Once you realize it is not about you, your whole perspective changes

Jared decided these shoes were pretty worn out.....

...only Jared would then tear off the leather so he can make something with it.

hey dad, so this was  a good week. it was tough, but good. we had a lot of grace and miracles at the start of the week, but by the end we experienced lots of opposition. at the beginning of the week we were working the bottom of our area. we were 225-ing a lot of people and working really hard, but no one was interested. we even had a guy tell us we were in the 'hood and that we needed to carry some weapons like nun chucks and guns. that was pretty funny. then he took a card with Jesus on it and was like, "oh i like that! i will keep it." on our way back to the bus stop (we ride it here occasionally) this guy came running out of his house calling, "hey elders!" he brought us some pepsi and told us how he had met with missionaries before but did not have the time with working two jobs to pursue it then, so he invited us back to teach him and his family! it was awesome! his name is V*****, so we will follow up on him soon. i will write about some more miracles in mom's email. as for R******, we are no longer able to teach her because her dad (who is a non-member) is not liking us there and is giving his wife heck about it. it is causing some family issues that the Bishop and ward mission leader don't want us to be involved in, so they are pulling us out for now. it was really sad news to hear. she is so excited to be baptized, but unfortunately, other people's agency can get in the way sometimes. L*** is still doing well and progressing towards baptism. that is good you are still doing well at work. i am glad the weather is good over there, here is awesome too! it is weird--since it is so rainy, the moss grows on the trees before the leaves do, so literally every tree is green on the trunk but not the tops hahahaha. that is too bad the garage door opener quit on you, hopefully you get it all resolved. always remember the saying you used to tell to me about Lowe's/Home Depot hahaha. "measure twice cut once--buy once in this place." hahahaha. i love the D&C, it is such a good book of scripture and you learn so much about the church history and how the church works from reading it. i am reading it for the second time now, i'm at the beginning currently. i love learning about Joseph Smith too. one cool thing is that where they were living was the equivalent to the Yukon homesteads these days--the middle of no where. a young man in the middle of nowhere can influence the whole world by asking one simple question, "which church is right?" that is so amazing to me. Joseph Smith, a young farm boy, can influence the rest of time and eternity. that is super cool to think about. that is way cool Casey B got his call!  you will have to tell him congrats for me. he will do great, he is way prepared already. your new {teenage} home teaching companion sounds a little like how i was hahaha. just keep helping him keep those commitments and he will see why you do those things and he will learn a lot from you. i am so grateful for how you made me do those home teaching things. now i understand the importance of it, thanks dad! that is true, about that quote--once you realize it is not about you at all, your whole perspective changes and you are a lot more willing to be humble and do what is necessary.  that second one is very good as well, it is not about the numbers you achieve, it is about helping others to come closer to Jesus Christ, whether that be a wave or just a smile or a baptism, all are at different levels in their lives. they may be ready for baptism or the temple or not, but eventually they will have a full understanding of the gospel in this life or the next and have an opportunity to accept it or not. it is our job to help find those people who are ready, we have to be grateful for who the Lord puts in our path and do our best to help them, i definitely know that is true. well thanks for emailing me dad, it was great to hear how you are doing! have a great week and i will talk to you later! love you dad!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom, so interesting thing is i was actually going to mention that we received a lot of grace and miracles this week as well hahaha. i will write about what i mean later. 

i wrote about V***** in dad's email so i will tell you about N*****. on thursday, we went on a day exchange, so i took over the area with my Zone Leader and we 225'd a lot in west Milton, a small town at the top of my area. BTW, did you know i am way close to Brookville right now? Sister Hyer is close to me. i think she is in the Eaton ward. anyway, it was tough and it rained all day, so we knew blessings were coming (hahaha) so we knocked on a door and this lady with kids came out. we immediately saw her need (what she is struggling with)--she is worried about her kids being raised well in this world, so we taught to her need and so she invited us back. we found a family! heck yeah! her schedule is tough so she tentatively invited us back for Tuesday. 

my package did come,  thank you! the hardest thing this week was with R******, i wrote about that in dad's email. the funniest thing that happened was just elder anderson's shenanigans hahahaha. that guy is crazy--he is the energizer bunny and makes really funny jokes that we laugh pretty hard at hahaha. 

