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

It's amazing to see people pick themselves up and show a desire to do hard things.

Found on the curb

Spend some time waiting on trains most every day

This is how much Elder Sedlacek likes waiting for trains

hey Dad, it has been a good week. we really did not find any one new this week, but that's how it goes sometimes.  B is doing a lot better this week. he started to read a lot more, so he is now past chap 12, which is great. he started devoting an hour a day to reading, and he started to go cold turkey yesterday on living the Word of Wisdom. the fire is starting to really burn for him, it's amazing to see people just start to pick themselves up like that, and to show a desire to do these hard things. commitments are kept, or should be kept, out of love for the Savior. to grow that love, investigators have to read and have an understanding of the atonement and the scriptures. i find it so amazing to see the drive in people to completely change their lives around for and through Jesus Christ. 

we have not been in contact with D lately, he has kinda disappeared. and the other people we found last week did not really keep their appointments, so we have got to find them again hahaha. one guy 'suddenly moved' and they don't have an address, just a street. so that is a little fishy hahahaha! 

we taught L a few lessons, but his parents are struggling to come to church, therefore he did not come, so we have to get that situation straightened out. the progress that B has made has been pretty cool to see this past week, so that puts the cherry on top for me. some people take years for a true conversion to happen, and some others it takes only a matter of months or even weeks. it is so cool to see that everyone is different. i am very blessed to have seen these conversions take place. and it's only upwards from there! 

so you're going international Dad, now you have to learn like 100 languages. you should go to the MTC again hahaha. that's so crazy the girls are graduating, that is just weird. it's been into the 90 degree weather here too, or close to it, and we had to bike half the week 'cause our car is in the shop. Elder H acquired some damage to it by cutting a corner too tight--it pulled off the running board. so we got some nice tans this week by biking hahaha. we turned all red, 'cause white guys don't tan. ;)

thanks a ton for putting me in for a tag! hope i get one, that would be fun. i would love to go with you and Jake, so i need to start getting into archery now too.  i will have to start lifting again. that is cool Ethan and Adam got to speak. we had Fast Sunday this week, and we also had some good lessons. we talked about the life of the Savior in Sunday school, it goes along really well with Elder Holland's video. i really liked how he talks about how it's extremely personal to work our our own salvation. 

i am one for working on things by myself, cause it's all me. but the beautiful thing about the plan of salvation, is even when my best is not good enough, Christ has already paid the price, so i can become better, and come closer to him in a personal way. trials and lessons are not always easy to learn, but i have never looked back at a trial with regret, unless i did not really learn the lesson being taught. it is always worth it to go though hard things. we always have a helping hand, Jesus Christ, and he will carry us when we can't go any more. i love being able to be on a mission to learn that it's me and Christ, and he is my personal trainer. if i follow him, i will do what's right, and what needs to be done. i  know this gospel is true, and i know it is only through the Savior that we are saved. thanks Dad for all you do! have a great week! love you! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it's been a good week. we stayed busy and even got to bike half the week. so it was nice to get some good exercise, but man, i am a lot more tired than last summer hahaha! it was fun to get to bike around Anderson, but let's just say i now know why Anderson has a car, and i am a lot more grateful for it. I will have to tell you why later ;) 

i have learned a lot about love this week, because i have been praying for more and more of it, and prayer does work, just like always hahaha. this work is based upon love for people, and love for the Savior, most of all the Savior. every week brings new challenges that test my spiritual strength in different ways, and sometimes it takes a spiritual thump on the head for me to understand. eventually, i get it hahaha. i love that so much about a mission. you grow so much closer to Jesus, and the gospel is the doctrine to get us closer to Him. 

B is doing awesome, and getting super excited for the baptism. he is telling everyone about it! we also got to help C be ordained to a priest yesterday, that was awesome. it was a great week at church. i cannot complain. 

that is cool about the girls doing well in honors and grades. hahaha, i read that about what Nicole said about Cincy being wild, and it's true. she probably did not even see the worst part if she only went to the zoo! it's an interesting city to say the least hahaha. 

it's been warm and we have had the a/c on for weeks, but luckily we don't have to pay for air out of our own pocket. 

the one thing i know is that when the Lord has a lesson for us to learn, if we are doing the right things, such as serving a mission the right way, we will learn it, but it will not be easy, just as you said. that is really cool about Ethan and Adam, they will both do great. 

i am starting to feel the way that Jeff described the end of his mission hahaha, like he wanted to scream half the time, because of the mixed emotions etc. it was good for me to bike, because it really cleared my head. exercise always makes me a happier person, so that was a great tender mercy. it helped me blow off some steam hahaha. 

another cool thing that happened this week was how we got in contact with a less-active teen. he was baptized a few years ago, the only one in his family. we helped to remind him of his baptism, and he started crying as he did so, and truly felt the spirit. we talked about how only the gospel and Christ can bring us that kind of peace. he wants to come back to church, and even biked the whole 7 miles back to our place with us on his own bike. he is a great kid. it is so cool to see the spirit work in people like that. i love the scripture where it says his sheep hear his voice, and they follow him, and they know his voice. the spirit speaks to each of us differently, and in a way that God knows we can understand. we just need to listen. 

i am so grateful for the knowledge i have of how God knows each of us personally. i love the gospel, i don't have to worry about anything else but where i stand, and do my best to share my own testimony with others, and live in a way that i can take the spirit into their homes. i love it so much. 

that is so cool about Dad and his floor work, hopefully he wins! that is awesome! thank you so much for the birthday packages and stuff in advance! i love you guys so much!

well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me! and for all the birthday wishes and packages! you're the best Mom! i love you guys so much! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Baptism!

May 15th Emails

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

Transferred again! This time to Anderson, Indiana.

