The Straight and Narrow

Hey Hey Hey! It has been a great week! I feel like the number of bad weeks are definitely going down! That is always good news right?  Like normal I will give an update on the crazy weather conditions that are accustomed to Iowa. The weather this week has been fantastic! It has been above 25 degrees for most of the week (that is saying a lot if you are an Iowan). Of course the mornings and evenings are pretty frigid, but the majority of the days you could get by not even wearing a scarf and only one pair of gloves, what a blessing! Currently the whole city of Ames is shutting down. It is raining pretty hard right now and that is no bueno. When it rains in the winter, the temperature changes so fast that all the rain on the ground quickly turns to ice making it super sketchy. People can't even get in their cars half of the time because their doors freeze over. It is pretty crazy. That is enough about the weather.

Elder Balderston and I went through our phone and area book this week and decided to call everyone that has either been a potential investigator or former investigator. We called about a hundred people and ended up with a new investigator and some appointments. What a blessing! I will let you know what happens! 

I was thinking that I haven't really included any spiritual thoughts in a while. Because I am the senior companion, one of my responsibilities is driving the car. Driving in Iowa is much different than Utah because the roads are much more narrow and there are no turning lanes. I have found myself cruising down the road having a Walter Mitty moment when Elder Balderston will yell at me just in time for me to swerve out of the way of the car in my lane waiting to turn left. It also makes it much more intense when there is a fresh layer of ice on the road or a layer of slick snow. Fortunately, I am not the only person who has driven on the road. There are tracks from other cars who have already driven on the same street, making it much easier to drive on because the road has already been traveled down. This is just like our mortal experience here on earth. A lot of times we are driving down the road with all kinds of potential hazards and things that could inhibit our safety. Fortunately, the Savior of the World has traveled down this road before us. He has showed us the way and it is simply up to us to follow in his footsteps and follow the tracks. Luckily for us, "the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him" (2 Nephi 9:41). We have even been given a passenger seat driver to make sure we are on the right track and who helps us stay away from danger. This is the Holy Ghost. Every road we travel down and every trial we face, Jesus Christ has been there before. He knows how to help us and he knows the best way for us to avoid potential hazards. We simply have to follow him. 

Thank you for reading my super cheesy analogies and for being the best family a missionary could ask for. I love you guys and I miss you like crazy. I hope you all have a marvelous week. Go skiing a few times for me. 

Elder Obray