ANOTHER MEETING WITH ELDER PERRY

ANOTHER MEETING WITH ELDER PERRY

23 August 2011

Hello,

This was another amazing week. Not much new happened since I emailed you last so this email will probably blend with the last one but this week was still amazing. Elder Gudjenov and I had two opportunities to sit at the feet of an Apostle and to hear him council the missionaries. It was one of the most amazing experiences. From the very moment he walked into the room you could feel the spirit so strong. He truly is a special witness of Christ, an Apostle of the Lord and someone who has consecrated his life to building up the Kingdom of our Heavenly Father. It was interesting how the talks given to the east side of our mission were different from the talks given on the west side. You may ask why we got to go to both but we drove the big fifteen passenger van and took some missionaries to Portland for the conference. It was the least we could do to sacrifice a little time and go hear from an Apostle. I think in my last letter I spoke about what he and Elder Clayton said on the east side. For this conference he only wanted missionaries within an hour and a half driving. That would have left out half of our mission so the west side got to go to Portland and see him with the Portland mission. I met some of the missionaries from Portland and we had all kinds of connections. There was an elder from Uncle Marks stake (Elder Mooney), one that I went to high school with and another that knew a lot of the same people I did.

So we get there and we get everyone seated. We sat right at the front. On the east side Elder Perry shook every ones hand but because there were so many he didn't have a chance to do that on this side. We were sitting right by the door where he came in and he shook Elder Gudjenov and my hand again. It was so cool. You wouldn't think a handshake would mean that much but just looking in to his eyes and seeing his smile was awesome. Elder Perry focused more on the Book of Mormon in his talk. He went through the first few chapters in the Book of Mormon and spoke on how they really apply to us. One thing that really stuck out to me was that he said "Don't leave things to chance". We need to do all we can to prepare so that we are ready. He really applied it to missionary work but that applies to aspect of life. Elder Clayton spoke about how we can fulfill this angelic calling that we have. He gave us four things that we can do to become better missionaries. Two of the points that really stuck out to me were 1) Companionship study- never miss a chance to sit down and weld a relationship that is centered on Jesus Christ. The companions you have will be friends for longer than just this life. 2) Focus and rely more heavily upon the Book of Mormon and praying about the Book of Mormon. It was another amazing conference where I had many questions answered that I had been thinking about.

The two Elder Perry meetings have been the highlights of this week and taken up most of the time but we had some other really good things happen in our wards as well. Kathy Mckinney is still doing great and really progressing. Our WML Brother Black invited her over for a dinner and then we had a lesson afterwards. She is just awesome. Sister Black asked her why she kept meeting with the missionaries and she just talked about how she feels the spirit when we are around. Even if she sees missionaries on the street she feels it. She said that when she looks at us she says it looks like we have this light around us. She is just an amazing lady and is ready for the Gospel. She is so excited for her baptism. She came to Church on Sunday and stayed all three hours and she is loving getting to know more people in the ward.

Everybody else in our wards are moving along. We set a new goal to try something new with those people who are still progressing but slowly doing it. We are going to try and make frequent but brief visits and just invite the Spirit into their homes. We will see how it works.

We have this next week and then we start getting ready for transfers again. These last four weeks have just flown by. The other thing that we got to do this week was exchanges with the Selah, Yakima, Longview and Vancouver South Zone Leaders. It is so much fun going out with the other missionaries and just getting to do the work. The missionaries in our mission seem to be getting better and better. Last night in Longview we went to this former investigator and were trying to see if she was interested. She had stopped meeting with the missionaries after there were some difficult decisions she had to make and her life seemed to fall apart. She wasn't interested at first but as we spoke about how the Savior knows exactly how she feels and that He is there for her, she started to open up. She spoke about how she has been praying more and wanting to improve her life. We testified that this is the way and that the Gospel of Jesus Christ can help us deal with those tough times and help us get through them. There have been so many of those little opportunities that have culminated into my love for missionary work and my testimony of the Gospel. Those experiences aren't always big but as we keep moving forward and strive to recognize the hand of the Lord in our lives, we will see it and we recognize our relationship with our Heavenly Father more and more.

Everything is going great out here and life is good. I look forward to every day for the experiences that will come my way and the chance to share the Gospel. We are using every opportunity we have to get out and share that Gospel. This last week when Elder Perry and Elder Clayton spoke on the Book of Mormon and the Church moving forward; they said it is not a matter of if it will move forward. It is when and what part we will play in it. I am grateful for the chance that I have to be a part of spreading the Gospel to all those who will receive it. I know that the Church is true and this is the greatest work any of us could be a part of. It is about replacing fear with faith and trusting that the Lord will be there to help you. I know that he is there and more than willing to help us. Never lose trust in Him and I know He will never give up on us. I love you and will talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder M Scott Draper