The skinny tie Elder Sedlacek made from a fat one. He's pretty handy.

hey Dad! it has been a great week, so i kinda knew i would leave. it makes me really sad, this is probably one of the hardest areas/companionships for me to leave! it will be a good transfer though. my new comp is my old DL from Noblesville--it's Elder Hammond from Farmington. he is a super awesome guy, and we should have a great transfer. i went on exchanges with him a few months ago. he's the one who took that picture of us holding out our Trump ties. 

we found more people we could potentially baptize in Springboro this week. we went out finding, and found a less active member with a non-member wife who has been coming to church for two years now. she has not been baptized yet, but is considering it. we are both really excited for that. there is another family that has been bringing their adult son to church for a few weeks now. we are still waiting to set up an appointment with him, but he had said in gospel principles that he is getting that feeling that everything taught makes sense and matches what he believes deep down. this area is on the brink of a bunch of conversions, and i am excited for it! the miracles are starting to flow hahaha. 

so to tell you about Anderson Indiana, it used to be a Zone leader area, and it has a really awesome ward according to one of the old ZLs. we will have a full time car last i checked, and we also have a set of sisters, so i am excited. it should be a good area. everyone tells me i will end my mission there, but that's what they said about here hahahaha. 

sounds like you had a good Valentines, that's awesome. it will be crazy to come home to wood floors hahaha, you should be able to get it figured out, if not ask Kelly.  i wish i i could help with that, it would be fun. oh well! hopefully your schedule gets easier soon. that is super cool Hayward got to go to the All Stars, i really like him. Busch is one of my fav drivers. thanks for the sports updates Dad! 

that is so cool to hear about that fam you helped, so they are getting back into more activity. i love that guy, Brother Allred, he is a great guy. that is absolutely true about having the spirit to guide you, because we have no idea about who is ready and who is not ready to listen to us. it does all start with desire, but the cool thing is, that once you start to share the gospel and understand the Doctrine of Christ more in your life, your desire to share it will increase. there is no better way to get motivated to share the gospel then to experience the atonement working in our own lives. living the gospel of Jesus Christ will help us to share it, and become who God wants us to be. that is what i love about a mission, i get to grow my testimony and love of the gospel and become a better person. i know this gospel is true, and that as we all embrace it more and change the little things in our lives (repent) we will have more joy. thanks Dad, for everything! have a great week! love you Dad!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been a really good week, just in time for me to leave. funny how that works huh? haha Brother Gilbert is a man you can trust. i was mad when i got the transfer call, but i had already known i was leaving, i could feel it, so i wasn't surprised.  i usually can tell when i will and when i won't. i love this area so much, and Elder Payne is my favorite companion, so we were both sad the next day. 

yep, i guess Heavenly Father wants me to get used to changes. there will probably be a lot of it in the future i am guessing. i think this will happen often the last few months of my mission. i definitely feel like i had accomplished my purpose in Springboro. i had a pretty good idea what it was. 

that is funny about the pump supplies, cause Byram has been sending me info about the bills. thanks for taking care of it. 

it was a good week, we went on another exchange with our zone leaders so i got to go with Elder Van Alfen, who also came out with me. {same as my new comp Elder Hammond}. that was a good exchange--we found some more people to see and teach so that was awesome. then on Valentines Day, a member took us to a Mexican place that was super good. Elder Payne took the other zone leader to PF Changs, just the two of them, it was funny. 

the most challenging thing was getting the transfer news, although it was bitter sweet. i just love the area. my prayers were answered in just having a good day while i ran the area on exchanges, that was awesome. that is awesome you got to help all those widows with those Valentines. service always makes me feel good. i still remember when you and Dad used to take us to get stuff from the store and take it to the Road Home in Salt Lake. and i also especially remember helping all the widows with snow removal at a young age. 

like i said in Dad's email, it will be so crazy to come home to wood floors. it sounds like it will be a fun project for Dad. i have not got the video yet of Mia answering my challenge. 

i love talking about adversity, and i really like D&C 122 and 123 for adversity, as well as 121. it talks a lot about the Prophet Joseph's adversity. there is a super good promise given at the end of 122, that all the adversity we face is only given to us out of love, so that we can grow. i hate adversity going through it, so i always have to remind myself that it is for me to become a better person. all things testify of Heavenly Father's love for his children, you just have to see it the right way, and focus on the bigger picture. He will not give us anything to hurt us, ever. it may hurt temporarily while we are going through it, but in the end, if we endure well, it will make us stronger. 

so my AP called last night, and he had baptized someone else of Jennifer's family! so he got to see her at the baptism, and she had mentioned how we are her missionaries. she is doing awesome! that was super good to hear!

that is really nice about Bryant too, i really like that kid. he is super funny. that would be so cool if he would come to my mission before i get home, and i could train him. that would be sick!

thanks so much for everything you do Mom! i love you all so much! have a great week! talk to y'all later!

-Elder Sedlacek

An attitude of gratitude is imperative to our level of happiness

Elder Sed goes to church in the Indianapolis mission.

