We really can't even comprehend how much Heavenly Father is involved in our lives.

hey dad, so this was a good week. we found a few new investigators and we saw a lot of grace, it was awesome! as of now we have been 225'ing a lot to find some new people. half of our teaching pool is hard to meet with because of busy schedules, so we are trying to find some new investigators to add to the pool. the new people we found this week will be meeting with us this week for their first lessons, so we will see how it goes. the weeks are really starting to fly by! it really seems like i was just emailing you! the days are blurring together all the time now hahaha. good thing i keep a journal. we had interviews with president porter this past week, and it was really good. i talked with president and he told me how much he has seen me grow and he said he is proud of me, and that i am becoming a leader. he helped me find my next step to work on, he is the bomb! that is awesome you are getting so much done at work, good job on the numbers and having the stock so good! has sarah been helping with the yard? it has been really nice weather this week, it hit 75 on saturday! it was awesome! it has been in the 40-50 degree range for the most part though, but i think it will be a nice spring as well (hopefully). it feels so good outside after having the teens for weeks hahaha. that is way cool about the car race, i was wondering about that. that is a cool pic! it is way cool the jazz won. cincy has the flyers hockey team, but I don't know if they are pro. that is cool about getting to go to jake's ward and logan on Sunday. i bet that was fun to see him and jeff and nicole. i like that thought about HF. i feel the same way, He is so involved in our lives we don't even know. just today when we were shopping, we stopped by goodwill to see if they had some shoes, cause my pros shoes are worn out (it's a pair i have worn every day that Ralph senior gave me for free) and i got a good pair of loafers that fit perfectly for $4! it was a huge blessing--now i have some meeting shoes. we really can't even comprehend how much He is involved with our lives, working to make it possible to have the blessings we receive. funny thing--so that air museum you told me about is out of our mission by a few miles, so we have asked president if we could go and he will let us go if we go with a member. so us and the other elders in our ward are setting something up for a district fun day for next week. i have heard awesome stuff about that museum! i like the thought from conference as well. that is something i have been working on, to never ignore an impression, and i have received so many more promptings than before, it has been awesome. this transfer i have felt way more guided than i have ever been. as of now, i am just trying to find those elect, and help them be baptized so they can follow the Savior. sharing this gospel makes me so happy, it is truly the greatest work and experience. thanks for all you do to keep me out here, it means so much! i love you dad! have a great day and week, it was great to hear from you as usual, talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so this was a good week, it went by so fast! we did find a few new investigators and stuff that i wrote about in dad's email. as for the other people we work with, they are not progressing as fast as we would like. it is kinda hard to meet with half of them, and one i have not even met yet! they are super busy so we are trying to find some more by doing a lot of 225-ing and working with less actives. we have a really good referral lined up from a less- active lady, for a family. the mom is interested in learning more, so she is going to meet with us. 

the best part of the week was interviews with president, and the most challenging was being sick for half the week with a cold that is just getting over. luckily it is not as bad as elder parker's haha. there is a part member family we saw last night, who has an unbaptized daughter who is a lot like mia, but a lot more sass and drama--she is funny hahaha. 

my pump supplies are doing good, i will definitely let you know when i need more. that is too bad that you didn't get to go into the temple open house, but hopefully you will get too soon. thanks for the pics, it looks super great! 

it is crazy about [some ward missionaries] already getting home soon, although it does not surprise me, the mission flies by! it is incredible how fast. the weeks are really seeming like days, it is crazy. it seems like i wake up and go to bed a few times and then bam! i am emailing again hahaha. i keep having these really vivid dreams. one was about my future wife i think, and the other was about when i get home and how fast it went by, it is weird. i am glad you guys got to visit to logan, i bet that was fun! 

it really is truly amazing that joseph smith really did do what he did as a 14 year old boy. i know that he truly was a prophet and that he did restore god's true church, and that the Book of Mormon really is the true word of god. by reading it and studying its words we truly can come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. i have done this over the course of my mission and my love for Him has increased dramatically! i was looking back at my journal in the mtc and man, i didn't really have a testimony it seems like hahaha, it was so simple and now it has grown so much, it truly is my greatest possession. thanks for all you do to support me and keep me out here, it means a lot, this would not be possible without out you and dad! thanks!

Mom: I'm sorry you got sick! Did you have any trouble with your blood sugars? I have seen how much you have grown in 6 months--think how much more you will grow by the end of your mission. 

yep, i got sick but my BGs have been good still. it was kinda high last night, but other than that i have been good. yep, my testimony will grow a lot more hahaha that is funny that jake & jeff think i am emotional. hahaha what a funny joke! hahaha just kidding, i know. funny jake and jeff! although i meant that i cry more with spiritual stuff hahaha. 

