Anyone can change

This is the pic Elder Sedlacek and the other Ellensburg Elders used for their Christmas cards. How could they leave out Elder Oso (Bear)?

Email to Dad 12/30/13

What up Dad,

It was awesome to talk to you guys. I was sad at the end but I got over it and am back to normal now. This week has been good. I like your suggestion that I need to love the people more. I think that is one of my struggles--Loving the people as much as the Savior would love them. That is one thing that I am always working on--Loving the people more. It is true that if you love everyone just as much as you love yourself you will have much more success. I will definitely work on that Papa. Elder J is a great missionary who loves the members. Maybe that is something I can learn from him. It will be fun to have companions live so close to me when I go home. All of my companions so far are going to go to Utah State. Pretty crazy, huh? I guess tons of people are planning to go there after their missions. They are a pretty good school. Sounds like they did awesome in their bowl game which is good. That is too bad that BYU lost haha. That is funny about the Jazz. At least they aren't the worst team in the NBA! They will hopefully get better within a few years of rebuilding. 

I am sorry that you haven't been feeling well this week. I hope you get over it soon. Head cold crap sucks. Did you end up going to church?

It is crazy that 2013 is pretty much over. I am glad that I am serving a mission too. My testimony is so much stronger than it used to be. That is really cool about how much our second areas have in common. I hope I can have the success you did in your second area. I am sure I will. We have lots of investigators and I mostly know all of them. We have one named Cheyanne who is a 14 year old girl who the missionaries have been working lots with over the past year. She wasn't really that interested until just a couple weeks ago. She told us that she is interested in being baptized. It was really a miracle that she is so interested. It was something we weren't expecting to hear from her. We are also teaching a guy named Jose who also goes by Joey. Joey just got out of prison at the beginning of the month. He is making so much progress! He has some commandment issues, but he is working through them. He is a pretty sweet guy. He is a former drug dealer and was pretty much a gangster. It is fun to teach him because he accepts everything about the gospel. He will probably be baptized sometime in January or February. They are just a couple of our investigators right now. You guys can pray for Jose and a lady named Emma if you want. They really are in need of spiritual support. They can use all the prayers that they can get.

I love you guys so much. I love being able to email you every week. Thank you for all that you and the rest of the family do for me! Talk to you soon!

Love, Elder Sedlacek

The force is with Elder Sedlacek!

Email to Mama 12/30/13

How is it going Mama!

This week was really good. I really enjoyed talking to you all but I realized something that I forgot to tell you guys and grandpa and grandma. Thank you for the gifts! I felt pretty stupid that I didn't even say thank you the first time, so I am doing it now. I really enjoyed every one of the gifts. I love the Santa mug too. I was a little trunky I guess you could say after I hung up the Skype call, but I got past that and now I am back to normal. You guys are awesome! Tell Bro and Sister B thank you for the money.  I will send them a thank you card. I am glad you guys liked my pictures haha. Me and Elder C were taking lots of light saber pictures that night when we took that pic. It was fun. JP I am sure did great on his talk. It would have been cool to hear it but oh well. I am trying to enjoy every moment, even the harder ones, just like he said. That is a cool story of his about the ward mission leader though. Re-activations are the same as baptisms in the eyes of the Lord.  It is fun to see people change like that.

For 5th Sunday yesterday we had the same kind of deal. They talked about missionary work and they had me and Elder J say some stuff too.

Thank you for all that you guys do for me, especially praying for me. I pray for you too. I am staying warm and am learning to like Elder J. We get along fine, it's just we have total opposite personalities. That is the hardest part, finding stuff in common with us haha. We work really hard though, and get lots of success which is a good sign. He is a great missionary.

Merry Christmas from Sunnyside, Washington!

Email to Mama 12/23/13

What's up, Mama? 

I am doing good. This past week was good. I got all my stuff moved to Sunnyside. Transfers were good. We live in a little house, just me and Elder J. I like Sunnyside. It just smells all the time everywhere you go because of the dairy.  I don't know if I like that about this place but our teaching pool is huge! I am so overwhelmed in trying to get everyone's names straight. That is the hardest part right now.  It is a nice place. Elder J calls himself a geek, and I am getting to know him. The members here are great! The ward gives us tons of referrals. We had did have a Christmas program, but let's just say some of the musical numbers were a lot better than others. 

I have heard lots of good stuff about that movie Frozen. I will have to see it when I get home. It stinks that Mia didn't make it into the Sound of Music. She can try out next time though.

That is cool that Brother J is still our home teacher. I bet Grandpa H's was fun. I love his clam chowder. I . That is exciting about the bathroom. Be sure and take pics so I can see it.

For Christmas Eve, I will be calling home sometime around 8:30 here so 9:30 there. We can finalize any plans then. I will be Skyping from the ward mission leader's house. It will be sometime around lunch time in Bountiful. I don't really know an exact time, but it should be close. It will be soooo fun to talk to you guys. I am super excited. Thank you, Mama, for all that you do for me. I love you guys sooo much.

Email to Dad

What up, Dad!

Transfer week went well. I got to Sunnyside and went right to work. The mission has two main meeting points in Richland and in Yakima, so we go to the closest one to our area and then meet up with the new companion and go to the new area. It would be crazy to have it be like you had where you just go by yourself haha. We just hop in a car and drive to a meeting point. Not as exciting as you had it haha. Ellensburg to Sunnyside is only a 45 minute drive so it wasn't that far to begin with. I am looking forward to talking to you guys on Christmas too. It will be super fun.

That is okay that you didn't get to see any games yesterday, but try to do better haha. Updates are fun but not a necessity. 

Sunnyside is a crazy place. It is 90% Mexicans who speak only Spanish and a little bit of English. It is lots of dairies and vineyards. It always smells like cow dung everywhere you go haha. My new comp is Elder J. He has served in Sunnyside twice on his mission for a total of 10 1/2 months! That is crazy so I think he is going to leave at the end of this transfer. He has been out pretty much 18 months. He is very good at member relationships. I am learning how to best work with him and have fun with it. We have tons of people in the teaching pool, so much that I am overwhelmed just thinking about it. I am just trying to learn everyone's face and who they are. It is great being so busy with teaching though. I wish I could tell you more about our investigators but I don't know much about any of them. It is crazy haha. We get tons of teaching though. It is great!

That would have been sooo cool to have been at the Christmas devotional for your work. I bet it was super sweet to be at. That is good that work is keeping you busy. I am looking forward to talking to you on Tuesday and Wednesday! It's going to be sweet! I love you guys and am so grateful for all that you do for me. Talk to you tomorrow!

Love- Elder Sedlacek

"The mission is what I want to be doing right now."

Transfers are this week, and Elder Sedlacek is going to be transferred to Sunnyside--known for 300+ sunny days per year, the heart of wine country, and the annual Christmas light parade with farm vehicles, which he just missed. He's looking forward to a new area and hopefully will enjoy his new companion!

What's up!

This week has been slow but great. The last week of the transfer is always slow it seems. Well, I am getting transfered on Wednesday to Sunnyside Washington, serving in the 1st ward with Elder J and I have no idea who he is. I think he is an older missionary. Supposedly Sunnyside smells pretty bad all the time so it should be fun. I am excited to go see a new area. 

 

Thank you for the Christmas packages you sent. Yes, I did get them on Thursday. I haven't opened anything except for the envelope and the tree. I did laugh at the Ensign that was pretty funny. I didn't even think to switch the covers. I will do that. Good idea mama! Tell Bro. H thank you for me. I love him too haha. He is awesome. 

 

I am glad you liked my Christmas card. It is great that JP is home. You will have to tell him hi for me. I am sure he is having lots of fun being home with his family. That will be cool if he plays football at USU. 

 

Sounds like stake conference was a good one. They usually are though. It's fun to go to the big doughnut building. 

 

 For Skype I think I use my own account, so I will set that up. I get to call home on Christmas Eve for a couple minutes and then Skype or whatever on Christmas Day for an hour. I am so excited! I'ts going to be fun to see you guys again. I don't know what member home we will be Skyping from, but I will figure that out and what time. I can tell you that on Christmas Eve when I call. 