Elders Sedlacek and Nelson with their Trump ties.

hey Dad! its been a good week, a little better than last, so that's good. i had an awesome Thanksgiving, we got to play in the ward turkey bowl--Elders/a few high priests against the young men. we were actually winning up until the second half, then it turned sour, the old guys got tired haha and so i was blocking for some super strong youth leaders. the guy was huge! hahaha we lost by a TD. it was so fun though and i actually woke up sore the next day hahaha! i am getting out of shape! then we had a really good meal at the S family's home, and that was fun. his wife is Phillipino and was constantly saying, "Guys, really, eat a lot, eat as much as you can" so we got absolutely stuffed hahaha. we also had SD show up to church yesterday, and me and my DL had an exchange Friday night so we did a chapel tour with him (SD) and put him on date for Dec 17th! he is going to work towards it, so we will see how it goes. he really enjoyed church and the ward jumped all over it--they fellowship so well, they pretty much took over before and after sacrament, which was exactly how it should be done. we were left to set up chairs haha.

as for everyone else in our teaching pool, they are doing about the same. we got to help the W family set up thier christmas tree, that was fun. as for the new church initiative, that was super awesome. we had a special powerpoint given to us to introduce it, it's amazing. we have already been showing it to members and we had a super powerful lesson with the M family yesterday, the ones whose lawn mower blew up, over lunch, and it actually almost made me tear up hahaha. the Savior truly spent his whole life serving others, why can't we do the same? think of the gravity of that, he spent his whole life,  his whole 30+ years, serving other people than himself. the love that comes from that kind of service is unimagineable. i am super excited to have this new program, i challenge each of you to participate, it's on mormon.org and there is a Christmas advent calendar for every day, with a short video clip. i know it will change your Christmas ideals.

it sounds like you had a good Thankgiving too, i bet it was super good. do you like Planet Fitness? have you heard of the lunk alarm? hahahaha. that will be super nice to have, that's awesome, are you getting some weights in?

that is super awesome about Mia's talk. i like that notion of the Fullers soap, it applies so well to me right now. we are both staying another transfer, and so i was like, "man...what else is there to do around here?" and the answer is to rely more on God. i may have exhausted some of our lists, but there are still people out there to contact. every time we struggle through a planning session it's so i can learn to be more depentent on God, and become a better person. i know that God can direct our every path, but it's harder said than done. you have to have so much faith, which is what's going to give me the blessings in my patriarchal blessing. thank you for teaching me right Dad, i love you Dad! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! its been a good week, i had a great Thanksgiving and a lot of fun. we did have SD finally make it to church this week, and on exchanges my DL and I put him on date! i wrote about that experience to Dad. chapel tours are so effective haha. the best part of the week was probably having SD show up to church, and the most challenging was having no one accept a return appointment, but that's okay, it's not the right time for them apparently.

yesterday at the M home, they showed us the missionary parody of that Adele song i know nothing about, and that was so funny, but it made total sense for me and my situation right now. they had no "success" up until the end, but they still remained positive and happy about doing the work, then when they got into the house (that part is hilarious) they are so grateful for someone to teach. this work takes work and nothing's gonna work until you have joy in the work! hahaha. even though those people won't let us back, we have to look for the blessings anyway, that is something i have gotten a little loose on doing, thank you for the extra reminder Mom!​

i am most grateful for the scriptures and an awesome family (especially parents haha) and the spiritual growth that has occurred in me because of the Savior sculpting me into what he wants me to become. that is crazy about Mia being 15 now! holy cow! it sounds like you had a good holiday too, that is awesome.

how did i know Libby would get a phone before I get back! that is funny. is my old one still around? i still want those pics on it.  oh that sucks that Sarah was sick, at least you had a good time at home though. that sounds like Mia did a great job on her talk, wow Mia has really grown up a lot it sounds like, that is awesome, and crazy!

that thought you had, for me, is very similar to a quote on the white board in my Batesville apartment, that has literally shaped my mission, no doubt in my mind it was there for a reason. it says "don't spoil what you have now, by desiring what you do not" and it's so true, the attitude of gratitude is something that is imperative to our level of happiness. i am so grateful for all of you guys and being able to serve a mission, it's hard and not the most fun at times, but it will be ever worth it for the amount of blessings you and i receive! thank you for standing firm and teaching me what is right, thank you for all you do Mom! love you Mom!

as for Christmas gifts, i cannot think of anything specifically except for maybe some Old Spice body spray, the Fiji scent, it smells so good, and a bunch of jerky hahaha.

a funny story for the week: we got locked out of our apartment and the windows are high up, so Elder Nelson had me climb up and stand on his shoulders and i wedged open a window to break in hahaha, it was funny.

well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for all that you do for me! i hope you have a good day at work! i love you! talk to yah next week! 

i am staying in Noblesville with Elder Nelson!  

-Elder Sedlacek

We have some fishing to do

hi Dad, it has been a good week. it was still kinda slower from what i am used to, but it was better than last week. for the harvest update, we still don't have a whole lot of investigators, but we started teaching this guy who is in a wheel chair, named T. we tried to get him to come to church but he did not show. we are teaching another man who is an amputee. he loves to talk like they do here in Indiana--which is to talk without coming up for air haha.  he is a cool guy, and Elder Bosworth was the first to teach him way back when he was trained here. he loves guns and cars. we really reached out to serve him--we even trimmed his trees for him (my favorite chore hahah). i had fun cutting limbs off those trees hahaha. then we have a few other people that we are starting to work with. we did not get a whole lot of finding done this week, which i am sad about, so we will have to do a bunch this week. on Wednesday we had a lady from Kokomo Indiana come down to the hospital here in Noblesville. she was having some unknown health issues, so we gave her a blessing. that was a neat experience, especially cause after i gave the blessing, she was like, "you look familiar," and asked where i was from. turns out she actually attended our ward at home just before i left for the mish, so that was super cool! she just happened to choose our ward when she was visiting Utah. that is cool work is going well for you. it sounds like you are getting a good cool down, but it is still in the 80's here, but 60's in the morning and still super humid so it feels colder sometimes, it's nice. i bet that was fun to go duck hunting even though you didn't see much. there are still a lot of birds out here. sounds like all the teams played well too. yeah, i heard about the Colts game, i figured so. that is good the Utes and the Aggies both won. hopefully the Utes start playing better though, that should have been a higher scoring game. i like that talk from Elder Cook. he is a good speaker, i like to listen to his talks. the mission is all about helping young people learn to live to set goals and achieve them. if you set a goal with God you are accountable to that goal, which means you should be doing all that is in your power to achieve it. it is nice to be able to unplug from the world for two years and just focus on hitting those righteous goals with God's help, it really teaches you a lot as you know. i am becoming uncomfortable with worldly things, i am going to be a weird RM! hahaha  well, i know that the church is true, i know that through God's help, if we rely with faith on him, we can truly accomplish anything we desire. he will help us, we just have to ask in faith, and do all in our power to achieve that. thanks as always for all you do Dad, you're the best, i really appreciate your example you have set for me, i only hope to reach that. have a great week Dad, love you Dad! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom, it has been a pretty good week. it was better than last week, we were able to get more done, so that was good. i can't stand not getting lots done anymore! hahaha and i am tired, and most people can see it i guess, because i have dark marks under my eyes most of the time hahaha! but i love being able to work hard. it makes me so happy to serve the lord with diligence. 