Mom: So what is your favorite thing you have learned from President Porter?

it is hard to pick my favorite thing, but he is very knowledgeable about a lot of things. probably how to find our next step to progress towards so we can become who God wants us to be.

Mom: What does he have you working on next?

we are doing a purification challenge, and we each picked out a few things to get better at. mine was not having unapproved songs in my head haha, and just a few things like that. also I want to never ignore a prompting, but the most latest one is that i am going to study the atonement to understand it better.

well i have to go now mom, it was great to hear from you. I love you and all the fam so much, have a great week y'all!

-Elder Sedlacek

I am grateful that I have this opportunity to be out here

 Hey dad, so this last week went pretty slow, but it was good. we had a really good transfer meeting and we got to hear from president porter--he is so awesome! so my new comp's name is elder holman. he is from utah and has been out for 10 months. this area is doing well, except for what happend to a*** this week. i will write about that in mom's email. i will get to skype on christmas at around 10:30 am, although we don't get to call on christmas eve like jake did. they really enforce skyping for 45 mins, so no more than that. well, this week wasn't as tough as i thought it would be, it was still hard taking over though. elder holman was made district leader thankfully. i know i have been put here at this time for a  reason. i just have to trust in God. you must have had a fun day Sunday, it sounds like. those are some cool scriptures you shared with me, it is always nice to get those from you haha. i will definitely keep that in mind. that is cool you finally got to see the s family, how are they doing? tell the allreds merry christmas for me and i definitely felt their prayers. that is way awesome about the utes winning the bowl, but they always screw up for at least a solid quarter in all thier games it seems hahaha! that is great they beat byu though hahaha. hopefully usu can play well in their bowl! have fun at the work lunch--that is probably way good food. so you probably have a few days off this week then? thank you so much for sending the bratzeli cookies! i am sure they will taste good, i can't wait to make some when i get home hahaha. that must be an  awesome talk from pres.monson i will have to go and read it, i really like that quote and i know that to be true, that as i do give all my might to this work i will see miracles and help bless the lives of others. i am grateful that i have this opportunity to be out here serving the lord for another year and a half, i have already seen blessings from it and i am sure you guys have, too. thank you so much for all you do to keep me out here, i know it is a lot, thankyou so much. i hope you guys have an awesome christmas as well, i love you so much and i look forward as well to talk with you guys over skype, it will be fun. i will talk with you in a few days, love you so much, have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this week was kinda crazy, my new comp's name is elder holman. we will see how this turns out. we get to skype for 45 mins on christmas, and we will be doing it at about 10:30-ish Ohio time so be ready anywhere from 8-9. sadly, we don't get to call on christmas eve like jake did, so i will talk to you on skype haha. so this week we didn't have anyone show to church, it was really sad. a*** OD'd on heroin and got in a car wreck, so he is probably going to jail. that really blows!! we were able to teach s*** and he seems pretty solid--we have a lesson with him tonight and he is making us dinner. we were also able to talk to w****, and he is having us back today. other than that, not much has changed. 

i was able to get my packages! could you tell ann & jim and gma & gpa h thank you for me?  tell them i will be able to use that, and it will come in handy! (they gave me a card and money). geeze louise, Syd's boy has gotten huge! holy cow! thank you so much for the packages! i can't wait to see what's inside on christmas! 

you are probably getting pretty busy with christmas it sounds like, i am sure all those parties will be fun! and were fun! that must be nice to have everyone home for christmas, i am excited for when i am back home hahaha. that was a way cool story about sister E, it is always nice to hear those stories about the holidays! i am glad i get to be a missionary during christmas too, i only get two of them. they are kinda tough, but it is cool to talk about Christ all day around his birthday! well, that is it for updates of this week, how have you been?

i am sorry i have no pics to send this week, i need to get a card reader so i can send them to you, so maybe next week i will be able to.

okay mom, i have to go now. it was great to talk to you, thank you for all you do for me, i love you all so much! i will talk to you on friday! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

We live in a day of miracles, we just have to see them.

