Christmas in October

Hola! Isn't conference weekend the best? There were so many awesome talks this time around and I am so grateful for the spirit and the feelings that come to us as we listen to the Lord's chosen servants.  We had yet another fantastic week here in the Capital. We had some pretty crazy experiences too that I am stoked to tell you all about. Of course, there will be a cute spiritual thought at the end so buckle up. 

First experience was after the Priesthood session the other night. Instead of the normal expedition to Texas Roadhouse, one of the sisters in our zone hasn't been doing too hot so we went over to give her a blessing. After talking with them and the blessing we took off back to our apartment. When we were leaving the parking lot we saw a ton of flashing lights and noticed a group of people pretty close. When we got closer we noticed that there was a man lying on his back... Yep he was definitely dead. We freaked out but luckily the police and the ambulances were already doing work. Des Moines is a crazy place sometimes.

We met this guy this week that the Sisters found finding. They called us one night and were super stoked about him... When we contacted him, he sounded like one of those investigators that is too golden to be true. After we talked to him for a little bit, he brought up the golden concern. He only wanted money from the church to pay his rent. We were pretty bummed, we brought a priest with us and he was so stoked about how awesome the lesson went but we knew we had to drop him.  Pretty sad deal. He acted very interested in our message up until we told him that we couldn't give him any money. I am super surprised how much that kind of stuff happens.

We had a great conference weekend. We watched the Saturday afternoon session at the Mission home. Sister Badger made Cafe Rio pork and tacos. It was a blessing and a half (Mom it wasn't as good as yours though so no worries). It was a great conference. We ended up watching the Sunday afternoon session with my favorite family we are teaching. When we got there, they were all ready to go and excited for us to set up the conference for them. One of the kids, R turns 8 this month so I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. He looked at me and told me that he wanted to be baptized. Ugh I love little African kids, I am pretty sure I am going to adopt one. We are going to try to work it out so he can be baptized on the same day as his Aunt. We are so excited for them. 

Also, our other investigator E is doing great. He is getting baptized this weekend! We are so pumped for him. He has his baptismal interview tonight so definitely keep the guy in your prayers. He is going to be an awesome member of the church. He is one of my favorite people I have taught. We are best buds, he told us that he is going to take us down to Mexico with him next year. I am definitely up for it. 

One of my favorite things about General Conference was the obvious emphasis that was put on the Book of Mormon. President Eyring, President Nelson, and Elder Callister all had fantastic talks about the importance and validity of the Book of Mormon. One of the greatest blessings that I have seen from serving a mission is a more sure and firm testimony that the Book of Mormon is the most true book on the planet. Although I have read through the New Testament and am currently reading the Old Testament, I always feel like there is something amiss when I don't spend time reading the Book of Mormon. It truly is the keystone of our religion. It holds everything that we claim in the balance. I am so grateful for Joseph Smith and sacrifices that he made to help bring the Book of Mormon forth. I know without any doubt in my mind that the Book of Mormon is the Word of God and the only explanation of its coming forth is the one given by Joseph Smith. I too know that as we set time aside every day to read the Book of Mormon, our lives will be better, our attitudes will be happier and we will have an increase of peace and love in our lives. I am forever grateful that I got to travel to Iowa to find that out for sure. 

I don't have too much else to report on. I did get yet another bad haircut this morning. I came to the conclusion that if the place has the word "clips" in it, it cannot be trusted. I might as well just raise the white flag and surrender already and buzz it off.

I love you guys and I hope you all have an excellent week this week. 

The Elder with the weird hair,

Elder Obray