Transferred again! This time to Anderson, Indiana.

The skinny tie Elder Sedlacek made from a fat one. He's pretty handy.

hey Dad! it has been a great week, so i kinda knew i would leave. it makes me really sad, this is probably one of the hardest areas/companionships for me to leave! it will be a good transfer though. my new comp is my old DL from Noblesville--it's Elder Hammond from Farmington. he is a super awesome guy, and we should have a great transfer. i went on exchanges with him a few months ago. he's the one who took that picture of us holding out our Trump ties. 

we found more people we could potentially baptize in Springboro this week. we went out finding, and found a less active member with a non-member wife who has been coming to church for two years now. she has not been baptized yet, but is considering it. we are both really excited for that. there is another family that has been bringing their adult son to church for a few weeks now. we are still waiting to set up an appointment with him, but he had said in gospel principles that he is getting that feeling that everything taught makes sense and matches what he believes deep down. this area is on the brink of a bunch of conversions, and i am excited for it! the miracles are starting to flow hahaha. 

so to tell you about Anderson Indiana, it used to be a Zone leader area, and it has a really awesome ward according to one of the old ZLs. we will have a full time car last i checked, and we also have a set of sisters, so i am excited. it should be a good area. everyone tells me i will end my mission there, but that's what they said about here hahahaha. 

sounds like you had a good Valentines, that's awesome. it will be crazy to come home to wood floors hahaha, you should be able to get it figured out, if not ask Kelly.  i wish i i could help with that, it would be fun. oh well! hopefully your schedule gets easier soon. that is super cool Hayward got to go to the All Stars, i really like him. Busch is one of my fav drivers. thanks for the sports updates Dad! 

that is so cool to hear about that fam you helped, so they are getting back into more activity. i love that guy, Brother Allred, he is a great guy. that is absolutely true about having the spirit to guide you, because we have no idea about who is ready and who is not ready to listen to us. it does all start with desire, but the cool thing is, that once you start to share the gospel and understand the Doctrine of Christ more in your life, your desire to share it will increase. there is no better way to get motivated to share the gospel then to experience the atonement working in our own lives. living the gospel of Jesus Christ will help us to share it, and become who God wants us to be. that is what i love about a mission, i get to grow my testimony and love of the gospel and become a better person. i know this gospel is true, and that as we all embrace it more and change the little things in our lives (repent) we will have more joy. thanks Dad, for everything! have a great week! love you Dad!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been a really good week, just in time for me to leave. funny how that works huh? haha Brother Gilbert is a man you can trust. i was mad when i got the transfer call, but i had already known i was leaving, i could feel it, so i wasn't surprised.  i usually can tell when i will and when i won't. i love this area so much, and Elder Payne is my favorite companion, so we were both sad the next day. 

yep, i guess Heavenly Father wants me to get used to changes. there will probably be a lot of it in the future i am guessing. i think this will happen often the last few months of my mission. i definitely feel like i had accomplished my purpose in Springboro. i had a pretty good idea what it was. 

that is funny about the pump supplies, cause Byram has been sending me info about the bills. thanks for taking care of it. 

it was a good week, we went on another exchange with our zone leaders so i got to go with Elder Van Alfen, who also came out with me. {same as my new comp Elder Hammond}. that was a good exchange--we found some more people to see and teach so that was awesome. then on Valentines Day, a member took us to a Mexican place that was super good. Elder Payne took the other zone leader to PF Changs, just the two of them, it was funny. 

the most challenging thing was getting the transfer news, although it was bitter sweet. i just love the area. my prayers were answered in just having a good day while i ran the area on exchanges, that was awesome. that is awesome you got to help all those widows with those Valentines. service always makes me feel good. i still remember when you and Dad used to take us to get stuff from the store and take it to the Road Home in Salt Lake. and i also especially remember helping all the widows with snow removal at a young age. 

like i said in Dad's email, it will be so crazy to come home to wood floors. it sounds like it will be a fun project for Dad. i have not got the video yet of Mia answering my challenge. 

