Wow, summer has flown by hasn't it? Well, I'm not too happy now, because winter is coming and now it's going to start getting darker and colder. But I suppose I'll survive it again. Life's pretty alright.
There are some things, like the actual missionary work, that are alright. It's getting easier I guess, just because I'm more experienced, but there are other things that are challenging. Like now I'm a District leader, so I've basically not only got to worry about myself but other missionaries as well, and have to teach them at district meeting, but I'm getting better at that as well, so it's not too bad.
Elder Ballard said some things that were really powerful and good. He said that if we as missionaries want to baptize more, then we need to talk to more people. That was something good for me because the past week we were working on talking to more people (talking to everyone section in Preach My Gospel). And it was really helpful and I feel has helped me a bit to be a better missionary. We took a bus to Huddersfield, not too bad. It was good to see a lot of the missionaries that I know who I served around. I got to catch up with Elder Ball again. And he admitted to stalking me on my blog, which was sort of funny. Our mission president is really good. He sees things in a new perspective, which is good and refreshing. I think he'll do a really good job.
Sadly Piotr who we had been teaching stopped taking discussions. He was in Poland for a long time and his father passed away. I think that all the things going on didn't help. And also he said he felt like he'd be betraying his father and family if he changed his religion. But they are teaching a woman who is looking good for baptism.
We're working with an English woman, Samantha. She is doing really well and having spiritual experiences at church. She got to go to the British Pageant and said she liked it. So we taught her the Word of Wisdom the other day. She told us that about 6 months ago she decided that she didn't want to smoke anymore, so she stopped. Then she realized that if she drinks then she ends up smoking a cigarette, so she doesn't really drink much, so she's fine with that. She's been prepared!
We also taught Luke, he's open and friendly, so hopefully he'll progress. Other than that we're still looking for new people to teach, but we're not doing too badly.
I'm super excited for Brendon! It'll be a terrific experience for him! He'll do just great!
To Brendon: Hey you'll be a great missionary. Strive to be diligent, and obedient. I was thinking last night about the first day. It's crazy how much I've grown. I was also reading up on notes from past meetings I had. I've changed quite a bit. But now that I have to actually give the instruction instead of just taking notes on it, things are a lot different. I've also been reading the New Testament. I want to read the whole thing and I love it! So many things I've never really thought about before. Hey you're going to learn so many things, things about the gospel, things about the world, and things about yourself. I know that you'll do great!
Well today I plan on getting a haircut. I'm going to get it really short; I'm tired of long hair.
Love you so much,
Starszy Ressler