 

hey dad! so this week was pretty tough, it seemed like no one wanted to talk to us and there was just a lot of opposition. we hardly got to even extend baptism which was kinda tough, because that is what really gets me fired up and gives me such joy--to ask people to be baptized--because it is fulfilling my purpose as a missionary. but yesterday it all changed! A**** showed up to church! it was awesome! i had been having a hard morning, i was kinda down on myself, thinking stuff like "what am i doing wrong, why can't i just baptize more?" stuff like that haha and then we walk into sacrament and A**** is sitting there! it was a huge testimony builder for me that miracles really do come right after the greatest opposition, it was awesome. we did not get to visit with g***** or a**** this week sadly, that's part of why it was such a huge miracle to see a**** and his family at church. i have some grace to share in the general email to mom, so stay posted haha. but that is way funny about duke haha--that crazy dog. that is good about church, you must teach pretty awesome or something haha you teach often. that is good your shoulder is feeling better, so you got a lot of work done then, huh? good deal. do you get enough help around the yard? hopefully so. you must be getting pretty excited to have a grandbaby huh? haha thanks for all the bowl updates the other elders like it too hahhaha me and elder n KNOW utah will win hahaha!!  the fast meetings here are pretty good most of the time, i usually don't worry too much about investigators in fast meetings just because the spirit will testify to them what they need to hear. i know that to be true. that is an awesome quote thanks! well it was great to hear from you dad! i love reading your emails each week! i want you to know that. Well, talk to you later dad, I love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

hey mom! so this week was slow and tough, i wrote more about it in dad's email. we had interviews with president this week, and that was good. he said he is proud of me and that i am a hard worker, he is so awesome. we also took some recent converts to the temple on Saturday to the Columbus temple, it was way fun. so this morning, some awesome grace happend!  we went to look at macy's downtown to see if they had any clearance suits, no such luck. so then we hopped on the bus to get to the church, but we bought hot dogs before we got on, and the lady that was running the hot dog stand started talking to us, and now she is committed to church on sunday!!!! heck yes! then we got on the bus and this guy starts talking to us. i ask for his name to get his info, and he is like i will have to spell it out for you and so he says "R-I-C-K" i was like are you joking me? hahahaha he was serious too hahaa and so he is now planning to come to the ward Christmas dinner and church on Sunday too! heck yeah! and then boom! we got two media referrals right after! it was sick! so yeah, we are pretty much gonna dunk the world as elder n says haha. 

 

that is a cool story about the hopewell indians, no i have not heard about it yet, maybe i will. i am actually reading about Captain Moroni right now in the Book of Mormon. yes, the strips did arrive a few days ago, thank you for sending them. you will have to send the package soon, hahaha i really don't know if i am getting transferred or not.  idk. we will find out. mia's play must have been fun, then huh? that is cool you got to see the martins, they are awesome. haha i look forward to the day when i can finally do some yard work again everyday, that was so much fun to me haha. you guys really must be sore from working saturday! hahaha we helped r**** senior with his lawn care this week. it was 30 degrees outside, so it really felt like 20 haha but the lawns here still have to be mowed on a regular basis. they are perfectly green--about as green as Utah gets in the summer and that is yellow for here. we cut r****'s lawn and stacked his wood. that dinner for Sarah's dance must have been fun, it sounds like, you probably had fun cooking for all those teens huh? hahaha you probably killt it. did you make them warsh the dishes then? yep, sundays are the best, i really don't know how i get up every morning! i go to bed and like 30 seconds pass by and it is 6:30 a.m. already! hahaha i am pretty sleepy most of the time after about noon hahahaha that is mission life though. that is a great quote you shared, thanks for sharing that. we live the truth of that everyday, i definitely have a testimony of that!

 

Mom: Sorry you had a tough week! I remember that every time Jake had a tough week, miracles would soon follow. I'm glad your strips arrived! I'm pretty sure I put the wrong zip code on the package, so I was worried. I prayed it would make it! I'll be sending your Christmas package this week. Molly left her mark on it, but I'm not going to tell you what haha.

 

yep that is the way that it always happens, miracles are still here, we still live in a day of miracles, we just have to see them. yep, the strips arrived on time and i did not notice if it was a wrong zip or not. thanks for all the packages you send to me, it really means a lot! i would not be able to be out here if it weren't for you! i guess i will find out what mark molly left then huh?

 

i think i am growing...my suit sleeves are shorter and so are my shirts. 

 

Mom: So how are your blood sugars, especially if you are having a growth spurt? I can order more insulin at the end of the month, are you okay on that?

 

it is pretty easy to manage right now, my insulin is really good right now. i won't need much for a while, i will let you know.

well i have to go now, it was great to hear from you, i am excited to skype on christmas, then i can tell you a lot of stories and stuff i can't share over email. well, have a great week mom, good luck with everything, i love you all so much! talk to you Later!

--Elder Sedlacek

 

When you say good evening around here you don't. You say "have a blessed evening." {Lots of pics this week!}

11/30/2015

hi dad! so this week was good, we were able to have an awesome thanksgiving with a family for lunch time. the turkey was way good, and then the father took out all these whips and throwing knives and ninja stars, and asked us if we wanted to have a little fun before dessert. we were like "heck yeah!"  i will send a video of the whip, it was like 10 feet long and really heavy. 

our most promising investigators didn't make it out to church this week, they both had to work. we were able to get a less-active out to church, M. i paid for his bus fare. we always get passes from the church, and he didn't have one, but luckily i had enough change. he is a funny guy, he is black and about your age. he went through a stroke when he was 28 and so he is a little crazy haha. he was saying that he played byu basketball and football while on his mission to new jersey and california, and california was "180 degrees goin' on 200!" so we started messing with him a little bit and we asked him how it was like to play with jimmer fredette, and dwayne wade, and kyle irving and to have larry gelwix as a coach (highland rugby coach) hahaha it was funny. we had a few meals since it was the week of thanksgiving--they were all awesome! we are still trying to contact all those new investigators, that happens a lot here, you make contact for the first or second time and then they disappear. it really makes it hard. i passed off those scriptures that we have to memorize that i told you about to get that pin that you see everyone wearing on the mission Facebook page. the little white one, so hopefully the AP's can get one to me before we have interviews with pres.porter this week. yes, both stadiums are in our area, we went downtown this week and saw them both! they are massive! the reds' is smaller than the bengals' and the reds' dwarfs me! i have some cool pics to send you! sadly, you can't see the fields without a tour. it was fun, though. it is getting colder here, there is a constant slight breeze and the humidity makes 40 degrees feel like 20! it is crazy, but luckily our apartment is so warm we have to have the ac on at night! it is the weirdest thing, they keep the heat on 24/7 and we can't adjust it whatsoever, just the ac. that is crazy about your mission apartment!  well, as always i will send more in the general email, thank you for sending me your mission experiences, they really help me a lot, and the sports updates are always nice to see hahaha i hope all is going well for you! i love you dad! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this week went by crazy fast! i had a really good thanksgiving, we had a few meal appointments this week that i wrote about in dad's email, but we had one last night with bishop B. His brother is on the high council, and then a few of his other kids are in the ward, so like a 1/4 of the ward are all the same family. they all came to the meal and they have a crazy amount of kids hahah!! so it was way fun to watch all the crazy little kids, and they have this huge slide in their house from one level to another and they were just climbing up and down it and throwing stuff down it hahaha. we found a few investigators this week as well, one of them we met on the bus. this guy comes onto the bus and sits down near me, elder n is talking to the driver (a guy named eric who is really cool) and i get an impression to talk to him, so i start talking to him and come to find out he is interested in learning more. elder n told me they have talked to him before but he was never interested, so that was sick! there are also always drunk people on the bus and they always say the funniest stuff. we had a really good zone meeting this week, it was super revelatory and the spirit was so strong, it was nice to have it, i love zone meetings because you get to see all the others in the zone and have a great meeting with them. not really much else went on this week, just the usual stuff, people yelling and shooting, and smoking weed.  what do you want to know about cincy?

oh, we walked through over the rhine this week, which is the sketchiest place in cincy except for price hill, and man i thought i was going to get jumped. that was the most weed i have ever smelled and i didn't even want to take my gps or camera out of my pocket! hahaha

Mom: Well, I am glad you did not get jumped! haha Just tell me whatever you want to about Cincy, I'm interested to know how you like it. 

well, cincy is a pretty cool place, lots of interesting people and the skyscrapers are cool too.  that pic with the map, is all our area, and that's not all of it either, we have the rich part of town, and then all the hood up until downtown where everyone works, so lots of people ride the bus. all the rich people live just north east of us and you travel south east to get into our area and to downtown. i have learned lots of new words like "finna" which means i am going to or fixing to and they say learnt and kilt it, they always add t's to the ends of words like that haha and when you say good evening you don't. you say have a blessed or just have a blessed evening. people are always willing to talk, usually, and they will always tell you they have already been baptized, so i am getting pretty good at evading that excuse hahaha. As far as christmas i still need some sweaters, i can't find any here for some reason, the thermal bottoms would be nice and instead of like a desk toy like i said last week, if you go that route, just do a tech deck finger board hahaha. other than that, i think i am good. just stuff that you think i would like haha.

Mama: Cincy does sound like an interesting place! I am glad you are doing well. Watch for your strips to arrive this week. I am so, so proud of you! Keep up the good work! 

thanks so much for all you do! love you mom! it was great talking to you, have a great week and i will talk to you later

