I am lucky to serve a mission!

It is bug season again....this is just one of the "weird" bugs in Indiana/Ohio.

Enjoying a feast of chicken wings.

Emails from March 27, 2017

hey Dad! it was a good week. we found a bunch of people to teach this week, it was awesome. we started off the week with one of the LAs we've been working with. we lifted weights with him on Monday, then he took us out teaching after p-day ended, to a gal we found the week previous sitting on her porch outside. she invited us back, and we taught the restoration to her. it made sense to her and she had no questions. the next time we went back she had to run to work or something, but her Mom said how excited she was about meeting with us, and that she was too, plus her two other daughters (teenagers) also want to come to church. we gave her the meeting times, and she is taking work off next Sunday to bring herself and her three daughters. we spent some time finding them rides, and so they will now be coming to our ward Family Home Evening that we have every Tuesday. that was so cool! 

we met another young couple that we taught the restoration to, they seemed interested, but they don't have much religious background--not even praying, so it is all new to them. we have another appointment set with them. there was one more lady, who is quite humble, and loves the Savior enough to make a poster of him to hang in her living room. she is quite busy visiting her son who does not live with her, so we have to go back soon and try to catch her. we took a high council member out teaching with us, to see J and we had an awesome lesson with him. the high councilor was quite bold, but J actually loves that, so it went really well. 

J*** is now reading the Book of Mormon, and we have an appointment with him in a few days with the ward mission leader, so hopefully it has gone well for him. sadly, everyone was busy for church except for a few less-actives we have been working with. 

the weather here has been amazing the past few days, it has been nice, and we have not had as many monsoons as last year so it has been good. people are already cutting grass here, it's as green as it will ever get in Utah already hahaha. i like that thought from your sacrament meeting. we see it a lot in missionary work, if you focus too much on you and how well you teach, find, etc. (i mean in an unproductive way) you will miss out on a lot of promptings and you'll miss a lot of daily miracles. 

that is good you have got the floors installed, that's awesome. i bet it feels nice to have it done. 

I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. often times when i read i get distracted so easily. i am sure it's the adversary trying to distract me, but even then, it still brings the Spirit in such a way that really helps me to refocus on what really matters. it takes time for me to put all the stories together, but i am starting to understand more and more every time i read. it really is written for our day and age. in the world today there is a lot of bad things, but the gospel of Jesus Christ and the gift of the scriptures teach us how to better ourselves, so we can avoid the problems that exist in this day and age. i am so grateful for the gospel and the Book of Mormon, as well as the Savior and his atonement. i am lucky to serve a mission! thank you Dad for all you do! have a great week Dad! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it was a good week! i am doing really good. i wrote in Dad's email about the awesome finding experiences we had last week. i am super excited about it, and to see what happens with all of them. one thing i have really come to recognize this week is just how much i love teaching the gospel to people. it always brings the spirit so that at least i can feel it. the spirit that is available to us as missionaries is such an awesome feeling. i have really learned about how i feel and recognize the spirit. for a long time, i was just expecting to know when i was feeling it super easily all the time, but that is not the case, i have had to learn over time how i feel it and to recognize it. it was frustrating at first. 

i read a talk that was talking about spiritual growth and it talks about how it takes time, so you won't hardly recognize it in yourself until you look back to who you once were. i find that super cool. i love the growth that occurs on the mission. probably the most challenging thing was having people cancel appointments we had been setting all week, but hey, that's missionary work i guess haha. 

it is fun to have diabetics in the ward here. it was weird, cause the sister was telling me all the carbs in the food she made, just like you used to do hahaha. oh man, that is crazy you got that letter about my travel plans.  and FYI, it is the 9th of August. we would spend the night in the home, and then you could pick me up from the mission home on the morning of the 9th, according to President Welch. and this is the last week of the transfer again, crazy enough. 

sounds like Dad did a great job of doing the floors, that is awesome.  that is super interesting about that thought. it is true, because where our innermost thoughts and feelings are, that is what we will talk about without even noticing it. i have been studying the Christlike attributes lately, and virtue, patience and charity all have a good connection to our thoughts. i love studying those gifts cause you simply ask for them, and do your best to receive and use them, and they come. the Lord is willing to give us any gift that will help us accomplish the tasks he has planned for us. i am so grateful for the Lord and his love for each of us. i am grateful to be serving a mission so that i can come to know him and Heavenly Father better. thank you for all your support!

i am sending a box home, there is a surprise in it for the family, you will have to take video or pics or something and send it to me so i can know how you all like it and how it turns out hahahah. just read the note i put in the box.

well, i have to go now, thanks for all you do! i love you guys so much. enjoy the surprise! talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Gratitude is a mind set.

