Two baptisms and some crazy Seahawks fans all in one post.

A little bit of home!

1/27/14 Emails

What's up mmmmmmommmmm,

How ya doing! I am doing great. This week was the most productive I have ever had on my mission so far. It was crazy!!!!! It started out that we put Jose and Cheyenne on date, as you already know. Well, they both were baptized this week so Elder J and I had 2 baptisms this week!!!!!! We also had 14 member-present lessons!!! This week was sooooooooo busy but soooooo worth it. I am staying in Sunnyside with Elder J for right now, which puts him at a year of his mission in Sunnyside. That is just crazy but no trainer call for me haha. He will probably be gone after this transfer which means I will probably be here for the next 3 months at least haha. I don't mind, because Sunnyside is doing really good right now because we will have 3 more baptisms in February. I am certainly blessed to be serving here right now. 

I am glad you liked my pics haha. Vince is an older guy haha. He is like 60-something. I am sure he will want to come visit. He told me he wants to be at my wedding and he wants to be there when I have my "12" children haha, so I am sure he will want to come sometime. He is a great guy. A good example too.

The bathroom looks super nice! I am excited for when I can use it again haha. At least it's getting done slowly haha. Looks great though. 

That is a cool story that Elder L had. The spirit does know what's best and where to go. I haven't had anything like that before but I have been guided as to who to go see and when. The Holy Ghost is an awesome gift to have. I like your story of the temple too. That is crazy that it is that busy. Is the Ogden temple closed or something? I wonder if they will build one in Kaysville or somewhere around there. It will be cool to see what's going to happen.

I did get Libby's and Sarah's letters. All they want is my ipod haha. I will let you just deal with it. I don't really care about it because it's super old. 

I bought myself a Seahawks shirt this week to celebrate them getting into the Super Bowl, as well as the success we are having in Sunnyside.

I love getting to talk to you guys a little bit. Mondays are awesome! I love you guys! 

 

Elder Sed says this house is a good example of the "crazy Seahawks fans" all over Washington.

What's up Pops!

This week was great! We had 2 baptisms! Both the baptisms were great. There is always such a spirit at baptisms that I love to feel. It was really just an awesome teaching week. We had 14 member present lessons! That was just amazing in and of itself. All of our investigators are doing well. Myron is really excited for his baptism. We have met with him three times this week because he loves it so much haha. He is a great guy. Really loves the gospel. We have him and two other people on date for baptism in February. Another family we are teaching is the _____. They are great people too. They are Baptists who are looking for a new church that is more family-oriented. They are all doing so great. The dad drives a truck and takes the Book of Mormon everywhere with him so he can read it. The mom is doing great too. They are progressing really well. I just love that family.  That is a couple of our major investigators right now. I will write a letter about the other ones to save some time. Sunnyside is really just doing awesome right now.

That is great that the Utes are doing so well right now. Hopefully they can keep it up. It would be cool to see them in March Madness. That is funny about the Jazz haha. They suck major bad right now, but hopefully it works out for them in the end with the rebuild. It is funny that you liked the Seahawks house haha. See what I mean with crazy Seahawks fans everywhere here?  It is going to be interesting to see what this town is like on Sunday haha. I had to laugh when we saw that house. I just had to take a pic. It looks really good though. 

Sounds like your calling is going good for you. Are you the most senior high council man yet? 

I am so grateful for the gospel in my life and the blessing it is, and that I can be a missionary and spread it to the world. It changes lives! I saw that with Jose. He is doing so much better than he was when I first met him. Now that he has the Holy Ghost, he has changed so much. He looks so much happier and you can feel the Spirit around him. I am sure it will help him tons with his life right now. I just love being a missionary! I love the people of Sunnyside too! Thank you for all that you guys do for me. It means a lot. I love you guys so much. I will write you guys a letter today too.

Love you family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Elder Sedlacek

First baptism!

Elder Sed (top center) and the Ellensburg Elders. 

When Elder Sedlacek gave his farewell talk in church, he bore his testimony that he knew the atonement is real. I don't think it's any coincidence that his first couple baptisms (one last week and one coming up this week) are two people who he would never have guessed would change their lives like they have. But through the power of the atonement, they have done exactly that, and Elder Sedlacek has been able to witness it. What an amazing blessing!

1/20/14 email to Mom

What's up Mama? 

This week was so great. It was kinda funny finding out about Vince's baptism. Monday when I was emailing, I didn't get the email from Vince, so if I hadn't gotten on during the week I wouldn't have seen it. Here is the story why I was even on the computer during the week: This week I got a bill from the medical place that I went to in Kennewick a while back for $10. I had to get on the computer to pay it. After I paid it, I had the thought to check my email and that is when I read about Vince's baptism. I was so freaking excited when I found out I hardly slept that night!  Anyway, I got approval to go from President Ware, which was super lucky because he wasn't going to let me, but he could tell that I really wanted to go see it. Since it was my first convert baptism, I got approval from him to go. It was a really nice baptism. Elder S got to baptize him, which I didn't mind, because it was so great to see him get baptized. He has such a strong testimony. It was fun to see his reaction when he saw that I was there. Elder S and I kept it a secret from him, so it was a huge surprise. He was super happy that I was able to make it. I was super happy too.

