Dad, you don't know how much of an example you really are to me.

hey dad, so this was a good week. it went slow but it was good. it was really rejuvenating to talk to you guys, and it was fun. i can definitely say that it was the best christmas i have had yet. i really got to know and feel the true meaning of christmas--it was awesome. that is sad about sister A, but it brings comfort to know that we will see her again. i  would not be suprised if she has checked up on me--hahaha--or if she will. send my condolences to bro A for me. that is cool you guys got to hear from jake and those others in sacrament meeting. i hope all the other missionaries from the ward are doing well--that is cool you got to hear about it. that is a really cool story from your mission, you always seem to know what to say to me because those always help me! thank you for that and for following the spirit. it definitely takes lots of faith in a area like this. you told me to pick a leader i admire and try to emulate them--that is something that i always strive to do, to pick a leader to take examples from and pick the characteristics that i like most. you are one of those people. you don't know how much of an example you really are to me. it always helps to look up to you, thanks for being that example dad! that sounds like such a good meal you had at the grand america! i bet you were stuffed hahaha. elder n is going to be going crazy about the denver-bengals game--he is a huge fan hahaha. for that game, since i like them both equally, i don't care who wins. it would be nice to see cincy get a super bowl while i am here though. i have heard a lot about how good the new star wars movie is. i can't wait to see it with you guys when i get home. that is a really nice thought from bishop davies, was that at work? i also like the one from president monson about loving others. loving everyone is something that does not come easily for me--i always have to constantly strive to love the people i teach. elder holman has realized this and told me that he would bet money i become a leader, but if i learn that trait fast, the faster the leadership will come. i hope you guys have a good time putting together the puzzle and everything, as well as the new year snowman. have a great new year's! i love you dad! have a great day and week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

Hi mom! that is crazy that i only have one more christmas to go. it has flown by so far, can you believe i have been out for nearly five months? the best part of the week was christmas eve, that was so good to teach and talk about christ on his birthday eve, that was probably the best day out on the mission that i have had so far. the most faith-promoting thing that happend to me was on the day after christmas. we were walking up a hill to a  bus stop, and this man from nigeria stopped us and asked us to come into his house and teach him. he is a great guy! i love his accent. we have a return apointment with him this week. 

 

the hardest thing that happened this week was probably not having any of our investigators show up to church. that always sucks. christmas was awesome! so after we skyped, we hung out at the taylor's for a few hours, and then bro b picked us up to go to his farm. we had a really good dinner and egg nog over there. it was fun. while elder holman skyped with his family from the farm, i played around with the grandkids that are in high school. we played like foosball and shot some hoops hahaaha. their farm is pretty cool. 

 

your christmas sounds pretty good as well--i am glad. ben is getting huge! they sent me a christmas card and i saw him and i thought, "holy crap!" that is also crazy about tara having another baby so soon. i hope you all have fun on new year's eve. thanks for the puzzle for me to do--i already put it together. hopefully the snowman will work out hahaha. dang, it is cold in utah! sorry that i leave and the weather goes sour haha--i guess it just can't exist without me--jk! that is cool about getting to hear jake speak sunday, i bet you liked that. i don't remember bro C, but that is way cool, i am glad he is coming out to church. it will be awesome to see if he gets dunked. thanks for finding me a copy of that poem, but it is okay though if you can't find one. it is so important to have a companionship of three! that is what it is all about!

 

Mom: I am really glad that you had such a great Christmas! It sounds like you had a lot of fun and also felt the true spirit. That is all I can ask.

 

Good luck with the new Nigerian investigator! That is awesome news!

 

I am going to pick up your new strips today or tomorrow and send them, along with the card reader. Is there anything else you need? 

 

Elder Sed: if you could include my blue and yellow tie i left in my room by accident, that would be great. maybe a calendar if you want, but if not i can buy one haha. it really was a great christmas, i loved it, i felt the spirit A LOT. thank you for sending that stufff mom! you're awesome!

 

Mom: So what will your New Year's Eve and Day look like? Do you have to be in at a certain time? What do you get to do? 

 

Elder Sed: for new year's, we do have to come in early, and we have to deep clean the apartments, then we stay in until  a certain time on new year's day.

 

well, i have to get going now mom, it was great to hear from you! i love you guys all so much! talk to you later! have a great new year's and build the snowman well for me! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

I am grateful that I have this opportunity to be out here

 Hey dad, so this last week went pretty slow, but it was good. we had a really good transfer meeting and we got to hear from president porter--he is so awesome! so my new comp's name is elder holman. he is from utah and has been out for 10 months. this area is doing well, except for what happend to a*** this week. i will write about that in mom's email. i will get to skype on christmas at around 10:30 am, although we don't get to call on christmas eve like jake did. they really enforce skyping for 45 mins, so no more than that. well, this week wasn't as tough as i thought it would be, it was still hard taking over though. elder holman was made district leader thankfully. i know i have been put here at this time for a  reason. i just have to trust in God. you must have had a fun day Sunday, it sounds like. those are some cool scriptures you shared with me, it is always nice to get those from you haha. i will definitely keep that in mind. that is cool you finally got to see the s family, how are they doing? tell the allreds merry christmas for me and i definitely felt their prayers. that is way awesome about the utes winning the bowl, but they always screw up for at least a solid quarter in all thier games it seems hahaha! that is great they beat byu though hahaha. hopefully usu can play well in their bowl! have fun at the work lunch--that is probably way good food. so you probably have a few days off this week then? thank you so much for sending the bratzeli cookies! i am sure they will taste good, i can't wait to make some when i get home hahaha. that must be an  awesome talk from pres.monson i will have to go and read it, i really like that quote and i know that to be true, that as i do give all my might to this work i will see miracles and help bless the lives of others. i am grateful that i have this opportunity to be out here serving the lord for another year and a half, i have already seen blessings from it and i am sure you guys have, too. thank you so much for all you do to keep me out here, i know it is a lot, thankyou so much. i hope you guys have an awesome christmas as well, i love you so much and i look forward as well to talk with you guys over skype, it will be fun. i will talk with you in a few days, love you so much, have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this week was kinda crazy, my new comp's name is elder holman. we will see how this turns out. we get to skype for 45 mins on christmas, and we will be doing it at about 10:30-ish Ohio time so be ready anywhere from 8-9. sadly, we don't get to call on christmas eve like jake did, so i will talk to you on skype haha. so this week we didn't have anyone show to church, it was really sad. a*** OD'd on heroin and got in a car wreck, so he is probably going to jail. that really blows!! we were able to teach s*** and he seems pretty solid--we have a lesson with him tonight and he is making us dinner. we were also able to talk to w****, and he is having us back today. other than that, not much has changed. 

i was able to get my packages! could you tell ann & jim and gma & gpa h thank you for me?  tell them i will be able to use that, and it will come in handy! (they gave me a card and money). geeze louise, Syd's boy has gotten huge! holy cow! thank you so much for the packages! i can't wait to see what's inside on christmas! 

you are probably getting pretty busy with christmas it sounds like, i am sure all those parties will be fun! and were fun! that must be nice to have everyone home for christmas, i am excited for when i am back home hahaha. that was a way cool story about sister E, it is always nice to hear those stories about the holidays! i am glad i get to be a missionary during christmas too, i only get two of them. they are kinda tough, but it is cool to talk about Christ all day around his birthday! well, that is it for updates of this week, how have you been?

i am sorry i have no pics to send this week, i need to get a card reader so i can send them to you, so maybe next week i will be able to.

okay mom, i have to go now. it was great to talk to you, thank you for all you do for me, i love you all so much! i will talk to you on friday! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

Five cavities filled--"The people here are feeding us way too many sweets!"

