September 29, 2010

The weather here has still been great - this past weekend it was actually hot! I'm not used to weather in the upper 80's! I was sweating like a pig and it made me wonder how I survived last summer in Brentwood with temps in the 100's. So things are good. We have recently began teaching a part-member family - Pham and Pa Lor. They are from Southeast Asia (they speak Hmong). Pham is a returned missionary and his wife Pa is not a member. They are the nicest couple. They are going to have a baby in Nov. Pa is super receptive. She doesn't have a belief in God, but is willing to pray and read the Book of Mormon. They both come to church every week. I believe that she will progress well. It is so good to be a missionary! The gospel is true and is the key to happiness. The past year I've had the opportunity to see so many miracles, as people have accepted the gospel, made changes in their lives, and have come closer to their Savior and Heavenly Father. I know that the most important thing that I could ever do in my life is to follow Heavenly Father's will - to follow Christ's example - to live the gospel. Heavenly Father has made His will known to us in our day by providing us with a prophet. All the truths of the gospel are on the earth. It is so great to know these truths and to experience the joy that comes from living the gospel. The world would teach us differently though...Tonight we talked with an elderly man whose wife is an active member. He had very strong opinions. The visit was pretty horrible and it turned into a very heated discussion. He told us that if we stayed true to the church for our whole lives we would waste our lives and never accomplish anything. In his eyes success and happiness comes from money. He thought we were fools for serving a mission for 2 years and not getting paid for it. I'm so grateful to know of God's plan for us.