Emails from March 20, 2017

hey Dad! it was a good week. we did find more people to teach again, which was awesome. S and W dropped us, that really stunk, but they are obviously not ready right now. we did find an awesome guy named J. 

we saw a house with a mustang II out front, like an old one that is still original, it was cool! so we decided to ask the owner about it, and he came out, we asked a few questions and introduced the gospel to him, and set a return appointment. we went back and taught the restoration, and he had lots of good questions. he plans on coming to church, hopefully this week. we have another appointment tonight. we found a bunch of potentials (people who have appointments with us) and that was super cool, so hopefully those go well. i really do enjoy finding, but it can be tough when people don't keep the appointments. 

we did not get anyone to church--J got a new job, and we are passing D to the sisters cause it's so hard to meet with her since she is a single lady, we thought the sisters would have an easier time meeting with her. 

that is super cool Mia sang in church, is that her first time? that sounds like an awesome talk Carli gave, the atonement is an awesome topic. part of why i love the Doctrine and Covenants so much is cause it's all about missionary work and service in the church, and it has lots of cool deeper doctrine hahaha. i think of missions as the boot camp for life, they help you ground yourself and train yourself spiritually and physically to survive. we also learn how to endure and serve in the church. 

nice work on the floors, they look really nice! i bet that was fun. we moved a guy this week, who had tons of chunks of black walnut wood. that would be perfect for turning huge bowls. it made me laugh, 'cause i was the only one who knew what wood it was--cause of you hahaha.  

gratitude is a mind set. i have to always work on that. the joy and happiness we feel and the love for our Heavenly Father is a choice. we have to try to be thankful to feel thankful. when i am looking for the blessings and God's hand in my life, i see a lot more of it, and that helps to bring me closer to God. i am so grateful i have the opportunity to teach others about the restored gospel. the gospel makes so much sense, and it has brought me closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. i am so grateful for them and all they do to bless me. thanks, Dad, for everything you do, too! love you Dad!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been another good week. i did get the pants, and about the other ones, they did not come with a return label, what should i do? i have maybe two more vials of strips i think, not sure i really need anything right now, thank you Mom! 

we did find a few more people this week, that was awesome. our efforts are starting to pay off a little more. we have been working lists like crazy, we even had an Elder who went home 'a minute ago' send us some names of the people he used to teach. we  are finding that some of the people who weren't ready back then, are more prepared now. it is so cool to see the Lord's timing work like that. 

we did not get anyone to church again this week, that is the real struggle we are facing, we are trying to get some chapel tours set up so we can help them come to church. Elder Hammond and I get along pretty well, we are working together well, so that is good. he is a really good guy. 

one tender mercy: i had a bad earache through the middle of the week, so i had to spend a bunch of my funds on medicine for that, and that took a chunk out of my food money. then i randomly happened to find a bunch of money the other day, so i was able to still get all the stuff i need--that was awesome!! another cool thing, a guy from Noblesville came to church yesterday because his son is in our ward, and that was cool to see him. there are always the daily answers to prayers i get. the best part of the week was probably the last few days before the weekend, we were able to talk to a lot of people. my favorite person was probably J, who we found this week. 

the atonement really is such a great gift we have been given, and it's free, we just have to accept it. we can receive so much strength from it, it gives us the power to do anything we need. Christ loves us so much and you can really feel that love for others if you understand your role as a missionary. i am so grateful to be able to witness Christ's love being manifest through the gospel to others every single day. thanks Mom!

well, i got to go. thank you for everything you do Mom! i hope you have a great day! and week! love you so much!