i love talking about adversity, and i really like D&C 122 and 123 for adversity, as well as 121. it talks a lot about the Prophet Joseph's adversity. there is a super good promise given at the end of 122, that all the adversity we face is only given to us out of love, so that we can grow. i hate adversity going through it, so i always have to remind myself that it is for me to become a better person. all things testify of Heavenly Father's love for his children, you just have to see it the right way, and focus on the bigger picture. He will not give us anything to hurt us, ever. it may hurt temporarily while we are going through it, but in the end, if we endure well, it will make us stronger. 

so my AP called last night, and he had baptized someone else of Jennifer's family! so he got to see her at the baptism, and she had mentioned how we are her missionaries. she is doing awesome! that was super good to hear!

that is really nice about Bryant too, i really like that kid. he is super funny. that would be so cool if he would come to my mission before i get home, and i could train him. that would be sick!

thanks so much for everything you do Mom! i love you all so much! have a great week! talk to y'all later!

-Elder Sedlacek

We can only change ourselves

hi Dad, it has been a good week. we don't have much to update on the status of 'gators, but there was some cool stuff that happened. S is finally feeling better, so we have a chapel tour with him on Wednesday. we plan to put him on date for baptism at that time. most of the other 'gators are not really meeting with us because of their schedules, or they are "eternigators" that we don't see too often. we had an appointment with one named M yesterday, but that fell through. 

the missionary department came out with a new training that was given to mission presidents, and they shared some statistics with us. out of a room of 300 general authorities, 28 were converts when they were over 30 years old, and 144 of them were baptized in between the ages of 9-25. because of that, they want all the missionaries really focusing on youth and young adults. so this past week we had been visiting the young men in the ward and getting them in on some activities we want to do to invite their friends out. i am really excited for it, i really think it will help us in this area. we have a lot of young men that are strait-up studs.  

other than that, we don't have much to write about. hahah that sounds like you had a "Fun" time with that meeting, that's too bad you had so little time to share your info. that's too bad USU is not playing very well right now, but it's still super cool that Sam is getting playing time on first string. 

the weather here has been really warm, like in the 50-60 degree range--it was in the 60's the other day. it's really strange, this is when Ohio winters are supposed to hit the hardest, just before they end. hopefully the flooding around Logan doesn't get too bad. so is Jake staying in the same place for next year? sounds like i will have a good ward. 

i used to have a really hard time comparing myself to others. i was really thankful for some things that happened to help my comp with this, he struggles with it. i had an interview with Pres. Welch on Friday, we talked about how i had learned a lot about this recently (past 6 months) and i am so grateful to have learned this lesson. we can only change ourselves and make ourselves better, so why spend so much time worrying about what others are doing? we just have to do our best, and the Lord will help with all the rest and make our best enough. i love how a mission gives us time to make our weaknesses into strengths. i don't have to worry about being the same person when i get home as i was when i left--the Lord will make me a changed person if i simply rely on Him and do what He says. we all can experience this. the atonement is a great blessing we have. 

thank you Dad for all you do! i hope you have a fantastic week! love you!

-Elder  Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a good week. we did not have anyone come to church this week, sadly, and we are doing a lot of finding still hahaha. i wrote to Dad about our new plan to get some more referrals, and about the rest of the 'gators. we did not get to teach a lot of people this week. the one lesson that stands out to me was when we contacted a part member family and met the husband. the wife (a member) was not home, so we just asked to sit down and had a good lesson and chat with him. maybe it will go somewhere soon. i hoped you liked ------ calling you hahaha, he is funny haha. 

thank you for the pics! transfers are next week, so we will know this Saturday what happens. some cool things happened this week. today we drove to Western Hills (to the mission office) to get Elder Payne's tooth fixed at a dentist, and then we stopped in to the mission office and said hello to guess who? Elder Holman! we talked a lot. we are great friends. in talking with him, i did learn a lot about my purpose as a missionary, i mean my personal purpose, it was awesome. i realized a trend in my areas and comps, it was cool. i've been told that a lot of my old companions have really loved serving with me supposedly, so that's good. and humbling! haha

i have really strenghthened my testimony this week, concerning the restoration, since we have been teaching it so much! haha i love the principles that were restored by Joseph Smith. this gospel is such a blessing to the whole world. 

another thing that happened--so yes, less actives do teach missionaries a thing or two, and yes, it does happen by the spirit. we visited a less active while my companion was having a hard day, and the less active member strait-up talked about everything my comp was going through and how to get through it, without even knowing. it was awesome! 

