Hey Hey Hey to my favorite group of people on earth. It has been
an interesting week, not a ton to report on but I have learned a lot. First of all,
I am glad to hear things back in the 801 are top notch. It is always good to
hear that you are doing well. I sometimes get a little worried about how things
are at home during the week. I learned a
quote early in my mission that says, "The Lord will take care of your
family much better than you could if you were there." You guys are in good
hands!
A fun story happened yesterday. It was fast and testimony
meeting. One of our new members shared her testimony. She started by talking about the Gospel
of Jesus Christ and I was surprised and impressed. Shortly after she started,
she broke into song. It wasn't an LDS song. She grew
up Baptist so she started to sing a Baptist song right in front of the
congregation. She is awesome.
This week marks six months in the mission field. Crazy stuff! It
is kind of surreal for me to think that I am already a quarter of the way
through my mission. WHAT? I was looking through my pictures on my camera the
other day and It only seems like I have been here for a few weeks! But it has
been good to reflect on the past couple of months serving in Ames. If I am
being honest, Ames has been really tough. It is really frustrating to talk to
other Elders serving in other areas about how many lessons they teach each week
and how many progressing investigators they have. There is a reason we are
encouraged not to compare areas. Last week we taught two lessons and we really
only have one progressing investigator. This is all very frustrating but
yesterday when I was at church, I was thinking about the great experiences I
have had in Ames. I think about the people I have taught and
it makes me so happy. We had a lesson with Q the other day and I felt so
excited for him. He is sharing the gospel with his family and we even gave him
a Chinese Book of Mormon for his family. He asked us the other day, "When
I go back to China and teach them, how am I going to baptize my family?"
We smiled and told him that he can exercise his new priesthood authority to
baptize them. I hope that someday you guys will be able to meet him. I
have gained a new perspective. I can
already see a lot of the blessings from serving a mission such as gaining a
couple more pounds of weight and not as much muscle and living off chicken
breasts and ramen noodles for two years. Actually, it’s more like the added
strength to my own testimony, learning how to study my scriptures, a
more sincere love for people, and a more tender appreciation for the Atonement
and for our Savior. The immediate blessings are fantastic, but a lot of the
blessings will come throughout the rest of my life.
I have reflected a lot about the last six months and it makes me
so excited that I have eighteen more to grow and learn. At the rate that my
mission is going, I will be home in no time. It is flying by and it honestly
kind of scares me.
To conclude, I will continue with an analogy that Bob included in
his email. The first quarter of the game is over, but if you look at all my
senior season basketball games, I am sure that the majority of them will show
that my second half was much better than my first. All of my best jumps in the
high jump came later in the season. After the first quarter, I am able to
settle in a little bit and find my confidence. I am happy to say that I am
about settled in and my confidence as a missionary grows every day. This gospel
is so true. Jesus Christ lives. The Book of Mormon is the best way for us to
come closer to him. I love my mission and I can't wait for the next three
quarters. I am so excited for the experiences that await me.
I hope you all have a fantastic week. I love you guys.
A slightly chubbier,
Elder Obray
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