Hello everyone!
Yesterday we had an amazing zone conference with Elder Marlin K. Jensen of the First Presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy and his wife. Before the meeting we all got to shake his hand and when he shook mine he told me that he really liked my glasses. Awesome.
His instruction was amazing and inspiring. I wish I could tell you everything he said, but I obviously can't so I'll just share one thing. He talked a lot about faith and how Christ can help us in our asking, "Lord, Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). We spent a lot of time together in Alma 32, one of my very favorite chapters in the whole Book of Mormon. We studied that faith begins with a simple desire. That desire instills in us a particle of faith. That little particle of faith is like a seed. If we plant it in our hearts, nourish it, and do not cast it out, the seed will grow into a mighty tree. A pattern becomes established. If we desire to believe, then act on our desire by experimenting on that belief, then make sure we don't cast it out, the end result is a growth of faith. I know that this is true because I have seen it applied time and time again in my own life. As we nourish our faith by doing the little things... reading our scriptures and praying each day as individuals and families, going to church each week, serving and loving others, keeping the commandments, etc.... I know that our faith in the Savior will grow and we will qualify for great blessings and miracles in our lives, "for it is by faith that miracles are wrought" (Moroni 7:37) and "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith" (Ether 12:6).
Well, as far as things go here, nothing is super exciting. We're still trying to find investigators to teach, and we have a few that we're still teaching. Elder Westley and I are a lot more unified, and it's obvious in how effective we are and how much I enjoy the work. It's been tough, though. The sun goes down at about 6:30, and even fewer people want to talk to us after dark; so if we don't have appointments (and we usually don't since we have few investigators) then we just have to try to use that last 3 hours to do something effective. We're trying to see members more often and invite them to make a commitment to help with the work, though, so hopefully we'll be able to get a lot done there.
We've been teaching a man named Virgil recently, who is in a wheelchair due to some kind of muscular distrophy in his back. He can't read very well, so that's been a big challenge. We're going to try to get him an audio copy of the Book of Mormon so that he can gain a testimony of that wonderful book. He really wants to learn more about Christ so he can change and become a better person by repenting of his sins. He's been meeting with us, some Baptist ministers, and the Jehovah's Witnesses to find the truth. We have encouraged him to keep an open mind in all he learns and to pay attention to the feelings of the Spirit. We promised him that if he does that, God will lead him to the truth. Virgil was excited to come to church this last Sunday. We were excited for him; it would give him a chance to be fellowshipped and befriended by members, and he would be able to feel the Spirit really strong---besides, we haven't had an investigator in sacrament meeting for the last 5 weeks. When we arrived at his home to pick him up for church we were met by his wife, who told us that the night before he had fallen and spent the night in the emergency room and was not feeling up to coming to church. That was tough for us. We have been trying really hard and we can see opposition affecting all of our investigators! That opposition comes in all different forms, I've found: for some it's busy schedules with work; for others it's friends that are bad influences; for some it's even accidents like car crashes and falling... Pretty much anything that keeps them from progressing. We have been battling against the devil and all the opposition he has thrown at us and the people we teach, but we know that the message we share has strengthened their faith in Christ, and I know that it has strengthened mine!
I'm doing well. Fall here doesn't feel like fall. Everything is still green... the biggest difference is that the humidity is more comfortable and the temperatures have dropped about 15 degrees. But other than that... same old, same old. I hear that the fall is beautiful back home! I miss it a lot. I hope all of you are having a great time in your own lives and that everything is going well. I would love to hear from you! Please write me and/or send pictures! I don't have as much time as I would like to to respond right away, but I will do my best to get back to you!
With love,
Elder Schank
