Derrick’s Handwritten Letter (10.25.14)

 So I’ve not done a very good job at writing home on a regular basis, but I will try and remember what has happened. I will start at transfers.

I have a new companion that is about to hit his year mark and have a birthday. He is from Kansas and A LOT different than me. For real…we don’t have anything in common. We both like totally different things. He loves to sit and read. He describes his dream night as being a dark room with a lamp, quiet, with a good book for the entire night. That’s his dream party. So you can say we are very opposite, but the weird thing is, we get along. We are not best friends or anything…. we just do work and do what missionaries do. A lot of times he’ll just pull out his iPad and just read whatever; mostly the Ensigns. It is only us in the apartment so it is very quiet most of the time.

We were just covering my Grove 2^nd Ward for a week, then the Mission President decided to give us another ward to cover. So for the past few weeks we have been doing that. It is good to do this because it keeps us busy.

I do feel different than the day I left. I found a new sense of excitement for the future and mostly the gospel.  We have so much! We can’t just keep it to ourselves. I can’t imagine how terrible life would be not knowing where I came from or where I am going. Life would be pretty pointless. With the gospel we have the answers. Before I believed…or thought I did. I thought I had faith until I read from PMG. Faith leads to action. The greatest way to show our faith and gratitude is to share it with others. Joseph Smith said, “After all that is said and done, the greatest thing we can do is that of sharing the gospel!!” The greatest thing we can do is share the gospel.

I have been reading and looking for signs of the second coming. Things are going to get a lot worse before that happens, but it is soon. The world is going to get much worse, and it is our job to reach out and find those who need peace and comfort. We have it, and when we share it we show gratitude and we are blessing them more than they can imagine. When we think of each other and brother and sister, you can’t help but want to bring all we can onto the “The ‘Ol Ship, Zion.” I loved that talk! Share your light.

Before my mission, my eyes were as open as and Asian. Being out here and being able to see how simple the gospel is, you are always serving someone. No man can serve two masters. “What way do you face?” Every decision brings you closer to someone. You don’t have to walk where Jesus walked....you need to walk how he walked. We can all do that wherever we are. We can stand up for truth.

I never imagined how much people watch us. They study us. Everyone here knows a few Mormons and they watch them. Always be doing things that you wouldn’t mind if someone else was watching you. To help myself get humble when things are not going well, or how I hoped, I tried to ask myself, “How can I help myself grow from this?” Instead of blaming others or the situation. The Lord has a plan for all of us.

I know this letter is all over the place, but there is so much to say and write. One of the main things we do out here is to go to the members and present the Family Mission Plan. It is four steps and helps families help their friends. It is amazing.

     1) Brainstorm: For 5 minutes, write down all the people that could benefit from the

        gospel.

     2) Select 2-3 Names from the list. Do so with prayer.

     3) Write down goals for those few people. The goals could be as simple as invite that

          person over for dinner, etc.

     4) Repeat.

Most people want to help us out, but they don’t know how. Success from this:

     The other day we had a ward party. The Bishop invited their neighbors to come to the party. It was a Chili Cook-off. So the Bishop invited them to make some Chili. They accepted this offer and came. It was super awesome. But the next night we went back over to the Bishop’s to pump up our bike tire and we asked him about them. We decided to go over and ask the neighbor how he made the chili and stuff. P.S. He took 2^nd place. He invited me and my companion in and gave us two chilis. The 2^nd hottest chilis in the world…no joke! HE had to special order them, We talked for like and hour and set up a time to come back Wednesday. That just tripled our teaching pool! All from one invite.

The greatest way to show that we are grateful for God, Christ, and the gospel is by sharing it. That is true. The Church is true, the Book is Blue, and that is that. I love to share what I have with others.

Side Notes:

     I love getting ties and beef jerky. They are awesome.

     I love getting pictures.

     I would totally love for more handwritten letters.

     Who are you forwarding my weekly mail to?