 

It is awesome Libby and Mia's friends got baptized. I am sure it was awesome to see. So were they being taught by the Elders then? The gospel WILL bless their family. I know it will. 

 

Haha Mama, you cried reading about Vince? You are funny haha. He is a nice guy. I like him. He is going to be bummed when I tell him I am leaving. He doesn't know yet. It is only going to be a matter of time before he is baptized. 

 

Thank you for everything you do for me. To be honest, the mission is what I want to be doing right now. It is a great experience. I love it. You guys are awesome for supporting me. All the support is great to have! 

I like the Christmas card by the way. Looks good.

 

Love, 

Elder Sedlacek

Hey, somebody has to plant seeds!

It's really great to think that Elder Jake left in July and now it's December--going on five months out! He's sounding fantastic, more and more mature with every email and letter. Having a missionary out is such a blessing, even though we miss him tons! 

Email to Mom 12/9/2013

Howdy mama,

How is it going back at home? I am doing good. We didn't teach many lessons this week but it was alright. Funny how you ask me about the Google + thing, and I honestly have no clue haha. I am no help haha. I have just been told that you can set it up with my mission email and it works. I have no clue where I will be face timing you from. It will be from some member's house wherever I am at. Transfers are next week and I am probably leaving Ellensburg. I really have no clue where I will go. Vince fell off date because of smoking issues, but it would have been cool to have convert baptisms here and in Bountiful. That is awesome about A & H. Tell them I would be there but I have some things I am kinda busy with haha. Ohh--thanks for the packages. I'm excited to get them. You are the best!

That is crazy that JP is practically home. I bet he is also excited to go see his family. It would be cool to hear him speak. When is David coming home? That is nice that the P family sent me a letter. Tell them thank you for all that they do for me. I assumed there would be lots of snow where you guys are at. There was a big rain storm that passed by here a week and a half ago.

I bet Mia did great on her audition. You will have to let me know how she did or if she got called back. She is probably so excited to find out.

We were allowed to watch the Christmas devotional, but Elder S and I forgot about it and scheduled an appointment for the same time it was airing. I heard it was good though. I always liked watching that.

Well, how are you guys doing? Can I get addresses for Christmas cards? I will probably just send a couple home in the same envelope if you could get one to the Bishop for me.

Email to Dad 12/9/2013

What's up Papa!

I had a good week this week. We kinda had a slow week again lesson wise but we taught Vince twice. He is progressing right along but has some Word of Wisdom stuff that he is working thru so he is off date for now. That was kind of a bummer but he is very sincere and really trying his best. Besides the new investigators we found last, we haven't found any new ones yet. We are still working on trying to find people who are ready to hear the gospel. Our other investigators we haven't been able to contact, but I hope they are doing well. I pray for them everyday so I would assume they are doing good. It kinda sucks when it is like this but hey, planting seeds is a job somebody has to do. 

It sounds like the meetings were good. That is funny that they had the Bar J wranglers come to the care center. I bet all the old farts loved them haha. They are pretty funny. I didn't get to see the Christmas devotional because we had a dinner appointment at 5:00 which is when it started here. Kind of a hard time to have it start. I really wanted to watch it but I hope I will get to see it soon. We were allowed to go watch it though, which was good. It is nice getting to have most of that stuff even while I am here in Warshington haha.

I am working on getting info for the members who I want to stay in contact with. There are only a couple people that I would though, and Vince, who said he treats me and Elder S as his sons. He said he wants to be there when we get married and have our 12 children haha. He is a great guy. He calls us homies and we really are haha. It will be nice to stay in contact with members and investigators when I go home. 

Things are really going great. The wards are trying to figure out ways to hasten the work within the wards and it is going along slowly but surely. It's only a matter of time before Ellensburg is on fire!

It is crazy that JP is almost home. He is a great example for me. I really want to work hard everyday of my mission too, and I try to do that even now. What I do today affects tomorrow--that is what I have learned. It is great being a missionary and feeling my testimony grow. It really is great seeing people change their life for the gospel. I love you guys lots and am thankful for all that you sacrifice for me to be out here. I love you guys!

Love, Elder Sedlacek

Dad's White Christmas Challenge---looking good!

Today's email session was great! Elder Sed had a good Thanksgiving and a much better week than the one before. Getting good news is the best. 

Email to Mom 12/2/13

How are you doing today!

I am doing great. This week was lots better than last week. Last week kinda sucked. This week didn't though. Thanksgiving was fun. We went to two houses. The H family and the P family. They are both really cool families. We also had lots of food. It was really good. We just had the traditional stuff it seemed, although we had fried shrimp too with the H's. It was really good. I didn't take any pics but I guess I should have haha. It was super fun to go to the members' houses and just kinda relax for a bit. I really liked Thanksgiving. Thanks for the pics--I like the blue on the Christmas tree. I was pretty surprised to not see it red and gold haha. That seems like what it was all growing up for me. The blue looks really good. Are you still keeping the super big tree? I really liked that one. Wow, you went shopping on Black Friday?! That is a first haha. Was it the early time or later in the day? I bet it was later that you went. I bet my Christmas package will be awesome. I will save some stuff to open on Christmas--it's more fun that way. Just wrap up some of it and I won't open it till Christmas. I will love it I am sure.

That's great church was good. Brother P did send me an email. I haven't read it yet though. He is awesome, I agree.

That is so many indexed names! The wards out here can barely hit 100,000. Oak Hills ward way to represent! haha You will have to let me know how Mia does in her audition. I wish her luck. That is great Lib is doing the choir. Did she do it because of Mia? 

Thank you for all that you do Motha. I am proud of you too haha. I am going to be making a Christmas card and sending it out.

I pray for you guys too, just so you know haha.

Email to Dad 12/2/13

Dear Pops a lot!

This week was great. 3 NEW INVESTIGATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I wrote about it a little in a letter I just sent, but we found three new ones and one is on date for the 14th of December. That is a WHITE Christmas if I say so myself haha. Challenge: Check! It is right, I only have 2 Christmas' in the field. I am sure it will be one of the most memorable. It's great to be serving a mission. Honestly!

That would have been fun to go to the Utah game. Who did they play? They do need a new quarterback. The one they have now sucks it seems. Kyle better not leave while I am gone! It is good that Utah State  won. They sound like they are doing great still. It does not surprise me one bit about the Jazz. Rebuilding  years are no fun for the fans.

I saw the new tree in the pic mom sent. Looks really good. We haven't had snow up here yet. Just rain and lots of it. I would rather have rain though. Our car probably wouldn't do so hot in the snow haha. The "maliboat" (chevy malibu) kinda sucks. Oldest car in the mission. It's just nice to have a car though. It is sure nice to have when it is 7 degrees outside haha. I wouldn't doubt it if the storm we just had gave you guys snow. It's a pretty good one. I am sure Jared will love it though. I am doing alright. I am staying warm too. I am looking forward to the letter you sent. I haven't gotten it yet but probably soon I will. That is good that work is going good for you.

Dang, I was hoping you had some pranks haha. Elder S is just a prankster haha. Sometimes I just have to set him straight haha.  It seems that is all I can remember really well too--the people and the experiences I am having. I guess that is what matters most. It's what you learn from. 

Our investigators have been doing much better this week. Vince, the one we have on date for the 14th, is really excited to get baptized and he really wants me or Elder S to do it so he is trying really hard to get ready for then. We have a couple others who are doing great. Tomara, Lizzy, and John are doing good. They are just trying to work toward baptism. John is a boyfriend to a member so that is how he got interested. Lizzy is a 9 year old daughter of a less-active member who really wants to be baptized. We are working with the family and her to progress towards coming to church again. Other than that, those are really our main investigators for right now. It's been a much better and successful week. It was super nice to have. We will get to talk on Christmas but it is just figuring out where I will be and when first. Transfers are on the 18th and I probably wont stay in Ellensburg for too much longer. Only time will tell. I will let you guys know as it gets a little closer. 