-Elder Sedlacek

Life really is meant to be enjoyed

hey Dad! it was a good week. we found a few new investigators this week, and that was awesome. we are pretty much having to purge our teaching pool right now--some people need some more time to wait. we did find a guy, J***, and when we showed up he was either drunk or really hungover. i guess the previous elders had taught him a lot, so we set an appointment, and hopefully he keeps it. we also worked with some part member families. we are teaching a member's son, S****, who believes in Viking gods, but he seems very unsatisfied with it and has a lot of questions, so we taught him about the restoration. we set up another appointment for tonight, so hopefully that goes well.

the sisters in our ward hosted a dinner on Saturday for less actives and non members, so that we could get some fellowship. we got D there, so that was awesome. not as many members showed as we would have liked, but it was a decent turnout. we did not get anyone to church this week, but we should be able to soon. 

i loved the Zone conference--i always like those, plus Elder Huemann gave his departing testimony at ours, so it was cool to see him before he ends his mission. he said he would be at my homecoming so we will see haha. 

another cool experience this week: there's a new restoration video, and we saw it, it's amazing! it is such a down to earth approach in my opinion, and it really strengthened my testimony. i recommend watching it. 

the way we think and our level of happiness is really a choice, i have learned that on my mission. there are times where things don't go as planned, or they don't work out at all, and you can either choose to be positive or you can feel down about it, but being down won't help anything. life really is meant to be enjoyed and i find if i am too serious or too high strung, it's not nearly as enjoyable. Heavenly Father wants us to be happy, we just have to choose to be.

that's not good the teams lost haha. hopefully they play better next time. thanks for the bracket, you should get it soon! that's crazy you are now getting to do those international calls, that will be fun haha. yeah, the weather has sucked lately! hahaha in Indiana there is a huge wind problem, so it gets cold like this and the wind starts blowing. it makes it so cold that i had to break out the thermals again hahaha. we were actually going fishing today, but had to cancel since it's too cold (obviously i did not make that choice haha) that is fun you got to go shooting. good work on the floors! thank you Dad! i love you! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it was a good week. i wrote to Dad about the investigators we found, and we found a few, so that was nice. the Zone conference we had this past week was really good. Sister Welch started it off by talking about chastisement, so i was like, ooh this will be good hahaha. i think it is safe to say that most of the missionaries were rebuked a little, if you can call it that. because when i say rebuke, i mean realizing something we should repent of, or change, stop doing, or simply to work on. i had some impressions about what i could work on, not outwardly, but more internal, with the way i look at things. so that was good. 

i pretty much wrote everything that happened that i can think of right now to Dad. you luckies, its all warm there, it should go back to being warm here pretty quick. i bet you are having fun waiting for the floors to be done, right? hahaha i bet it will look really nice! 

that is crazy Carli is home now haha, i bet it is weird for her. i still remember those days when i was so shy i would hide my face. you would always have to tell me to stop doing that hahaha. 

probably my favorite part of this week was the fellowship dinner the Sisters came up with, that was a really good idea. my fave teaching moment was a funny one i guess, we met a guy from Kentucky--he was a hick hahaha. he talked with us for a moment while he was filling the porch with smoke (blech) and told us about how his grand-daughter passed away recently, and he was really upset because of feeling like God lets things like that happen that hurt people. i hate when people feel that way, cause it's not true at all, it all depends on how you look at it. we bore a simple testimony that God loves all his children, and tried to explain trials to him. it was just a good learning experience for me i guess, those always help to strengthen my testimony. 

that sounds like a cool experience you had, that is pretty cool. i find that when impressions come, Satan will always be there to fill us with crap and try to discourage us. i find that happens to me a lot, but if we remember what it says in Moroni 7:13 (i think) it tells us about thoughts and impressions. it helps me a lot. that is cool you had that happen.  

well, it sounds like y'all had a good week, that is good to hear. that's about all i have for the week.

i have to go now, thanks Mom for everything! i love you all so much! have a great week!

