My
goodness!! It sounds like everyone had
such a fantastic week! Braden I'm glad
that you had such a great experience with the EVMCO concert! We were listening to a general conference talk
the other morning as we were getting ready and it was on hymns, and the speaker
made the comment that music is a one of the quickest ways that we can invite
the spirit into any avenue. I believe
that principle was confirmed for all of us this weekend! Mom that's pretty neat that you were able to
share your experiences with the Stewart's parents, I know that they'll have a
hard time forgetting what you told them. And can I just say, man y'all are a
good looking family! You cleaned up nice
in that photo you sent me mom. It's not
cool that Braden's up to Dad's shoulders but that's okay, I can still take him
in a skeet shoot out ;)
Well we had
another busy week. Right now our zone is
in the phase where all the new missionaries are no longer new missionaries,
they're out now 6 months - 1 year, so we're all learning how to put our nose to
the grind stone, dig deep, learn what we're actually made of, and overcome
discouragement. I sincerely feel one of
the reasons the Lord is blessing us with success is so that we'll be able to
then say "hey, elders, (or sisters) there's a reason enduring to the end
is a principle of the doctrine of Christ.
If you keep on pressing forward, the Lord will have your back!"
I was on
exchanges this past weekend with an elder that I went on exchanges with nearly
10 months ago in Duncan. He was a new
missionary at the time and on our first exchange I was saying to him
"shoot tomorrow I hit my year mark!" and just the other day he said
"Elder Traasdahl, don't you only have a few months left?" It's incredible how fast time flies. We had a great exchange though. We taught a crazy LA sister that has beef with
just about every principle and doctrine of the church from A-Z. While we were talking with her though it came
up that she believes Christ is a son of God like myself or any or man on earth
is, and doesn't have any divinity about him. So now we know where to start!
God is our
Father, and Christ is our Savior. The
Gospel 101. We also had a lesson with
Seth and Emily on tithing and was a great lesson. Kristy, their grandmother, who's not a
member, also participated and taught them about fast offerings too!! It was so sweet too because she was bearing
her testimony to them the whole time about the importance of paying tithes and
fast offerings. Mini miracle right
there. Br. Shinn also told Elder
Ravsten, while he was down here on exchanges early on in the week that he plans
on getting married to Kristy by the end of this month, so we'll see where that
goes. And last but not least Eric and
Michelle! We had breakfast with them
Saturday morning at Br. Swaim's home with the other elders, and afterwards
taught them the 1st half of the Plan of Salvation. Sis. Swaim shared a really sweet testimony of
their conversion to the church, and the spirit was undeniable in the room. We took that opportunity to then set a goal
for baptism for them, and they're going to work towards may 24! They're not married either so sooner than
later we'll be getting some wedding plans going! They didn't come to church because they felt
embarrassed because they didn't have anything "churchy" to wear, but
we'll fix that.
Well real
quick, here's a spiritual insight for the week. Yesterday we got snagged and were asked to
teach the apostasy in YW's during the 3rd hour. It was a different experience teaching that
doctrine to a group of members, after having been teaching it non-members for
so long. But what struck me yesterday
after teaching it is how important it is for each of us to have a testimony
that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I know
this is kind of a "well duhhh" statement, but I add my witness to
that statement. If there's anywhere one
is looking to start to gain or nurture their testimony of the gospel, begin by
finding out if Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. Something that has always struck me so odd is
that most everyone we talk to recognizes that there's been an apostasy and that
truth has been scattered across all the denominations. What separates the wheat from the tares is
whether or not one is willing to act in faith to find the whole truth when
presented to them. Well, I love you all,
you're a special and blessed family. Thank you for your support and prayers. Continue to have your FHE, daily prayer and
daily scripture study, it's the best protection we can get. Love you!
Elder
Traasdahl
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