Thank you for all that you guys do for me. I love you all lots! 

Love, Elder Sedlacek

A tough week, but still a couple of miracles happened

Letter dated 11/25/13

Family, what's up?

This week was honestly pretty tough. We have been working on finding new people to teach and getting the people we are teaching to progress. Every single appointment we had fell through--it sucked. We did get lots of contacting done, but nothing really that great. Great as in, will go anywhere, except for one. We were out to check on a less active in an apartment complex. She wasn't there, but when we were driving out of the parking lot we saw a lady sitting on a bench by herself, smoking. We got the impression to go talk to her, so we turned the car around and parked it. Guess who the lady was? She was a lady we have been wanting to meet for a couple of weeks but no one could find her! {miracle #1} We started to talking to her and about five minutes later a guy comes out and walks up to us. He was this lady's boyfriend and he is not friendly to the church.

This guy walks up and Elder S was talking to Rachel (the lady's name) at the time, so the guy started talking to me. It was my first time talking with an anti-Mormon by myself. It was pretty interesting! Some of the the stuff they think about Mormons is insane. This guy thought we didn't believe in gravity because we're devils and we don't need it to stay on the ground haha. Most get all their information from the internet, and everything you read on the internet is true haha. Antis are interesting to talk to. I was able to resolve some of his questions, but after that he wanted to bash so we just left. Bashing is no good and doesn't go anywhere productive. We are in the process of setting up a time to meet with Rachel. This was probably the most standout experience that I had this week.

It was a pretty tough week but I got through it, obviously. I even fasted yesterday when it wasn't Fast Sunday because I wanted to. Can you believe it? {this is a little miracle in itself! haha} Fasting brings spiritual power so much stronger. It's great, even though it's tough to do sometimes.

I hope your Thanksgiving is lots of fun! I love you guys so much! Thank you for everything!
Love,
Elder Sedlacek

A hard week--but we have to wait for a letter!

Email to Mama 11/25/13

What's up Mama?

I am doing good. It is so crazy that I am at 4 months now. I still feel like I went into the MTC yesterday though. It does seem to be going by fast and supposedly the first 6 months go by the slowest. It's going to be one crazy ride! This week went by fast but it was pretty hard. I wrote you a letter about it so I won't ruin the letter haha. I got through it though, which is all that counts. I don't know what I will be doing for Thanksgiving. There are a couple members who have invitited us over for dinner so we will probably get pretty fat like you said haha. That will be fun to watch Elf haha. Too bad I can't on the mission. It's such a stupid movie but its pretty funny haha. I bet Thanksgiving will be fun to see all the family.  Mia is 12 now? When the crap did that happen? haha. I always tell dad that he is getting really old, but you can't possibly be getting older. That's just not possible! {What a good son!}

Pres. Ware is an awesome guy. He is my kinda guy. It doesn't surprise me that he would do that for one of his missionaries. He is just that awesome! That is cool that Ann was able to talk to him. 

That is a really cool story about Pres Monson. He is so sweet. That would be terribly hard to lose your wife and be prophet at the same time. He is so strong spiritually. I bet the Savior himself was there to comfort him we he needed it. I would not doubt it one single little bit.

I could use another shirt. I had a casualty for one of them haha. All the buttons except for the top 3 decided they wanted to ditch me. I think it's a long sleeve one. That is probably the only thing that I could use for now. I am getting enough to eat. It is pretty dang cold but I am staying warm enough. It's like 7 degrees here in the morning burrrrhhh!!

I love you too! Thank you for all that you do Mamacita. RB is a pretty cool kid haha. I am sure there will be a whole new wave of missionaries next summer. That is probably the way it will be for a long time.

Monday is the best day of the week haha. I agree also!

Email to Dad 11/25/13

Dear pops!

I am doing good. I have had a good week. It's been a pretty tough week but it went by super fast. We are working really hard and not seeing much success. It's been kinda frustrating not seeing anything happen with our investigators. Isaac fell off date. All of our other investigators that we had appointments with fell through. It was just super frustrating. We did get a lot of tracting and work on the ward list done because of it. It sounds like work is going good for you. Keeping busy is never a bad thing it's just tiring haha. That sucks that Utah stinks so much again this season. They need to get their butts in gear if they want to stay in the PAC. That is great for USU. They are a pretty good team it seems. That will be sweet if they win the championship. The Jazz news doesn't suprise me haha. They are in a rebuilding year for probably the next couple seasons. Don't be surprised if they don't even get 25 wins in the season haha.

That is a sweet story about the missionary in Africa. I know a kid who went to Africa and he was big into Jr. Jazz. It could be him. I know that I am in the Kennewick mission for a reason too. I haven't had an experience like that but I feel like it is where I belong for the next 2 years. I love being a missionary even though it's tough. It's also pretty fun sometimes.

Oh a wind storm again? It is good that it didn't do much damage this time around. It has been really cold here for the past couple weeks. I am staying warm though. You are probably getting the freezing wind from here. I wouldn't doubt it haha. It is like 7 degrees in the morning every morning. Too cold haha. It is supposed to snow sometime after Thanksgiving is what everyone says. I hope it does because it will warm up a little bit. I don't need anymore coat for right now. I am staying pretty warm but if I ever do need one I will get one. 

About our teaching pool. We have a couple investigators. We have one named Tomara. I probably already told you about her. She is pretty awesome. It is just scheduling that is the biggest problem for her. She works odd jobs and its hard to meet sometimes. Vince is another one we have. He is a Sicilian and he smokes cigars like nobody's business. He reads the Book of Mormon every day and comes to church almost every Sunday. He is a pretty cool guy. Barb is the other one. She is the girlfriend of a less active member and she is interested in the church. She studies in the Book of Mormon and reads the gospel principles handbook. We haven't been able to meet with her for a little bit though. I assume she is still reading and studying though. All the other people we have, we haven't been able to meet with for a long time. We are just trying to find new investigators every chance we get. Please pray for us that we will be able to find new ones. Well, I hope you guys are doing great and it sounds like you are. I love you guys so much. Write me when you can. I love to hear from you. I know it's busy though so it's not a big deal. At least I get to email every week.

I love you guys!

Love Elder Sedlacek

Enjoying every minute of the mission!

Traveling between towns

Elders having fun. Elder Sed is on the right. I'm not surprised by that face.

Email to Mom 11/18/2013

How is it going!

I am doing good. This week went fast for me too. I did get your letter. I thought that picture (of his great-grandpa Hilton leaving on his mission) was way cool. He looked so different back then. It is too bad about your knee. Arthritis is no fun haha neither is getting old. People tell me to never get old, because it sucks. I hope your knee starts feeling better for you. Funny that you say something about Elder Richards. He is in our mission right now and I will hear him speak tomorrow. It should be really good. I am excited for it. I will try to not worry about you haha. It sounds like you are doing alright so that's good. Stupid knees huh. Sounds like you guys are having lots of fun. That is too bad about K's mom. That would really be hard.

I always knew you would come around to like meat haha. It was only a matter of time. I guess I did rub off on you! Next step: grandma D haha. Yep, we went to a place called Wing Central. It has really good food and they have a wing called the hell wing which is the hottest wing in the world. Let's just say its HOT wherever it goes haha. It's all in good fun though haha.

I don't know if I need anything. I don't know what else for Christmas haha. Orange sauce from Panda? That sounds pretty good haha. This transfer ends the 18th of December, I think. I don't know if they will change the date because that will be a pain with Christmas the next week. I will let you know though. For now though its going to be on the 18th.

It is crazy that JP is already going to be home in a couple of weeks! I bet he is trunked out of his mind haha. That is actually what most elders do when they go home--just throw out the clothes because they get crappy and take the important stuff that they want to keep. Stuff gets worn out pretty good over missions.

Thanks, mama, for all that you guys do!

Email to Dad 11/18/2013

 

Pops!