yay! i am excited to live by my good friend Brigham next year! that will be fun to live so close to my siblings and be in Logan hahaha.  that is funny about Dad having to  dance with you hahaha. he hates it just as much as i do hahaha. that is fun you got to go to the temple night, i bet that was nice. it is crazy that Carli is coming home already! it's weird to see all the sisters i came out with going home. 

it's true, we are too hard on ourselves, and not positive enough. we have to expect blessings from the Lord, and expect to become better people. if we only focus on what's wrong, in a not-constructive, "i am going to fix this" sort of way, we will only hurt and tear ourselves down, and prevent ourselves from becoming who God wants us to be. i had to learn this while i have been on my mission, we can't be beating ourselves up, it only makes things worse. every day we step out of the apartment, is a step of faith, and if we don't expect things to happen, they won't. expect the best and God will make things happen, as we do our best and work hard to make those expectations become a reality. 

that's about it for the week! haha i don't think i need anything as of yet, maybe some more pants soon, the Dickies i came out with are wearing out. 

well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me, i love you so much! have a great week mom!

Love,

Elder Sedlacek

Missions are such great life preparation!

hi Mom! it's been a good week. i wrote about the teaching pool and stuff in Dad's email. that member who sent you pics has a son on a mission, so she feels for you hahaha. 

thanks for the laundry tips! i am doing all of that stuff with my whites--i never wash my whites and colors together and always with hot water hahaha, i guess they are just old. i will need new ones when i get home for sure.  West Chester biking really did them in i guess! hahaha 

i know of at least one guy who is going to USU, but i can't talk to him, so i don't know about rooming. probably just put the luck of the draw down i guess hahaha. thanks for taking care of that! 

i do have plenty of pump supplies left--actually i have a little over half a box of sites. everything else is good for a minute. 

sadly, we did not find anyone new this week, but we are working on it. no one we are teaching came to church. lately we are working on prayerfully visiting members with the intention of teaching the restoration and asking for referrals. that is why we are getting so many--it really works, and i love doing it. 

one big tender mercy {and miracle} was finding money that just appeared in my wallet somehow, that was awesome! the spirit and i have such an interesting connection, it is usually so subtle that i think it's just me thinking, but whatever i thought works out miraculously and then i know it was the spirit, cause my ideas don't work in missionary work hahaha! it's all about God's ideas. 

that is good Mia got back into the swing of things this week, and your spring-like weather is what's nice about Ohio, Spring is just about to hit here for real. it will be getting warm in about 2-3 weeks, i am excited. 

i love the book of Alma, it's such an amazing missionary book, that and 1 Nephi are good for missionaries. they completely sacrificed their lives for God, and He made it worth it. they gave up a worldly kingdom, but He gave them a real kingdom, and more happiness then they could ever imagine. miracles occur after the trial of our faith. their trial was going to teach the Lamanites, not knowing if they would live or die. i love the story of the waters of Sebus, with Ammon, he was such an amazing servant, that is how i want to be. God has given me so many blessings, i am so grateful for what He has blessed me with--i could list off stuff all day and for the rest of my life, but we have to show that gratitude by obedience. 

thank you so much for all you do for me Mom! oh yeah, funny story--so in our apartment, our neighbors' and our pipes started leaking really bad from the upstairs sink, and the kitchen sink downstairs. so we thought we could not even shower, so we had gotten permission to stay Saturday night at the Middletown Elders' apartment, so i had my first sleepover (pover as missionaries call it) on the mission hahaha. but turns out we can shower, we just had to ask some members for some water jugs to drink with and wash dishes til the leaks are fixed. that's all for the week.

well, I have to go now Mom. Thanks for all you do! I love you all so much! talk to you later!