-Elder Sedlacek

My comp and I are greenie-busting each other

Hey dad! so it has been a long week. i am in cincinnati! and i am with elder neilsen. we came out together and we are greenie-breaking each other!!!!!! it is crazy. we are the only two missionaries in all of cincinnati and it is a crazy place! people get shot all the time. i love it though, it is so funny to talk to everyone. we talked to a guy at the bus stop who was rolling up a joint in front of us! we have no car, so we have to ride the buses everywhere we go, and since our area is kinda sketchy we live 20 minutes out of our area in a suburb. i will tell you more in the general email as usual. we have a few investigators, but they are eternagators. one named g***** is really hard headed and is about to become homeless. we have a few others i have not met yet, so i will tell you more about them next week.
thank you for that story from your mission, that really applies to me right now, coming from small town indiana to MASSIVE cincinnati, where you hear gunshots all the time and there are very few white guys, that really helps me. the first few days were really hard, because the bus routes are so confusing to me, although i will get the hang of them. i wanted to be able to help elder nielsen so bad, but it was hard not even knowing which bus stop to go to hahaha. but yeah, we have all of cincinnati and downtown, so i have officially been to cincinnati, it is a cool city. thanks for all the sports updates, i love hearing them! that really stinks that utes lost. again thanks for all you write to me every week. It really means a lot. i will tell you more in mom's email, of course, but i always like to write you, thanks so much for all you do for me dad! you're an awesome father! i love you so much! talk to you later!

hey mom, so this week was crazy, my new comp came out with me,  but i did not know him for most of the mtc. his name is elder neilsen, he is from utah. we are greenie-busting each other! we are the only two elders in cincinnati! we have all of downtown, and all of the outside ghetto! it is crazy we walk down the street and always smell weed, and hear gunshots and hear the f word. we see almost no white people. we have to ride the buses because we have no car and we live 20 mins outside of our area. so yeah, we have to ride the bus everywhere we go, even to get into our area. the buses are super confusing to me, i am trying to figure out how they all work. 

 

we have a few gators, i don't know much about them yet, i will tell you about them next week. although we found a few new this week! i love the new ward. the bishop is a great guy, he already had me speak on sunday! everyone loved my talk, but i thought it was crap hahaha. the ward mission leader is awesome too, he was one of those 18 month missionaries and he takes the work very seriously, which i love! 

 

elder neilsen is a great guy, we get along really well, and we like to talk about hunting and lifting hahaha. we will probably still be friends after the mission at this rate. he is a farm boy, he farms cattle for steaks, so he has that farm boy strength hahaha. i am still in the same zone, so i see elder heumann when we have meetings and stuff. but anyway, yesterday i had the impression to talk to this guy who was out raking his leaves. we were needing 3 more lessons to hit our goals, so we went and talked to him and he is an awesome guy named b-- we are going back to teach him. we also found a new gator the day i came out, it is nice to see so many people to talk to all the time.

 

yep, dad's mission story really did hit home for sure, i knew when i read it, that it must have been an impression since dad doesn't tell too many mission stories hahaha. thanks for the prayers, i definitely feel them. yes, in my talk i did tell a small joke hahaha.  i have known elder nielsen since the last 2 days in the mtc when we had an infield orientation, i met him and he has been in my zone the whole time, so yeah we were both excited to be comps. Jordan Bell served this exact area, he is in my area book, hahaha. yeah, ask him for referrals for us or something hahaha, he is a legend out here. all the older missionaries know him and i tell them i know him and even spoke at his farewell. hahaha

 

 

I have pics to send, but the computers at our church, don't have a slot to put the card in, i will send them later. i have a few of really great view of all of cincinnati and our apartment. 

well i have to go now, it was great to hear from you. oh yeah, i will probably buy one of these cool suits from jc penny for like 70 bucks if i can find one on clearance, just wanted to let you know.  it was great to hear from you, i love you guys so  much and i pray for you daily, keep up the hard work! talk to you later! you will probably get some pics next week! love you mom!

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 have been out three months!

This leaf dwarfs the one he sent a picture of a couple weeks back, and part of it is broken off!

Hi mom! so this week has gone by super slow, but fast, can't explain it. i am glad you liked the pic from zone conference! it was an awesome one! Zone conference was about the sacrament, and also how we can get LA's and our investigators to church. Pres. Porter is going to be a general authority, i can see it now. he taught us how the sacrament can renew every single covenant we ever make, even temple covenants. i thought that was amazing, so in sacrament meeting i tried to really focus on feeling those same things as i did when i first went to the temple, and it worked! it was so cool to be able to feel that in the chapel. 

 

i had a few exchanges with the DL in lawrenceberg (Elder Bayly), and i took over this area for a day with my ZL (Elder Lemeux) he is so funny and it was a lot of fun. we got a lot of work done though; we found this old investigator who had been taught but fell through the cracks or dropped--i don't know--but he answered the door when we were 225ing and immediately invited us in! it was crazy! we taught him about the Book of Mormon and addressed his concerns. then with E. Bayly, we had a huge miracle. we were not going to hit our goals for the day so we sat down and said a prayer to help us, and i immediately felt a very clear direction to walk, and we quickly found a promising 'gator that wants to be baptized! 