What's up my main man? I had a good week. Sounds like you did too. That really sucks Utah got whooped. I kinda thought they would. Oregon is a great team. The church has huge holiday sales?? I wouldn't think that would be the case. I guess with Deseret Book and stuff like that it could happen. I guess with the new scriptures that would help too. Sounds like work is going good.

We have lots of people wanting to have us over for Thanksgiving. I am going to get so fat haha. It's going to be weird to have the holidays out here but it won't be that bad. I'm not homesick at all lately which is good. I am looking forward to Christmas actually. It will be fun to be a missionary over Christmas two times. I am willing to take your challenge for a "white" Christmas haha. Sounds like a plan Stan. 

I am enjoying every minute of my mission, believe me. It's great to be a missionary. I can actually say now that I have a way stronger testimony of the gospel because of going on a mission. This week we had a couple investigators drop us and we couldn't get a hold of some of the others but we are still working hard and doing our best and that is all we can do. We may not have that many investigators but we teach with the spirit. I know we do! Isaac has been dealing with alot of anti this week but he is still trying to progress in the gospel. He just needs to find another place to live first. That is really the only lesson we had this week with an investigator that is solid. The other lessons were just here and there, like on door steps and stuff like that. We are just trying to find new people to teach. We have been trying to talk to 10 people everyday. Haven't seen any success come from it yet but I know we will.

I am staying warm. It gets pretty cold sometimes but it's more mild than Utah, it just blows freezing wind all the time so that is the sucky part. Good thing I have that wind breaker coat. It's way nice to have. Thank you for sending it. Also thank you for all that you do for me. YOU DA BEST PAPA! I pray for you guys every day too. 

I love and miss you guys and will talk to you soon. 

P.S 37 more days till Christmas!

First Baptism Scheduled!

Email to Dad 11/11/13
What's up pops?

My week went great. Kind of a cool story for the week: So you know Isaac had been kind of apprehensive about the church? He had been praying for an answer to know if the church was right. He finally got that answer at the beginning of the week and since then we have met with him 5 times this week! We assigned  him a chapter in 3rd Nephi 11 (where the savior comes to the people) and he read it and he said he jumped around in joy haha. He is super awesome. I also gave a copy of the article that Brother H. gave me and he loves that too. He couldn't put it down he said so tell Bro H. that I have been able to use his article lots. It is awesome. Well anyway, we have him on date for baptism on the 30th and he said he cannot wait. We might even move it up. We will just have to see. As far as our other investigators, we have another named Tomara. I might have already told you about her. She is a grandma who is interested in religion. She loves Jesus and will do anything to follow Him. We gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to church but she didn't show this week so we will keep trying. That is pretty much the really solid ones we have for right now. We are doing a lot of tracting where all the red necks/ hicks are at so that is kinda fun haha. Kittitas is a crazy place haha! I love it though. Never would I live there, but it's still pretty funny to see some of the stuff that goes on. 

Dang, that sucks about the sports teams. I really wish Utah could win some more. Utah ST seems to be doing pretty good then. That's good for Nicole. I bet the Utes will get whomped on by Oregon. Just have to see what happens though.

As you know, Sunday is not a day of rest for missionaries haha. It will be weird to go home and be able to rest haha. Meetings all day then pros at night. Sounds like your Sunday was like mine. Lots of stuff going on but hey that's everyday out here haha. Me and Elder S. get along great. We haven't even argued once which is nice. We have good lessons and have lots of fun other times. It's nice to have a good companion for once haha. I love the wards we cover. In other words, I am doing great. Ellensburg is starting to grow on me you could say. I love the people, especially all the red necks in Kittitas. By the way, I have a dang good fake hick accent now. I will have to crack it out sometime haha. I did get to see the pic of Elder K. That would be so cool to pet an elephant. (Too bad there aren't elephants in Ellensburg). All my friends are doing well. I hope you guys have a good week. I love the Book of Mormon and I know the church is true! My testimony is definately growing! I love you guys! Talk to you later!

 

Love, 

Elder Sedlacek

A confession

Letter dated 11/4/13

Dear Family,

I figured that I would write you a letter now that I have time in the day. Things have been going good up here. As I said in the email, they split this area. We are now working more focused on the wards now, which is good. They really needed to do it officially and they did.

One thing I realized this week is that I have been trusting myself to know when people are ready for the gospel, not the other way around like it should be. I need to put my trust in Heavenly Father, who knows each of his children perfectly, to know when his children are ready for the gospel. I came to realize that in training this week. That is the big thing I am focusing on this week. We are going to try to visit all of our potentials, regardless of what I think. I don't know everything, but Heavenly Father does! Well, there's my big confession for the week haha. There is always room for improvement, and I'm going to improve on that this week.

It's crazy that I'm at three months now! I'm 1/8th of the way done and it feels like I got to the MTC yesterday. I can definitely do 7 more 3 month increments. Living the mission one day at a time really helps.

What's new about you guys? Enough talking about me haha.

Coming on a mission has really strengthened my testimony of the Book of Mormon. Reading it every day for an hour is great. If only there was time for that in normal life! (There is I guess, but it's so hard to make it.) It's great serving a mission. I would recommend it for all the younger kids. It's hard, but it helps you personally so much and others, too.

Thank you for everything. Every single one of you! I love you all. You should write letters more often haha. I love them. Talk to everyone later!

~Elder Sedlacek

Switch ups, but no transfer yet!

Elder Jake is hitting his second transfer staying in Ellensburg, but we expected it since he just got a new companion a couple of weeks back. I think he is happy to stay where he is for now. 

11/4/13 Email to Mama:

What's up? It is crazy how fast October went. I've been out three months, but trust me, I will always be a greenie in some way haha. I still have my dork dot from the MTC to prove it. Pres. Ware is an awesome guy. One of the guys from the Seventy that came with Elder Ballard said we aren't assigned to a mission area. Missionaries are assigned to a president. Wherever the Pres you need is serving that is where you go. I thought that was kinda cool. 

I am trying to stay warm haha. The heater in our main room won't turn on so we just wear coats all the time, but I do stay warm. We are in the process of getting it fixed. It hasn't snowed here yet but I have seen snow on peoples' cars so it is snowing somewhere. Probably up in Cle Elum. Oh, Christmas shopping already? Fun. A good quality GPS would be nice to have but you get whatever you want for me. I will like anything you guys send. 

I did get the package of cookies. They are so good. I liked the package. The cookies are perfect mama haha. That clown pen was funny. I don't know how Lib knew that I hate clowns but I do. That pen was the first thing I saw when I opened the package haha. I was like "what the heck is this?" then I read the letter that she threw in there and I got why. Libby is funny. 

I also like the story of Aaron and King Lamoni's father and when he values his life at half of his kingdom but then later on a couple chapters he values the gospel at all of his kingdom and whatever else it takes to have the gospel in his life. You're right, it would be awesome to see someone change like that.

The transfer news is Cle Elem is getting their own set of Elders now, which is just crazy. They are a branch now but I am sure they will be a ward in not so long. They also split Ellensburg into two areas. One of the areas is 2nd ward only, and the other is 1st ward, and 3rd ward. Me and Elder S cover 1st and 3rd. Other than that nothing really exciting happened. Pretty boring transfer call. I am sure splitting the area will help it so much once the members trust us a little more. Before, they didn't really have that much communication with us. It was hard to focus on all the wards at the same time while doing a free-for-all type thing. I am glad they actually officially split it now. I am happy covering 1st and 3rd. I love both wards. They have awesome members. 

I am getting enough to eat. I wish I could cook something. I want some recipes out of that "A Man, A Can and A Plan" cookbook from Aunt Mo. I don't want the whole book though. I don't think I need anything from home in particular. I am doing pretty good. Thank you for all that you guys do!

11/4/13 Email to Dad

What up Pops!