Elder Sedlacek

hey Dad! it was a good week. we found someone new to teach this week, a nephew of a member who was baptized a few years ago. her nephew is awesome! we showed up to our appointment with her and he decided to just step in and listen to the lesson. he is in his 20s and i think he is going to be pretty solid. we have already taught him twice, so that is going well. we are just working on getting people to church. we did not have anybody show up this past week which was sad, but there is always next week. 

we taught D again, and as you can infer, she did not make it to church again this week. the ever present struggle to get people to church hahaha. she is getting pretty far into in the Book of Mormon, and really likes it, so i am not too worried about her. she already has a growing testimony of it helping her--she even loves it more then the Bible, which is big news out here! it is practically Bible belt country. we are pretty much trying to just do all the missionary stuff--finding, teaching, getting people to church, and baptized. that pretty much sums it up right now. 

we did have some weird weather this week. it got cold for a few days but it's starting to get really warm again. we have had an extremely mild winter, which i am grateful for, it was bad enough as it is hahaha. we did get to go running again on Thursday when it got really cold, but i stayed pretty warm so it was good. i  actually did not hear about the tornadoes, and they don't happen too much around Cincinnati, though they do happen in sometimes in Indiana.  

that sounds like you're having an interesting time at work hahaha, and the hallway looks really good from the pics Mom sent, awesome job Dad! hahaha i wish i could have stayed awake during our Fast meeting, i literally could not keep my eyes open to save my life, so i fell asleep. i was pretty mad at myself hahaha. i think i have hit the peak of my tiredness, i don't drive much anymore, i just start falling asleep because it lulls me to sleep hahahaha, it's not good! haha. 

it's so true though about loving others. that stuff bugs me really bad, everyone has to be loved and know that they are loved, cause for a lot of people that is what keeps them coming to church. this gospel is based on love. the gospel is just to help us become better, and we are meant to do that together. i think that that is so amazing that Heavenly Father has designed it that way, just cause he wants us to be happy and successful. i also like the thought from Pres Eyring. i have really started learning a lot about the temple lately, not because i am studying about it or anything like that, it has just been coming to me for some reason. i have realized a lot about symbolism and a lot about the priesthood. it is really cool stuff, it just blows my mind hahaha. 

oh man, i am excited for the March Madness bracket. it will be fun to get it, thanks Dad! thank you for all you do, i love you Dad! have a great week and good luck with the living room flooring! :)

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a good week. read Dad's email for the teaching updates hahaha. i can't believe it's March either, but i am glad cause it will get warm really soon. out here, the bushes are starting to turn green in the clumps of trees and the trees are budding, it is starting to get really green again. i love it! it has been snowy this week, but every time it melted within a couple hours, instead of two days, so that was nice. we did not really hear much about tornadoes, but a cool fact is that in the Muncie and Anderson area, supposedly an Indian a few hundred years ago blessed the area that tornadoes will never come here, and so far it has stayed true which is pretty cool. i would love to just see one someday. 

we sadly did not have any investigators to church, but we have a pretty cool guy we started teaching this week, so that was awesome. my favorite person was probably him, his name is W. i definitely saw prayers answered with getting over my sickness. it started to get bad again on Wednesday, but turned around pretty quick after that. that was cool. i got my insulin, yes, thank you for sending it. it was funny cause we were studying and a lady came to the door, and in a really sweet grandma voice, said,"i have a box for Jared", and she handed it to me and was like "oh yes, there we go." and it just made me laugh. i don't know the Boyces personally, but i know who they are. i have stayed at the animal house on exchanges, that was pretty fun. it is super huge and really nice, and it's a four pad. it was fun. they have a super nice weight set with all the Olympic stuff, so that was a treat. that is cool you know his sister. some of my mission buddies have lived there, they would go down and play with all the animals and even bring them up to play with them in the apartment hahahaha. i am in the Muncie zone, yes. 

the floors look really nice! that will be fun for Jake, Jeff & Nicole to all to head to Zions, a fun camping trip would be nice right now hahahaha. 

it is amazing when i look back and see all that Christ has done for me and my own trials, as well as the others that i have taught. he really does love us so much. we just have to reach out for him. i have been blessed in so many ways, and when i didn't feel like it, it was because i was being ungrateful and was to focused on me. the Lord will always bless us, but sometimes it takes time for him to get everything else in place, and then it's even more amazing cause it makes it blatantly obvious. i love this gospel and the Savior so much, i have changed so much because of it. 

thanks for everything you do for me Mom!