Elder Sedlacek & three other Elders moved this 800 pound stove for a service project.

hey dad! so this week was incredible! we hit 34 lessons, 7 of them were member-present!!!!!!!! the trials from last week really paid off and now we have some new investigators to show from it. but first off, for transfers i am staying and elder Nielsen is leaving, it really stinks. we had so much fun together! i barely know how to access 1/4 of our area, so i really hope i get a good comp to help me, i will need it. i know that through the Lord i can do anything though, so it will work out, he knows what's best. i am glad you enjoyed the pic and video that Bro. B sent.  i wasn't unhappy about singing, i just was trying to concentrate on what the words were hahaha. i really love the mission song and i actually had chills when we sang that time, it was cool. that is cool sierra is already home, that went by fast! at the end of this month, i will have hit five months out, and that is crazy. i am glad you enjoyed our christmas card, we had so much fun making it hahaha. i will look forward to those bratzelis you are sending. haha those are the christmas highlight tradition! haha i have not got my package yet, hopefully it comes soon. stake conference must have been awesome, i miss stuff like that, but of course now i get mission conferences which are even better hahaha. great job at work! that is awesome! i heard about navy's win over army. our ward mission leader is a really cool guy, he is like you and craig and he tells us scores and stuff sometimes when we go over on sundays for correlation. he told me about navy and the coaching situation, and that is crazy about bronco, he is going to be making bank! i heard jacksonville is playing super good this year, it does not surprise me. that is crazy you are getting snow and we are in the 60's! it has been really nice. well, enjoy the snowblower duty hahaha i love that thing haha.that is true about the spirit influencing us to do right, and it is cool to see that in my own life right now. if i even think about doing something wrong, i already feel bad for it. when you have the spirit with you this much, you are always wanting to do what's right, it is awesome. thanks dad for all the updates, as usual i will send more in the general email, i love you so much! have a great day! and week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this morning we went to the dentist to get some cavities filled in, i had 5! the people here are giving us way too many sweets! haha. the dentist is a member and did it completely free, he didn't even want our insurance cards or anything. he is awesome, so he numbed up my whole mouth until i could feel my eyes going numb hahaha. 

well, this week was stellar! we hit 34 lessons! that is freaking awesome considering we usually only hit like 23 max. elder Nielsen is leaving and i am staying, i am scared hahaha. i hardly know how to run the area, but i know that through the Savior and with his help i can do anything. 

we got a new investigator this week, named S***, we found him around thanksgiving and came back in contact with him. we got him to come to the ward Christmas dinner and he wants to attend church, although that will be hard because he lives downtown and can't pay for bus fare, so that is a challenge. that guy M******, his son, W, is now wanting to be baptized, so we are going to teach him the lessons. S is an interesting guy. we will see what becomes of him. this week was awesome, we found some new investigators yesterday and blew our goals out of the water! so we will try to stay in contact with those new people. 

since i will be one of the most experienced elders in the zone, the most experience in this zone, not the mission, i might become a leader of some kind. the other elders in our district are leaving so it is me and the cincy sister who just got out of training, so we will see what happens. 

i am looking forward to the christmas package, should i wait until Christmas to open it or no? i am glad you enjoyed the pics that Bro. B sent on Friday, so every week he does that. he feeds all the norwood elders and sisters breakfast and then we usually do service afterwards. that is our mission song, i hope you like it haha. 

i am sorry about your back, that really stinks, maybe you should try putting jake's diodes on it from his leg surgery, that is what elder nielsen does for his back, he has problems too. that is crazy that finals are already here and jeff and nicole's anniversary! i didn't even notice! holy cow, time is going fast and slow, i am surprised it is already been close to 5 months for me and it kinda feels like eternity as well hahaha. it is hard to describe. tell mia and Sarah good luck for me with their concerts and stuff. 

i am sure that stake conference was way good, i love listening to pres. stuart, he is awesome. yep, what sierra says is true, missionaries are just lucky to get to witness the miracles. it would be bad for me to take credit for the ideas and stuff i have and get because they really aren't mine. when it comes to dealing with other people's problems and helping them with that, i am dumb as a box of rocks! but with that revelation and the impressions i can receive, i can help them if i follow it and rely on the spirit, which is half of the mission--you really have to rely on the spirit to show you where to go, what to do, and what to say. it is just like giving a blessing, you just have to try and follow the spirit. 

that is so crazy with all that snow you are getting today! we are still in the 60's. it has been a warm week! it is probably going to get cold again really soon, which i am not fond of, the humid cold is crazy.

i have to go now mom, it was great talking to you, have a great week and be safe in the snow hahaha, love you guys so much! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

We live in a day of miracles, we just have to see them.

 

hey dad! so this week was pretty tough, it seemed like no one wanted to talk to us and there was just a lot of opposition. we hardly got to even extend baptism which was kinda tough, because that is what really gets me fired up and gives me such joy--to ask people to be baptized--because it is fulfilling my purpose as a missionary. but yesterday it all changed! A**** showed up to church! it was awesome! i had been having a hard morning, i was kinda down on myself, thinking stuff like "what am i doing wrong, why can't i just baptize more?" stuff like that haha and then we walk into sacrament and A**** is sitting there! it was a huge testimony builder for me that miracles really do come right after the greatest opposition, it was awesome. we did not get to visit with g***** or a**** this week sadly, that's part of why it was such a huge miracle to see a**** and his family at church. i have some grace to share in the general email to mom, so stay posted haha. but that is way funny about duke haha--that crazy dog. that is good about church, you must teach pretty awesome or something haha you teach often. that is good your shoulder is feeling better, so you got a lot of work done then, huh? good deal. do you get enough help around the yard? hopefully so. you must be getting pretty excited to have a grandbaby huh? haha thanks for all the bowl updates the other elders like it too hahhaha me and elder n KNOW utah will win hahaha!!  the fast meetings here are pretty good most of the time, i usually don't worry too much about investigators in fast meetings just because the spirit will testify to them what they need to hear. i know that to be true. that is an awesome quote thanks! well it was great to hear from you dad! i love reading your emails each week! i want you to know that. Well, talk to you later dad, I love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

hey mom! so this week was slow and tough, i wrote more about it in dad's email. we had interviews with president this week, and that was good. he said he is proud of me and that i am a hard worker, he is so awesome. we also took some recent converts to the temple on Saturday to the Columbus temple, it was way fun. so this morning, some awesome grace happend!  we went to look at macy's downtown to see if they had any clearance suits, no such luck. so then we hopped on the bus to get to the church, but we bought hot dogs before we got on, and the lady that was running the hot dog stand started talking to us, and now she is committed to church on sunday!!!! heck yes! then we got on the bus and this guy starts talking to us. i ask for his name to get his info, and he is like i will have to spell it out for you and so he says "R-I-C-K" i was like are you joking me? hahahaha he was serious too hahaa and so he is now planning to come to the ward Christmas dinner and church on Sunday too! heck yeah! and then boom! we got two media referrals right after! it was sick! so yeah, we are pretty much gonna dunk the world as elder n says haha. 