I am doing good. By now, I am sure you have heard the news that my area split and I cover 1st and 3rd ward now with Elder S. It was a slow week honestly. Isaac is being kinda stubborn. He went to a gospel principles lesson, but the teacher turned it into a gospel doctrine and went super deep with doctrine. It really screwed up his progression so now he just says he is going to pray for an answer for our church to be true but he doesn't want to meet until he gets that. It just really frustrates me when people do that. Kayla moved to Othello so we lost her. We found another investigator named Desirae. She is a college student just interested in learning about the church. Her dad grew up Mormon and won't talk about it so she is just learning from us. Other than that, we are just trying to find some new people to teach. We got a bunch of referrals from the other Elders so we are going to check those out. We have a bunch of new investigators from them that they were working with that I haven't met yet so I am excited to meet with them. 

I only heard about Boston winning from the gym we go to every morning. I saw the celebration. It looked pretty crazy haha. I am glad Boston was able to win it this year. Hopefully Utah State can keep up the winning. I bet they can make it to a bowl game pretty easy. 

That is crazy it is snowing already. Seems like yesterday I got dropped off at the MTC and it was super hot. I am at my 3 month mark too. It hasn't snowed here yet but I have seen snow on peoples cars, probably from up in Cle Elum. It is like Park City up there but not as big or nice. It snows a ton just like Park City does. We split the area so I don't get to go up to Cle Elum anymore. I loved it up there. It's really the only place I have seen in Eastern Washington that looks pretty haha. I have heard Wenatchee is just like it so I hope I go up there sometime.

Good luck on your talk. I bet its so fun being a high council man and getting to talk a ton in a year (NOT!) haha. You do good at it though. Just sayin. That is sweet that Sister T has been learning sign language. It would be cool to see a testimony done in sign language. The Bishop is awesome. Give him a hard time for me haha.

Did you have lots of fun trick or treating? I bet you did. I bet you couldn't wait to get up to go walk around the neighborhood haha. It is fun though to go around and get doughnuts from Bonnie and stuff like that. We didn't have any trick or treaters come to our door. Probably because they know we are missionaries haha. We were going to hand out pass along cards instead of candy if anyone knocked on our door. It is crazy how old you and mom are getting haha. You mean you are getting old. Mom is staying young haha. Life goes too fast sometimes haha.

I hope you have a great week!

Love you all,

Elder Sedlacek

An Apostolic Blessing

Elder Sed on the right, his trainer in the center, and his trainer's trainer on the left.

Emails from October 28, 2013

 

Hey mama,

The mission conference with Elder Ballard was pretty awesome. I got to shake his hand along with all the other missionaries. My clothes are fitting. I am doing good. Elder Ballard gave the mission an apostolic blessing that if we talk to 10 people everyday we will find, teach, and baptize more people. That was pretty cool and its easy to do. Sunday was good. It sounds like you were kinda like me. I get to go to two blocks of church with an extra 3 hours of meetings. Fun fun fun. Sundays on the mission don't have much rest involved haha. That is good that the other missionaries from the ward are doing good. Cafe Rio sounds so good right now. Too bad there isn't any anywhere close by. The weather is good. It gets pretty cold in the night and so it's cold in the morning but it warms up to like the 50's so it's nice in the day. The tree outside our apartment is all empty too. I love the fall! One thing I could use is some homemade pumpkin cookies if you want to make some for me. Those sound good. On Halloween we go inside at 6:00pm and plan for the week for the rest of the night till whenever we get done then just have fun I guess. It would be allowed but I don't know if we will carve pumpkins. I will have to see on that. I love you guys too.

 

Dad,

This week was good. We were able to get a hold of Isaac and Kayla and had lessons with them. We haven't found any new investigators this week. We split the area between our 2 companionships so we can divide and conquer. It was a free-for-all basically before, so hopefully this method will work way better. We are just trying to find some new people to teach. It's not that fun but rewarding when you actually do find someone. 

Up here there are a lot of trucks I have been seeing with deer in the back so I guess it was good hunting up here. It would be fun to come back up after the mission sometime and do some hunting haha. I sound like a red neck!  Sounds like work is going good for you. That is great. That sucks about the Utes. They need to get it in gear if they want to go to a bowl. Sounds like the world series game would be fun to watch but I have more important things to do right now haha. I actually don't have to wear suits like anytime. Only for special meetings and ordinances. Pres Ware doesn't like them so we don't have to wear them very often which is soooo nice. I have gotten used to the shirt and tie though. I am staying warm enough. I will get a better coat if worse comes to worst and I do get cold. I will probably buy a hoodie though for service. I am 1/8 of the way done with my mission! Its crazy! It feels like yesterday I was riding go carts at Boondocks with Jared and Michael. Time flied, but it also seems slow at the same time. It's pretty weird. I have been keeping a journal everyday. I will try to write more of the spiritual stuff. It could probably use a little more of it. I have been trying to do it though. For Halloween here I go in at 6:00pm and plan for the week. Fun stuff. Then whenever we finish that we get to just hang out. Probably a wrestling tournament or something like that. We have a lot of fun up here. That is what makes it fun to be a missionary--doing the Lord's work and hanging out with other missionaries. We saw a pretty good bonfire the other day. The people were smoking weed I think. They were going crazy haha. We stay away from that stuff though. Really the only cool place I have been able to go see is the cabin in Natches. I want to go see some sights, but really in Ellensburg there is nothing to see but farms so I will have to wait for another area to see some interesting stuff haha. I love you guys too. Miss you and I am thankful for all that you do for me. You are the best.

Love

Elder Sedlacek

 

Meet Elder Oso

Hey everyone! Elder Sedlacek is doing very well these days...even better than we thought, as you will see. And, meet Elder Oso--the "traveling" Elder now staying with Elder Sed and the other missionaries in his apartment--at least until he gets stolen away!

Elder Sed and his comp kidnapped Elder Oso from the APs.

I am doing great! I had a big surprise this week. On Wednesday Elder R got transferred up to Wenatchee, and so I now have a step-father (mission lingo) Elder S. He is awesome! It's so much better now than it was with Elder R. Me and Elder S get along alot better than me and Elder R. I liked the package you sent me. Thank you for that. I like the sweater too. The little insigna doesn't even matter. Well, our investigators
have been really hard to get a hold of. I had been praying that we will be able to get a hold of them. We then called an investigator we have named Kayla who never answers her phone, but she answered this time and we got an appointment set up. Issac has been having some phone issues I think so we haven't talked to him this week. He didn't come to church so I don't know what's up. We finally were able to contact a media referral we had up in Ronald, Washington. Her name is April and she is a high school junior. She got interested because of her previous boy friend who was a Mormon. We got two new investigators from that. Her and her friend Alex. They are both cheerleaders so they are really talkative. It will be cool to
seem them progress. They are really interested in learning more about the church. I love teaching people who are genuinely interested. It makes it more fun. If any one asks what they can do to help, tell them to pray that
we will be able to have better contact with our investigators. That is really the big problem holding us back right now.
Sounds like church on Sunday was really good for you guys. Church was good here too. I don't really remember what was taught but it was spiritual if that counts haha. Our family has awesome neighbors, really though. They give the missionaries so much support. It's awesome! Dad, I like the sports updates. You had said in the letter that you don't want me to get homesick from it. It doesn't make me homesick. Don't worry about that. It is actually a help to know whats going on so I can bring it up to talk to people. Then we seem like we are more normal than they think we are haha. You really can relate anything to the gospel. Sometimes its trickier than other times but it usually works. I like to hear about the sports anyway. It would be so fun to come back up to Washington to do some hunting. I already have some good spots in mind. Trust me! haha.
It's not that bad though seeing all the animals. Really, serving a mission is the most important thing I could be doing right now. It has already helped me grow. It will be crazy a year from now to see where I am at.
I saw the picture of the front yard. It looks so weird with out the big tree. That will be a big change when I get home to not see the mushroom tree. The maple tree will look much better than the mushroom ever could
though haha. It will look so pretty in the fall I am sure of it. I really like the fall colors too. They are so pretty. It's good to hear what has been going on at home. I am keeping busy here too. I love you guys too.
Thank you for all that you do for me. You are one awesome family!
Love, Elder Sedlacek

You don't grow from a walk in the park

Last Thursday, we got a quick email from Elder Sed saying that he would be emailing on Tuesday this week instead of Monday. We assumed it was because of Columbus Day, but we were wrong!

