Connersville is a little town

Indianapolis temple 

Connersville is shaped like Utah! 

July 3rd, 2017 Emails

Hi Dad, it has been a good week. my comp's name is Elder Jasinski, and he is from Seattle. he has been out 8 months and we have a lot in common haha. he is the same type of mischievous person i am--he likes making things and tearing stuff apart like me haha. we have a good time together. as for the new teaching pool, there is not a whole lot, but we have a few people we are working with. there is a couple from Batesville. When i was there at the beginning of my mission, i taught the new member lessons to the wife, and now we are teaching the husband. he is way excited to be baptized, so we are trying to help him do better with reading the Book of Mormon.  we are also teaching a guy who is a member referral, named D. he has been coming to church every week for several weeks now, and only has questions about Joseph Smith, but he is coming along. we are also trying to help him read more, because....well, that's why he has questions about Joseph smith, 'cause he struggles to do the reading. 

there is also a kid in the ward who comes every single week, but his mom won't let him be baptized til he turns 18, which is not too far distant--it's this winter. he even brings bread for the sacrament. we have been working with his mom a little bit. 

we are a biking and walking area now, because as of last Monday, the other elders wrecked the car up in Muncie. so it will be in the shop for a long time, and we probably won't have one this transfer. so i get to get back in shape, which i am happy about! haha. that was fun to be able to see Nicole and Brig at transfers haha. Brig was so puzzled till he started to figure it out haha. then he was just pointing and smiling, and he also got to meet the Connellys, which that was super cool to see them. F is doing well, and still has his regular sense of humor. 

we have been doing some service for the members lately too. it's a very small ward, like only 40 attend on average. there is a man who just moved in and is renovating his house, so i got to help him install the toilet haha. then he drove us around in his BMW, which is souped up a lot, and man it's quick. 

sounds like you're pretty busy at work, that is fun haha. hopefully it's not too crazy for very long. it has been very warm and humid here too, so it has been just stuffy all week. of course the Reds are doing terrible, that does not surprise me haha. 

thank you for sharing that talk from President Nielson. that is interesting, because what we do as missionaries is help people to see their divine potential.  when you understand that and the plan of salvation, there is so much more joy, hope, and happiness. people don't understand the real potential they have, and it's sad when they are just fine with where they are at. we can become so much better than we are today, if we just accept the gospel and apply the doctrine of Christ in our lives. 

i am so grateful for being able to repent and change, so that i can become better. this gospel is such a blessing to our lives, and i am so glad to share those blessings with others. it is so cool to see people change their lives. thank you Dad for all you do for me! i love you Dad! have a great week! talk to you later! 

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it was a good week! me and my comp get along really well, and Connersville is a little town--i mean really little--so it's pretty fun. the ward is tiny, and that makes it interesting too. there are some awesome people in this ward, and i am excited to get to know them better. 

Sister Anders is a really nice lady, she feeds us weekly, so expect to have some pics sent weekly haha. the honey stick is like a Otter pop, but with honey, and when you bite the end honey comes out. it was pretty good. 

me and my comp like the same things, and get along really well. it's nice as well to be able to walk and bike and burn some energy. even if it is really hot, it's still nice. we live on a huge hill, so we get to walk up and down the steepest hill i have seen in a minute, every day! haha. for the 4th, we have to be in by 7 pm, and i have to be on a conference call during that time for training. fun for me! 

the biggest challenge will be having lots of people to teach. Connersville has a history behind it, and a lot of people have already been talked to, so it's going to take some hard work to find people. not having a car to get to the little towns surrounding us is a challenge as well. everyone knows i am leaving soon, so they look at me like i should be a perfect missionary, so maybe i can help them with that, 'cause that is far from the truth! haha 

that was so awesome to see Nicole and Brig. i was talking to another member when they arrived, and i just saw them out of the corner of my eye, and i was like "no fetchin' way!" hahaha it was super funny how puzzled Briggy was, cause you could tell he knew something was up, but when he realized who i was, he was just smiling and pointing at me. it was too bad i couldn't hold him!  it was really nice to see them both, and it was no problem at all. the Connellys even met them, so that was super cool. they really liked Brig haha. 