 

that is a cool story about the hopewell indians, no i have not heard about it yet, maybe i will. i am actually reading about Captain Moroni right now in the Book of Mormon. yes, the strips did arrive a few days ago, thank you for sending them. you will have to send the package soon, hahaha i really don't know if i am getting transferred or not.  idk. we will find out. mia's play must have been fun, then huh? that is cool you got to see the martins, they are awesome. haha i look forward to the day when i can finally do some yard work again everyday, that was so much fun to me haha. you guys really must be sore from working saturday! hahaha we helped r**** senior with his lawn care this week. it was 30 degrees outside, so it really felt like 20 haha but the lawns here still have to be mowed on a regular basis. they are perfectly green--about as green as Utah gets in the summer and that is yellow for here. we cut r****'s lawn and stacked his wood. that dinner for Sarah's dance must have been fun, it sounds like, you probably had fun cooking for all those teens huh? hahaha you probably killt it. did you make them warsh the dishes then? yep, sundays are the best, i really don't know how i get up every morning! i go to bed and like 30 seconds pass by and it is 6:30 a.m. already! hahaha i am pretty sleepy most of the time after about noon hahahaha that is mission life though. that is a great quote you shared, thanks for sharing that. we live the truth of that everyday, i definitely have a testimony of that!

 

Mom: Sorry you had a tough week! I remember that every time Jake had a tough week, miracles would soon follow. I'm glad your strips arrived! I'm pretty sure I put the wrong zip code on the package, so I was worried. I prayed it would make it! I'll be sending your Christmas package this week. Molly left her mark on it, but I'm not going to tell you what haha.

 

yep that is the way that it always happens, miracles are still here, we still live in a day of miracles, we just have to see them. yep, the strips arrived on time and i did not notice if it was a wrong zip or not. thanks for all the packages you send to me, it really means a lot! i would not be able to be out here if it weren't for you! i guess i will find out what mark molly left then huh?

 

i think i am growing...my suit sleeves are shorter and so are my shirts. 

 

Mom: So how are your blood sugars, especially if you are having a growth spurt? I can order more insulin at the end of the month, are you okay on that?

 

it is pretty easy to manage right now, my insulin is really good right now. i won't need much for a while, i will let you know.

well i have to go now, it was great to hear from you, i am excited to skype on christmas, then i can tell you a lot of stories and stuff i can't share over email. well, have a great week mom, good luck with everything, i love you all so much! talk to you Later!

--Elder Sedlacek

 

When you say good evening around here you don't. You say "have a blessed evening." {Lots of pics this week!}

11/30/2015

hi dad! so this week was good, we were able to have an awesome thanksgiving with a family for lunch time. the turkey was way good, and then the father took out all these whips and throwing knives and ninja stars, and asked us if we wanted to have a little fun before dessert. we were like "heck yeah!"  i will send a video of the whip, it was like 10 feet long and really heavy. 

our most promising investigators didn't make it out to church this week, they both had to work. we were able to get a less-active out to church, M. i paid for his bus fare. we always get passes from the church, and he didn't have one, but luckily i had enough change. he is a funny guy, he is black and about your age. he went through a stroke when he was 28 and so he is a little crazy haha. he was saying that he played byu basketball and football while on his mission to new jersey and california, and california was "180 degrees goin' on 200!" so we started messing with him a little bit and we asked him how it was like to play with jimmer fredette, and dwayne wade, and kyle irving and to have larry gelwix as a coach (highland rugby coach) hahaha it was funny. we had a few meals since it was the week of thanksgiving--they were all awesome! we are still trying to contact all those new investigators, that happens a lot here, you make contact for the first or second time and then they disappear. it really makes it hard. i passed off those scriptures that we have to memorize that i told you about to get that pin that you see everyone wearing on the mission Facebook page. the little white one, so hopefully the AP's can get one to me before we have interviews with pres.porter this week. yes, both stadiums are in our area, we went downtown this week and saw them both! they are massive! the reds' is smaller than the bengals' and the reds' dwarfs me! i have some cool pics to send you! sadly, you can't see the fields without a tour. it was fun, though. it is getting colder here, there is a constant slight breeze and the humidity makes 40 degrees feel like 20! it is crazy, but luckily our apartment is so warm we have to have the ac on at night! it is the weirdest thing, they keep the heat on 24/7 and we can't adjust it whatsoever, just the ac. that is crazy about your mission apartment!  well, as always i will send more in the general email, thank you for sending me your mission experiences, they really help me a lot, and the sports updates are always nice to see hahaha i hope all is going well for you! i love you dad! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this week went by crazy fast! i had a really good thanksgiving, we had a few meal appointments this week that i wrote about in dad's email, but we had one last night with bishop B. His brother is on the high council, and then a few of his other kids are in the ward, so like a 1/4 of the ward are all the same family. they all came to the meal and they have a crazy amount of kids hahah!! so it was way fun to watch all the crazy little kids, and they have this huge slide in their house from one level to another and they were just climbing up and down it and throwing stuff down it hahaha. we found a few investigators this week as well, one of them we met on the bus. this guy comes onto the bus and sits down near me, elder n is talking to the driver (a guy named eric who is really cool) and i get an impression to talk to him, so i start talking to him and come to find out he is interested in learning more. elder n told me they have talked to him before but he was never interested, so that was sick! there are also always drunk people on the bus and they always say the funniest stuff. we had a really good zone meeting this week, it was super revelatory and the spirit was so strong, it was nice to have it, i love zone meetings because you get to see all the others in the zone and have a great meeting with them. not really much else went on this week, just the usual stuff, people yelling and shooting, and smoking weed.  what do you want to know about cincy?

oh, we walked through over the rhine this week, which is the sketchiest place in cincy except for price hill, and man i thought i was going to get jumped. that was the most weed i have ever smelled and i didn't even want to take my gps or camera out of my pocket! hahaha

Mom: Well, I am glad you did not get jumped! haha Just tell me whatever you want to about Cincy, I'm interested to know how you like it. 

well, cincy is a pretty cool place, lots of interesting people and the skyscrapers are cool too.  that pic with the map, is all our area, and that's not all of it either, we have the rich part of town, and then all the hood up until downtown where everyone works, so lots of people ride the bus. all the rich people live just north east of us and you travel south east to get into our area and to downtown. i have learned lots of new words like "finna" which means i am going to or fixing to and they say learnt and kilt it, they always add t's to the ends of words like that haha and when you say good evening you don't. you say have a blessed or just have a blessed evening. people are always willing to talk, usually, and they will always tell you they have already been baptized, so i am getting pretty good at evading that excuse hahaha. As far as christmas i still need some sweaters, i can't find any here for some reason, the thermal bottoms would be nice and instead of like a desk toy like i said last week, if you go that route, just do a tech deck finger board hahaha. other than that, i think i am good. just stuff that you think i would like haha.

Mama: Cincy does sound like an interesting place! I am glad you are doing well. Watch for your strips to arrive this week. I am so, so proud of you! Keep up the good work! 

thanks so much for all you do! love you mom! it was great talking to you, have a great week and i will talk to you later

-Elder Sedlacek

I had to rely on Heavenly Father so much!