Elder Sed: It wasn't because of Columbus day I couldn't email. It was because they changed p-day for this week so we could go to the temple this morning. The new video is so cool. It made everything so much easier to understand. I also liked all the pictures in it. The earth is a beautiful place that is for sure! I LOVE the temple! The next time I get to go will probably be January sometime which kinda sucks. I wish it was more often, but oh well.

I am doing good. The week was good. We found a new investigator named Issac. He had met with missionaries in Pennsylvania and they gave him a Book of Mormon and he has been reading it ever since. He loves the Book of Mormon. He spends so much time reading everyday that he chose the Book of Mormon over his girl friend haha. He also loves church so much that he came to two church blocks, not just one! He is pretty much golden. It is awesome to teach people like that. It was nice to actually find someone who is solid with meeting with us. The rest of our investigators have been dropping us like flies, or we can't even get a hold of them. That is one thing that made this week kinda hard. It sucks when the teaching pool is basically nothing. The big problem is that they mostly are college students and meeting with the missionaries isn't their highest priority in life. So it is really off-and-on with meeting with them. We have been focusing on meeting with members, as you know, and it's going good. We teach them how to use the missionary pamphlets and then leave them with a challenge to use them in their own missionary work. They are going good but haven't gotten any referrals from them yet. I don't really know if I have favorite members. I really like them all but since I cover a whole county I don't really know them that well.

Things with Elder R are going alright. I wrote alot more about it in a letter I sent the other day so you should be getting that pretty soon. I will be happy when the transfer is over though.

That is cool that you guys were able to clean the branches up yourself. I bet it sucked though for dad and jared haha. I always hated cleaning up branches. I bet the yard will look awesome when I get back.

Mama, I did get your letter the other day and I liked it. If you could, can you send me some long sleeve black v neck sweaters (the ones that are approved)? I wrote that in the letter but email is faster so oh well.

I love you guys too! Thanks for all you do for me.

Mom: I am so glad you got to go to the temple this morning! That is awesome! Happy to hear about Isaac! How old is he? Has he been in WA long? Yeah, it was real fun cleaning up branches, lemme tell you. We all helped, but that got it done faster. I will work on the sweater situation. I was actually thinking about it the other day and wondering if you had changed your mind about wearing them.

Elder Sed: Yep, I did go to the temple. It was a long drive, but worth it. Isaac is 30-something. He hasn't been in WA long, but I don't know long. He is German Baptist too. On the sweaters, just make sure they aren't vests. Vests are stupid haha. Thank you for all that you do for me. You guys are the best family! It's nice to have such good support. It's what keeps me out here haha.

Mom: You being out there is the best thing for you and for us. We still get soooo many blessings from it, and you will get blessings for the rest of eternity!! We miss you, but we are happy to support you and see you doing so well. We love you very much.

Elder Sed: Thank you. It's really nice to hear that. I am glad that you guys can see the blessings. I miss you guys too, but am happy to be having a growing experience. It can be really hard sometimes but I realized the other day, you don't grow from a walk in the park experience. It has to be hard to have the most growth.

Mom: You're absolutely right! You don't grow as much when things are easy. You grow the most from resistance. It's like the year Dad planted carrots in the hardest soil in the garden, not expecting much, but when we dug them up they were HUGE! We were surprised at first, but then I realized it's just like life. We grow the most when it's harder. Keep up the great attitude. 

Elder Sed: That is one thing I always try to keep is a positive attitude. It sucks even worse when you're depressed. It's like the Tree of Life vision. The people "cling" onto the Rod of Iron, continually pushing forward against the attacks of Satan. We all can apply that. We need to just cling to what we know is right and push forward through the sucky parts of life. I have to go soon, but it was really nice to email back and forth. You are the best! I love you all, by the way. Talk to you next week, on Monday.

Doing my best everyday

Emailing back-and-forth with Elder Sed went a lot better this week. He sounds good, is finally getting over the cough from bronchitis and is learning a lot about dealing with companions who might not be your best friend outside of the mission, but through compromise you make it work. We are really proud of him. As for The Fast and the Forty goal of 40 new investigators by the end of September? They beat it by 10! 

 

I am doing great! General Conference was awesome. I loved all the talks. We watched all the sessions at the church and it helped me to focus and I took a lot of notes. I am just starting to re-read them. I was kinda bummed though that Elder R wouldn't let me continue our priesthood session tradition and go get some ice-cream or something because he didn't want to. Elder C wanted to but we just got too busy.

 

We really aren't teaching that many investigators really solidly. They are all so hard to get hold of so its kind of off and on. I really hate that. President Ware wants the mission to focus on member teaching visits so we go teach the members and get feedback and ask for referrals. We haven't gotten any referrals yet, but we just barely started doing the member teaching visits. Member teaching visits are kinda cool. All the rest of the numbers usually drop, but baptisms don't. I just found that kinda interesting.

 

{In response to Dad's story about doing his best everyday}I really do try to do my best everyday. I am sure you do too.

 

Dad, I saw the pics of the yard and it looks really different without the tree. It looks good though. What kind of chain saw did you get? Does it run really good? I bet you had a blast cutting it down. It always seemed you like being a lumber jack haha.

 

That sucks about the scores of the football games. That is also too bad about Chuckie Keaton!  I wonder if they will medical redshirt him and give him the year back? I will ask Nicole about that.

 

We haven't gotten any snow in the valley yet, but the tops of the hills were snow-dusted. The weather has been really nice. Cool in the day and cold at night. Its not too cold anytime though, at least yet. All I have is my coat so far, but if I ever need the other stuff I will go buy it.

Thank you for your prayers for me. It means a lot. I love you guys a lot. I will be sure to share my testimony with everyone, Dad. Testifying is really important. I hope you guys have a great week too.

 

Love, Elder Sedlacek

 

 

The Fast and the Forty = Mission Accomplished!

Well, emailing back and forth doesn't seem to be working out too well still, but at least Mom, Dad and big sis each got a nice email from Elder Sed today. He is doing well! His mission Grandpa lives in the same apartment with him now. For those not fluent in "mission lingo," Mission Grandpa = the trainer of Elder Sed's trainer.

 

To Mama:

My week went by normal it seemed. Not too fast, not too slow. It will look really different without the big mushroom (pine tree) in our yard haha.

I got to see two primary programs too. They didn't seem as good as ours did though. The kids weren't funny so that was different haha.

I did get your letter with my SD card. Thank you for sending me a letter. I like letters. I also got the insurance card too so I can use that if I ever need to. Hopefully I won't anymore.

I am still in Ellensburg with Elder R. He is my trainer and this will be the last transfer with him. I am kinda happy about that. We kinda butt heads on some stuff, and he likes to focus on the things I do wrong which kinda annoys me sometimes. We get along most of the time, though. Elder P got transferred to Kennewick and we got Elder C. I like him a lot. We have a lot of fun. He is my grandpa out in the mission field but he has only been out for 9 months. I allways call him grandpa though haha. With all the new Elders that came in they made a new zone in the mission. It will be exciting to see what else happens with the mission.

The bronchitis I had is almost gone. I feel much better than I did before. I just have the usual cough that stays around after its gone for a couple weeks.

The members are feeding me well. We have dinners a couple times a week so I get some variety of foods there which is nice. I don't really get to see President Ware very much. Only like once a transfer. I email him weekly though. I don't know if I need anything at the moment from home.

It sounds like things are going good at home. That's great. Things are going good here. We met the goal of 40 new investigators as a zone so that is awesome.

 

To Dad:

That is a cool story about your job. (They had visitors from Africa!) It would be awesome to work with the church. That talk at the care center I bet was really good. (A story of Michelangelo and his angel sculpture--he saw the angel in the marble and carved "until he set it free.") It sounded like it would have been cool to hear. That is really the purpose of life. Heavenly Father loves us so much that He wants us to be like Him. All we have to do is follow the Savior, and we can. That is what my purpose as a missionary is. To invite people to follow Him.

