Mom,
Thanks for your response, I've printed it out and plan on putting it into one of my upcoming personal studies. Here are the answers to your questions:
1. No, I don't have a new suit yet. We haven't had the chance to go out. But, I'll likely do it next P-day, since most of our Zone has set aside that day as a shopping day.
2. Photos have been dropped in the dropbox! :) Sorry it took so long. Will you make sure and keep all of those photos in a safe place? Because I no longer have a central depository for them.
3. Hold on just a moment while I look up my actual departure date...in the mean time, let me tell you a funny story about departure dates :) Missionaries need to know their departure dates as they approach the end of their missions, and the office has a set time beforehand that they tell you. Elder Adams, the previous office head missionary, accomplished this task through the following phone conversation:
Elder Adams: "Hello, this is Elder Adams"
Missionary: "Hey Elder Adams, how are you doing?"
Elder Adams: "Doing well, I just need to let you know some important information."
Missionary: "Oh, ok, what is it?"
---Elder Adams then gives the missionary pertinent departure details---
Elder Adams: "Well, Elder, you're gonna hear a beep in a few moments here, and after that beep, this conversation will have never happened."
Missionary: "Wait, wha---"
Elder Adams: "BEEEEEEEEEEP"
Missionary: "Elder Adams?"
Elder Adams: "Hello, this is Elder Adams."
Missionary: "Elder Adams, I literally just heard you make that beeping noise."
Elder Adams: "What beeping noise? You just called me, what can I do for ya?"
---At this point, I just said that I called the wrong number on accident :) ---
Anyways, let me tell you about the most exciting thing that happened this week!
We found someone super prepared to be baptized. His name is Rony, and he is my best friend. He is in his late 40s, is a bit of a smoker, comes from a huge English family (he has 5 brothers and 6 sisters! What the heck? He's from London, that doesn't make any sense!?). He has only taken the first two lessons, and we're teaching the Word of Wisdom on Tuesday, but in those two lessons he has received answers to prayer, knowledge of the scriptures, and friends that will stay with him long past this life.
I'm amazed to see how much a truly humble personality can make a difference in someone's progression in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in life in general. Those who are meek and willing to be taught, by their circumstance, parents, friends, experiences, etc, are also those who learn and grow the most. Rony is the ultimate example. After we taught him the Plan of Salvation, we knelt down in prayer and asked Rony to ask a specific question, then await an answer. He asked if God's Plan of Salvation was true. After a long moment of silence, he stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "It's true, I felt the warmth run through the room. I already knew it was true."
This mans life has changed and will continue to change because he humbled himself to his knees, listened to two men much younger than himself, and didn't let any perspective of the world persuade him, but instead sought council outside of himself. Because of this, he will overcome addiction, gain friends that sincerely and truly care for him, and ultimately become someone who leads a life of self-fulfillment, unmarred by comparison. I believe that same concept of humility applies to anyone who desires to change and succeed in this world :)
Rony is planning on being baptized on the 7th of February. Keep him in your prayers.
There is a family in the ward who has really taken us under their wing and has us over for dinner every week :) Interestingly enough, Brother Brown, who is a member of the high council, has just been given a new assignment as part of his calling. People throughout the stake are being called as "self-reliance" (or something like that) presidents and counselors. Brother Brown now correlates with those programs throughout the stake. The point of telling you this is because he has decided to experiment on us and teach us some self-reliance, in this case, how to cook :) So, every time we have a dinner appointment at their home, we cook the meal. It's awesome! We're learning a whole bunch of English meals that I've always wanted to know how to make, ha.
Well, I don't have much else to say. Actually, I do, but if I spent all my time writing it down, then I wouldn't have clothes to wear or food to eat for the week ;) I love you all, and can't wait to update you on Rony and how our teaching is going.
Cheers,
Elder Foster
Thanks for your response, I've printed it out and plan on putting it into one of my upcoming personal studies. Here are the answers to your questions:
1. No, I don't have a new suit yet. We haven't had the chance to go out. But, I'll likely do it next P-day, since most of our Zone has set aside that day as a shopping day.
2. Photos have been dropped in the dropbox! :) Sorry it took so long. Will you make sure and keep all of those photos in a safe place? Because I no longer have a central depository for them.
3. Hold on just a moment while I look up my actual departure date...in the mean time, let me tell you a funny story about departure dates :) Missionaries need to know their departure dates as they approach the end of their missions, and the office has a set time beforehand that they tell you. Elder Adams, the previous office head missionary, accomplished this task through the following phone conversation:
Elder Adams: "Hello, this is Elder Adams"
Missionary: "Hey Elder Adams, how are you doing?"
Elder Adams: "Doing well, I just need to let you know some important information."
Missionary: "Oh, ok, what is it?"
---Elder Adams then gives the missionary pertinent departure details---
Elder Adams: "Well, Elder, you're gonna hear a beep in a few moments here, and after that beep, this conversation will have never happened."
Missionary: "Wait, wha---"
Elder Adams: "BEEEEEEEEEEP"
Missionary: "Elder Adams?"
Elder Adams: "Hello, this is Elder Adams."
Missionary: "Elder Adams, I literally just heard you make that beeping noise."
Elder Adams: "What beeping noise? You just called me, what can I do for ya?"
---At this point, I just said that I called the wrong number on accident :) ---
Anyways, let me tell you about the most exciting thing that happened this week!
We found someone super prepared to be baptized. His name is Rony, and he is my best friend. He is in his late 40s, is a bit of a smoker, comes from a huge English family (he has 5 brothers and 6 sisters! What the heck? He's from London, that doesn't make any sense!?). He has only taken the first two lessons, and we're teaching the Word of Wisdom on Tuesday, but in those two lessons he has received answers to prayer, knowledge of the scriptures, and friends that will stay with him long past this life.
I'm amazed to see how much a truly humble personality can make a difference in someone's progression in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in life in general. Those who are meek and willing to be taught, by their circumstance, parents, friends, experiences, etc, are also those who learn and grow the most. Rony is the ultimate example. After we taught him the Plan of Salvation, we knelt down in prayer and asked Rony to ask a specific question, then await an answer. He asked if God's Plan of Salvation was true. After a long moment of silence, he stood up, wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "It's true, I felt the warmth run through the room. I already knew it was true."
This mans life has changed and will continue to change because he humbled himself to his knees, listened to two men much younger than himself, and didn't let any perspective of the world persuade him, but instead sought council outside of himself. Because of this, he will overcome addiction, gain friends that sincerely and truly care for him, and ultimately become someone who leads a life of self-fulfillment, unmarred by comparison. I believe that same concept of humility applies to anyone who desires to change and succeed in this world :)
Rony is planning on being baptized on the 7th of February. Keep him in your prayers.
There is a family in the ward who has really taken us under their wing and has us over for dinner every week :) Interestingly enough, Brother Brown, who is a member of the high council, has just been given a new assignment as part of his calling. People throughout the stake are being called as "self-reliance" (or something like that) presidents and counselors. Brother Brown now correlates with those programs throughout the stake. The point of telling you this is because he has decided to experiment on us and teach us some self-reliance, in this case, how to cook :) So, every time we have a dinner appointment at their home, we cook the meal. It's awesome! We're learning a whole bunch of English meals that I've always wanted to know how to make, ha.
Well, I don't have much else to say. Actually, I do, but if I spent all my time writing it down, then I wouldn't have clothes to wear or food to eat for the week ;) I love you all, and can't wait to update you on Rony and how our teaching is going.
Cheers,
Elder Foster