--Elder Sent-the-check

hey Dad! it has been a good week. sadly, we did not find any new people this week, and the referrals went south on us, so that was crappy. but yesterday the relief society president gave us a whole list of people, so that shows we have trust and that God is still providing for us! 

it seems like everyone was sick here, so we were not able to meet with S cause he had the stomach bug, so that pretty much destroyed the chapel tour we set up. hopefully we can have it this week when he feels better. we still have pretty much no teaching pool, but that will change. i was just talking to my comp yesterday about that, he feels pressured since i have been out for so long now, and it's his first time taking over an area, so he feels like it's his fault if we don't have anyone to teach, or if people reject us. that has taught me a lot about how Heavenly Father and Jesus must feel about us. they have experienced what we go through and they know what will come. i remember feeling the same way when i was at his point in my mission, it really makes me think. i try to help him understand, and he does not quite understand it yet but he will in time--just as with every other missionary. missions are such great life preparation! 

my diabetes has been getting better, my blood sugars are not quite so high so often, thank you for the prayers! i have an A1C coming up in about a week, so we will find out what it is this time hahaha. 

i will write about a funny story that happened this week in Mom's email. that is too bad that Mick had to come home, i hope his health is better. i would be so sad to have to come home early. i am sure he did a great job! 

that is crazy about the Super Bowl, we hardly got anyone to answer the door last night, so we figured it was a good game. hahaha  we also had good meetings all around, we even presented the 40 day Fast in Elders' quorum, so we are hoping that brings in a lot of referrals. it should be starting soon. 

that's funny you say that about wearing a suit to work, i actually enjoy it now. non pros clothes just feel wrong to me hahaha. speaking of, i got my blue suit fitted, so it fits well now, it's not too big anymore. it was only $35 to do it all, it was a good price. 

it is cool to see the growth of the church in the world now, it really will fill the whole earth, and you see that now in your job. i guess world wide the missionary efforts have changed, cause at least the US is starting to see different patterns in effective activities. it's cool to see it happen. the Second Coming is coming soon. 

i love that conference thought, i have been really working on how i ask questions when i am teaching, like using questions such as "how do you feel about...."  so you can get more of what they are thinking, not what they think you want to hear. there was a really good article about that on the church website about two months ago about asking questions. questions allow the one being taught to really ponder on what is being taught, and that makes room for the Spirit to touch them in such a way that rings true to them. it resonates with what they actually need to hear at that time. all teaching in the gospel should be based out of love. Elder Payne has really helped me to improve on that this transfer.  i know that as we follow the Spirit and involve God, and get out of the way of His will, we will see miracles and blessings in our lives! i see it every day. 

thanks for everything Dad! i love you! talk to you later! have a great week as usual!

-Elder Sedlacek

I am grateful for the challenges I have had

Caught a mole in our apartment!

Emails from January 30, 2017

hi Dad, it has been a good week. first off, thank you so much for the note about Dukie, i got it Saturday night, and i was pretty sad for a bit, but luckily i had just got back from an exchange. it was already time to come in and get ready for bed, so i was able to not have to think about anything for a while hahaha. Dukie is probably following me around in spirit like a creep as he used to do hahahaha.

we had a world wide meeting brodcast as missionaries where they pretty much got live video footage of the missionary council's board meeting. it was sweet, and i learned a lot about the Doctrine of Christ. they changed the missionary daily schedule and key indicators! we only count the number of baptisms, people on date, at church, and new investigators. i love it, it takes away the stress of everything else. now we have more freedom to change the order of how we do things in the morning, so we could excercise last if we wanted. i don't want to exercise last cause i am so used to the old schedule and it makes me feel jack hahaha.  we now plan our days the morning of, so if we wanted we could go to bed right at 9 pm when we get home, i love that hahahaha! and now our p-days are two hours longer and start at 8 am instead of 10 am.

we got a whole lot of referrals this week, and some new potential investigators to teach. i went on an exchange with Elder Nielsen's "son," {the Elder Nielsen i was with in Cincy}, so i  got to be a trainer for the day in our area. that was fun. i don't want to train at all anymore though hahaha. we started teaching a recent convert's dad, and he is doing awesome. he read a few chapters out of the Book of Mormon by the second lesson, and we have a chapel tour set up with him. i am so stoked. while i was on another exchange after a zone conf, in my zone leader's area, Miamisburg, we taught a few really cool people in that area, and i learned a lot. plus that zone leader is elder Schott, he is one of my favorite elders in the mission. we served in the same ward in Englewood, so that was fun.

we are doing really good now with referrals, we suddenly have started getting a bunch from members. the Lord is placing people in our path! it is amazing. and we are about to start teaching another part member family, that will invite us over as soon as his work slows down. he could be baptized any day now, things are looking up.