we did contact a few potentials that we found last week. i wrote about them in the email to Dad. so we do have at least two people to teach now, although they may not be the most solid, but it's what we have for the time being. the best part of my week was probably Tuesday, everything that we had planned worked out for the day and we were able to teach a bunch of lessons. it was awesome. the biggest tender mercy and faith-building thing was the blessing we gave that i wrote about in Dad's email, it was pretty cool to see that the Lord has ways to connect his children to bless them. my favorite scripture this week was D&C 27:15, about putting on the whole armor of God. if we sincerely do that, we will be able to hold up against all of life's challenges. yep, you can send my strips this week, that is plenty soon, thanks mom! i just started my last vial this morning, so it should work out perfect. thanks mom! especially for the gift card, that will be nice! 

everyone in this area loves to tell me how young i look. i am going to have to grow some facial hair when i get back or something, i don't know! hahahaha that is awesome that your knee is feeling better! it's good you have got more mobility with it, even though it hurts to get it there. it must have been fun to have a birthday dinner with Jake, and then to see Brigham. 

that is super funny to hear about that squirrel story, because there are so many HUGE squirrels in Indiana. i am not kidding they are so much bigger than Utah squirrels, i want to find a squirrel pelt or something hahaha. 

oh and before i forget, can you send more pump batteries? i am using my last one right now, if you could that would be awesome! that is cool Mia got a callback! that will be fun if she gets into that play. 

time is going by so fast, i seriously think back to a year ago, and realize i was in Batesville and i'm like, man, that's crazy hahaha. i do think back occasionally to the stripling warrior march we did, that definitely was inspired. i remember how they said it was going to change lives, and it did, maybe not for those who viewed it, but definitely for those who did it! the Lord works in very cool, interesting ways. 

sounds like you had a fun primary program as well, that's what we had in my ward, it was fun. although the whole time there was one cricket in the back of the chapel and it was chirping away, that was funny hahaha. 

i know that missions are inspired of God, just as young men, we can truly change the lives of others. we have been listening to a lot of Nashville Tribute Band music, it's like missionary music with country  sound. it talks a lot about the amazing things young guys on missions can do with the hand of the Lord, and i know that is true, that is the only way to do missionary work, is to rely upon the Lord for the strength and the words to say. if we put on the whole armor of God he can make us a sharpened tool to pierce hearts of stone, and bring many into the kingdom of God. well that is about it for updates this week, how are you?

oh, M**** and D**** and A*** all got baptized on Saturday! they wanted me to come, but sadly we couldn't make the 2 1/2 hour drive, so i got permission to call them and congratulate them. that was so good to hear, and T** is on date for this Saturday! the Sisters thanked us for the work we did there, that was nice.

some members out here own Papa Murphy's so they gave us a huge Chicago pizza, it was awesome! hahaa

well, we have to go now,  we have some fishing to do at a members house. thanks for all you do Mom! i love you guys so much! i hope you have a great week! i can definitely feel your prayers helping me, have an awesome day! love you Mom!

-Elder Sedlacek

Ohio bugs are huge and nasty!

hi dad, it has been a good week. it was a little bit slower week than normal, but it still went pretty well all around. all of our investigators are doing well. as of today, J** will still be baptized on the 3rd, i am so excited for her! her brother-in-law will be doing the baptism, and we will get to participate in the confirmation, so that will be cool. we had stake conference this week, and so we had J** and M**** come to the Saturday night session, plus J** came to the Sunday session. M**** was not able to make it to the Sunday session. T** did not answer his phone, so we don't know if he had to work or not, or whatever. 

J** is just as excited as ever and feels ready to be baptized. M**** had us over for dinner on Saturday, that was super cool.  her mom made the authentic Mexican food; it was really good. her mom can't speak any English, so she was asking us questions and i understood maybe a 1/4 of it hahahaha but when we left i said "gracias," and they looked at me funny so i was like "gringo!" and they all laughed hahaha! 

