Yes, miracles do happen and Elder Baker was transferred into our ward. He's here for another two weeks before he goes to Texas as his Visa finally came.
Dad told you we went down for Great Grandpa's 90th birthday, and I was struck with the idea that his greatest legacy wasn't his job, his community service or how many fish he caught; but his love for his wife and family. There were SO many people who came and they all love him. He was so humble he thought no one would show up. Lol! You have a fantastic legacy, Josh. You come from a long line of hard working, humble people who love the Lord.
From Josh:
Haha He made it! what a guy.
Its good to see that the family is doing well, I see no scars or anyone missing so I am grateful for that, I Love hearing from you guys and it means a lot to me.
One thing I have figured out about being a missionary, is that there is no instant change from being yourself and being a missionary of the Lord, When I got to the MTC I was still plain old me, there was no instant connection with the spirit, I was not instantly a great teacher, I did not have a sudden desire to talk to every person I met, I had to work at it a lot, I was still struggling with the same insecurities I had when I left. It is a slow, sometimes nearly non existent change, and it puts a greater light on why the prophets tell us we need to be a missionary way before our mission, Sam and Ben this is especially for you, if you don't know how to talk to people now and introduce yourself to new people then it will be all the more difficult when you leave on a mission, don't put off studies thinking as I did that it would just suddenly click when you leave for your mission, Study diligently now, I have had three older people who said to me, Read everything you can get your hands on, everything. Prepare yourself now for the calling that will be yours. Pay inside the gas station, say hello to people you pass on the street, shake peoples hands and introduce yourself at dances and passing through the halls after seminary, be outgoing, and strive to read the scriptures daily with meaning, if you are not reading with purpose you will get hardly anything out of it, pray from your heart, the average prayer is about 30 seconds, here is a cool challenge, at night see if you can lengthen your prayers, Cry unto God in Mighty Prayer and supplication, Draw your heart out to him, Enos Speaks of a wrestle with God, It was not so much a wrestle with God as with himself, Thank God for everyone you met that day, thank him for your family, there was an interesting quote, in Halifax I read which is, "If you woke up in the morning with only the things you thanked God for when you went to bed, what would you have?" The exact quote I cannot state anymore but it was along those lines, the meaning is still there. Enos Prayed for a day and a half before he got an answer, Enos 1:4, Nephi went to the Mount oft to draw himself out in prayer 1 Nephi 18:3 I have gotten to the point where my longest prayer is three minutes, and really it does not matter how much time you spend on it as long as you have a meaningful prayer, so I say again, pray from your heart.
In my studies lately I have been studying on faith, I am currently In Mosiah chapter 11 but an interesting scripture I read in 2 Nephi 29 is verse 10 Many times people (Members and Non-members alike) do not take into account that God is not confined to a book or even multiple books, he is a living breathing being who loves us and desires to teach us the things we need to know, and often times we get caught in the trap of just going off the words of The Books we have of Gods word, and I am not trying to take any importance off the word of God, for they truly speak of him, and their purpose is to draw all men to God, my first thought when I read this verse was "I can use this reasoning to tell people of the book of mormon!" but it was only when I tried to apply it to me when it drew a greater light on what I needed to do, it emphasized the importance to me of Prayer and scripture reading and personal revelation. How God does speak to us and we can recieve a greater light and knowledge from him if we first draw our hearts to him, then when we read his words in his books he can reveal greater truth as well as helping us grasp the scriptures we read, so that is why it is important to pray meaningfully before study. and to pray after.
This week is sprinkled a little, and it was like the city turned to a ghost town, rain is basically the worst weather you can get here, and so its a pretty big deal to everyone when it does rain.
I love you all and hope you will continually draw yourselves to the Lord, because true and everlasting happiness comes when we follow him.
Love
Josh
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