my blood sugars have been so much better this week, i know your prayers have helped me so much, thank you! that is good you got to see that promotion come, and that you were able to see Duke one last time, i bet that was a good tender mercy. hahaha i wish i could eat like Mia, she is an empty hole hahahaha. 

that is one of my fave talks from conf. faith really is a principle of power. in missionary work, we just have to rely on faith and "get out the way!" hahaha as they say in the hood. i have really learned that this transfer, we literally have nothing to worry about, God is in charge, and He knows where the his children are. if we just rely on what the spirit is telling us to do in faith then he will provide the miracles. Pres Welch was talking to us on Friday, and he said that success is given. if you notice in the scriptures, it always says, "i will give... you success". we literally just do our best and He will give us success. He will give us the grace to work miracles and to see miracles. i am so grateful for the time i have to be on a mission, to learn what the Spirit feels like and to really learn how to talk to God. i love this gospel so much, and i am so grateful for the ability to repent and become better. i know all of you can feel the same way, embrace the gospel. thank you Dad for all you do, i always thank you, and i won't not do it hahaha it means so much the work you put in for our family and to have me be out here. i hope you have a great day Dad, i love you! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! i have had a great week, even with Dukie's death.  i still can't believe it though, when i read your letter, i was like "OH MY GOSH! are you kidding me?!?"  Dukie was so healthy, he is like one of those sprinters that just dies cause they had too much energy or something. he sure was a great dog, and very disobedient at times haha, but he was still my best friend when I didn't have one. he will be missed, but that is ok, we will see him again along with Lady and the other dogs.

well that aside, i had a great week. the members here are awesome, they love to send pics, so i hope you enjoyed them. can you send me that one? Elder Nieman is Elder Nielsen's trainee, so that was fun, he is going to be a great missionary. he is definitely further along then i was when i was at his point. i wrote about all the people we are teaching to Dad. i went on another exchange with Elder Schott, he is an old mission buddy, and is my zone leader. i went to his area, we got a lot of cool teaching in, and man he has changed a lot. we went on an exchange a year ago, and he says i have changed a lot too, so that was nice to hear.

we did get a lot of referrals this week, and that is so nice, we may not find them oursleves, but that is not to say that God isn't working on it for us, which He is! as soon as we get more available miles on our car, we will drive out to see them all. it is so exciting. it is a real testimony to me that God is in the details of everything. me and Elder Neimann found a bunch of people on Tuesday and set up some appointments with them. i found that the people we planned to see that day, we did shift around a bit to fit our travel, but it was really cool, cause two of the people we planned to see, we found them out walking the streets! it showed me that God will always place people in our path, as long as we get out of the way and follow the spirit. it's not about us.

i have definitely felt everyone's prayers, thank you so much! my blood sugars have been a lot better lately, prayer works! i will look at my insulin to carb ratios, i think that would help with some of my meals, thanks for reminding me Mom! Elder Payne gave me a blessing of counsel, and it said to pretty much be patient, they will get back under control in the Lord's timing, which was interesting hahaha.

that is good about Mia's surgery going well, that sounds like a video i will have to see hahaha. i am glad Dukie passed quickly, and not painfully. if he had gotten much older, it would have been painful to watch, more so then just hearing about it in a letter so i am grateful for that.  that is cool that Anna is going out, she will make a great missionary with having an understanding like that already, it will push her through learning a language.

i have heard that song {One by One}, it is very good. it is true that we do stand in the Savior's place, helping people one by one, and it works the best that way. we are all God's children and we all have a hierarchy of needs and wants, and the most basic is to be loved, and to feel God's love. that is the most basic doctrine the restored gospel teaches, that first and foremost we are all beloved children of heavenly parents, who love and care for us, and are waiting for our return.

i am grateful for the challenges that i have had, that teach me that if nothing else, i have a Heavenly Father. He will not do anything that will harm me spiritually. he will only allow things to happen that will help me learn what I need to learn. i am so grateful to be able to declare the restored gospel and to help others repent. everyone needs the joy of repentance and change. i am here to help them feel that, and that is made possible through faith in the Jesus Christ--it is only through Him.

thank you Mom for the package you sent, and all that you do!

well i have to go now, thank you Mom for everything! i love you all so much! have a great week! tatlk you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

LONG LIVE DUKIE!