Hello Family!
This week has been pretty great! Our p-day has been crazy today,
in a good way. Sorry for the late letter. We ran into a service opportunity
with a family. They decided to take a ton of trees out of their back
yard. We have been there all day. Our p-day sacrifice was well worth it. They are a great family and we had a great time helping them out. It’s all
about building the relationship. Plus, we pretty much hung out with the
President’s bodyguard all day. How often does that happen? We worked in his
yard, cutting down trees, taking all of the trees to the dump, and doing a
whole lot of clean up. Then, we headed to the library to write the mission president and I
started this letter. Now, we are leaving to go to our dinner appointment.
Should be good. I will come back to the library in about an hour... wait for
iiiiiiiit.
And I’m back. Pizza. We ate with these people who think their
dogs can talk. They’re hooked on puppy phonics. It’s weird. Crazy day. haha And
no worries. We got approval from the pres. for this all to go down today.
Pretty sweet. haha After about six hours of yard work today, I’m still feeling
ready to go. We are hoping for a couple of lessons tonight still. Fortunately,
today’s dinner was the least interesting thing that happened this week.
Number one on the highlight reel is an investigator on date to be
baptized in a few weeks. More good news, her mom, who hasn’t been
to church in over twenty years, has promised to come to her baptism. It’s
pretty awesome. So after the plan of salvation lesson I mentioned last week, we
taught her about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We brought a Brother with us.
He is an all-star. He made that lesson so good. We had a great
spiritual discussion about the gospel pattern of living and our investigator was on
board. This is one of those scenarios where the investigator is just super
prepared. She is progressing very well. Since that lesson we have met with her
twice. Once we met at a member’s house and read from the Book of Mormon where
she was and helped her apply it to her situation. 1 Nephi chapter 7 was a
perfect fit. Next time, we took the bishop with us and talked about
commandments and taught the word of wisdom. We had a great lesson and bishop
made a lot of solid contributions. She committed to live the word of wisdom
and was really glad to learn about it. She made the comment that while she
historically would go out and drink with friends, she really feels that she
needs to set a good example for her son. She noted that he is getting older and
recognizes what is going on. She doesn’t want her son to see any of those
things as acceptable. She mentioned that she feels that nothing positive has
ever come from a night of alcohol or smoking. She wonders why she would even do
it anymore. It’s pretty sweet teaching her. When she answers questions she
pretty much bears testimony of the principles we are teaching. She talked
about how she is glad to have a stronger reason to say no. When she said no
just because she didn’t want to her resistance was weaker. Now, she can say
that she will not drink alcohol or smoke because the Lord has asked her not to
and she wants to show her love for the Lord by following his commandments. It
is so fun to watch her learn.
The library is closing in ten minutes... I have to hurry. ahh! Too
much to say…too little time. So, I also found a historical treasure this week.
I stumbled upon a copy of the Book of Mormon that was published in 1950. haha It’s
cool. It looks super old. The index and footnotes are minimal. I would have
sent a picture, but again, no camera.
Oh really quick! There was an experience this week where I felt
prompted to go see someone in planning. The next day we went and saw them
and they gave us like three referrals. We are planning a game night with us
them and their referral friends. Super stoked. Love the feeling of acting on
prompting and being the Lord’s instrument.
Anyway, you guys sound like you are doing well. In response to
your question about homesickness, I haven’t really been homesick. Sorry. I
loved being home and I really do miss you guys and my old tennis lifestyle. But
I don’t really feel that far away. I feel like my life is a movie that I was
watching and then pressed pause and walked away for a minute. I don’t know. I
am focused here. Mission life is great and I am savoring it. To everything
there is a season and I plan to enjoy this season just as much as hardcourt,
grass, clay, or indoor season. haha I have to go. I’ll talk to you next week.
Good luck with everything, I have work to do.
Love you guys,
Elder Hinkle
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