Looking south from Norwood into Cincinnati, with Kentucky beyond.

hey dad! so it was a good week, it flew by. seems like yesterday we were emailing hahaha. yep, we have the university, the zoo, and all those cool skyscrapers hahaha. we have all that stuff, we are wanting to go to some of it on p-day one of these days. the training was with Elder Bennett, it was so good, the food was good too hahaha. the apartment is pretty nice, and also spacious, I like it. thanks for sending the advice, it will help. so we have a few solid investigators that we teach, but they are "eternigators" unfortunately. g*****, who I mentioned last week, he found a job at a bakery. the stake patriarch is in our ward and he owns the bakery. G is doing well now, he has been coming to church lately, which is awesome! then we teach a young adult, A***, he is a funny guy and lives with his fiance. we have taught him a few times but he has yet to come to church while i am here. then we have a few other less actives we teach. we found 7 new investigators this week so we will see how they pan out. it is starting to get really cold, like in the 30's, but it has not snowed on us yet. it doesn't snow much here supposedly, just rain. i just can't believe i have been out almost 4 months! so far we don't have anyone for Thanksgiving, but we are maybe going to go to a member family if we can't find anyone, they told us we could if we have nowhere else to go, and maybe have our own with some elders in our district. there are not nearly as many trees in the city as there were in Batesville, so it is a lot different. that really sucks about utah dropping in the polls, but good for all the other teams. i heard that the Bengals finally lost? idk. thanks for all those sports updates, i really appreciate it! you have a great thanksgiving too, dad! I will make the best of it, that is for sure hahaha, thanks so much for all you do to keep me out here, i know it is a lot. I love you so much dad! have a great week as well! talk to you later!

hi mom! so this week went by crazy fast! me and elder n are getting along so well! we go to bed laughing hysterically every night hahaha, we have a lot of fun while doing a lot of work. so i wrote about our investigators in dad's email, so you can read that to find out about them. one cool miracle with g***** this week, he called us and elder n answered and he told us that he didn't want to do the "mormon thing" anymore, because he didn't think he was going to get the job he needed desperately. so elder n promised him that if he came to church one last time, he would get a job, and he did! that just goes to show how when we promise things in the name of the Lord he will follow through with that promise. it was an awesome miracle! that is way funny advice from brother ricks! haha tell him i will be sure to do that hahaha that is way cool about mia's play, tell her congrats for me and good luck. that is a crazy miracle from that boat trip story of Sister D, that is amazing. i like the analogy, covenants really are what keep us afloat, and they bring so many blessings when you live by them. they are huge blessing. this week i had to take over the area with a greenie, and it was super stressful. i had no idea where i was going, and had to rely on heavenly father so much! it went well though, i was able to find my way around on the buses okay, probably thanks to your prayers! so on that same day, we were going to go visit a former investigator, so we got to the house and stepped onto the porch and all of a sudden the door opened and this guy walked out and said "angels! come in!" and so i was like, "okay!" we went in and he locked the door and sat us down and started telling us about how he was shot by a beam of light and now he can warp televisions with his eyeballs! so we listened to him for a minute and we were like, "we have to go man, sorry," and we left. then i remembered that elder n had warned me about a week prior, that the guy in that house has a mental illness. so yeah, that was my crazy story for the week hahaha. thanks for sending my supplies! for christmas, i might want some sweaters and some thermal garment bottoms, for when it gets really cold. i am going to buy a sweater today, but i could use some more haha. and by the way, my gray suit is now too big in the jacket, the pants are fine but the jacket is just too big, i shrunk too much hahaha. should i send it home or save it for later or what?

Mom: Well, that is a crazy story about the guy who can warp televisions with his eyes! haha

I am glad your week went well and went by fast. That helps when that happens, huh? Sounds like you and Elder Nielsen ARE having fun together, that is good. You two looked like good friends in the pic that was posted of you guys on the mission facebook page. I like the story about Elder Nielsen promising G he’d find a job if he came to church.

Amy is here and she says to tell you hi from Aunt Mimi!

Sweaters! Jake liked having sweaters, so I will check that out. So your suit coat is too big? You should hold onto it, you will probably come across a member or someone who knows how to tailor it and can cut it down for you. 

Elder Sed: if you do the thermal garment bottoms, i need the 28-30 size waist, and by the way, i still have a six pack! i am just a little smaller, but me and elder neilsen do 50 pullups everynight before bed. So i heard it's been really cold in utah?

Mom: Thanks for all the pictures! They are awesome!

It has been cold, but not too bad. About 40 degrees for the highs. It hasn’t really snowed yet, though, but supposedly it will on Thanksgiving.

Are you figuring out the buses okay? Someone I know from there suggested that you get help from the students on the campus, they would know the buses really well. Maybe you have already figured that out. 

Elder Sed: yep hahaha, sadly we don't make it to the campus much though since we live 20 mins out of our area, and it is a one hour trip one way to get to campus.

so what is going on at home? and by the way, i hope you know i have not told you the half of all my stories hahaha i have a lot saved up, some funny, sad, scary(not bad), and some crazy cool spiritual ones too.

Mom: Well, I have told you pretty much what’s going on at home, just the usual school, work, theatre, callings, etc. Nicole is starting to show! Everyone is doing well. Dad has a cavity haha. 

Elder Sed: i look so young in that picture from the mission meeting hahaha, but i am starting to get people who say i look 18 more and more haha!

it was great to hear from you! thanks for all you do for me! I love you mom! I love all you guys! have a great week! talk to you later!

Elder Sedlacek

My comp and I are greenie-busting each other

Hey dad! so it has been a long week. i am in cincinnati! and i am with elder neilsen. we came out together and we are greenie-breaking each other!!!!!! it is crazy. we are the only two missionaries in all of cincinnati and it is a crazy place! people get shot all the time. i love it though, it is so funny to talk to everyone. we talked to a guy at the bus stop who was rolling up a joint in front of us! we have no car, so we have to ride the buses everywhere we go, and since our area is kinda sketchy we live 20 minutes out of our area in a suburb. i will tell you more in the general email as usual. we have a few investigators, but they are eternagators. one named g***** is really hard headed and is about to become homeless. we have a few others i have not met yet, so i will tell you more about them next week.
thank you for that story from your mission, that really applies to me right now, coming from small town indiana to MASSIVE cincinnati, where you hear gunshots all the time and there are very few white guys, that really helps me. the first few days were really hard, because the bus routes are so confusing to me, although i will get the hang of them. i wanted to be able to help elder nielsen so bad, but it was hard not even knowing which bus stop to go to hahaha. but yeah, we have all of cincinnati and downtown, so i have officially been to cincinnati, it is a cool city. thanks for all the sports updates, i love hearing them! that really stinks that utes lost. again thanks for all you write to me every week. It really means a lot. i will tell you more in mom's email, of course, but i always like to write you, thanks so much for all you do for me dad! you're an awesome father! i love you so much! talk to you later!

hey mom, so this week was crazy, my new comp came out with me,  but i did not know him for most of the mtc. his name is elder neilsen, he is from utah. we are greenie-busting each other! we are the only two elders in cincinnati! we have all of downtown, and all of the outside ghetto! it is crazy we walk down the street and always smell weed, and hear gunshots and hear the f word. we see almost no white people. we have to ride the buses because we have no car and we live 20 mins outside of our area. so yeah, we have to ride the bus everywhere we go, even to get into our area. the buses are super confusing to me, i am trying to figure out how they all work. 

 

we have a few gators, i don't know much about them yet, i will tell you about them next week. although we found a few new this week! i love the new ward. the bishop is a great guy, he already had me speak on sunday! everyone loved my talk, but i thought it was crap hahaha. the ward mission leader is awesome too, he was one of those 18 month missionaries and he takes the work very seriously, which i love! 

 

elder neilsen is a great guy, we get along really well, and we like to talk about hunting and lifting hahaha. we will probably still be friends after the mission at this rate. he is a farm boy, he farms cattle for steaks, so he has that farm boy strength hahaha. i am still in the same zone, so i see elder heumann when we have meetings and stuff. but anyway, yesterday i had the impression to talk to this guy who was out raking his leaves. we were needing 3 more lessons to hit our goals, so we went and talked to him and he is an awesome guy named b-- we are going back to teach him. we also found a new gator the day i came out, it is nice to see so many people to talk to all the time.