We have been playing a fun joke on the members since I look so young...

hi Dad! it was a good week. i am enjoying the new area and my comp is a great guy, and an awesome missionary, so that is awesome. we have a lot more people to teach in this area. we have a few investigators that come to church and we almost got one there yesterday {D, she is awesome!}. we had a pretty good lesson with her and her daughter, and she seems to be pretty solid, but skipped out on church yesterday.  we did not get to meet with all of our investigators this week, i guess some were busy. we have a bunch of less actives and returning members to visit too, so we are always having a full schedule and i really like that.

i am glad Kyle Busch at least one the first stage of the Nascar, that is weird that they run it in stages now.

too bad you have snow now hahaha, we have been in the 60's and only got two cold days this week in the 20's, but the temps jumped back up today, and we went on a run with a member this morning. that was nice. it sounds like the wood floors are going to be pretty nice, that will cool to see. i like how you have related your job to the purpose of helping others keep covenants, that is so cool.

i had assumed we would get a new pass along card like last year, that will be cool. i always like using the specialized cards. i bet it was fun to watch the weekend sports with Jake haha. it is really cool that Sam is starting now!  i am excited for the March Madness bracket.

i like the new youth album they have released about the youth and asking God, it is pretty good. some of the missionaries think it's cheesy but i like it, it has some good messages. we are literally in the mist of darkness, it is a crazy time we live in. if people just understood more about Heavenly Father and utilized his help, the world would be a lot better place.

i am thankful for being raised in the gospel, and that i get to learn and grow on a mission. my testimony has grown a lot lately, and i am thankful for that. if nothing else, i have a testimony and that's what counts. thank you Dad, you do a lot for me, it means so much. i hope you have a good day! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been a good week, and i am liking the new area and all the people we teach. my new comp is a funny guy, we already have plans to go to Betos and Vasa when we get home together hahaha. he went to Viewmont, unfortunately hahaha! 

we have been playing a fun joke on the members, since i look so young. we have tricked a bunch of them into thinking i am in training hahaha. we had a meal last night, and we told them i'm training, and then we busted out the restoration lesson and they were like, "wow, this greeny can teach good for being out 3 weeks!" hahahaha! it was funny. i wrote about our teaching pool in Dad's email. 

this week i had some flu-like symptoms start on Wednesday morning--headache, chills, fever, body aches, and cough. it was terrible hahaha. my fever was all over the map and so that stunk, but now i have just a nagging cough left. it is so annoying hahaha. i took some Nyquil the other night, and just passed out immediately hahaha. i am getting over it now, so that is good. 

the time has flown by for me, like i have all the memories of all this time, but it still seems like yesterday i got dropped off at the MTC. it is so weird. hahaha i will be home soon enough hahaha. 

it is crazy that Jessie and Carli are so far along, home and half way? that is crazy. at transfers i got to see the Connellys and that was super good. they are doing well. they seemed happy to see me and Elder Heumann, and it was really nice to see them again. 

Anderson is huge, but we only cover downtown. the sisters get the other part, all the country. bleh, i wish we had country! hahaha. Anderson is a Hoosier town. i like it. we have tons of 'hood people to teach hahaha so that makes it fun. 

when i was sick, i got a blessing from my comp. that itself was a tender mercy from what the blessing said. i definitely have a purpose in this area, and i was promised success as i do my best to accomplish it, so that was cool. 

i have 1 1/2 vials of insulin, so i will need more soon.  

that must have been fun to have Jake come home for the weekend. and i'm excited for the wood floors. 

i have been studying about our purpose and learning more about my purpose, it always helps strengthen my testimony. i printed off some talks to help me study it, it is super awesome. same with our gifts, i am still figuring out my gifts hahaha, it's so rewarding though to see them at work. to me that is a sign that Heavenly Father is proud of us, so that is good indicator when you see them working through you.

thank you so much for the package! i loved the beef jerky, it is so good! it was nice to get the package when i wasn't feeling too well. 

Mom: I'm sorry you were sick! Did you stay in any days because of it? Did it mess up your blood sugars too badly? And how was your last a1c?

no, i didn't stay in any days even though i could have. i just didn't want to. it didn't mess me up too bad, and my a1c was 8.3. i think i have better control now though, so it should be better next time.

okay well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me, i hope you have a great day! i love you Mom! talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek