February 10, 2014

Dear Family,

This week was great, and constructive. We had lots of experiences that were hard, and miraculous at the same time. This week I have seen poverty, anguish, depression, despair, and trials of a thousand kinds.

The Lord is so understanding of each of those trials and realities and provides a way for our escape. I know that anybody who will read the scriptures and come to the living waters will not thirst nor hunger. What a marvelous prospect and a huge challenge it can be!

Some good experiences from the week:

Our car had to get worked on, and Elder Acevedo and I got to drive the big huge mission van that they take to pick up the new missionaries, and that was pretty fun! It was a little strange rolling up to the apartment complexes in that. Shortly thereafter we found a guy named Kendall, and talked about the Church. Many people remain just on the edge of faith, and only need to take the step to exercise it. So frequently people dip into one religion and pull from another, seemingly patronizing a buffet where beliefs are a bit like tastes. A confusing diet leads to indigestion, and that's just what they get. I thank the Lord for the pure word found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. What a clear, and USABLE religion! Kendall expressed his interest, and we'll send the other missionaries by. He had a big box of pancakes. Cool guy.

Well, there are certain disappointments in missionary service, but they're usually overcome by the balance of good in our favor. There's a new family we found that I am determined to go to the temple with, and we're going to keep trying. There have been speed bumps, and they've said they're not up for changing their religion, but we just need to serve them. Pray for them and us!

We received a referral to go and visit a lady in Duvall. We found her apartment and got to know her a little bit. She is from El Salvador, and has a CRAZY story of arriving here in the United States. The Lord arranged things just right, and now she is committed to coming to our English classes on Saturday. I am confident that she and her son are going to be strong members of the Church. She is looking for work, and I told her the importance of guaranteeing that she could keep the Sabbath Day holy. She needs work really bad, and our invitation means turning down any employment which would cause her to work Sundays, and that's VERY common! She promised to read The Book of Mormon, and to keep the Sabbath Day holy, and we promised massive blessings. I know the Lord has great hopes and plans for them.

Pretty cool experience, this one. Because of the snow (yea, there was snow!) we weren't allowed to drive yesterday, nor Saturday night. Elder Acevedo and I decided to make rounds of the downtown area here. We crunched through the snow, and tried to stay on our feet, and tried to find some people. We crossed the bridge over the river, and there was a big crane (the bird) standing in the ice water in the snow, and it was really cool looking.

As we were walking there was a man walking behind us, so we decided to wait up for him and walk with him. He was headed somewhere, and so we just went with him to his destination. His name was Rob. He wasn't wearing a beanie or scarf, and had snow in his super long hair. I gave him my scarf, and he was greatly impressed, and was happy to see that we were "doers of the word" as they say. He was quite moved, and impressed by the Christianity of our service. He shared that he has met with the missionaries for over twelve years. I straight forwardly asked him what was keeping him out of the waters of baptism. He said that he didn't believe the Atonement of Jesus Christ was transactional upon him, or in other words that it was of no personal effect in his life.

As we walked I thought about the whole thing, and shared with him this; I think that little acts of service and sharing with others were the type of "transaction" that Christ had in mind. He gave everything for everyone, and that inherently passed upon all men. His glorious gifts of Resurrection and repentance are the greatest transcendent acts ever wrought. I testified that Jesus Christ lives, and shared 2 Nephi 31:21. Rob is a good man who needs light and warmth, and what a blessing it is to fulfill a portion of that need on a snowy walk through Redmond, WA.

One super cool experience was finding a guy named Caezar. We walked around downtown and we always visit the bus stops, because there's tons of people. We walked up to him and started talking, and discovered he spoke Spanish. We introduced ourselves as messengers of Jesus Christ, and something interesting happened.

He related to us the curious answer that our visit represented. That very morning, he awoke with a huge desire in his heart, "I want to go to a church, I need to go to a church, where can I go to a church?" He prayed to God and expressed his desire, and just as soon, the missionaries were sent his way and presented a Church that spoke his native language, was in his area, and then there's always the small detail of it being the true Church of Jesus Christ restored by revelation! I think he got a pretty good answer, don't you?? :D

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Lord's Kingdom on earth! Come and buy milk and honey without price, and be filled. Let us bring others to restoration; they too may be restored to faith, and healed on the path of discipleship. Please share your testimonies with others that you may thereby keep what you share. I know these things are true and bear my testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder Talbot