that is crazy you had your knee done a whole year ago, and really good that you have still been using the exercise bike. i bet it does help a lot. that will be fun to visit Logan. oh heck yeah, i am pumped about camping when i get home! everywhere in Connersville, they seem to love cooking over coals outside, so it always smells super good like camping,--it drives me nuts haha. i want to build a fire so bad sometimes!

that sounds like you will have a good girls' camp, that will be fun. we had good church meetings yesterday. Elder J and i had been challenged to bear our testimonies by Elder Dyches, on some pretty specific points, so we made it a point to do that yesterday. it really helped the meeting be missionary focused. it was really cool to see the impact it had. the ward is starting to get really excited to help, and there are a few members who help us on the daily. it's awesome to see. it is so cool to be a missionary and to help others feel the spirit. the Lord has plans for each and every one of us, and he sends his missionaries out to help bring about those plans. he gives us the privilege of taking part in it. it is such a blessing to me. i love being able to share the testimony i have--it may be simple, but it is a lot stronger because of my mission. i love being able to share those experiences. 

well, thank you Mom, for all you do for me! i love you so much! have a great week! i will talk to you later! have a happy 4th!

Elder Sedlacek

Elder Sedlacek's first transfer, and tanning a squirrel hide

And we thought we had lots of leaves to rake every year.....

 

Hi Mom!

hey, you did use my pot! i knew you would use it eventually! thanks for sending the pic of it with the meatballs in it. were the meatballs good? how did the pot work? 

 

anyway, i have some big news, I AM GETTING TRANSFERRED AND ELDER HEUMANN IS STAYING!!! he will be here for 9 months now! now, i just have to pack up all my stuff and hope i get a good area and companion. 

 

this week went by slowly, unfortunately. here is the excerpt from dad's email about the lessons this week: it was a slow week for lessons and finding new people. we barely made our lesson standards this week and it really sucked hahaha. we taught that kid named B****** a few times, we read the Book of Mormon with him and i asked him in the middle of the lesson how he was feeling? he recognized that he was feeling peaceful and i told him it was the holy ghost. we are just trying to get him to read on his own. same goes with RD, he is really struggling to read the Book of Mormon, but he loves coming to church. we had an awesome miracle with a new investigator though. we went to A****'s, the less active we are working with, and one of his friends was there. the friend swore up and down that A**** called us over because he was there, which is not what happened. he left the area of the room when we taught A****, but halfway through he started to move closer to us, and then asked if he could join in. now he is interested in learning more! that was just the awesome miracle that we needed. we had been having a rough day, and i was a little trunky just because we had no one to see. they either did not answer or we had just seen them the day before, so it was really nice to see that Heavenly Father was still there, and the verse in D&C 84:88 had come true. 

 

so i have some more good news--the mission puts out some faith scriptures on blue flashcards that we memorize, there are like 17-20 of them, and if you memorize them all and pass them off, you get a cool OCM pin that goes on your jacket. i got them memorized after having made a personal goal with pres.porter to have them done by the end of this transfer (which ends today), so i will pass them off tomorrow at transfer meeting and get the pin! heck yeah!!! 

 

i have no idea what my A1C was because they don't have a diabetes doctor at this Batesville clinic. they just did the blood test, it took like 15 mins and then another half hour to do all the info, hahahaha that was really funny to me how the lady was like, this is not an emergency, did you freak out at first? hahaha it was really weird to have you on the line and me right there, I could hear you! thank you though for getting the info! i will have to ask for my results from sis porter or something. 

 

that is awesome about mia's play, tell her great job for me! and the same for the sacrament, i am glad that helped for you, it really helps for me! and yes, a member told us yesterday at church, that is so crazy about the gay marriage issue, i know it is for the children's benefit, but the world will not see that, they will probably give us so much backlash hahaha. anyway, what is going on in your neck of the woods?