M**** is still keeping her commitments and is coming close to the decision to be baptized, we are just waiting for it to happen. T** is doing well and is working on his tobacco use, and is reading, so that is awesome. we are about to dunk all of our teaching pool here soon, so we are trying to find new people, and as you know, it is tougher in this area. we are starting to work with a few people, but it seems a lot of them just can't say no to us, so they don't always keep the appointment, which sucks. 

it is super cool that football has started up again. i almost bought a cool Bengals snap back the other day with my birthday money, but decided not to. that sounds like you are getting the job done at work. that is awesome they called you in to help them, you must be gaining a lot of trust. it is amazing how the Lord uses us to do His will. 

oh i miss those nectarines, the ones off our tree are so good! hahaha i bet you have had fun mowing the lawn this summer, just wait til i get back, that lawn will look gorgeous hahaha! people don't manicure lawns out here, they just cut it to keep it looking decent hahaha. that is good the girls did so well on the test, now we will have to get them both a buck or two. you will have to put me in for a tag next fall by the way.  

the Seventy who came to speak to us this past week, talked a lot about consecration. it truly is a very important thing to live by. the mission has taught me so much about consecration. we all have to work on our level of consecration at times, but as we follow the example of the Savior, the perfect example, we will always be able to learn and grow and gain more intelligence in this life, which prepares us for the life to come. the law of consecration is a celestial law, which means we must learn to live by that law in order to achieve celestial glory. i know that as we sincerely do the Lord's will, we will be blessed with more desire to do good, and recieve many blessings. thanks again for all you do Dad, you're the greatest, have an awesome week! love you Dad! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom, it has been a good week. last p-day we didn't have much to do, so we napped for a good solid two hours, that was AWESOME! hahaha i felt so much better! hahaha today we have a zone sports day in Hamilton so we will drive up there to play some games. 

our main investigators both came to church. we had stake conference, so Elder Hemula from the Seventy came to speak the mission on Friday, and then spoke at all the stake conference sessions. he did an awesome job. my favorite part of the week was probably having dinner at M****'s house, or having our old mini-missionary come out with us again. he is in the Hamilton ward. my favorite person was probably a really cool 96 year old man who we met yesterday. it was hot as all get out, and he was just sittin' out there. he is blind, and just calls out if he hears anyone coming, so we went to chat with him for a sec, he was super cool! a miracle was probably just getting some members out with us last minute a few times, that was awesome. the biggest challenge was probably the heat and the rain. like i said yesterday was hot as blazes, and we actually had what's called a heat alert, above 90 with very high humidity. i never sweat very much in Utah, but that was because it is dry, here it sticks to you, so you just keep adding to the sweat on your face til it drips.

it sounds like you had a good week with physical therapy and everything, that is good. i hope you also have a good week with work and stuff. i did get the strips, thanks so much for sending them! i got them just in time hahahaha. you could probably just keep the pump supplies there, and keep it for an emergency. could you tell the J family thank you for me! they are awesome! 

oh and could you tell Sister Elton thanks as well, i got the card that they sent, it was very nice! hahaha poor Jake and Jeff, back to classes. that stinks, i am not looking forward to going back to that, that's for sure hahaha. Brig looks so cute hahahaha, i loved those pics you sent! so does he like his new room? it is cool they got into a bigger apartment, mine is bigger than their old apartment, that says a lot hahaha. i can't believe we moved that piano in there in the first place!

that is so true about men's and women's roles, Heavenly Father knew what he was doing when he ordained marriage between man and woman. i can definitely say, from living with another man for a whole year, man and man are not meant to be hahahaha. i am so grateful for the opportunity we have to be married in the temple for time and eternity, that is one of the greatest blessings we have been given by Heavenly Father. i am so grateful for that. the roles definitely do compliment each other and are meant to be used together, as a whole unit. 

thanks for emailing me Mom, i  hope work is going well, maybe we will get to email back and forth.

the pics include some fun bugs we found. our apartment a/c was flooded this week. i heard a dripping noise and opened the radiator, and the cavity in the wall was full of water, so now the carpet is all wet around it. the maintenance guys won't do anything to really fix it, it's a mess. but we found the bug on the wall in our closet. Ohio bugs are huge and nasty!

thanks Mom, for all you do! you're the greatest! i hope you have a good week as well! i will talk to you later! oh, transfers are next week btw. love ya!

-Elder Sedlacek

We ate some cactus and it's a miracle we found some, cause, well hello! It's Ohio!

August 15, 2016 Emails

hey Dad, so it was a good week. i have never thought about praying for a good week in particular, just a good successful day, but i will try that. so J** fell off date of the 20th, so she is moved to the 3rd of September. hopefully she can do it sooner, but unfortunately she had a small relapse on smoking. we will see how that works out. M**** is doing well, she is now thinking about being baptized in September so she is working towards choosing a date--she should have one soon. she is fixing a lot of the issues that she has and is showing a great amount of faith. it is great to see! T** was not able to make it to church this week because he was working. he works at a grocery store chain out here. we had a really good chat with him about why he meets with us, and he really is working towards making his life better, and has really felt closer to God as we have been meeting with him. he is doing better at keeping his commitments now, which is good. the others we have talked to are making their way along. one of the new investigators we found last week, asked us to give them a blessing and that was a cool experience. 

one miracle we had this week, was when M**** wanted to move up her prospective date from Januray to September. that was awesome, the Spirit can do amazing things! we also did a fun service project hauling loads of mulch up and down a hill in to a guy's backyard and dumping it back there, it was super fun. 

that is good you had a good week at work Dad. although not good with the demand, i remember with having to deal with min-max's at Hobby Town, that stuff is a pain to me. hahaha hopefully you will be able to catch up now. 

that is so crazy that Jeff's brother is home now, that is weird. it is so crazy to see the pics of the girls! man, have Mia and Libby grown, holy crap! it is even more weird that i will be home in a year! gross! hahaha. 

here in the greatest OCM, we teach about the Spirit, before anything else. i like the scripture Moroni 7:13, it talks about how the Spirit invites and entices us to do good continually. that is one of the major blessings that we can receive, is the will and desire to do good, as we listen to the Spirit. we were talking to a guy from downtown yesterday and he was asking me if i had ever seen a man "receive the Spirit" and i knew instantly he was another Pentecostal. i said, "that depends on what you call receiving the Spirit", then i explained Galatians 5:22 to him. the Spirit really does bring peace to our souls and our minds when things are not going well, or when trials and challenges stand in our way. we turn to the lessons we have been taught that we truly are sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father and he loves us enough to speak to us through the Holy Spirit. we truly can rely on that influence to guide our lives, and i know that is true. thanks for all you do for me Pops! have a great week! i love you Dad! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, so it was another good week as usual. the days are long, but the weeks fly by like days, and the months turn to weeks. it is weird, i remember Jake saying that. i just remember sitting in ward council each week, and suddenly i am there again, it is crazy. 

