Baptism!

May 15th Emails

hey Dad! it has been another good week. it was really nice to Skype yesterday, it really helps to keep me going and refreshes the missionary spirit. it is nice to be able to do that. we should be able to have another baptism in this area for sure, i would not be surprised. we just need to find those who are ready. 

so with the teaching pool, i told you about B yesterday, and we should have a baptism date pretty soon, but i really want to see some more progression before we make that actually happen. i want to see some more commitment, but i guess we will just have to follow the Spirit. he did not make it to church, cause he had trouble getting a hold of his ride. his phone was out of minutes, and so he was not ready when the ride came. J wrote us a little piece about his beliefs about what we are teaching, and i am afraid he is going about it in a secular way, just wanting to learn about Mormons for the sake of knowing about it. not sure where to go there, we will see how his reading has been going. D is taking a break for a while until after she has her baby, so hopefully she will recover quickly and we will begin teaching again. 

we also had to drop a few people, so you said it right, gotta build back up that teaching pool again (as always *sigh* hahaha). we should be able to find some people with C's help, although he is joining the army soon, so he doesn't plan on sticking around for long. we will have to pound the new member lessons with him, and really build the testimony that he already has. the baptism and the confirmation went really well, very Spirit-filled, at least for me. he seemed to really enjoy it all. 

sounds like you had good Sunday lessons too. we talked about prophets in gospel principles and the teacher used a really cool example for the lesson that gave me a new perspective on the need for a prophet. we did have a good dinner, Mexican food, which is my new most favorite type of food, it was awesome! 

speaking of stuff coming into your stock levels, are they making any new white handbooks or planners lately? there are rumors......just curious. that's too bad the Jazz lost, that sucks. hahaha there are some sports not meant to be watched in my opinion, just played hahaha--like golf. if you can call golf a sport, it's a game hahaha. 

one of the goals i actually set for after i come home, is to go to the temple once a week, i don't want to under-appreciate it ever again. the temple is so nice, you feel so at peace, and there is no better place to go and to learn from the Lord. i am excited to be able to go again in a few months when i leave, can't go any sooner than that unfortunately. i have been putting pictures of temples on my planners for a few months now, i love looking at the beauty of the temples. we are so privileged to have one right in front of our house! we sure are blessed. 

i was thinking about all the funny Indiana sayings after the call yesterday, hahaha i guess my mind blanked cause there are a lot more, guess you will have to wait :). thank you very much for the wonderful example you are to me! i love you Dad! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, it was an awesome week. we had fun leading up to C's baptism and then actually getting to perform my first baptism was awesome, despite the fact i am now the laughing stock of the whole YSA  {Mom's note: basically C didn't bend his knees going down, and Elder Sed lost hold of him and C's head hit the side of the font. Ouch!} and those in the zone. it's all good though. 

it will be fun to have a new companion, something else i need to learn from someone. companions suck at times {hahaha!}, but they teach you so much. i really have loved all my comps. May is flying by, it's crazy to see the time fly by. 

i should be good on pump supplies for a bit, but i will need strips soon, i think. i guess my hardest day was probably Tuesday, it was just a weird day, and nothing was going on, so we were trying to figure out what to do, and then everything kinda fell through anyway. those days are always tough, i just want to be teaching and feeling effective. the best day was probably Friday, and part of Saturday. we had the baptism, and Saturday would have been better, but we had to fill the font, and that took all afternoon, so that got a little boring, because i wanted to be out working. it was a nice break though i guess. but that is the thing--if i take a break, i feel like i am sinning, so breaks are harder than working! hahaha

i will have to think about the birthmark package hahaha. not really sure what to ask for, because i don't want to have to pack anything extra around.  so i will think about it. i will need some new clothes when i get home, so maybe just save it for that, i don't know. 

that's awesome Mia did so well with her solo! she sounds a heck of a lot older than the last time we Skyped! as in, her voice has changed dramatically. oh, the MJH band though. Mr. King was a funny guy. that's good they did well. sounds like you all have fun stuff going on. 

Dad going to girls' camp? he is always surrounded by women, so why not spend a week with 20-30 more? hahaha. poor Dad! hahahahaha. 

that was really nice to see Brig walk around! he is a pretty cute little guy. sounds like you had a good lesson in your class. i love teaching with questions. it's like being bold, but not bold. cause the spirit is who really teaches when you ask thought-provoking questions. i wish it were easier to teach Hoosiers with questions. if you ask too many, they take it and run with it, like Sage when she would get out and just go! hahaha they love to talk about anything and everything! 

the best way to grow your testimony is to share it. that is why sharing the gospel is a commandment. it will grow your knowledge, understanding (understanding comes through study and then experience or the Spirit teaching you) and a stronger testimony. commandments are only given to make us better. i know that is true. just like the commandment to read your scriptures. God has given us his gospel in the form of a book. that book can teach the wise and the unlearned. they are meant to bring us closer to Christ, as we read prophecies about his life, ministry, and the wonderful things he has done for us. when we learn those things, and study them often, the Spirit is able to teach us and to give us divine guidance for our lives. i definitely saw that this week as on one of the days, i did not have much time to study that day, so i did some Book of Mormon reading. fast forward later on through that day, and we met someone who had some questions surrounding exactly the points that i had picked out of my reading that morning. it was a real testimony booster to me about studying and learning from the spirit. it will always prepare us and strengthen us. i am so grateful for the gift of the scriptures. i have really deepened my love for them recently, and i am excited to keep on studying and learning the gospel, even after my mission. 

something else i learned this week: a testimony is truth that we know, combined and coupled with life experiences that turn that into heart knowledge. and the best way to invite the spirit, is to share it. 

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

-Elder Sedlacek

P.S. pray for me running the area--it's the first time i have run this one, and i don't know the layout all that well since i haven't done any of the driving here.