NI
HAO! For those of you that aren't expert in Chinese like me, that is a simple
hello. Minus some accents and such but you guys get the point. I can't even
tell you guys how great it was to talk to you yesterday. I sure miss those
times just sitting around the table laughing with each other. Luckily for us
those moments are only 19 months away. Maxwell is even cuter than I thought!
Lindsay, Jonathan you guys did well! Trevor you're pretty cute too.
Because
I talked to you guys yesterday this email will probably be pretty lame, but I
will still do my best to keep it lively and entertaining. This week was quite
the week. We had the new trainers/trainee meeting in Iowa City on Tuesday. It
is weird for me to think that I am almost half way through training a new
missionary. Elder Balderston is doing great. He continues to settle in to
missionary life every day. We laugh a lot too so that makes the pains of
knocking on thousands of doors a little less painful. We also had Zone Training
Meeting on Friday which is always a long day of meetings but it was good none
the less.
Just
to give a quick update on our current investigator Q. He continues to progress.
We had several lessons with him this week and he is beginning to love the
gospel. We had a crazy deep conversation about evolution and space this week,
which for the most part went right over my head. Q is a crazy smart guy so it
is often pretty hard to keep up with him but of course I do my best. We asked
him this week if he would do an American accent and he killed it. I haven't
laughed that hard for a minute! We taught him more about the Atonement and he
was stoked that he could be relieved from the guilt that accompanies sin. He
expressed that he felt bad about things that he has done and we were able to
tell him that all could be made right because of Jesus Christ. We are stoked
for him to continue to progress towards baptism.
One
things I forgot to tell you guys last night was a pretty funny/embarrassing
story from this past week. It was a late night last week and the temperature
dropped pretty low and there was some intense wind so it was crazy cold. We
were out knocking on some doors and we were invited in by an older couple. They
immediately told us that they weren't interested in our message, but they just
wanted to help us warm up a bit. I think the cold actually froze my brain too
because I was trying to make small talk while we awkwardly stood in their entry
way. He commented on how cold it was and I looked back at him and said
"Yeah I could really go for a nice warm cup of coffee right now"
WHAT! It was one of those times when I wish I could catch the words that
proceeded from my mouth. Elder Balderston looked at me and laughed when I tried
to tell the man that we actually didn't drink coffee and that I was just an
idiot. Man, I swear sometimes my brain doesn't work.
To
conclude this email, I just want to reiterate how great it was to see you/ talk
to you last night. When the screen went dark I had a pretty helpless feeling.
The thought of waiting six more months to talk to you guys was daunting. I
wanted to call back immediately after I hung up but of course I had to restrain
myself. While I sat gathering composer, I felt an awesome wave of comfort come
over me. I knew everything at home would be okay and I felt a rejuvenating
feeling and new desire to share the gospel. I know that this work is the most
important work that I could be doing at this point in my life. I love it.
Although these next six months or even these next nineteen months seem like a
crazy long time, it will only be a short time in the grand scheme of things.
I
love you guys so much. I hope things are as good as they seemed via skype. Have
a great week this week.
The
coffee drinking missionary,
Elder
Obray
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There was a "free ice" stand so the Ames 2nd Elders decided it would be a good idea to pile a bunch on our porch.
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