i did get the package, thanks so much! the steak strips are so good, they are always a special treat! thank you! and the speaker is a nice tool, i knew i should have just taken it anyway. i will keep looking for a blue & white paisley tie, hahaha, you just keep recovering Mom. 

probably the hardest thing that happened this week was showing up to a baptism and having M**** not be there, but then the next day we took her to another one, she just forgot about the first one. one tender mercy was having an awesome meal appointment last night. i told the member about Dad's bear rug fever and they liked that! hahaha it was just a fun meal appointment, it gave us some time to relax for 45 mins. 

i am really happy about your knee becoming more and more mobile, that is really good. that is good you are starting to sleep better too. you will eventually get there. that is weird that Jeff's brother is home now, that is crazy. good that he was able to get a little taller, i have been meaning to measure myself but i keep forgetting haha. there is a reason that they say patience is a virtue. i am working on my patience right now too. i was reading about it this morning, and patience is so important for us, we not only have to be patient with others but with ourselves. i am working on being patient with myself and others. we can often get caught up in the fact that we are not good enough, or our other faults, when we really have to be focusing on improving those things. doing the opposite will only tear us down and make life harder and more miserable. if the Lord can be patient with me, than i can be patient with me hahaha. well, sorry there isn't much else to update, do you have any questions to ask me? feel free to ask, it is hard for me to spit out a whole week on a page, so i do miss stuff that happened hahaha.

Mom: What did you do for p-day last week? What was your really good dinner appointment?

we actually went to Get Air last week, that was super fun. the Get Air they have out here has a bunch of American Ninja Warrior stuff on it, and it was super fun! the members fed us some really good green beans, which i absolutely love now! hahah also some sweet corn and pasta with a meat sauce that you pour on top, it was really good. then he showed me his Mormon Doctrine book. i need one haha!

we ate some cactus we found this morning at the other Elders' apartment, which is a miracle we found some, cause, well hello, it's Ohio!

Mom: Cactus? I didn't know you could eat it. Is it good?

Elder Erickson had eaten some before, and it's good. it tastes kinda like kiwi. i like it!

well, i have to go now Mom! thanks so much for emailing me and for all you do! you're the best Mom! i love you and everyone else too! talk to you later! i just remembered i forgot to answer Sarah, sorry Sarah! next week! i read it though! bye!

Elder Sedlacek

Wimpy Utah rain

hey Dad, it has been a  good week, but tiring! hahaha it seems everyday now i wake up like i have not even slept five minutes. the badge of a missionary! hahahaha that is pretty cool about those fireworks, i bet that was fun. they were going off like crazy last night in our complex, it made it hard to sleep. 

we did find just a couple of people this week, not too many though. we are really progressing with J**. she wants to be baptized in September. i was like, "not so quick hahaha" we are trying to get her to accept July. she just wants to be sure that she has quit smoking fully before she is baptized. she is so awesome! we are going to get her into the AA program the church does. she is super excited to learn and loves to have us over. P** is doing well, we had an appointment she had to cancel last night, but we are working on getting through the first few lessons with her. she has read the whole plan of salvation pamphlet that we committed her to do, so she is working at it! other than that, we are still building up the teaching pool. we are giving Miss J a break for a while. 

President Welch is the perfect combo of Pres Stuart and Murdock. the seriousness of Pres Stuart, and the down-to-earth attitude of  Pres Murdock. he hugged us at our first meeting and was grabbing our fists and giving us bro hugs like "whuts's up brutha!" it was super weird to have that funny thing happen compared to Pres Porter, but he is awesome. it is different having a brand new president, you definitely see the difference in how they mature as well. 

you're right Dad, that is important to remember that the Lord needs even the "smallest" calling to do their best to help build up the kingdom. that sounds like you are a little swamped at work! hahaha well, i hope you can get all that inventory sorted out. it is crazy that the football is getting so close to starting up.  i am glad you got a lot of cherries off the tree this year, that must taste a lot better than my walmart fruit hahaha. so Mia is cutting the lawn now? good good! hahah Brother F, the guy in our ward that i love, he told me he is going to talk to President to get me to stay here so i can keep cutting his lawn. hahah he loves the way i cut it. 

i like that thought from Pres Monson, is that from a recent conference? i need to read that one. the Savior really is the way, the truth and the light, it is He who has shown us the way, all we have to do is to follow Him and do the things that He has done. i find it amazing that we are able to stand in His place and do the things that He would do. i love being out on a mission with the Savior by my side, helping others to gain a stronger testimony of Him and the restored gospel. they may not know it yet, but they will be so thankful for the prophet Joseph Smith and all that he has done for us and for restoring the true gospel back on to the earth, so that we can be truly happy and true disciples of Jesus Christ. i am so grateful for the pioneers and for all they did, settling Utah. Utah is the greatest place on earth. thanks for all you do for me to make my mission possible. i know that without you, i would not be here today. thanks for being a fetchin' awesome Dad! I love you Dad! have a great week, keep working hard and doing what's right! i will talk with you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, so it has been a good week. i wrote to Dad all about the teaching pool, so you will have to read that one. yesterday, we had a finding day, and as you know, it was tough. it rained all day, but it was only the wimpy Utah rain, so that was good haha. (Utah rain is not real rain to us here in Ohio hahaha just kidding!) we had a wet day, but we had to be out finding so we were out personal-contacting most of the day. almost everyone we met was being kinda snotty to us though, so no one was really wanting to listen. it was still a fun day though. we had to be in at 6 pm, unless we had a specific appointment to go to and a member to go with us, so we had dinner at a member's and played some games before we went home, it was fun. 

