A double header

May 8th Emails

hey Dad! it was a good week! C is doing great, and he is getting baptized on Saturday! he is having his baptism interview on Tuesday morning. he was not able to make it to church yesterday however, because he was called into work. so we will have a busy week--very morning this week we will have a lot to do with C to prep him hahaha. that is nice since mornings are usually pretty slow. we had one of our new investigators, B, show up to church with a member who got along really great with him. that was awesome. he had a great time and seemed to enjoy it. 

yesterday was a special Sunday too, cause we had Fast Sunday last week since this week we were having a regional broadcast covering from Indiana to Nova Scotia with Elder Oaks and Elder Gong (who is the area Seventy). it was really good, and they had a bunch to say about how to use the missionaries more effectively. it was good. 

we were also able to find a new guy named D who was referred to us by a member. he has some really solid potential. we had taught the restoration and that went super well. we are also gonna start working with that member's boyfriend, who comes with her to church every week, but has not been baptized. hopefully we can start changing that. 

we are working with a bunch of potential Elders lists to help us find some part-member families, so hopefully that will bring some results. the ward will help us, we just have to really try to get them to do it haha. 

oh yeah, the guy who showed up at church a few weeks ago, the brother of a recent convert, is getting baptized with C, it was super awesome to watch that happen. he knew instantly this is what he has been searching for, and now he is a doing really well. so we will have a double-header on Saturday if all goes right. 

sounds like you're having fun at work with all the mess from the orders. hahaha, does it ever end? probably seems that way sometimes, but hey, when it comes to covenants, the opposition will come i guess. i am glad Indiana does not have sprinklers, otherwise i would probably have been asked a billion times by now to help dig some up. hopefully you get them all running quickly.  well, the Jazz will always choke when it comes down to it, happens every year haha.  that's a super cool story about Karl Malone. those random acts of kindness really do help so much to bring people closer to the Savior, maybe not that one directly, but i find that in missionary work and reactivation, those random acts and friendships are everything.  

the scripture in the Book of Mormon that talks about how when the children of God were baptized and had their names recorded, they were commanded to "meet together oft" and to fast, pray and worship together. i find that especially important. i love church cause of how we get to listen to each others' thoughts and takes on different things in the gospel. it helps us all to learn and to be edified. when you have someone coming with friends, even if it is just for friends, most of the time they will start to feel the Spirit working in their lives and it will help them to grow a testimony of the restored gospel. i really like those chapters in Mosiah, and the first several in Alma, because they teach us so much how to be a true disciple of Christ in inviting others to see for themselves the blessings that the gospel brings. i am so grateful to be a missionary, you have to put up with a lot, but i know it is all a blessing that will help us grow as we share the gospel with others to help them grow as well. 

thank you dad for emailing! love yah! see you on Sunday :) have a great week!

Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a good week. it did go by fast, they just keep getting faster too haha! i got to go on another exchange to Elwood this past week with Elder Blanchard from Idaho. that was a good day. we had some dinner with an investigator couple; they fed us some dank ribs and chops, it was awesome. then they told us after dinner how they felt about how his father had died, and that man's wife was there too. they were very upset, because it happened just a year ago. as we listened to the thoughts and feelings being shared by this couple and the man's wife, thoughts of the Savior started coming to mind about how much he loves each of us and how families can be eternal through Heavenly Father's plan, and through the Savior's atonement. then something cool happened--so i am awful at remembering scripture references, i remember the words, but not good enough to recite them--but i had scriptures just start flowing into my mind, and i recited a few perfectly, and then explained them. it was really cool. the Spirit was super strong as we shared about Christ and the plan of redemption. it was an awesome experience. 

that was probably the best day of my week. it rained a lot and it was pretty gloomy the next few days, and it can make me feel sad sometimes when we don't have sun for three days strait. we were working with a poorer part of town most of those days. those days like that are always the harder days, for me at least, but one thing i had come to mind, that i learned about is how Christ spent his days with the "poorer parts of town." he loved them perfectly, and was devoted to helping them feel peace and assurance. he taught them and spent time with them, just because he loved them, and then i got chastened a bit i guess you could say. Because in order to be a true disciple, it doesn't matter what situation i am in or how uncomfortable i feel, God's children need help to find the truth. so i will be praying for more charity now hahaha. 

as of right now, i won't need any pump supplies for a while, i have a bunch right now and i think i will try to use it all up, it may even last so i won't need a whole shipment before i go home. 

as of right now, i am not sure when we will Skype on Sunday, but it will probably be in the afternoon time before 6 out here, so around 4 your time. i will try to have a member text you or something. that is cool you're almost getting done with school stuff, it will probably be nice to get a "break." i say that, but the girls will be home, so that will be "fun" hahaha. that is crazy the school year is almost at an end. 

i had been reading in the Bible Dictionary a few days ago about prayer, part of what it says is that prayer is not forcing our will on God, but rather to secure blessings the Lord sees fit to bless us with, for things we need help with. Heavenly Father does truly love us so much. he wants us to have all his blessings, but we do have choices, so sometimes we miss out on those blessings. any time he can bless us, according to our efforts to follow him, he will. we are so blessed just to have the gospel.  it's a major blessing to share it, i am so grateful for that.

well, i have to go now Madre, thank you for being such a support! and for all your prayers! have a great week! i look forward to getting to talk on Sunday! love you all so much! 

-Elder Sedlacek