 

Mom: Yep, I used your pot. It worked well. The meatball recipe was a new one, Brown Sugar meatballs. They were a little spicy and sweet, and I liked them a lot.

Augh! I wish you knew your A1C!! You should probably just call Sister W to find out, she would probably know more than Sister Porter, since she is the nurse. I hope they sent it to Dr. Lindsay. Yes, it was good the lady said, “This is not an emergency.” Because then I could breathe a sigh of relief! Although with the call coming from “Batesville” on the caller ID, I thought it was most likely going to be a member or something, so I didn’t freak out much.

 

That is a great miracle you had! And great job on memorizing all those scriptures!!

 

So, no idea where you are going? That is crazy. Jake always knew beforehand. Do you need supplies? How much do you have left? 

 

Elder Sed: right now i am doing good on supplies still, i still have about 3 boxes of sites and cartridges, and i am good on strips, so i think you will have my address before i need anything hahaha but yes, i have no idea where i am going, so yeah i have the butterflies hahahaha

 

Mom: I do not know how you have 3 boxes of sites! Are you changing it every three days? It would have to be a miracle if you are and you have that many! 

 

Try not to have the butterflies too much! Wherever you are going, it is where HF wants. Remember your blessing where it says you will have angels all around you. I know they will be there as you transfer. 

 

Elder Sed: hahahaha, i don't know, i am changing my site about every three days, i don't know how i have so many. i will try not to be too nervous--it is very important to remember that Heavenly Father is always involved. and this just in, Elder H is training again! i have a "brother!" hahaha!

well, have i got a story for you, this week i was on exchanges with a farm kid from cedar city, and we wanted to find a dead squirrel to tan the hide and so over the course of the day we found a freshly killed squirrel that a  hawk dropped right in front of us! no kiddding! and we took it home and skinned it at lunch, and now he is tanning the hide hahaha so now i can do taxidermy! hahahaha

Mom: Well, that is hilarious that you had a squirrel dropped right in front of you. I still think it’s crazy, you tanning squirrel hides. 

 

Elder Sed: i have to go in a few. thank you so much for emailing with me today and keeping me updated! is there anything else, madre?

 

Mom: Nothing else. We're so proud of you! Keep up the good, hard work! 

 

Elder Sed: i have to go now, i love you guys so much, thanks for all you do! talk to you later!

-elder sedlacek

 

I got to try turkey "fries"....

 

hey Dad! oh heck yeah! that is awesome how well the utes are playing! and usu! that is awesome, thanks for the updates! we had an awesome week! we saw a lot of grace and miracles. you can read more about those in the email to mom, but we found 8 new investigators! two of them already want to come to church! one other asked for the church address and is thinking about it! who knows how many of the 8 will still be around next week, but we will do our best. the  less-active we are teaching, A****, is still the same, we may need to drop him for a while. he really likes us, but doesn't have a whole lot of interest in actually learning about the gospel. we will have to see how he keeps the commitments. r******, the guy who asked for "the book" last week has been really busy so we were not able to contact him, hopefully this week. same with JG, and RD. we will see how this week looks.

 

i got to try "TURKEY FRIES" at the masonic lodge annual chicken dinner.  just see if you know what those are before you read the other email, you will find out hahaha. that is good you listened to the spirit, you never know why it tells you to do things sometimes, but it is always for the best. you will hopefully be blessed with some nice deer. you will be blessed though for listening, i guarantee it. i am always trying to follow the spirit and it helps quite a bit. we can't do this work without it! there is more in mom's email, i am short on time today, unfortunately. we have a zone fun day, so that will be good. i love you so much! keep up the good work and have a great week!

-elder sedlacek

 

 

hi mom! this week has flown by, but went slowly as well hahaha! it is weird like that. we have had a very successful week! we received so many miracles and a ton of grace! i also got to give my first priesthood blessing, and my second as well. one to help a sick lady of the ward and one to counsel a  member in the ward and help her to stop smoking. it is an amazing experience! we took J**B to the louisville temple (louivul) that's how they say it here. he received his endowment. that was awesome, i had a very cool experience that is pretty hard to explain. it was awesome. i will tell you about it when i get home! 