 

yep, dad's mission story really did hit home for sure, i knew when i read it, that it must have been an impression since dad doesn't tell too many mission stories hahaha. thanks for the prayers, i definitely feel them. yes, in my talk i did tell a small joke hahaha.  i have known elder nielsen since the last 2 days in the mtc when we had an infield orientation, i met him and he has been in my zone the whole time, so yeah we were both excited to be comps. Jordan Bell served this exact area, he is in my area book, hahaha. yeah, ask him for referrals for us or something hahaha, he is a legend out here. all the older missionaries know him and i tell them i know him and even spoke at his farewell. hahaha

 

 

I have pics to send, but the computers at our church, don't have a slot to put the card in, i will send them later. i have a few of really great view of all of cincinnati and our apartment. 

well i have to go now, it was great to hear from you. oh yeah, i will probably buy one of these cool suits from jc penny for like 70 bucks if i can find one on clearance, just wanted to let you know.  it was great to hear from you, i love you guys so  much and i pray for you daily, keep up the hard work! talk to you later! you will probably get some pics next week! love you mom!

Elder Sedlacek's first transfer, and tanning a squirrel hide

And we thought we had lots of leaves to rake every year.....

 

Hi Mom!

hey, you did use my pot! i knew you would use it eventually! thanks for sending the pic of it with the meatballs in it. were the meatballs good? how did the pot work? 

 

anyway, i have some big news, I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED AND ELDER HEUMANN IS STAYING!!! he will be here for 9 months now! now, i just have to pack up all my stuff and hope i get a good area and companion. 

 

this week went by slowly, unfortunately. here is the excerpt from dad's email about the lessons this week: it was a slow week for lessons and finding new people. we barely made our lesson standards this week and it really sucked hahaha. we taught that kid named B****** a few times, we read the Book of Mormon with him and i asked him in the middle of the lesson how he was feeling? he recognized that he was feeling peaceful and i told him it was the holy ghost. we are just trying to get him to read on his own. same goes with RD, he is really struggling to read the Book of Mormon, but he loves coming to church. we had an awesome miracle with a new investigator though. we went to A****'s, the less active we are working with, and one of his friends was there. the friend swore up and down that A**** called us over because he was there, which is not what happened. he left the area of the room when we taught A****, but halfway through he started to move closer to us, and then asked if he could join in. now he is interested in learning more! that was just the awesome miracle that we needed. we had been having a rough day, and i was a little trunky just because we had no one to see. they either did not answer or we had just seen them the day before, so it was really nice to see that Heavenly Father was still there, and the verse in D&C 84:88 had come true. 

 

so i have some more good news--the mission puts out some faith scriptures on blue flashcards that we memorize, there are like 17-20 of them, and if you memorize them all and pass them off, you get a cool OCM pin that goes on your jacket. i got them memorized after having made a personal goal with pres.porter to have them done by the end of this transfer (which ends today), so i will pass them off tomorrow at transfer meeting and get the pin! heck yeah!!! 

 

i have no idea what my A1C was because they don't have a diabetes doctor at this Batesville clinic. they just did the blood test, it took like 15 mins and then another half hour to do all the info, hahahaha that was really funny to me how the lady was like, this is not an emergency, did you freak out at first? hahaha it was really weird to have you on the line and me right there, I could hear you! thank you though for getting the info! i will have to ask for my results from sis porter or something. 

 

that is awesome about mia's play, tell her great job for me! and the same for the sacrament, i am glad that helped for you, it really helps for me! and yes, a member told us yesterday at church, that is so crazy about the gay marriage issue, i know it is for the children's benefit, but the world will not see that, they will probably give us so much backlash hahaha. anyway, what is going on in your neck of the woods?

 

Mom: Yep, I used your pot. It worked well. The meatball recipe was a new one, Brown Sugar meatballs. They were a little spicy and sweet, and I liked them a lot.

Augh! I wish you knew your A1C!! You should probably just call Sister W to find out, she would probably know more than Sister Porter, since she is the nurse. I hope they sent it to Dr. Lindsay. Yes, it was good the lady said, “This is not an emergency.” Because then I could breathe a sigh of relief! Although with the call coming from “Batesville” on the caller ID, I thought it was most likely going to be a member or something, so I didn’t freak out much.

 

That is a great miracle you had! And great job on memorizing all those scriptures!!

 

So, no idea where you are going? That is crazy. Jake always knew beforehand. Do you need supplies? How much do you have left? 

 

Elder Sed: right now i am doing good on supplies still, i still have about 3 boxes of sites and cartridges, and i am good on strips, so i think you will have my address before i need anything hahaha but yes, i have no idea where i am going, so yeah i have the butterflies hahahaha

 

Mom: I do not know how you have 3 boxes of sites! Are you changing it every three days? It would have to be a miracle if you are and you have that many! 

 

Try not to have the butterflies too much! Wherever you are going, it is where HF wants. Remember your blessing where it says you will have angels all around you. I know they will be there as you transfer. 

 

Elder Sed: hahahaha, i don't know, i am changing my site about every three days, i don't know how i have so many. i will try not to be too nervous--it is very important to remember that Heavenly Father is always involved. and this just in, Elder H is training again! i have a "brother!" hahaha!

well, have i got a story for you, this week i was on exchanges with a farm kid from cedar city, and we wanted to find a dead squirrel to tan the hide and so over the course of the day we found a freshly killed squirrel that a  hawk dropped right in front of us! no kiddding! and we took it home and skinned it at lunch, and now he is tanning the hide hahaha so now i can do taxidermy! hahahaha

Mom: Well, that is hilarious that you had a squirrel dropped right in front of you. I still think it’s crazy, you tanning squirrel hides. 

 

Elder Sed: i have to go in a few. thank you so much for emailing with me today and keeping me updated! is there anything else, madre?

 

Mom: Nothing else. We're so proud of you! Keep up the good, hard work! 

 

Elder Sed: i have to go now, i love you guys so much, thanks for all you do! talk to you later!

-elder sedlacek

 

I have been out three months!

This leaf dwarfs the one he sent a picture of a couple weeks back, and part of it is broken off!

Hi mom! so this week has gone by super slow, but fast, can't explain it. i am glad you liked the pic from zone conference! it was an awesome one! Zone conference was about the sacrament, and also how we can get LA's and our investigators to church. Pres. Porter is going to be a general authority, i can see it now. he taught us how the sacrament can renew every single covenant we ever make, even temple covenants. i thought that was amazing, so in sacrament meeting i tried to really focus on feeling those same things as i did when i first went to the temple, and it worked! it was so cool to be able to feel that in the chapel. 

 

i had a few exchanges with the DL in lawrenceberg (Elder Bayly), and i took over this area for a day with my ZL (Elder Lemeux) he is so funny and it was a lot of fun. we got a lot of work done though; we found this old investigator who had been taught but fell through the cracks or dropped--i don't know--but he answered the door when we were 225ing and immediately invited us in! it was crazy! we taught him about the Book of Mormon and addressed his concerns. then with E. Bayly, we had a huge miracle. we were not going to hit our goals for the day so we sat down and said a prayer to help us, and i immediately felt a very clear direction to walk, and we quickly found a promising 'gator that wants to be baptized! 

 

i just pasted all that from dad's email hahaha. but yeah, when i was with Elder Lemeux, we found a couple three gators, all from 225ing. we also picked up a new gator, who had been taught before, B******. he is a teenage, and we have known him for a while, but he just recently gained interest again. we gave him a church tour and taught him about the restoration and he said he would be baptized if he finds out this church is true. he is solid. 