Pres Welch is awesome. he is very successful and loves sports and stuff. i like him hahaha. we had a meeting with him on Wednesday. i was able to get to a JC Penney on Monday and i got a sweet deal on a NICE blue suit. it looks really great, and it is slim fit, so it fits me super good. so i was able to have a nice "meetings only" suit to wear to meet President.  that is too bad about the truck tire, but i am glad that you were able to get it fixed. that is what's nice, i actually already knew the truck had a full size spare. it makes it nice to have it. that is good Nicole & Jeff were able to move in smoothly, did dad truck down that piano again? hahaha. and Brig sounds so cute! i can't wait to meet that little stud. 

Elder Butters! that is cool that he is home. that will be fun to hear them speak if you can, just remember to record President Porter's talk. i am guessing you will want to anyway. there is no wonder that he upstaged a visiting Seventy while he was mission president. he comes up with every single one of his talks on the fly. that is something you won't want to miss. he is great at speaking! 

i like what you said about covenants. they are what prepare us for the celestial kingdom. commitments lead to covenants, which eventually lead to living celestial laws. they not only allow us to receive blessings and the companionship of the Spirit, but they allow us to come closer to the Savior and to fully apply the Doctrine of Christ and the atonement in our lives to invoke change and growth. the gospel is a beautiful thing! we just have to do our best to do what we have been asked, and we will be changing and growing more like the Savior. i am going to prepare a sweet talk for when i get home hahahaha. well, that is pretty much all for the week, how are you? oh, by the way, i need more insulin now--this week--i am on the last vial.

we found out that Elder Erickson and i are moving to the apartment that used to house the sisters at the end of the month, so now we have to purge a three-year-old missionary apartment. ask Jake about how much work that is! hahaha

i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me! thanks for all you do. i love you so much! i will talk to you later! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

The ability to choose is a huge blessing

hey dad, so it has been a good week. we did see some cool miracles. we had one day that was super hard--everything, everything, fell through! it was tough. the next day we went out to contact a referral, who was not home, so we 225'd the place and we knocked on a lady's door. she immediately said "oh, i have a church already" but we offered to share a message with her and she said no. so we gave her a card and then walked away. as we were walking away the door opened back up and she came out and told us to come back on another day! we were just like, "woah, that was sudden!" haha it was super cool. 

thanks for your prayers, they have definitely helped. all of our investigators made it to church yesterday, even M's son who does not like church. that was super cool. we almost got the meeting with President Porter--he was ready to come out and then one hour before, Ms J cancelled on us, it was discouraging. 

thanks for the advice dad, we will change that so we try to help people see what they can do for the church. that sounds like you had fun watching the baby! hahaha and you enjoyed your new kayak, that must have been pretty fun. that is too bad with the Utes losing, darn. that is so crazy that Sam and Jeremy are both home now, that is insane! hahaha i bet they enjoyed having a "companion" so they could feel some what "normal" hahaha i am glad mom got her answer for the surgery, it will all go well. that is super funny about you and Craig having grand babies at the same time, almost the same age! you two are pretty much brothers! hahaha. 

i like that talk from president monson. one of my companions believed in a set destiny, so you are already going where you are going no matter what. but that is not true, you have the ability to choose because of the Savior, he may know us perfectly but he still allows us to choose because he loves us. the ability to choose is a huge blessing, you can learn so much and learn a lot about Heavenly Father. the plan of salvation is the best. thanks for all your support, I love you dad! keep up the good work, grandpa dad! talk to you later! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom, so this was a good week. we worked really hard. we didn't see as much success from it as we would have liked, but that will come soon enough. i wrote about church in dad's email. we did not get to meet with M this week because no members were available to come with us, so we didn't have a third male. our plan is to meet with her this week and we will be giving her a baptism date. 

i can't believe i am almost 19 either, you and me both. it is weird to think. i wrote about a miracle that happened this week in dad's email. it was super grace. my favorite person we talked to was the former member we are teaching, brother R. he is a cool guy. i have seen the prayers helping, thanks so much! 

that is good the girls are out of school now, i am sure that they are happy about that. that is super cool that you got your answer about the knee surgery, the Lord will take care of everything. see, you will always, if you go in the right mind set, get an answer that you need in sacrament meeting. it is the most important ordinance we do in the church--the only one we do for ourselves, over and over and over. 

i am sure you have loved being with the baby and Nicole, i bet that is fun, i hope you enjoy your drive today. that will be cool to have GAs at stake conference, that is awesome! it is super crazy that Sam and Jeremy are home now, that is weird! and super cool that Seth got his call. 

well, this week is already going great, we went to get our groceries and we were walking back with them and some random return missionary pulls up in a HUGE F350 with lift and everything. he let us in and gave us a ride to our apartment, so that was super grace as well, because we were already running late. the Lord is like, happy birthday Elder Sedlacek! hahaha

enjoy the pic of this country! sorry, i forgot to take a lot of pics this week. hahaha that is pretty much what most of my area is like, it is beautiful! and yes, that is how most of the roads are as well. hahaha

so how are you doing?

Mom: I am doing great! We are at Brig's two week check up, waiting for his turn. He's so cute!!

Elder Sed: that is good, he is looking pretty healthy!

Mom: Yep, he's doing great. 

What are you doing for p-day? 