Sounds like it was a good week in college sports. How close is it to the world series? I literally said "oh my gosh!" when I found out WX beat BHS again. That sucks soooo much! It better not start a losing streak.

Thank you for taking care of my bike. Did it start up ok? It should have, if it didn't.

I bet the yard will look really good with a maple tree instead of the mushroom haha. That tree was ugly but it kinda grew on me haha. A maple will look much better though I am sure. Don't have too much fun cutting it up haha. At least its right next to the curb so you don't have to haul the branches up the hill.

I really have grown up a lot. I still like to have fun though. Its fun to tease some of the other elders. They like to be really serious so I try to keep the fun still. Elder C and I are accomplices. The other day we tied a door shut with ties and that was funny haha. That is one story I have for when I get home.

This week we got a media referral for a college student named Paeton. We went and taught her and we had a great lesson. I got her to pray at the end of the lesson, and I committed her to baptism the first meeting! It was awesome she said she would. The other day I had a weird experience too. We were tracting and we came to this Indian guy's home. He opened the door and let us in. He walked us to the back door and led us into his back yard, then he went back in and just left us. A couple minutes later he came out  and was wondering why we weren't fixing his outlet yet. He thought we were electricians! I think he was a little high though, because his house smelled like marihuana (that stuff is legal in Washington so we smell it all the time). He didn't speak good English either so it was kinda interesting.

I am getting to know a lot of the Elders in our zone. It will be interesting to go down to zone p-day and meet the new ones. I like the ZL's and the AP's. I don't really know the AP's that well yet. Elder C is the DL and I already talked about him. He is my grandpa in the mission too so I always tease him that he is my grandpa and I call him grandpa too.

I study the scriptures and Preach My Gospel everyday. I have started to re-read the Book of Mormon. I love the read the Book of Mormon. I learn a lot when I pray before and after I read. I would challenge all you guys to pray as a family before and after you read the Book of Mormon at night. You learn so much more and can feel the spirit stronger when you do. That might be something you guys can try as a family. Just a thought haha.

Well this week was great and thank you for all you do for me. I love you guys a lot. Talk to you later!

 

Love, Elder Sedlacek

 

A visit to the doctor

This is the birthday cake made by the other Elders in Jake's apartment from the mix and frosting I sent in his birthday package. They did it up right! They even got the right number of candles. :)

Here's Elder Sed cutting in to the amazing cake. He looks amazing himself!! I miss him so much.

This is the praying mantis that is a "guest" in the Elders' apartment, since they "can't have pets." Elder Sed says he can't believe it's still alive.

Monday 9/23/13 Email

The weather has been NICE this week. It's just cool enough to not be hot, but not too cold.

I went to the doctor down in Kennewick for my cough. I have bronchitis and swollen sinuses. I am doing good, though. I got a couple samples of an antibiotic but I don't remember the name of it.

It is really important that we pray everyday for missionary experiences. That is one thing we are challenging the members up here to do for 21 days. We call it the 21 Day Challenge. They read the scriptures with missionary work in mind, and then pray for missionary experiences. Trust me, the Lord will give you them if you ask. I have seen it bunches of times already.

It would be awesome if you guys did buy a cabin sometime--hunting land!! I'm glad you had fun and Craig and Shannon's cabin. It sounds like a good time.

Our investigator Jim drives a truck as you know, and he is really busy til Christmas, so he can't be baptized until after Christmas. There isn't a good chance of me still being here in Ellensburg by then, but it could happen. It really sucks though because he is sooooooo ready!  He was really excited, and then his work got crazy. He works two jobs.

We haven't met the 40 new investigators goal yet, but we have reached 28. Almost there! I know we can make it though. With God, nothing is impossible. We as a zone just put our faith in God and trust Him that it will work out, if we do our job.

I went to a member's house yesterday who are really big hunters. They have 4 Labradors, 3 whites and 1 black. They looked so much like Duke and Molly! It was fun to be able to pet them and pretend they were Duke and Molly haha. The dogs were so funny. They live on a big ranch, so the dogs just run around, swim and play in the mud. It was fun to watch them. I love Labs!

Well, I am doing good up here in Ellensburg WaRshington (everyone up here pronounces Washington as WaRshington). I hope you guys are doing good too! I love you guys!

Love,
Elder Sedlacek

Elder Sedlacek's Birthday and The Fast & the Forty

Happy Birthday, Elder Sed! Sadly, it was not a very good day for emailing back and forth. For some reason, the connection was veeeeerrrrrrryyyyyy slow. But I'll still count my blessings: I heard from him, he's doing great, he's having a good birthday, and he got his birthday package. All in all, it's a win.

Elder Sed: How is it going Mama! I am doing good. I still have a cough which I am tired of. I have had a good morning. The other elders made the cake for me last night {a red velvet cake mix I put in his package, along with frosting and candles}. I wanted to make it myself but they wouldn't let me. We are going to have a party after we get shopping done. After the party, we are having a zone p-day and going to a cabin to hang out and play games. It should be fun. I got the package on Friday and I opened it then. I like everything in it. Thank you very much! The package I got from Ann had some goodies and notes. Grandpa H threw in a visa gift card. I can email back and forth now.

One thing I need is a copy of the new insurance card, and if you could please laminate it but you don't have to. Do whatever is easier for you. I just need one because they want us to use the family's if we have it before the church's, so if you could send a copy of it that would be awesome Mama. 

Mom: Awesome! You will have fun. As long as someone baked you a cake, I don't care if it was the other Elders. :) Do you think your coat will work out okay?

Elder Sed: Yes, my coat will work out perfect. Thank you for sending it.

After a loooonnnnng time.....

Elder Sed: It doesn't seem that we could email back and forth very much today. I am doing good and am focusing on finding new people to teach. It's a lot of walking, tracting, and just talking to people which is fun if it isn't 100 degrees outside! We found two new investigators this week which is exciting. I hope they keep with it. I hope you guys are doing good at home. I am doing good here. I love you guys. I sent some more info back to the other email so hopefully you can read that. I have to go now, but I love you guys. Talk to you later!

In response to an email Jeff sent him:

I am doing good, but still have a cough. This week in zone meeting, we set a goal for finding 40 new investigators by the end of the month. We called it The Fast and The Forty, because we fasted as a zone yesterday in hopes of the goal. It was cool because Elder R and I went and found two new investigators that night. It was really awesome. Right now, we are really focusing on finding new people to teach because a lot of people are moving in and out and we have lost some 'gators. The work should really pick up with school starting on the 25th. The students are starting to move back, which is awesome. 

That is great that D.H. got some playing time and Bountiful won. I heard the result of the Utah game yesterday from people talking. It's too bad they couldn't finish it off. It would be awesome if they won it.

Jim, one of our investigators, really wants to get baptized so that will be great. As I said before, we are focusing on finding so that means a lot of tracting and OYMs. It is good though. It can suck at times when it's really hot. They say the winter will suck up in Cle Elum. It will be hard to get up there because it can snow 13 feet in a night. Crazy! In Ellensburg, they say the winter isn't that bad but the wind just kills you. Hopefully I won't be here when it gets super cold, but I'm sure I will stay warm. Thank you for sending my coat. 

I wish I could see the colors change! I love that time of year. I probably won't get to see much of that here. It's the "never green" side of the "evergreen" state haha.

Tell Nicole congrats on her half marathon. She is crazy haha. I would never do that. 

I am doing great up here in Ellensburg and I love you all!

Love, 
Elder Sedlacek  

Sedlaceks in Kennewick?

Today's email session with Elder Sedlacek was interesting. At first it was great, and then I started getting a few coming through two and three times....and then his final email came through at 2:15--about two hours after I knew he would have left the library. Strange happenings with the connection today!

Elder Sedlacek: What's up Mama! I am doing good except that I have been sick all week and it sucks. I am tired of it. I called Sister Ware (mission president's wife) and talked to her. She told me to buy some tussin DM, so I did and I tried it but it hasn't really done anything. I just feel like crap all the time. This week wasn't the best. It's kinda hard being sick and having to do stuff still. We have had a couple of pretty solid investigators move away this week, so that also stinks. 