 

we also helped out f****'s masonic lodge group with their annual chicken dinner. suffice it to say, it was good and i got to eat "turkey fries" or in other words, turkey nards. that's right....turkey balls. they come in pairs. {Picture Jared's mom about falling off her chair laughing}  it was pretty good, actually hahahaha. they come deep fried.

 

other than that we found 8 new investigators! who knows how many will still be around this next week? but hey! it was awesome! we have not contacted r***** yet. he is the one who asked for "the book." he is going through some medical stuff and was very busy with doctor's appointments, but we found a lot of people in the park this week. get this, yesterday at church, a lady came in during classes and said that she needs a new church to go to! she decided to come to ours. she slipped out before we could talk to her, but before she left she said she would be back next week to help with the primary program! it was awesome. then we had a guy (a boyfriend of the less active lady that i gave the blessing to) have us over and he is already thinking of getting baptized! his name is R. another lady we met in the park, A***** and her young daughter  who is probably 12, said she is probably coming to church this next week! JG was busy with family that is visiting, so we were not able to visit him. RD was very busy with school so we couldn't visit with him either. we hope to meet with them both this week. 

 

the holy ghost is definitely helping with my blood sugars! i like pres.porter, he is awesome! he is an amazing guy. he is very nice and hugs all the elders everytime he sees us. sister porter does the same for the sisters and is the definition of mission mom hahaha. she is very nice, but can be very serious and very sweet most of the time. i did get the insulin a few days ago, and i have a lot now hahaha. i don't think i will need the sites for a while, i am still using the first layer of that box you sent to me when i got out here! so i will let you know when to ship them, but i would wait a little longer. do you need the shipping receipt for the insulin? i could mail it to you, if you need, i am sending dad a birthday letter very soon indeed. that is awesome that your lesson went really well. anytime you go by the spirit, it goes well!

 

i sent you guys a pic of the louisville kentucky temple! it is tiny! no bigger than a church. it was great hearing from you! I love you guys so much! have a great week mom! love you!

Suit season

thanks dad! that is too bad that you didn't get any duck stamps, oh well, it'll save some ducks for me when i get back! i got to watch all five sessions of general conference. we got permission to stay out late for the priesthood session. i loved pres.Eyrings talk, it was really good! and the talk about the barriers and the sharks. i have no idea how those sisters even know about me, they are way far out past cincinnati just below dayton, that is crazy. i would think it is because of how pres.Porter qouted  me in that email to the mission, but i dont know. hopefully it is good hahhaha. i just try my best to be obedient and to find people to teach. it could also be because of F****'s baptism. they had been trying to get him baptized for two years! 

 

we had an awesome miracle this week, as well as many others. yesterday before conference, we were walking around our area about 20 minutes before our ride was supposed to get there to pick us up. With five minutes left to wait, we saw this guy sitting on his porch smoking; he called us over from the other side of the street and said, "you guys mormons?" and we said, "yeah!" He said, "do you have the book?" as in the Book of Mormon, but we aren't really supposed to carry them around since we aren't allowed to place. so we said, "Well, we can get you one!" and we told him we would be back in 10 minutes. at that point we had less time than that, so we ran back to the apartment and grabbed one, ran back and gave it to him. he said he wants to read through it! and maybe get some lessons! that was awesome! as usual i will write more in the general email, but thanks for all the updates and such, it is so great to hear from you each week! i love you so much, have a great week! I love you!

 

hi mom! it is great to hear from you! this week has been good, we experienced lots of grace and miracles and to top it off, i got a package with awesome treats from an awesome mom! we also got to watch all of conference! thanks so much for the package and everything in it! it really lifts a missionary's spirits! and conference was awesome,  i like those quotes! and my fave talk was pres. Eyring's or the talk about the surfers. those were really good, and the pottery talk was good too. 