 

i just pasted all that from dad's email hahaha. but yeah, when i was with Elder Lemeux, we found a couple three gators, all from 225ing. we also picked up a new gator, who had been taught before, B******. he is a teenage, and we have known him for a while, but he just recently gained interest again. we gave him a church tour and taught him about the restoration and he said he would be baptized if he finds out this church is true. he is solid. 

 

this week, the ward had a trunk or treat and dinner that we went to, it was fun. i got several beanie babies (the stuffed animals) that a brother was handing out hahaha. they had a TON. i got a few of my favorite hunting animals including bears haha. there is a guy in our ward that told me he would have us over and let us try squirrel haha. oh yeah, my most favorite food here is Cincy chili, there are several restaurants that have it, and it tastes pretty good. other than that they just eat what we eat in Utah, although some people like to eat the massive squirrels they have here, they are literally everywhere, and huge!

 

Indiana is a crazy place. Bro. P told me the other day, that i have completely lost my "Utah twang" and i am picking up the accent here. i will have to show you how they talk here when we skype. 

 

thank you so much for the package! and yes i do like baby ruths, but you got close with the fave candy, it is actually three musketeers haha but they are way similar, just one has nuts hahaha. Sis. C showed us your facebook page hahaha and i saw the posts with the blog, it looks really nice! thanks for running that. i am still good on pump supplies, and i need to talk to the mission nurse to set up the a1c, this week. that is good about church and all the stuff going on, thank you for all the updates mama!

 

Mom: I am glad you like the blog. I would like to try and change the url though, to sedlacekscalledtoserve. Don't forget your A1C--Dr. L needs to see it before he can sign off on you driving.

 

that would be a cool new url! but yeah it looks really nice. i will get the a1c set up asap, i was busy with exchanges all week and meetings and trainings hahaha. i will probably have to call sister w {mission nurse} tomorrow or tonight. i tried to talk to sister porter about it, but she directed me to sister w since she woud know about that stuff, she is supposed to call me apparently, but i will call her.

 

oh yeah i am probably going to go on exchanges with elder cox, a lawerenceberg elder this week, the one that tans squirrel hides in the apartment, he is going to teach me how.

 

Mom: Learn to tan squirrels on your mission?! I never expected that. 

 

yeah, hahaha! it's going to be fun. i got some carving blocks last p-day, i am carving an elephant, that is the ear in the pics i sent.

 

that maple leaf is literally twice the size of the other one i sent! it is a foot wide! and the top part is broken off!

 

Mom: That leaf is enormous! We don't see leaves like that in Utah. So, what did you do on Halloween?

 

we had to be in by 7pm and we read a talk, i listened to it twice. it was faith in Jesus Christ by Gene R Cook. it is on lds.org--it is really good! i also did a mini work out. also, we were allowed to go to bed at 9:30! it was so nice to get 2 hours extra sleep. although i woke up at 5:30 am the next day and was ready to get out of bed hahaha! is there anything else i need to know, madre?

Mom: No, I don't think there is anything else. You DON'T need pump supplies yet? Are you sure?

 

yep, don't need them just yet, i will let you know, thank you! thanks for all you do! i love you guys so much! keep up the good work, and have a great week! i have been out 3 months! love you guys!

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!

 

This week was slow until Thursday, that's when we received a ton of tender mercies!

Elder Sed II made his own scripture quad and even covered it in leather.

 

 

Hey mom! it's great to hear from you! my comp and i are both staying in Batesville, so i guess we still have things to learn from each other. this week was really slow up until Thursday--that's when we received a ton of tender mercies! we were able to make contact with some investigators that we had not seen for a while! we were able to teach JG, he has already read through 2 Nephi and he is so solid! we then found a new investigator in the park, and i asked her if she would be baptized if she found the true church of Jesus Christ, and she said yes! we made contact with a whole bunch of our other investigators too, it was awesome. other than that it has been the same old Batesville, small town slowness. oh well. things happen on the Lord's timing. last week at a new missionary training, Elder Boden gave me his bike, it is worth $700(!!) but he gave it to me for free! he is so awesome--it is a huge blessing. have you found any suits yet? there isn't really a place to get good used suits out here, and we have to start wearing them on conference weekend. i need another so that i don't just blow through the two i have. please keep an eye out for me. are you sending my next test strips? i don't know when or where i get to watch conference, they have not told us yet. thanks for the quotes you sent, they are all awesome. what else would you like to know?

 

Mom: So tell me how your diabetes is doing? What was the most challenging thing this week? What was the most fun? And who is your favorite investigator? 