 

this week, the ward had a trunk or treat and dinner that we went to, it was fun. i got several beanie babies (the stuffed animals) that a brother was handing out hahaha. they had a TON. i got a few of my favorite hunting animals including bears haha. there is a guy in our ward that told me he would have us over and let us try squirrel haha. oh yeah, my most favorite food here is Cincy chili, there are several restaurants that have it, and it tastes pretty good. other than that they just eat what we eat in Utah, although some people like to eat the massive squirrels they have here, they are literally everywhere, and huge!

 

Indiana is a crazy place. Bro. P told me the other day, that i have completely lost my "Utah twang" and i am picking up the accent here. i will have to show you how they talk here when we skype. 

 

thank you so much for the package! and yes i do like baby ruths, but you got close with the fave candy, it is actually three musketeers haha but they are way similar, just one has nuts hahaha. Sis. C showed us your facebook page hahaha and i saw the posts with the blog, it looks really nice! thanks for running that. i am still good on pump supplies, and i need to talk to the mission nurse to set up the a1c, this week. that is good about church and all the stuff going on, thank you for all the updates mama!

 

Mom: I am glad you like the blog. I would like to try and change the url though, to sedlacekscalledtoserve. Don't forget your A1C--Dr. L needs to see it before he can sign off on you driving.

 

that would be a cool new url! but yeah it looks really nice. i will get the a1c set up asap, i was busy with exchanges all week and meetings and trainings hahaha. i will probably have to call sister w {mission nurse} tomorrow or tonight. i tried to talk to sister porter about it, but she directed me to sister w since she woud know about that stuff, she is supposed to call me apparently, but i will call her.

 

oh yeah i am probably going to go on exchanges with elder cox, a lawerenceberg elder this week, the one that tans squirrel hides in the apartment, he is going to teach me how.

 

Mom: Learn to tan squirrels on your mission?! I never expected that. 

 

yeah, hahaha! it's going to be fun. i got some carving blocks last p-day, i am carving an elephant, that is the ear in the pics i sent.

 

that maple leaf is literally twice the size of the other one i sent! it is a foot wide! and the top part is broken off!

 

Mom: That leaf is enormous! We don't see leaves like that in Utah. So, what did you do on Halloween?

 

we had to be in by 7pm and we read a talk, i listened to it twice. it was faith in Jesus Christ by Gene R Cook. it is on lds.org--it is really good! i also did a mini work out. also, we were allowed to go to bed at 9:30! it was so nice to get 2 hours extra sleep. although i woke up at 5:30 am the next day and was ready to get out of bed hahaha! is there anything else i need to know, madre?

Mom: No, I don't think there is anything else. You DON'T need pump supplies yet? Are you sure?

 

yep, don't need them just yet, i will let you know, thank you! thanks for all you do! i love you guys so much! keep up the good work, and have a great week! i have been out 3 months! love you guys!

Lots of people yell weird things at us.

 

 

Hey dad! this week went kind of slow, it seemed slow and the work was slow unfortunately. we just hit standards with lessons this week (20). no one was really out and about for some reason, it was warm, mid 70's, but i thought that was really strange hahaha. RD is still not willing to commit to a baptism date yet, but he is coming closer. he came to church again, and really is starting to feel comfortable in the ward. he shared stuff again yesterday, it was awesome! that lady, we call her sister C,  did not come to church for some reason, and we have not been able to teach her yet, but we really hope to. the other new lady, C****, we had a lunch with her, and a lady from the ward at the hospital cafeteria who is very interested in learning more, and she already tells us she loves us hahaha, she is a 60 year old grandma hahaha. she is going to be baptized at some point, i can already tell. other than that, not much new happened, just the same old stuff, trying to find more people to teach. a lot of those 8 people we found have fallen off the face of the earth. that is awesome that you were able to go hunting and see some bucks! jake should have taken the shot! that is nice that everyone was able to come down and have family time last weekend! thanks for the updates dad! have a great week at work. i can't wait to go hunting with you guys when i get back, i see tons of geese hahaha and it drives me crazy! well, i want you to know that i love you, you're an awesome dad! have a great week!

-elder sedlacek

 

Hi mom! this week went kind of slow, it seemed slow and the work was slow unfortunately. we just hit standards with lessons this week (20). no one was really out and about for some reason, it was warm, mid 70's, but i thought that was really strange hahaha. RD is still not willing to commit to a baptism date yet, but he is coming closer. he came to church again, and really is starting to feel comfortable in the ward. he shared stuff again yesterday, it was awesome! that lady, we call her sister C,  did not come to church for some reason, and we have not been able to teach her yet, but we really hope to. and that other new lady, C****, we had a lunch with her, and a lady from the ward at the hospital cafeteria who is very interested in learning more, and she already tells us she loves us hahaha, she is a 60 year old grandma hahaha. she is going to be baptized at some point, i can already tell. other than that, not much new happened, just the same old stuff, trying to find more people to teach. a lot of those 8 people we found have fallen off the face of the earth. i did paste this from dad's email hahaha, just to save some time!

 

that is really all that happened this week for the most part, although, funny story--lots of people are always yelling these weird things at us. one from this week was a young guy in a car, he put up the live free symbol with his hands and he said "hail poseidon!" hahaha they try to agitate us but it just makes me laugh hahaha. usually it is hail satan, :( not good. 

 

it is starting to cool down, all the leaves are dropping now haha, indiana is becoming gray hahaha. i am staying warm so far, it is not too bad, it is just humid cold, so like a cold bath hahaha but not as bad. i do need those strips, but if you could send my gripper and the john bytheway cd too that would be awesome! that is so awesome about BG and his family, that is the ultimate goal for this life, to be sealed! that is so cool! 

oh yeah! we found 2 new investigators this week! a family that loves sports, they told me about the upcoming utah game on saturday. they are part member family. and a kid that called us over yesterday at the park! his name is J****.  he did not have time to talk much so we did not get his number but he is interested in learning more and said he believes us!

that pic with me and the tree was on friday, it was windy and super rainy, and as you can tell, the trees are absolutely beautiful here!

i do have to get going now, but thank you so much for all you do! i love you all so much and pray for you all the time! haha. keep up the good work! talk to you later! love ya!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

I have really been praying for the pure love of Christ. I received it and it hurts...it is a great blessing though!

Now that is a fall leaf!


HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! i hope you have had an awesome birthday! i sent you a card and letter, hopefully it is arriving today. i messed up and sent it late, i was hoping it would make it for saturday, but anyway, i hope it was a good day for you. that sucks you couldn't get anything hunting, hopefully this week you bring home the bucks. there is an elder in my district, elder c, who found a little two point antler in the woods and it is tiny so he keeps it tied to his backpack. he likes to pick up the dead squirels and road kill (which is absolutely everywhere!) and he tans the hides and keeps them . he is hilarious hahaha. that is awesome about all those games! i look forward to watching them when i get home, and hunting too. i had a decent week this week. i went on exchanges with my ZL, elder taylor, who is an awesome elder! we got RD to come to church this week! and he shared in sunday school and offered to say the closing prayer! it was awesome! and that lady that walked in last week and said she needs a new church came back and wants the lessons! it was sick! so we will be meeting up with her this week, and RD too. as usual, i will talk more in the general email about that stuff. this week i have been really praying for the pure love of christ, and i received it. and it is painful. it now hurts me to see people talking about their problems, but knowing that i can help them and they won't let me, it tears you apart. you feel a genuine love for them but they act like they hate you. it hurts hahaha. now i know why you cried so hard when me and jake left. i love the mission though, it is hard, but very rewarding! it is changing me into a man that i want to become. it is an amazing thing. thank you for all the updates again! and have a great week hunting and such! I love you dad! have a great week!
-elder sedlacek

Hi mom! i have had a decent week this week. it went by kind of slow at first but then sped up. this week we had exchanges with the zls from norwood, and i got to take over the area. fun. it was hard to take over, but i did it with my zl's help, E. Taylor. he is an awesome missionary! we had the best day of the week with him! it was awesome! he likes running so we biked over to the track at 5:45 a.m., and i ran 4 miles in 32 mins without even thinking about it! i am still in shape hahaha. then we 225'd and visited some other people. we visited with Bro. P and then we saw RD. he is thinking about baptism, and wants to continue to come to church after this first week that he went. it was awesome! that new lady that came in last week and said she needs a new church wants to take the lessons. so we will be getting in contact with her. sadly, we have not been able to contact many of those 8 from last week. they won't answer phone calls and such and we did not get addresses, so we are just going to have to keep trying. we didn't find too many this week unfortunately. but there is always a next week! we should be able to teach J**** again this week, which i am looking forward to! he is finally back from vacation and we are going to be contacting him asap.

other than that, it was an average week. that is so awesome about you getting a prompting to help someone! one of the things i have learned while here on a mission, is to always listen to promptings, they may not make sense but that is okay, we just need to follow them, and if we do we will be blessed. it is a win-win situation.

i have 4 boxes of sites and 3 boxes of cartridges, so i should be fine for a while longer. i will let you know when i need more, just keep reminding me to check though hahah.

something that i have really been working on is feeling the pure love of christ. i have been really praying to receive that gift since there is no other way to receive it other than having it bestowed upon us or praying for it. i received it and it hurts. it is painful because it now hurts me to see people talking about their problems and knowing that i can help them and they won't let me, it tears you apart. you feel a genuine love for them and they act like they hate you. it is a great blessing though. it helps you teach more effectively and become a better missionary and a better person. but yeah anyway, it has been a pretty good week with those things hahaha

this week we get to go to the louisville temple again with the zone! i am excited! i have been studying up on the temple and stuff to get ready. and it is getting cold here, but it is strange because it does go right through you if you let it. i will be needing thermals here in the future, and i have not used the coat yet, i want to try and get used to the cold, like i used to do at home. i saw that it has been in the 70's this week at home, you luckys. the humidity makes a huge difference when it is cold hahaha it really is going to be a bone chilling cold hahahaha.

i have to go now, I love you mom! and all the rest of the family! love you all! have a great week!

I got to try turkey "fries"....

 

hey Dad! oh heck yeah! that is awesome how well the utes are playing! and usu! that is awesome, thanks for the updates! we had an awesome week! we saw a lot of grace and miracles. you can read more about those in the email to mom, but we found 8 new investigators! two of them already want to come to church! one other asked for the church address and is thinking about it! who knows how many of the 8 will still be around next week, but we will do our best. the  less-active we are teaching, A****, is still the same, we may need to drop him for a while. he really likes us, but doesn't have a whole lot of interest in actually learning about the gospel. we will have to see how he keeps the commitments. r******, the guy who asked for "the book" last week has been really busy so we were not able to contact him, hopefully this week. same with JG, and RD. we will see how this week looks.

 

i got to try "TURKEY FRIES" at the masonic lodge annual chicken dinner.  just see if you know what those are before you read the other email, you will find out hahaha. that is good you listened to the spirit, you never know why it tells you to do things sometimes, but it is always for the best. you will hopefully be blessed with some nice deer. you will be blessed though for listening, i guarantee it. i am always trying to follow the spirit and it helps quite a bit. we can't do this work without it! there is more in mom's email, i am short on time today, unfortunately. we have a zone fun day, so that will be good. i love you so much! keep up the good work and have a great week!

-elder sedlacek

 

 

hi mom! this week has flown by, but went slowly as well hahaha! it is weird like that. we have had a very successful week! we received so many miracles and a ton of grace! i also got to give my first priesthood blessing, and my second as well. one to help a sick lady of the ward and one to counsel a  member in the ward and help her to stop smoking. it is an amazing experience! we took J**B to the louisville temple (louivul) that's how they say it here. he received his endowment. that was awesome, i had a very cool experience that is pretty hard to explain. it was awesome. i will tell you about it when i get home! 

 

we also helped out f****'s masonic lodge group with their annual chicken dinner. suffice it to say, it was good and i got to eat "turkey fries" or in other words, turkey nards. that's right....turkey balls. they come in pairs. {Picture Jared's mom about falling off her chair laughing}  it was pretty good, actually hahahaha. they come deep fried.

 

other than that we found 8 new investigators! who knows how many will still be around this next week? but hey! it was awesome! we have not contacted r***** yet. he is the one who asked for "the book." he is going through some medical stuff and was very busy with doctor's appointments, but we found a lot of people in the park this week. get this, yesterday at church, a lady came in during classes and said that she needs a new church to go to! she decided to come to ours. she slipped out before we could talk to her, but before she left she said she would be back next week to help with the primary program! it was awesome. then we had a guy (a boyfriend of the less active lady that i gave the blessing to) have us over and he is already thinking of getting baptized! his name is R. another lady we met in the park, A***** and her young daughter  who is probably 12, said she is probably coming to church this next week! JG was busy with family that is visiting, so we were not able to visit him. RD was very busy with school so we couldn't visit with him either. we hope to meet with them both this week. 

 

the holy ghost is definitely helping with my blood sugars! i like pres.porter, he is awesome! he is an amazing guy. he is very nice and hugs all the elders everytime he sees us. sister porter does the same for the sisters and is the definition of mission mom hahaha. she is very nice, but can be very serious and very sweet most of the time. i did get the insulin a few days ago, and i have a lot now hahaha. i don't think i will need the sites for a while, i am still using the first layer of that box you sent to me when i got out here! so i will let you know when to ship them, but i would wait a little longer. do you need the shipping receipt for the insulin? i could mail it to you, if you need, i am sending dad a birthday letter very soon indeed. that is awesome that your lesson went really well. anytime you go by the spirit, it goes well!

 

i sent you guys a pic of the louisville kentucky temple! it is tiny! no bigger than a church. it was great hearing from you! I love you guys so much! have a great week mom! love you!

Suit season

thanks dad! that is too bad that you didn't get any duck stamps, oh well, it'll save some ducks for me when i get back! i got to watch all five sessions of general conference. we got permission to stay out late for the priesthood session. i loved pres.Eyrings talk, it was really good! and the talk about the barriers and the sharks. i have no idea how those sisters even know about me, they are way far out past cincinnati just below dayton, that is crazy. i would think it is because of how pres.Porter qouted  me in that email to the mission, but i dont know. hopefully it is good hahhaha. i just try my best to be obedient and to find people to teach. it could also be because of F****'s baptism. they had been trying to get him baptized for two years! 

 

we had an awesome miracle this week, as well as many others. yesterday before conference, we were walking around our area about 20 minutes before our ride was supposed to get there to pick us up. With five minutes left to wait, we saw this guy sitting on his porch smoking; he called us over from the other side of the street and said, "you guys mormons?" and we said, "yeah!" He said, "do you have the book?" as in the Book of Mormon, but we aren't really supposed to carry them around since we aren't allowed to place. so we said, "Well, we can get you one!" and we told him we would be back in 10 minutes. at that point we had less time than that, so we ran back to the apartment and grabbed one, ran back and gave it to him. he said he wants to read through it! and maybe get some lessons! that was awesome! as usual i will write more in the general email, but thanks for all the updates and such, it is so great to hear from you each week! i love you so much, have a great week! I love you!