Elder Sed: we have a zone p-day today, so we will be going to Hamilton to do something that supposedly costs only $5 bucks to do, so it should be good hahaha and guess what? i am enjoying a salad hahaha, they are pretty nice to eat, those salads. hahaha who would a thought?

well, i have to go now mom, thanks for emailing me, thanks for the birthday wishes and everything else! i love you guys so much, have a great week and day! love you! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

Missions are not easy, but it is the best experience that I have ever had.

hey Dad! so this was a good week. On Memorial day yesterday, we had a finding day with the whole Zone. Each zone in the mission had to meet up in some park and just find people to teach. Sadly, our zone was only able to find three people. The other zones creamed us! haha We have some of the richest areas so it is harder to find people here. It was a good day though. 

After we left the finding activity, we found a new couple to teach, so that was really cool. M and her kids are doing well. They finally came to our block of church instead of the 9 am block. ours is at 1 o'clock, and she made a lot of new friends so that was really great. We plan on giving her a date to work towards this Thursday when we meet with her again. Miss J is doing well, we might be able to get President Porter to come out with us on Wednesday. He doesn't know if he can yet or not. H is doing well, he finished the school year so he is with his grandma up in Indiana right now, but hopefully he will get back soon. That is all the news on our solid investigators for right now. I am trying so hard to build up our teaching pool, but it is kinda tough. We 225 a lot and contact a lot of former investigators each day, but not many people are interested. I am just wondering if I am doing something wrong or what? It is frustrating. haha 

That is cool you and Jake took the kayaks out. Now I really have to get one eventually. I am glad you got to spend some time with Brigham, that must have been fun to be in the mountains with your grandson. I am happy you got to get a new phone, I know how you feel with replacing my pump, this new one works so much better! hahaha 

I bet the Indy 500 was a super fun race to watch. I like that thought on adversity. That is so true, we can't just have all our burdens taken away, we can have them made light, but Heavenly Father won't take them away, because he simply loves us too much to do that. Burdens are for our good, they give us the traction we need to make it up the hill towards the Savior. With no load or discomfort, it diminishes the purpose of this life. We must experience a small part of what the Savior experienced in order to become like Him--exaltation is not a cheap experience. 

Thanks for all you do for me Dad, it means so much to be able to follow your example as I follow the Savior. Missions are not easy, but it is the best experience that I have ever had. I feel the spirit so much more in my life, and I now know the relationship that I have with my Heavenly Father, and what all his other children can have as well. I love you Dad, have a great day and week. Have fun with that kayak. Talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! so this was a good week. I wrote to Dad about the investigators and what we did yesterday, you will have to read his email. It was a good week, and it was hot so my laundry bag was quite heavy from sweat this morning. hahaha The humidity continues to get worse (haha) so now it is so sticky outside all the time. I got my strips, thanks so much! And I am doing good on supplies right now, I shouldn't need any for a few weeks. 

Elder B and I get along really great, we joke around a lot. He is feeling kinda trunky right now, so I have to push him some days, but he is a good guy. The most challenging thing this week was when we were riding up to a baptism interview and we almost got killed and popped Elder B's tire on some glass, so we were late to it. It just goes to show how much Satan will do to stop the work. hahaha Don't worry mom, this area is not too dangerous with bikes. hahaha Just kidding, I stay safe. haahaha 

So Nicole is doing well then? That is good. Yep Dad told me about his phone, that is good you got it upgraded. Oh, that is not fun with your knee. Hopefully you can get it figured out when you will be able to replace it and recover well. I am glad you are not in a huge amount of pain then, that is good. You must tolerate a lot! hahaha It must have been fun to have a picnic, I bet Brigham is going to love the mountains. 

It must have been a good lesson from Bishop, that is the Doctrine of Christ he was teaching, that is something that this mission really emphasizes. Without faith, repentance, baptism, the holy ghost, and enduring to the end, you cannot become like Christ. You must apply faith to your life. The sacrament

is a huge deal to me. All those young boys passing and blessing the sacrament are literally standing in the place of Christ. They hold the holy priesthood of God and that entitles them to the ministering of angels and the ability to do things in place of Christ. They will hold the higher priesthood that allows them to heal and bless, it allows us to do what He would do and say. The sacrament and the priesthood make it all possible. Without those two things, this would just be a church that you could find anywhere else. 

I am glad you enjoyed the pics from zone conference. We used to be allowed to look at them, but now they changed the rules so we can't anymore, so i can't see them. I hope I looked good hahahaha. How are you today?

Mom: Hi! I am great today! 

How did you almost get killed? 

I love what you said about the sacrament.

Elder Sed: That is good! There was a car that whizzed past really close to us, so it wasn't really that scary. People play chicken with us all the time, but they would never do it for real. One guy was flipping me off and yelling at me. hahaha 

I am glad you liked what I said. President Porter has helped to teach me all that I know about it. The priesthood stuff comes from studying the Doctrine & Covenants. It is an awesome book, I suggest to study section 84, it is so cool. It has taken me a few days to pull it all apart. hahaha

Guess what? People are telling me that I look like I am 16 on a regular basis now, hahaha! so that is good. Then I tell them I am 19 (close) and they are shocked! hahahaha

For my birthday, I would love a small Ohio flag if you can find one. 

Mom: So, you have graduated from looking like a deacon! That is good! :) I’ll watch for an Ohio flag, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to find one or not. I’ll be sending your birthday package probably Friday, so you can get it next Monday, just before your birthday. J

Elder Sed: Wow, I did not even realize my birthday is is less than a week! holy cow! Well, thanks Mom for emailing me, I love you guys so much! Keep M in your prayers, I am praying so hard for another baptism and I feel very good about June 11th, so pray for that if you would. We still have to give her the date. Pray for her to get an answer and her heart softened. Thanks for sharing that, I try my best and sometimes it is hard to focus on how that makes me successful alone. I love you guys so much, have a great day! and week! I love you Mom, thanks for all the support you give me! Talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek