Smith! It is going to be cool that I get to say, I served with Joseph Smith!
This week has been full of highs and lows. Of course it was mostly highs but there are some lows that always follow. One of the biggest things that caused some commotion this week came from one of the families we are working with. Levi Jones and Jacque are cool. They are just up and down in themselves but this week Levi went missing for a couple days. He went up into the mountains for a couple days and forgot to tell Jacque and that just started this whole feud. He is back but it was crazy. The last missionaries that were here tried to play marriage counselor and now we are getting sucked into it. We just told them that we are here to help them build their faith in the Savior and come closer to our Heavenly Father. You need to go talk to the bishop about this marriage stuff. It is crazy how everyone expects missionaries to know the answers to everything. We are just twenty year old kids. All I know is that I have learned so much about how I want my future relationships to be. Most of that has come from learning how not to act in a relationship.
On a more spiritual note, this week I had a couple amazing experiences. They strengthened my testimony of how the Holy Ghost can truly lead and guide us and also strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon. So one morning I was just finishing in the shower and I had the strongest impression come out of nowhere that we needed to go see this family. Of course we acted on it and went over to their house. Right when we got there they had been having a discussion about where they are in life. They were discussing about how life has been pretty hard for them. They are about the have a child and they just didn't know what they needed to do. We ended up having one of the most spiritual lessons on how God will help us if we trust him. At the end of the lesson I had a scripture come to my mind, D&C 6:34 and 36. As I shared it the Spirit filled the room. We all sat there for a second and just let that feeling of warmth and comfort sink into all of our hearts. It talks about how when we look unto the Lord in every thought, doubt not, fear not. We can have heaven and hell combine against us but if we are looking to the Lord, we don't need to fear. I know that the Holy Ghost will guide us if we are listening. The visit to the Chesonis family and the lesson we had was not just a coincidence. Our Heavenly Father knows those people around us who may stand in need; we just need to listen so we can be an effective tool in His hands.
The other experience came as we were teaching about the Book of Mormon. We were teaching Tom Young and he had asked me why I had questioned if the Book of Mormon was true; why I didn't just believe. I told him that I have believed the Book of Mormon is true for my whole life, but I didn't just want to believe, I wanted to know without a doubt. Then I bore my testimony of the Book of Mormon. I could feel the Holy Ghost flow through my body. I felt like I could do anything. I can say with every fiber of my body that I know the Book of Mormon is true. I love it and I am so grateful for my testimony of the Gospel.
On Sunday evening we went to Bishop Steven Neale's home and looked at some of the paintings he has done that depict Book of Mormon stories. It was fun to see those stories that I have come to love come alive in his paintings. Every time I talk about that Book it just brings happiness into my heart and a smile to my face.
This week has been a very good one. Nothing to special or big happened but my testimony was strengthened and that is one of the greatest things that can happen to any of us in a week. Remember that our Heavenly Father is there for us. He cares and wants us to be happy. He wants to speak to us each day, all we have to do is listen.
Replace fear and doubt with faith and everything will work together for our good. I love the Gospel and I am so grateful for my membership in this Church. I will forever be grateful to my parents who have loved and cared for me. Just as the Stripling Warriors parents supported them in all their trials, I know my family is there for me in whatever thing I may go through. Have a wonderful week and stay safe.
Love,
Elder Draper
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