August means 21, mission, marriage‏

email dated 8/1/09
So life just keeps on moving without me there in Utah. The good news about my life here is that I turn 21 this month. The other good news about my life here is that we invited a ton of people that we have been finding to get baptized last week and 8-ish said yes. I figure if we get at least half of them to church a few times then we can have 4 baptisms in August, which is our goal. I have hope that we can do it.

We are still working on Lorena. I wrote about her a month or so ago. She had no christian background but said the prayer and was one of the most spiritual lessons-moments of my mission. She is starting to be more sure that God lives. We read Alma 30 with her last night, the story about Korihor and Alma. My favorite vs 44 as always was the highlight of that lesson. All things denote that there is a God. We have the evidence that He lives. There is no evidence to disprove God. In a positive light, all evidence just tries to prove positively what is believed. Anyone studying evolution will find the merits of the theory, because there are many. There is evidence to back just about anything believed. And that is why a phrase I really focused on with Lorena was "By their fruits ye shall know them." If it is good and makes us want to do good and be happier and to better actions, words, and deeds, then that is something worth investigating and aspiring for. We need to trust how we feel. And that is why Galatians 5:22-23 is so key. "the fruit of the spirit is love, hope, kindness, etc... against such things there is no law." (I am thinking in Spanish). No law can place love, faith, goodness, or other such feelings in a bottle or a tube. We just got to look at the fruits and think about how we feel. "By their fruits ye shall know them."

We are teaching a woman named Diana that we found on accident while looking for someone else. Those accidents are never coincidence. After 3 lessons she told us that her aunts are members of the church. She went to church last week and will go this week. I think she will be baptized. The only problem is her boyfriend...who I want to kill. She, she is great. She reads, prays, loves church, and feels that it is right. Her boyfriend...he hits her. We aren't allowed to give relationship counsel too much, but we are able to teach doctrine. The doctrine: the law of Chastity. Hopefully she will be truly converted and able to understand that law and decide to take the right steps toward her goals in life. She is 23 years old. Last night she told us that her dream is to have a good family, her own home, to finish her studies, to live the gospel, etc... I really pray for her a lot and I ask that you do too.

I have had a really hard time finding time to write in my journal this last month. I am looking for a house to move out of the offices. More than President saying we could he said he wants us to do it. I love being here, but among 10 missionaries the shower schedule in the morning, even with 4 bathrooms is always complicated and in the evening it is hard to find quiet time to write or study. Plus, I have to take a bus to my area or drive each day. Anyway, I opened my journal this morning and was dismayed when I found that my last entry was July 4th!! There was a time in my mission where I wrote every day. I filled a whole journal for my first year by writing about all the miracles I had seen and now I went almost a whole month without writing. I feel ungrateful and it is no good. Don't forget to write in your journals. That is my spiritual advice of the day. You will never regret writing in your journal. And your journal will be a valuable resource to you and your children and the history majors in 200 years. Write!

I love you all! Take care!!

Andy