Mom: I am so sorry you are sick! Have you gotten some Emergen-C or some vitamin C tablets? I think it would help. Don't worry about your investigators moving away. At the least, you have planted a seed that they may remember later, or else they may look up the missionaries in their new area and keep going. 

Elder Sedlacek: That is cool about the house painting and you are welcome for the [James Taylor/MoTab] tickets. That is cool that you got good tickets, too. You guys deserved them. It would be nice if you sent up my black coat from last winter. It will be cheaper to do that then try to buy a new one up here. I'm glad you went to the Blue Lemon. That place smells good from when I have walked past it before. I want to go there sometimes. I also want to see some pics of the house. It sounds like it looks nice. [I sent some in reply.] That looks really nice!

Mom: Okay, I will send up your black coat from last year. Do you need gloves? Which of your investigators moved away?

Elder Sedlacek: Okay, that will be great. I don't need gloves right now but if I do I can buy some crappy ones from the dollar store or something. The 'gator that moved away was a student named Kaitlin. She was awesome, and she was progressing really well. I think she is going to look for the missionaries where she moved to. I am sure that she really will.

Mom: Then I am sure she will, too. Everyone is coming over tonight for my birthday. I told them if they wanted to include anything in your birthday package, to bring it and I will put it in. So you should get a good package at the end of the week haha. Something to look forward to! I also talked to Elder T yesterday, one of the Elders assigned to our Stake. He is from Kennewick! In fact, he said he's front right smack in the middle of Kennewick. He gives you his best and said to look up his family if you get assigned to Kennewick.

Elder Sedlacek: I hope you will have a great birthday party by yourself haha. I'm gone, so we can't share for once. I am sure it will an awesome package. You guys are the best! That is cool that Elder T is from Kennewick. I will have to look for them if I ever get the chance.

Oh guess what? I had an interesting thing happen the other day. We were tracting, and we knocked on a door, and a guy opened the door, read my tag, and said, "So you're a Sedlacek?" and he said our name perfectly. Turns out he knows some Sedlaceks back in Kennewick. We are probably related somehow. 

Mom: Sedlaceks in Kennewick? That is awesome. We are the only ones in Utah, but there are lots in Nebraska. Interesting that there are some in your mission. 

Elder Sedlacek: Yeah, "Sedlaceks in Kennewick?" that is what I thought too haha. The guy even said I look really similar to them. Maybe he is crazy, but maybe there are Sedlaceks in Kennewick. I want to meet them if there is! 

{The following is in answer to an email Jeff sent Elder Sedlacek}

Teaching college students is hard because they move around a lot. We had another pretty solid investigator move this week. Hopefully, she will continue to have the lessons. We taught Jim this week and he really wants to get baptized. He has almost quit smoking. He is sooo close! We are also teaching a woman named Kayla. She is going through a rough time right now with her family. She is doing alright with the commitments, but needs to follow them a little better. She has a hard time reading and praying on her own. Other than that, we have done a lot of tracting trying to find new investigators. It is really something I don't like doing when I am sick. 

That is awesome about the Utes. I hope they do a lot better this year than last year. Keep me updated on the scores. You're doing good at that but keep doing it. I love to hear the updates.

There really aren't orchards up here in Ellensburg. It's hay fields, and yep, the farmers are working on getting it all dried and bailed. I bet the fruit [from our fruit trees] was yummy. I always liked the peaches and nectarines.

I have to go now. I love you guys! Keep writing me letters and emails. It's nice to receive both. You guys are an awesome support to me. 

Rodeo Week in Ellensburg = 300,000 extra people to teach

Here is a separate email Elder Sedlacek sent to his Dad.

Dear Dad,

This week up in Ellensburg was rodeo week. I don't know if you happended to see ESPN this Saturday and see the bull riding, but it was supposedly on. It is crazy though! They said like 300,000 more people were up here in Ellensburg and I believe it. We talked to sooo many, but most were not interested. That is cool about Kelsey. I am sure she is a great missionary.

 

Hearing about college and NFL football will never make me homesick. I love hearing about the scores. That is good that you got new tires and fixed up old blue {the car that's been through Nicole, Jake, and now Jared}. That car is a trooper. It just keeps going, which is good.

 

For my b-day I would like some ties for a start. I am kinda getting sick of the ones I have. I don't really know what else but I will keep thinking about it and let you know. And yep, you're old. I always tease Elder P for being old, but you on the other hand are old haha. Just kidding. You're awesome. I hope you have lots of "fun" doing all that fun stuff around the house.

 

Pres Ware said the other day that he is 99.9% sure we will be part of the technology mission stuff so maybe with your new job you will get to hear the insight. I hope you do good with your new job and love it. It would be cool to work for the church. Well, I love you and look up to you. You're awesome dad!

Elder Sedlacek

Ellensburg: so many ducks & no hunting allowed.

Photo sent by President Ware last week.

Elder Sed: Mom, I am able to email today. We went to the church so I can email. That is good everything is going good for you guys! And Nicole better not get married while I am gone. I got to be there to interview the guy, to make sure he's not a flake. It's funny you say something about how it's been a month. I was just thinking about that like 20 minutes ago. It literally seems like it's been two weeks and two years at the same time. It is awesome though, because I love to teach people the gospel and see the spirit work in them. I like to know what is going on at home. It's great to hear everything that is going on.

Mom: Awesome! How are you doing? I am glad you are enjoying your mission so much. What are you going to do today? Do you need anything?

Elder Sed: Well, thank you mother. Today for p-day we are going to hang out in Ellensburg and maybe go to the fair which is in town with the rodeo. In fact, the rodeo was on tv on Saturday. Maybe you saw it? I could use a wall USB charger for my ipod and a double male aux cord for it so that I can play it in the car. After my interview with Pres Ware on Wednesday, he took a pic of me with him because he thought I looked so good haha. Did you get the picture? What did he say with it if you did get it?

Mom: Oh yes!! We did get a pic of you and Pres Ware. Should I send it in this email? I will attach it so you can see. You do look really, really good and really happy. Everyone said that when they saw it. Holly said you look like you feel right at home. Pres Ware said, "Elder Sedlacek is excited telling me all about his first two weeks in Selah. He is immersed in the work and smiling big!" So, Selah? Are you in that town too?

Elder Sed: Our zone is based in Selah. We go down there for big meetings and some p-days. He is an awesome president! I like him a lot. He is so loving, too. He is a lot like President Dester was.

Mom: Well, now I know why he said Selah. I wondered if you were based there. I'm glad you love President Ware. So, you told Dad you have summer cold. Do you need any Emergen-C? What would you like for your b-day besides ties?

Elder Sed: Emergen-C would be nice. It sucks being sick. I had some things written down that I wanted but I can't remember any of them so I'll have to write you today and get you the list. There is just so much stuff to remember out here that I forget some sometimes haha. Thank you for all the packages. I have an awesome family. Something I forgot to tell Dad and Jared is that there are sooooo many ducks and geese up here! It's so tempting haha. They really like the climate and all the fields so they just hang out all the time!

Mom: Dad says he knew there were lots of ducks and geese up there. He says, "Wait until the migration starts!" haha

Elder Sed: It drives me crazy. They fly so low everywhere and they are huge! Can you check on my account? I just always want there to be money in there in case I need it.

Mom: I will keep an eye on your money haha.

Elder Sed: Are you using any of the money to send the packages?

Mom: Nope, not taking any of your money. Have you needed to use any?

Elder Sed: Yeah, I have used a little bit. I am also planning to buy a shirt from every area I serve in too, so I am planning to go shopping today. I got the idea from Elder P. He is doing that too, and then once I get back make a quilt out of the shirts or something. It just seemed like a good idea to me, and a cool way to remember the different areas I will serve in.

Mom: That is a great idea! You should definitely get a shirt you like from each area.

Elder Sed: Well, I have to get going. I love you guys and I will talk to you later. Thank you for all you do for me. You guys are the bomb.com haha.