We just have to do our best to be our best

hey Dad, it has been a good week. we were finally able to find some new people to teach. we found a single mother named T, and she is very nice, but has a difficult situation that might make it hard for her to come to church. she is a good lady though. we also found another lady who has gone through a lot in her life. Her name is A. she just told us about all the terrible things that happened to her, and that was tough to hear. it was kinda hard to get her to let us answer her questions, because she kept interupting right when we were about to make the point. so that was kind of a hard lesson to teach hahaha. we found one other person, a guy named A,  and he is super awesome! at first he did not show a lot of interest, but we were able to make it back to teach him about the restoration, and that went really well. he is a  cool guy. we will soon see where all of these people end up i guess haha.

T is doing well, although i think he has lost a bit of steam, because he did not come to church and has slowed on his reading. he is still reading, but not as much as before. we have been trying to focus on helping him to keep the determination going. he also said he will marry his girlfriend so he can get baptized, so that was some super good news. D has been kinda hard to contact lately, so we will be trying more this week to contact him. we are not sure what is going on. B is doing well too, he has been busy with a trip out of town, so that is why we did not see him much lately, but we got back in contact with him and had a pretty good lesson. we are still trying to get him to commit to church, but his Dad's situation makes that difficult unfortunately. we also had some pretty powerful lessons with T*** as well, the last lesson we were really trying to help him understand how much God really does love him and how important his choices are. the spirit was pretty strong, and so hopefully we will be able to open him up more. we are helping him to recognize the spirit more in his life. 

the other day some lady in a gold mustang stopped us and called us over to her car. she explained that she was catholic and that her uncle just passed away. she was asking us to pray for her family, because her uncle was a Mormon in Utah. fast forward to yesterday morning, she called us and told us that she wanted us to come over for dinner. this was just out of the blue, so went over and while i was washing up in the bathroom, my comp told them our first names (uh oh! haha) because they insisted, so they started calling us by our first names (never ever do that--i have learned a long while ago) and to make things weirder, i walked around the corner and out popped a catholic priest (this just sounds iffy doesn't it? haha) he was nice luckily, no arguments or bashing or anything came up, but they did ask questions cause they have family members who are on missions. after we ate, and were just weirded out by being called by our first names, we left and that was that. sadly, they were not too interested in investigating the church, but they did offer us help if we ever need it. so that was really nice. who knows? maybe something will come of it. that sums up the week.

that is good your work is going well Dad. that is crazy about the world series! i would have expected Cleveland to get killed, not so i guess hahha. that is also too bad the Utes lost, and the Aggies too, the teams need to play better hahaha. that is funny about my trek Ma. they are pretty cool, i loved going on trek with them hahaha. that is a good thought from general conference.  it is so true, we will be able to make it. i was just thinking about this this morning, we just have to do our best to be our best. we are learning how to become like God, this life is a learning experience. we have to learn to progress in order to be able to have all the blessings of the celestial kingdom if we are going to abide there--which we will if we follow the Savior's instructions and rely on his infinite mercy. we can learn so much from the gospel and the temple. everything we have is to help to teach us how to become more like the Savior. i am still figuring out exactly how the spirit speaks to me completely, but i am so grateful for the guidance from the Spirit that comes from our loving Heavenly Father. i am so grateful for this gospel and i know how many blessings it will bring to each of our lives. thank you for the support you all give me, it means so much! i hope you have a great week Dad, and a happy Halloween. i love you Dad! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, it has been a good week. to answer your questions, i did get the pump supplies a day early, so that was awesome. thanks Mom! i do need insulin soon, i have a vial and a half left. i did not get a flu shot, so we will see what happens hahaha.

today we just have our regular p-day, and then we have to go in as soon as it's over. then we have some stuff to do that President Welch wants done. sadly, no one showed to church this week, although we had several who had committed. (satan works extra hard when you are trying to build up a teaching pool haha). that was frustrating. Elder Nelson is a boss, he is a great guy and we get along pretty well. he loves to work hard, so that is nice.

the best part of my week was sacrament; the Spirit was super strong and i was reading the Book of Mormon during it and it just really made a difference. it was really nice to just sit and feel the Spirit for a while. the hardest part was probably a few days this week where we just spent finding, and no one was letting us come back or was letting us in, so it felt like getting nothing done. we just have to remember that the Lord does not control people into accepting the gospel. we all have agency and if they accept it or not, that does not determine our success. those days were full of hard work, so they were good days anyway.

a miracle was having one person let us come back on a day when literally no one was wanting to listen, so that was one of the "4th floor last door" experiences. that was A, who i wrote about in Dad's email. i had an impression on one of those days that really just reminded me that the Lord was proud of us that day.

i bet that was super fun to help with the street Halloween party, i loved doing that. hahaha Bonnie and Stewart  are the best!! i bet that was a fun party. the DI has everything, i miss that. Goodwill is just not the same hahaha. that is awesome that you found a new exercise bike! i hope it helps you more than mine did--i think we each paid half or something, i just remember it was cheap too hahaha. i still do want that bike, yes, thank you for saving it! i will use it when i get home for sure. speaking of, i am almost back to my pre-mission weight, so that is good. i gained a bunch in Englewood hahaha. that is good to hear your knee is doing better and better, soon you will be all healed up. hahaha i am glad you like some of my quotes, once in a while i will come up with something good like that hahaha! well that is about it for the updates of the week, how is your Halloween?

Mom: Halloween is good. We are going to have the fire bowl and some hot chocolate in the driveway tonight for trick-or-treaters. That should be fun.

so you are turning into real grandparents, huh? haha you're going to be like Bonnie & Stewart.

is it cold there yet? we are still getting the usual Indiana weather, it changes almost daily!

Mom: Yeah, it is starting to get colder around here. The fire bowl will feel pretty good tonight I think!

well, i have to go now Mom, it has been good talking with you! thank you Mom for everything you do! it means so much! i hope you have a great week! love you Mom! you're the best!

-Elder Sedlacek da third.