 

my blood sugars have been good, but i have already had to adjust some basals. i am fine-tuning them hahaha. the most challenging thing for me has probably been to not get mad at my companion sometimes hahaha. he is a good guy though. the most fun i had this week was the thing i did in this video that i am sending you! you will like it. dad will be like, "oh that is totally jared!"  my favorite investigator is probably JG, he is really quiet but is so solid, and F**** is still F****, i love that guy, they are like a grandma and grandpa to us.

 

i am trying to make the video small enough to send. if i can't send it, it is a video of the miniature quad combo that i made! i will send pics for sure. i took the tiny books of scripture, the new testament, the BOM, and the doctrine & covenants and pearl of great price. it is the size of my hand and wrapped in leather that i pulled off of journal i bought from shopko hahaha.

 

Mom: Well Joj, I am totally not surprised that you made something like that! That's great! Good job! 

 

thanks for emailing me! I know i am not the best at updating you on everything, but heck, i will have more stories to share when i get home, i already have some crazy stories hahaha. indiana is a crazy place! I love you guys so much! have a great week, and everything!

love elder sedlacek II

 

Everyone still asks me how old I am.

 

Mom,

i am glad you liked the letters! how did sarah like hers hahaha?! the baptism went well! before a baptism, we set up the chairs, fill the font, and all that other stuff with the scheduling and the program. it takes up a lot of time. he had to go under twice, and we witnessed the baptism because F**** wanted his neighbor to baptize him rather than us, but we are allowed to in this mission! we confirmed him yesterday at church, and that went well! 

 

other than that it has been a slow week...ugh. This place is "milked dry" as we always say. everyone here has talked to the missionaries before and they don't usually like to listen, haha. let's just say we got a few doors slammed on  us yesterday hahaha. we really need new investigators really badly! we did commit R*** and G***** to baptism. G***** is a girl who never comes to church no matter what we do,  but the baptism will not be for a while anyway, because her dad wants to see it.  _____ wants to be baptized, but his mom won't cut the cord--he is mid-twenties but she still rules his life. hopefully we can soften his mom's heart. we took him on a chapel tour and he really liked it and also wants to come to church but his mom won't really let him. other than that it was a really slow week. we basically just 225'd the whole town again since we didn't have the car. one of the APs really likes me, so he is giving me his bike for free! he is an awesome guy! 

 

hopefully you can get the car replaced, but you never know with insurance haha. tell Bro R that i still remember that! {telling him that diabetes was "a blessing"} he told everyone of the leaders what i said that night in the cabin, and i over heard them, and i was just like "well it's true!" he is such an awesome guy. he taught me so much, he is able to teach so well, he would bring the spirit so strong! he really helped prep me for my mission, i am sure the other guys can say the same! tell him thanks for me, if you would? thanks. but yeah that is the basis for what is going on with me hahaha. just pray for us to find more solid investigators.

 

Mom: When will you find out about transfers?

 

well we get the transfer calls Monday mornings, then leave the next day! so you will probably know by our next email. wait to send more test strips till after that, i think i will have enough! so it would be fine. if you could send me my John Bytheway CD that is on my desk in my room, that would be awesome! and any treat would be good! although I have a lot of candy as you know hahaha. 

 

Mom: What is 225ing? Jake & Jeff don't even know...

 

2-2-5 ing is when you go to a less active's house, or a former investigator or potential investigator, and knock that door, two doors to the right, two doors to the left, and then 5 other doors on the other side of the street. we do that as our "tracting" since we aren't actually allowed to tract. 

everyone still asks me how old i am and they guess 15 or 16 usually. that's good if you think i look a little older hahaha. by the way, if you find a suit that is navy blue, i would love to have it! i need another suit for winter, since we can only wear suits, not  just slacks and a sweater. 

i have to go now, thanks for emailing me! it's nice to hear from all of you guys! have a great week! i love you all so much! talk to you later!

 

It will all work out, I can promise that!

Elder Jared's rendition of the Plan of Salvation.

 

thanks dad, for the updates! that really sucks about the car wreck! i am glad no one got hurt! this week has gone by so fast! the weeks are already flying by! F**** is going to be baptized on the 18th! this Friday, when i first taught him, after we left i said, "he is getting baptized this transfer!"  lo and behold! that was cool. Dad, there are so many more hunters out here than Utah--it's crazy, they all drive trucks down here! outside of Batesville is some rich people, but other than that, it's all people who barely make it, it's sad. i still have yet to see the huge cornfields, that is in northern Indiana, so hopefully i will go there! it would be cool!  thank you so much for all you do, I know it's a lot, i love you Dad! keep up the good, hard work! and good job with the yard work!

Mom, i sent some letters, but they got sent back because of size, so i fixed it and they should get there soon! i am sorry about the car wreck! glad no one got hurt! it will all work out, i can promise that! 

