Week Ten

Dear Family,

Another week has flown by and I hope all is well at home. I love you all.

Wow. Just wow. I absolutely am in love. I'm in love with the people. I'm in love with the country. I'm in love with the culture. I'm in love with being a missionary. I haven't been this happy in a long time. The happiest day of my life was when I opened my mission call, before that it was the football games I played the best in, or the pins I had in wrestling, or the days spent at Disneyland with family. Now it's every day. Every day is a happy day. I love it here, and I just wish you all could experience this lifestyle for a week, it changes you! Ha-ha.  

This week was good but I'll start out by telling you my struggles. Nothing too bad, at least there wasn't any crazy people this week we had to deal with. Our AC is broken and the apartment is extremely hot, last night we didn't fall asleep till about 3 am and we were literally drenched in sweat all night because it was so hot. Then we have a leak in the ceiling so water came in and now it’s humid in our apartment. This brought tons of mosquitoes and they ate me alive.  One night my feet were hanging out from under my blanket and they ate my feet alive. I ITCH EVERYWHERE. Then I got bed bugs, or some kind of bug in my mattress and I need to switch it out. My body is sunburned and itchy and bitten. Then when it rains the water is so high and we have to walk through it, and it's not just rain water, it’s also sewage. So that's like the best thing ever, but other than that it was a great week. :) 

This week we had great lessons with our investigators and they are progressing for the most part, but many of them won't come to church and it's really hard to see that because if they don't come they can't be baptized and grow. Vishesh is the most progressing and he is changing my life, I love teaching him and he would be baptized by now but his parents don't approve. So we are waiting till September 12th for him to turn 18 and then he will be able to be baptized without consent. He truly knows that this Church is for him and his faith, his prayers, and his willingness to follow Christ has changed my entire viewpoint on being a missionary. I'm so blessed. I think about all the Savior has done for us and in trying to serve Him there are struggles, but he loves us so much that even when we struggle He allows us to be blessed and changed and He allows us to grow.  

We also are teaching a girl named Shivani, I don't know if you know about her yet but she is a tough one. She's 22 and doesn't have to work at all because her family has money so she sleeps all day and skips out on appointments we have with her and doesn't really show much interest. But the lessons we have with her are amazing and the spirit is so strong I don't know how she hasn't dunked herself. Seriously though, but she is moving along faster and is really good to teach. We are teaching so many less active members, and if they would all come to church we would have a stake here so soon. 

We are getting new investigators like crazy. We did a lot of finding this week. We are meeting two Christian families in the next couple of days and that should be really good. When kids come to English class they love to learn and at the end of class when we share our optional spiritual message they love what we teach. So it's a really great way to get people to be interested and it is working so well and we help so many people learn English and then if they want, the Gospel. 

The only really big news I have this week is in November an apostle is coming, but we don't know which one. I hope it's Jeffrey R. Holland. I love that guy. 

This week went by fast and I'm not sure if there is anything that I absolutely need to share with you, but I'll share with you my current thoughts. I love the Book of Mormon, so much. It has helped me so much and it truly comes from God. I love being able to study it for hours every day and learn from it. I have witnessed multiple times people and myself praying for an answer to come from the Book of Mormon and it comes once they start reading. It brings so much peace to my life and I would ask you all at home to try and have scripture study for 5 minutes a day, by yourself and as a family. It will change your daily lives I promise. There is great power that comes from reading it and applying the things you learn from it into your daily lives. I know that because I have witnessed it first hand, people who never knew about Jesus Christ will read a page in first Nephi with us and when they say the closing prayer they are testifying of Christ. That's how powerful the Book of Mormon is. It was written for our day, and for every kindred, tongue, and people.

The Book of Mormon is more than a book. The prophets of old and Joseph Smith would not have died for a fake storybook. The pioneers would have not traveled thousands of miles, many of them dying, for a book. And I would NEVER be in India, for a book. The Book of Mormon changes lives, it helps people become closer to the Savior, and it is so true. Please read it. Please watch Jeffrey R. Holland's Testimony of The book of Mormon. Please pray to your Father in Heaven, and rely on the Atonement of Christ. 

It's a shorter email, but I love you all. I need to email some friends and family members. I hope you all have a great week.

As football season comes around, 

Go MV. Go Cougs. Go Cowboys. 

Love Elder Neil Armstrong..it's catching on everywhere here.