Hope is still there - May 12, 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Well the phone call home was reinvigorating. I loved all of your questions and they were really thought-provoking. Byron I gave some thought to my greatest weakness and strength as a missionary, and I changed the question to what do I appreciate the most about myself and what I want to improve most on. The one strength I have appreciated most is patience, though not nearly perfect it has saved me in many moments. I think working at the movie theater has helped me with that:) The one thing I really want to improve on is decision making. That has always been something I've wanted to improve on and I asked my mission president in my third interview how to improve (you can just imagine a mission president's face light up when a missionary asks that question). He told me 'good decisions flow from facts and are impeded by wishful thinking and heresay. That has been one of the most helpful advice I've recieved on my mission thusfar and I've applied it many times but I've realized it takes much practice and selfevaluation.

Well I do want to get to the weekly update and there is so much to say. We have a large pool of progressing investigators right now, each with their own challenges. There is Giri and his family. Giri is a police man for the railways here. He has a daughter Monica who is a very active investigator. Monica finds a way to church every week and has many friends but her father doesn't. Giri even came to drop her off and pick her up but didn't even stay five minutes. Well we had a nice chat with him last night and by the end I think we at least convinced him that he needs to read the Book of Mormon. The elders quorum president is getting very involved and we are so grateful for his help. Members are truly the bringing someone in the church. It's like what L. Tom Perry said in his last talk: the investigator is like a lost sheep but the member is like the shepherd that the sheep recognizes.

Then there is Malishwari. She has by far the saddest story. Her father died 3 years ago followed by her mother and her sister 7 months ago. She is now 22 and lives with her Uncle and Aunt but her Uncle recently got in an accident where his arm broke. Now his arm needs surgery that will cost 18000 rupees, which they don't have. Malishwari has just lost hope and she feels like she hasn't recieved an answer to her prayers. We tried to comfort her through the scriptures and are trying to do our best to guide to overcome her trials through God's aid. I'll let you know how it goes.

We met with Anand who missed church last week. He expressed to us how bad he felt for not keeping his commitment and we taught him the principle of repentance. It was a pretty amazing lesson. We were bold but loving as we taught him what he needs to do to recieve forgiveness from God. If he comes to church this Sunday then I have no doubt he'll be baptized soon but that will require a lot of prayer and encouragement on our side.

Elder Loomis and I are trying to work on having faith, hope and charity together. We definitely have plenty of practice everyday. Even with finding people we have to practice a lot of faith and hope. One of the elders in my district saw me and said I looked sad. He asked me what was happening and I said nothing and that I just had a lot to think about. He told me 'alright just don't get discouraged. If you're discouraged then that means that you don't have faith'. I didn't think I was discouraged but as the day went on I started to see myself get frustrated with all sorts of disappointments, and I realized that my faith was dwindling. So I picked myself back up, put a smile and talked to the next person. Step by step I just kept the thought in my head "the Lord will lead us to the person we need to see" and that thought kept driving me. We found one person at the end of our finding and I'm not sure how interested he is but he may just be the person the Lord sent us out to find. We'll see (his name is R. Krishna just so you can keep tabs).

I've been reading D&C 121:34-46 a lot lately along with my patriarchal blessing and it's amazing the amount of instruction the Lord gives in a few lines. I've found so much insight on what it takes to be a good leader. I've also been trying to keep a good attitude with the responsibilities. I do have a lot of fun because I get to learn more about other investigators from other companionships and I have joy in their success as well as ours. I think about God and how He has just as much joy in our success as He would if He did it Himself, probably even more since He loves us more than Himself.

We had a beautiful evening the other night where we had a storm roll in. It cut off all of the power so it was pitch black outside. We seeked shelter at an investigators home as we watched the rain come down. It made the ground smell so good. After it passed and we were riding home we were able to find patches in the clouds where we could see the stars. It was a perfect night for stargazing becuase the power was still out so there were no lights to ruin it.

All is well for me. I love all you very, very much. Thank for your letters and support. By the way if anyone wants to send me an email they can. I'll have to respond by snail mail but I'll do my best to do so.

Love you all a million star filled and hopeful nights.

Elder Mackay