 

i had my first exchange this week with one of the Zone leaders. we went to Norwood Ohio. it is the hood of Cincinnati! it was crazy but i have some fun stories now for later. that was fun, the Zone leader complemented my teaching, he said it was good. 

 

this week has gone by fast! although we only met with 2 investigators, because they all had work! it sucked, but we talked to a lot of LAs and did a lot of 225ing. it was just a slow teaching week, and we are purging our teaching pool again. hopefully we find some more 'gators we can really teach. on Saturday was our social media split, so if you look up #ohiocincinnatimission you will find some picks of me doing service and lessons. we did a service project with Bishop P and he complemented my work ethic! that doesn't happen, he is a very intense man! he is a nice guy though. we met a really interesting guy this week and that gave me some good stories too, hahaha.

elder h is getting better, i started setting more of an example. F****'s baptism is this Friday, it was moved up one day.  i am excited, he is growing a lot! it's cool to see! he is such an awesome guy! my blood sugars are doing well, i am being blessed, it is awesome. how is everybody else at home? i am just doing the same old missionary routine, trying to share the gospel.

 

one of the crazy things i saw in Norwood was a guy who had a turban on his head, a huge robe on that went from his shoulder to the ground, and he was holding a Bible in his right hand, holding it out above his head, and a shepherd's crook that was as tall as he was in the other hand! he was shouting stuff i couldn't hear because we were in the car! today we are going to the creation museum for free with our district, it should be fun.

 

i have to go in 5 mins, thanks for talking with me! it's good to hear about how everyone is doing, tell them i love all you guys and keep up the hard work! can you send me those trek picks for next week?

 

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!

 

We have a teaching pool of about 10, and I told my comp we will be doubling it.

Elder Sedlacek sent us a bathroom selfie.

Dad,
Just keep updating me on the Colts and Bengals and Reds. There are so many fans in this area hahaha. Brother P***** went to the Colts game and sat on the first row 30 yard line Saturday! He is so lucky. I will send you more in a general email to you and mom. Thanks so much for all you do Dad, you're awesome and a great example to me! Have a great day and week at work! Love you so much.

Hi mom!

I have until 11:40 today. Flying in to Cincinnati was crazy--there was lots of turbulence. When we got into the airport the humidity hit me like a train! I was not expecting it haha. I am used to it now though. It is so green here! There is no such thing as yellow grass. No sprinklers in the lawns, the grass, if you can call it that, is mostly weeds everywhere that grows like grass if you cut it, and it grows without sprinklers. 

 

The language here is a little different with lots of funny phrases hahah. They eat the same food as Utah mostly here, so it's not much difference there, just the weather and the size of the towns. They are all tiny! Very rural. 

 

My comp's name is Elder _____ and he is an interesting guy. We live above an appliance store. When I got to the apartment on Tuesday afternoon, I walked in and it was a mess. {Mom's note: Elder Sedlacek is known for liking things to be clean.}  My comp hadn't been cleaning very much. Oh boy! I said, "We have a lot of cleaning to do." So I cleaned the dishes and shower that night after we got back home. The second day, by 5:30 pm we had visited two member households. We talked to F****, a non-member who has been going to church for years with his wife and he just hasn't been baptized.  I didn't think we should spend so much time with members so after dinner we went out personal contacting.

 

We are not allowed to tract! It is strange since everyone stays inside all day due to the humidity. But now we are doing a lot better. We had a teaching pool of about 10 and I told my comp that we will be doubling it. We started working hard with pc'ing and it paid off! Now have three new investigators who are actually interested and one is on date! Sister B*** is the wife of a recent convert and has been going to church for five weeks now without being taught any lessons other than her husband talking to her. She told him yesterday that she wants to be baptized ASAP. So we are going to teach her all the lessons on Tuesday! Then we want to baptize her on Saturday if we get approval!!! Is that awesome! Obedience and hard work pay off.

 

More about my area, we do have a car but since my comp does not have a license and greenies can't drive right off the bat, we can't use it. It is with the Lawrenceberg Elders right now until we can get permission. Hopefully we will get it, until then we are walking, and our area is like 5 towns outside of Batesville so we really are only able to cover Batesville because we don't have bikes. So we need the car pretty bad. In our apartment building we have a free dryer and washer to use and so that is awesome! We also have a dish washer too, but since I can really only afford basic food I don't use many utensils, and so I wash them by hand. 

 

The people here are very friendly, when we walk down the street, we wave at every car we see and they usually always wave back. The members seem to really like me and they have just recently started to feed us a ton which is nice! 

 

My blood sugars have been good. So far, my average is about 140.

 

I have to go now Mom, I love you guys so much, you're all great examples to me. Keep doin' what you're doin' and have a great week!