Well, to answer your question, I am staying warm and getting enough to eat. I want some good recipes that are fast and easy and cheap for missionaries to make. If you could send some in the mail that would be great.

Our investigators are doing great. Yesterday we put Jose on date for baptism this Saturday! We had a talk with a member of the bishopric and the ward mission leader before church and that really made us realize how prepared he is. We went home and said a prayer for an answer to see if he was ready for baptism and we felt like it is a good idea so we put him on date for the end of the week and he is super excited. I hope everything works out with it. He really needs the presence of the Holy Ghost in his life. It will help him so much right now, especially with making good decisions.

The bathroom looks super nice!

That is great that Nicole was able to get a job. I have been praying for her to find one that will work for her. Turns out Heavenly Father pulled through again. I will wish her a happy birthday too.

Sounds like church stuff is going well for you guys. That is good that Jared is finally growing up haha. Maybe he will get taller, but I will always be stronger haha.

Well Mama, I am doing great up here in WaRshington haha. Thank you for all the prayers and support. I love emailing to you guys too.

Love, Elder Sedlacek

Email to Dad

 What's up Grandpa Dad. haha

Can you believe that you're a week older since last week? haha. Just messing around with my OLD Papa. This week was great. I was able to go to Vince's baptism like you probably already know. It was great and kinda funny. When he was getting baptized, Elder S forgot to let Vince plug his nose, and when he was dunking Vince he smacked his head on the side of the font. It was bad haha but Vince was alright. He didn't even care either! haha He was just so happy to be getting baptized. He will be an awesome member and a long time friend. 

Last week was great! We have 5 progressing investigators right now with 3 of them on date for baptism. Jose is on date for this Saturday. Sadly, Cheyenne fell off date and wants to put it off but we are going to try to get her baptized this Saturday, too. She is so ready but she doesn't realize it yet. She really wants to be baptized, she just wants to put it off. We are going to have a lesson Ttuesday just on baptism so I hope she will change her mind. Pray for her to receive an answer to get baptized sooner rather than later. 

This week we taught 15 lessons which was still amazing. Nine of them were member-present lessons with investigators. It was still a great teaching week for us. Sunnyside is having bunches of success right now. It is a blessing for me to be serving here when it's like this. I hope I'm not training here in a week and a half. It is training numbers though. It will be interesting to see what happens at transfers this week. By next P-day I will know what's going to go down. I had my quarterly interview with President Ware this week and he said I am doing great. He said I am really good at adjusting to different comps, so hopefully I don't get bounced around my whole mission haha. President Ware is an awesome guy!

One of the benefits of serving in the states is hearing the scores of the big games. I already knew who was playing in the Super Bowl because I am pretty sure all of Warshington had a party last night haha. Everyone here is so excited for the it. It is crazy. I don't think the Super Bowl will be too distracting. Who knows how well the work will be in 2 weeks on Sunday, but it will be fun. I probably won't be able to watch it though which is okay. That is awesome Utah is doing so well in basketball. Maybe they will make it into March madness. That would be fun.

That is great that work is going good for you. I bet it is fun to work for the church. In a way I am working for the church right now and its pretty fun haha.

Well I hope you have a great week Pops. Have fun playing with Duke haha. He is a funny dog. I love you, Papa! You're awesome! 

A record-breaking week!

This is Elder Sed's 1/13/14 email to his Dad. He seems to write more details of his daily experiences to Dad, while he answers Mom's questions about whether he is staying warm and if he needs anything. :) 

What up "grandpa!" haha {This must be Jake's idea of a joke because there are no grandbabies on our horizon!}

How was your week? It sounds like it was a pretty good one to me. I had a great week. You said you wanted to hear about the investigators we have. I will just say, we taught 25 lessons this week! That is a new record in Sunnyside for all that I know. I wish I could tell you guys about all of them but I don't have the time to do that. I am doing really well on my journal from what I think. It will be fun to read through it with you guys after I am done. I am halfway through the first one so in another 5 months or so I will need a new one haha. I write down the spiritual stuff along with the stuff I want to remember. 

Well, the coolest thing that happened this week was with our investigator Cheyenne. She is a 14 year old girl. Her mom is a less-active member and they want to get back into church. I really love their family. They are awesome people. They have a little daughter who reminds me of Libby. It is crazy how much they are alike. Anyway, we had a great lesson with Cheyenne at a member's house on Monday for FHE. We taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ (which is my favorite lesson to teach) and the spirit was super strong. It was an amazing lesson--probably one of the best of my mission so far. We put her on date for the 25th and she is super excited for her baptism. It is going to be awesome to see her get baptized. The member is going to baptize her, but at least I get to be involved somehow! 