 

we feel very blessed. this week, suit season started and so now we have to wear suits till april conference if it is 64 degrees or colder. so luckily this week is in the 70's and we don't have to wear them, which is nice. i already damaged my black pinstripe suit while riding my bike to bro. p's house. i frayed the bottom of one pair of the pants when it got caught in the chain, hahaha luckily it is only the size of half a penny if that. oh well, it happens. but we managed to meet up with JG again, that solid gator and schedule some solid lessons! that was a miracle in itself. he is going to get dunked! just wait! that is so awesome that you got a awesome car for jake! that is so sick!

 

it doesn't look like you are experiencing much fall yet, but we are here. it is beautiful fall here--the trees are turning yellow, still a lot of green though. the cold here is really weird since it is so wet. it really does go strait through you! any exposed skin gets pretty cold hahaha. 50 and below feels like 40's right now. it has been stormy and cold the past week, but this week is really nice. we are going with the C's to Greensberg today to go to the walmart. its about a half hour drive. we are getting winter gear.

here is my letter to pres. porter. I thought I might start sending you those so you have something for the blog:

Hey president! this past week was awesome! we received a lot of grace and miracles! I know it was because we were being obedient. it is amazing to me that all we have to do is live the power triangle and do our best, and he will send down grace to help us further his work. it was great to see that this week. we found a few new investigators and taught a bunch of our others. we are just trying to commit them to church. it is kind of tough when they don't keep all the commitments, they can choose and sometimes that is hard to watch. i am learning to love the people here as the savior does. it can be hard at times though. thanks for all you do! you're awesome!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

Well i have to go now, love you mom! have a great week, i love you all so much! thanks for all you do! talk to you later!

 

Hard work pays off, that's for sure.

 

 

 

Hey dad! thanks for all the updates and such on the sports! i had heard about the byu and utah games. a guy from the ward took us out to a town in our area of Indiana known as greenburg, and his name is Brother Max Alley. he grew up in Logan and actually knew Jeff's family and dated Jeff's mom in high shcool hahahaha! that was fun to hear that. thank you for all the updates. we had a zone finding activity in the heart of Cincinnati and that was crazy! i got some of the meanest looks i have ever had there hahahaha! 

it was crazy to see all the gangsters driving around in super nice cars! it was the most crazy place i have ever seen! there is almost all black Americans in the city. we met this homeless man who was probably high {Jared doesn't mean blood sugar, wink}, and he was cat-calling women. i wanted to yell at him at first, but then we talked to him a little and Elder H had a prompting to buy him some ice cream. in the ice cream place, we talked to another guy who asked us questions. we walked around the city, and i got low {now he means blood sugar!}  so i had the idea to stop at these benches. we sat down and started talking to a lady that i am sure will want to know more at some point! it was cool to see my diabetes further the work! i will say more as usual in the general email to mom. have a great day! and i love you dad! have a great week!

Mom, you can read about yesterday in dad's email. it was interesting to say the least.

 

i have had a good week. the week flew by! we found a new investigator, T**, in the library last wednesday, and he wants to know more. we are just having a hard time getting in scheduled lessons with all our investigators because everyone here who will listen to us is struggling to get by and works all the time! it is sad to see. we have a lesson planned tonight with some investigators who stopped us in Walmart. F.C. IS FINALLY GETTING BAPTIZED!!!!! he is on date for Sept 19. he made the decision on his own and before he even told his wife, he told us he was thinking about it. we swore not to tell until he was sure hahaha. i am excited, i love that guy, he is hilarious. he is awesome and he is a 70 years old. 