 

hi mom! it is great to hear from you! this week has been good, we experienced lots of grace and miracles and to top it off, i got a package with awesome treats from an awesome mom! we also got to watch all of conference! thanks so much for the package and everything in it! it really lifts a missionary's spirits! and conference was awesome,  i like those quotes! and my fave talk was pres. Eyring's or the talk about the surfers. those were really good, and the pottery talk was good too. 

 

we feel very blessed. this week, suit season started and so now we have to wear suits till april conference if it is 64 degrees or colder. so luckily this week is in the 70's and we don't have to wear them, which is nice. i already damaged my black pinstripe suit while riding my bike to bro. p's house. i frayed the bottom of one pair of the pants when it got caught in the chain, hahaha luckily it is only the size of half a penny if that. oh well, it happens. but we managed to meet up with JG again, that solid gator and schedule some solid lessons! that was a miracle in itself. he is going to get dunked! just wait! that is so awesome that you got a awesome car for jake! that is so sick!

 

it doesn't look like you are experiencing much fall yet, but we are here. it is beautiful fall here--the trees are turning yellow, still a lot of green though. the cold here is really weird since it is so wet. it really does go strait through you! any exposed skin gets pretty cold hahaha. 50 and below feels like 40's right now. it has been stormy and cold the past week, but this week is really nice. we are going with the C's to Greensberg today to go to the walmart. its about a half hour drive. we are getting winter gear.

here is my letter to pres. porter. I thought I might start sending you those so you have something for the blog:

Hey president! this past week was awesome! we received a lot of grace and miracles! I know it was because we were being obedient. it is amazing to me that all we have to do is live the power triangle and do our best, and he will send down grace to help us further his work. it was great to see that this week. we found a few new investigators and taught a bunch of our others. we are just trying to commit them to church. it is kind of tough when they don't keep all the commitments, they can choose and sometimes that is hard to watch. i am learning to love the people here as the savior does. it can be hard at times though. thanks for all you do! you're awesome!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

Well i have to go now, love you mom! have a great week, i love you all so much! thanks for all you do! talk to you later!

 

This week was slow until Thursday, that's when we received a ton of tender mercies!

Elder Sed II made his own scripture quad and even covered it in leather.

 

 

Hey mom! it's great to hear from you! my comp and i are both staying in Batesville, so i guess we still have things to learn from each other. this week was really slow up until Thursday--that's when we received a ton of tender mercies! we were able to make contact with some investigators that we had not seen for a while! we were able to teach JG, he has already read through 2 Nephi and he is so solid! we then found a new investigator in the park, and i asked her if she would be baptized if she found the true church of Jesus Christ, and she said yes! we made contact with a whole bunch of our other investigators too, it was awesome. other than that it has been the same old Batesville, small town slowness. oh well. things happen on the Lord's timing. last week at a new missionary training, Elder Boden gave me his bike, it is worth $700(!!) but he gave it to me for free! he is so awesome--it is a huge blessing. have you found any suits yet? there isn't really a place to get good used suits out here, and we have to start wearing them on conference weekend. i need another so that i don't just blow through the two i have. please keep an eye out for me. are you sending my next test strips? i don't know when or where i get to watch conference, they have not told us yet. thanks for the quotes you sent, they are all awesome. what else would you like to know?

 

Mom: So tell me how your diabetes is doing? What was the most challenging thing this week? What was the most fun? And who is your favorite investigator? 

 

my blood sugars have been good, but i have already had to adjust some basals. i am fine-tuning them hahaha. the most challenging thing for me has probably been to not get mad at my companion sometimes hahaha. he is a good guy though. the most fun i had this week was the thing i did in this video that i am sending you! you will like it. dad will be like, "oh that is totally jared!"  my favorite investigator is probably JG, he is really quiet but is so solid, and F**** is still F****, i love that guy, they are like a grandma and grandpa to us.

 

i am trying to make the video small enough to send. if i can't send it, it is a video of the miniature quad combo that i made! i will send pics for sure. i took the tiny books of scripture, the new testament, the BOM, and the doctrine & covenants and pearl of great price. it is the size of my hand and wrapped in leather that i pulled off of journal i bought from shopko hahaha.

 

Mom: Well Joj, I am totally not surprised that you made something like that! That's great! Good job! 

 

thanks for emailing me! I know i am not the best at updating you on everything, but heck, i will have more stories to share when i get home, i already have some crazy stories hahaha. indiana is a crazy place! I love you guys so much! have a great week, and everything!

love elder sedlacek II

 

Everyone still asks me how old I am.

 

Mom,

i am glad you liked the letters! how did sarah like hers hahaha?! the baptism went well! before a baptism, we set up the chairs, fill the font, and all that other stuff with the scheduling and the program. it takes up a lot of time. he had to go under twice, and we witnessed the baptism because F**** wanted his neighbor to baptize him rather than us, but we are allowed to in this mission! we confirmed him yesterday at church, and that went well! 

 

other than that it has been a slow week...ugh. This place is "milked dry" as we always say. everyone here has talked to the missionaries before and they don't usually like to listen, haha. let's just say we got a few doors slammed on  us yesterday hahaha. we really need new investigators really badly! we did commit R*** and G***** to baptism. G***** is a girl who never comes to church no matter what we do,  but the baptism will not be for a while anyway, because her dad wants to see it.  _____ wants to be baptized, but his mom won't cut the cord--he is mid-twenties but she still rules his life. hopefully we can soften his mom's heart. we took him on a chapel tour and he really liked it and also wants to come to church but his mom won't really let him. other than that it was a really slow week. we basically just 225'd the whole town again since we didn't have the car. one of the APs really likes me, so he is giving me his bike for free! he is an awesome guy! 

 

hopefully you can get the car replaced, but you never know with insurance haha. tell Bro R that i still remember that! {telling him that diabetes was "a blessing"} he told everyone of the leaders what i said that night in the cabin, and i over heard them, and i was just like "well it's true!" he is such an awesome guy. he taught me so much, he is able to teach so well, he would bring the spirit so strong! he really helped prep me for my mission, i am sure the other guys can say the same! tell him thanks for me, if you would? thanks. but yeah that is the basis for what is going on with me hahaha. just pray for us to find more solid investigators.

 

Mom: When will you find out about transfers?

 

well we get the transfer calls Monday mornings, then leave the next day! so you will probably know by our next email. wait to send more test strips till after that, i think i will have enough! so it would be fine. if you could send me my John Bytheway CD that is on my desk in my room, that would be awesome! and any treat would be good! although I have a lot of candy as you know hahaha. 

 

Mom: What is 225ing? Jake & Jeff don't even know...

 

2-2-5 ing is when you go to a less active's house, or a former investigator or potential investigator, and knock that door, two doors to the right, two doors to the left, and then 5 other doors on the other side of the street. we do that as our "tracting" since we aren't actually allowed to tract. 

everyone still asks me how old i am and they guess 15 or 16 usually. that's good if you think i look a little older hahaha. by the way, if you find a suit that is navy blue, i would love to have it! i need another suit for winter, since we can only wear suits, not  just slacks and a sweater. 

i have to go now, thanks for emailing me! it's nice to hear from all of you guys! have a great week! i love you all so much! talk to you later!