Jose has been working on some stuff and I am confused about him right now. He texted us last night that he wanted to talk to the bishop and he had some "bad news." He has not told us what it is yet so I am a little concerned. I am sure we will find out soon enough. We taught him and his family a lesson this week also. He wants all of his family to find the gospel, not just him, so he is being a missionary and he doesn't even know it. It was cool to hear him testify to them of the Book of Mormon, and he isn't even a member yet. He is a great guy, who happens to have some struggles, so I don't know when he will be baptized yet but we are working on it.

Another investigator we have is Marie. She is an African American woman with kids. She is an awesome mother who wants to find the best for her kids because she had a messed up childhood, and she doesn't want that for her kids. She came to church yesterday and she really liked it. She wants all of her family to come along with her next week. By the way, we had 10 investigators commit to coming to church this week, which would have so been so amazing if it had worked out that way, but we did have 5 actually make it, which is still amazing. It is the most investigators I have seen come to church in one week.

It is crazy how things are working out missionary work-wise. We never have to go finding ourselves. They just keep on coming to us, which is awesome. This week we dropped three investigators, but we picked up five. We have soooooo much work right now. It is so freaking (pardon my language dad haha) AWESOME!!!!! I know the Lord is hastening his work of salvation because I see it every day. People who  I would think would never accept the gospel are very interested in the church and want to be baptized.

It is great that you guys are seeing miracles because of my service as a missionary. You guys deserve every single one. I am so grateful for all that you sacrifice. I truly am.

It sounds like church was great for you. I bet ward conference was good.

I love the sports updates Dad. I already knew the score of the Seahawks game because everyone in Washington is crazy fans of them. If it was up to the state of Washington the Seahawks will win. I bet they will, though, just because they have an awesome coach and an amazing team with lots of talent. It sucks that the Chargers lost, but oh well. I still like the 49ers so I hope they beat the Seahawks haha. You asked me who I think will go to the Superbowl, and I am betting it will be the Broncos and the Seahawks, sadly enough. I hate both teams haha.

Well, it was great to be able to write you guys with a lot of info on our investigators. Thank you for all that you do again. I love you guys so much!

-Elder Sedlacek

An eye of charity

This is what a lot of Eastern Washington looks like.

Monday emails from Elder Sedlacek are the best thing of our week! Here is some of his email to Dad.
1/6/14

What up Dad? (at least I think this was Dad's email haha)

Thank you for the score list. That was awesome. It was also awesome to hear that the Chargers have a chance at the Super Bowl. I hope they win it haha. I didn't know they picked up Manti Teo though so that is awesome too. They have a great defense I am sure. I bet it was fun to build the 7ft snow man too. It probably looks sweet up on the mountain with blue sky below it. Is that the tallest one we built yet? I had forgotten that we did that every year haha. That was always fun. What are you going to do when you are like 80 years old? Are you still going to build a snowman haha? It is a fun family tradition though. It will be fun to help you guys again on that when I get home. 

Hey, the Sunnyside ward has 9:00 church too haha. I don't go at 9:00 though. We are there at 7:30. Meetings before church are soooooooo fun haha.

This week was an awesome one teaching-wise. We got 4 new investigators! I was so happy haha. We had an awesome lesson yesterday night with one of our investigators. Her name is Cheyanne. I think I already told you about her but she is 14 so it is like I am teaching Sarah haha. Well, we taught her about the Holy Ghost since when she came to the last half of church, afterwards she said she felt like she needs to be baptized. We told her that was the Holy Ghost and she though that was cool. She is going to start reading the Book of Mormon and we are going to put her on date tonight. It should be awesome. We have been waiting for her to get an answer if she wanted to get baptized for a while, and she got it haha. It was awesome. That was just one of the lessons that we taught. One of the new investigator's names is Maria. She is an African American woman who has a couple kids. She hasn't had much of a religious background but she wants her kids to grow up well and not have the life she had when she was growing up. She was very interested in coming to church, but her car broke down, which seems to be a problem up here alot. Cars break down so our investigators don't come to church. (Satan must be good at breaking cars haha). Well, she said she is very interested in coming next week so I hope she comes. It was really just an awesome week for me. I have been working on loving the people more and I can already tell a difference. Thanks for the advice Dad. I love the people of Sunnyside. When you love the people, it also makes it easier to go out and serve them. Charity is very important in missionary work. I think it will always be a struggle of mine that I will have to work on, but I pray for an eye of charity everyday now, and it seems to help a lot.

Well it sounds like your week was fun and busy. I hope work is going good still. How is everybody else doing? 

It was great to get to share a little bit from this week with you guys. I love being a missionary. Thank you for the sacrifice that you guys go through to keep me out in the field. I love you all sooo much!

Love, Elder Sedlacek