 

we also found an inactive member and we are going to bring him back. he has been in jail and just got out, he wants to change for the better. inside i was yelling, "you goootttt IT!" we also taught  a kid named RD again, but in a public place. this lady came over and said, "church isn't for me, i'm just spiritual," and RD actually invited her to come to church! it was cool. he still needs to come church, but his Gpa is dying and he is very busy with family, but he wants to come. so yeah i had a pretty decent week. thank you for sending my strips! the steak is really good, thank you! about the prescriptions, i think it will be better if you just mail it to me, because there will always be at least a $10 co pay and i can't afford that. {Mom: Why do I find this a little bit funny? wink}

Pres. Porter totally just mentioned me in a letter to the whole mission! he  quoted me from my letter to him:

 

This is what our mission is about! In one week, Elder Sedlacek was living the Power Triangle: 

 

Sedlacek, Jared Logan
Hi president, I am doing great out here in Batesville. I learned this week about patience, hard work, and obedience. as we strive to be exactly obedient we will be blessed and I have already witnessed that. Hard work pays off and that's for sure. we have worked pretty hard the past few days and we have seen results. even though it can be hard to love your comp, you need to be patient with them and love them anyway, so you can be able to teach with power, and the spirit, and call down grace. I love this gospel so much, I have already witnessed the changes that people go through as they accept its teachings and come closer to Christ. thanks for all that you do, have a great week.

By the way, they will have multiple baptisms this month!

i have to go now, thanks Mom! have a great week and a awesome birthday! i love you guys, thanks for all you do! have a great week!

 

My blood sugars have been amazing lately, I know it's because I'm being blessed.

Thanks Dad! 

It's good to hear about all of your experiences at church and work. 

 

I know that through the atonement we can do anything! It is amazing. Thanks for all the advice that you give me! it really helps to know that both you jake and jeff have all gone through this, it gives me more determination to be the best missionary i can possibly be. i love you too Daddio, thanks for all that you do. again i will answer all those other questions in the general email. have a great week, love you!

Hi Mom! 

So this week went by really fast, the days are slow but weeks fly by! can you believe a month of my mission is almost done!? that is crazy. so we had J's baptism on Saturday and it went really well! every missionary in the whole mission was talking about it. 

 

i have finally found what i need to learn from elder h. he has a vast doctrinal knowledge, and knows how to be a missionary. that is what i need to learn from him. he created a bible death star, which you can ask jake or jeff what that is hahaha. {Mom's note: none of us know what it is! haha} We are going to create a death star of the Book of Mormon and the D&C, since I have been counseled to make the Book of Mormon and D&C my constant companions. 

 

we got four new investigators this week and had to drop a few of the "new" ones because they won't answer.  i personally think one of them might have been drunk haha. it is really hard to get people to commit to church around here because of the strong lutheran, catholic and baptist/Methodist background. we have a few promising investigators though: J****, RD, B*****, K****** (one of our neighbors she is a young mom) and a few new ones that we have not met with yet. of course we still have F**** our "eternigator." he is hilarious, they are like the missionaries' gma and gpa. he just needs to take the leap of faith and get baptized, he has been taught everything and knows it's true, he even comes to church every week.  i think it has something to do with his methodist background. 

 

we have had to purge our teaching pool because people just won't progress. it is very frustrating. i am getting along with elder h though so that is good. we finally found something we can relate with, a very funny story that happened to us, i will tell you another time haha. 

 

the people here are very friendly. we got the car this week and we trade off with the lawerenceberg elders every week. by the way, the car is a 2013 toyota camry, very nice and i get to be the designated driver, it helps me feel a little more normal haha. by the way, i had to buy a GPS this week because you can't get around without them, since it is so flat here. it was $107 with tax.

 

Mom, are you sending my test strips soon? i have a vial and a half left, just to let you know. are you keeping track of those so you know the earliest day you can get them, not to tell you what to do or anything i just don't know exactly how it is working out and you know me, i have to know hahaha.

 

my blood sugars have been amazing lately, i know it's because i am being blessed. it's awesome that for those first few weeks i didn't get above 300! it is a huge blessing. so what is new in your neck of the woods?

 

i love you guys, thanks for emailing with me and for all that you do! keep up the good work and i can definitely feel the prayers. have a great week everyone! love you!