Week 39

FAMILY!!!!!!

Wow. It´s soooo good to hear from you all. Mom. Thanks a ton for your advice AGAIN, to lighten up and look for the happiness. You seem to send it just when I need it. I think when I´m happy and faithful, I work better. If I get down on myself about the work, I lose a little bit of focus, or at least a desire to focus. But it´s so true. When I´m faithful and positive, the lessons we teach are more powerful, more uplifting. If I´m stressed, I think it carries over into my lessons, especially when we´re leaving commitments. Nobody wants to commit to reading a book that a grouchy person´s testifying about. Everyone wants to commit to reading a book that a confident, faithful, CHARITY FILLED, misionero is testifying about. The Gospel´s simple.

Speaking of the Book of Mormon. Wow. I read Chapter 5 of Preach my Gospel this morning, and it just blew me away. I took to heart one of the closing paragraphs invitations, and prayed, again, to reaffirm my testimony that the book of mormon is true. I finished that prayer with wet eyes, and a renewed desire to flood the earth with the Book of Mormon. I read Alma 7 after that, and it just touched my heart. Heavenly Father planned this morning´s studies for me. It has a few verses that are PERFECT for some of our investigators. It talks about the Atonement, Repentance and Baptism. I´ve NEVER used it my whole mission. Didn´t even remember that it existed.

I´ve got a little black notebook that I received as a gift once, and I use it to mark down scriptures for the different Missionary lessons. Alma 7 worked in perfectly with points one three and four of Lesson 3. I want to teach every lesson straight from the book of mormon. It´s all there. All of the doctrine. Pure. Simple. I love it. And it´s more powerful. Much more powerful. I want people converted to the Book of Mormon, not the Missionary Pamphlets!

Also, Garrett Kirschbaum wrote a few weeks ago about listening when the investigator is talking, instead of thinking what you´re going to say next. Sooo hard!!! Haha. And sooo fun. It makes the lesson much more real. It invites the spirit. And it keeps you on your toes!

We had a baptism! GREAT stories. Next email. With photos. Promise.

Mom. Happy Birthday!!!!!!! Love you.

Mothers Day. SURPRISE!!!! Haha. We´re calling the 15^th. Elder Gleason´s calendar fooled us. It had mothers day on the 8^th, and we fell for it!

I love you all a lot.

Elder STewart