Working Hard

We have three baptismal dates. You don't know how excited I am to say that. It really is a testament to me that there are no dead areas, no matter what anyone might say. We had Zone Training this last week, and they focused a lot on what Elder Teixiera had counseled us regarding our investigators: to make sure every investigator is reading the Book of Mormon, coming to church, and is progressing toward a baptismal date. So, we each committed to extend those three commitments in each sit down lesson with an investigator, and it was amazing. Out of the four people we were able to sit down and teach, three of them said yes to a date. And they're great people, too.

The first girl's name is Joss. We met her knocking 10-Aside of a member who moved away, and she had asked for a Book of Mormon when we explained what it was. She found some difficulty reading the one we gave her, so she went searching online, couldn't find an eBook version, but found an audiobook that she's been listening to every day. We're really quite happy about all that. She will hopefully be coming with us to Church on Sunday, and the Grant's have offered to have her for dinner, which is wonderful. Hopefully, she'll be baptized in March.

The other two are Polish roommates named Ariel and Lukas. They're both here for work, and seem like such good, solid guys. We brought them a Ksiega Mormona, and Lukas asked if he could have one in English as well so that he could work on learning English by comparing back and forth. The lesson was a great experience, as we really had to teach as simply as we could to get around the language barrier. I found myself opening up the two copies of the Book of Mormon a few times to find the Polish word for different words we take for granted, like Prophet, or Apostasy. It was really quite a good experience. They're also set to be baptized in March.

One other thing that we've been working hard on is talking to everyone. It's really difficult, at times, and was especially so the end of last week. However, as we've tried our hardest to do so, we just find that we feel better. Even if we aren't finding investigators from our strivings, we are still experiencing the blessings of knowing that we are working our very hardest, and that is plenty for now. Dad told me in a letter a little while ago to "Be the kind of missionary your Mom thinks you are," and I now finally feel like the kind of missionary you think I am.

I love you guys so much, and can't wait to hear back,

Yours,

Elder Green

P.S. Still no camera. I scoured the Powell's, and I'm praying like crazy that I'll come across it. We've been deep cleaning our flat today, so I know it'll turn up soon. If not, I've got copies of nearly all the pictures on an SD card I've been meaning to send home. But don't buy a new one yet, because I know that I'll find it soon.