that is good Jake got to come home, i bet that was fun. i am glad Mia's play went well. i hope Libby's goes well too. that is so crazy that the little dude is almost here! have they named him yet? tell them i have some really good names for them--like Omega and Styles hahaha. i can't believe i have been in Englewood 6 weeks either, the mission is literally going so fast these days! this was the last 7 week transfer, so we have one more week. next week we will know by the time i email if i will leave or stay. 

that is crazy Casey has his call! can you believe i got mine almost a year ago? holy crap! well, tell him congrats for me. he is way more prepared then i was hahaha! he will do awesome. 

to answer your question, to me grace is the power to do things beyond our own capability, with help from God. that help comes when things "work out" and the impossible happens. you can also refer to those times as miracles. now this is gospel according to elder sedlacek, so don't quote me on it, but i think of grace and miracles as going hand in hand a lot of the time. grace can help us to work miracles in the savior's name. it enables us to do things we otherwise could not do on our own. President Porter does talk a lot about how if we are obedient, diligent, and have faith, that we can receive grace to do things. that is also when power comes in to your teaching, as long as you have the spirit with you and you love the people you teach. i definitely know that to be true. we cannot do any of this work on our own, we need the savior's help. because of the power of the atonement we can receive heaven's help. well, that is all for this week. hahaha

there was a black lady who we talked to in the hood this week who told us that Donald Trump is the beast himself (the devil hahahaha) and that he is going to take away all the poor people's rights. that was an interesting conversation haha. 

okay, i gotta go mom, we have to go to a zone fun day in Dayton. it was great to hear from you mom! i love you all so much! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

It is amazing how the Spirit works through us to touch other people's lives

hey dad! so this week was pretty good. well for this week we did have a lot of success. we put  L*** on date for April 1st (no joke hahaha). we also put R******* on date for the 26th of March! we are working on getting more support from her family. her mom loves the church, but has a lack of motivation to actually come, so we are working with R's aunt, who lives in the ward, plus all her cousins to help us. we found a few new investigators and had to drop some others, but overall we are doing well and hit our leadership standards this week. we are still working with lots of LA's. the zone conference this past week was sick! president porter talked about Joseph Smith, and some anti-theories for about an hour of it, and he totally disproved each theory and taught us a lot about his life so we could get a better understanding of him. it was an awesome meeting!  that is good you are getting so much finished up at work and that the weather is starting to turn around. the weather here is going to be in the 60's all week. like is said of Ohio (and Utah) we have all four seasons and if you don't like the weather stick around for a minute hahaha. so Manning is finally retiring then? i saw that race going in a few windows yesterday hahaha i bet it was a good one. that is good the jazz won again, it sounds like they are doing pretty decent. that is super cool that the utes are playing good basketball again. hopefully they do well this year, i REALLY hope Louisville does well, also Xavier, they are both local as you know. i don't  care much about Xavier but they were just outside of my area in Cincy. that sounds like you had a good church yesterday. R came to church yesterday, and so did her sister who had a baby--we got to help bless the baby. it was a good meeting for them, it really focused on families and stuff which is what they need. in sacrament meeting, i like to focus on the temple and the covenants i have made and how much of a blessing it is, and of course I like to focus on the savior as well, and all that he has done for me and all of us. the sacrament is an awesome blessing, you can receive so much personal revelation. i have really come to love sacrament meeting as i have been out here. well, it was great to hear from you dad! i love reading your emails and all the stuff you are doing. thanks for being such an awesome dad! i love you dad! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so this week was pretty good, we did have a lot of grace and miracles! i am glad your week was the same! You asked if my comp is a lot taller than me--elder parker is about 6'3" so he is pretty tall. that is way funny about Dallin having a comp way shorter than him. 

you can probably send the strips but keep the pump stuff if you can, if not just send it. thanks for sending that stuff! 

the best lesson i taught this week was probably with R when we put her on date, i wrote about her in dad's email. she is literally the spitting image of Mia hahaha. we also put L*** on date and i was so proud of her! she has trouble memorizing stuff, but she has memorized that Joseph Smith was a prophet and that he translated the Book of Mormon. i was so happy hahaha. it truly is an  awesome experience getting to teach her! also, in testimony meeting, a little kid who had been taught by some sister missionaries a few months back got up to bear his testimony, it was so simple and sweet. he is only 9 but he also thanked all the missionaries for teaching him the gospel. it was the cutest thing i have seen on my whole entire mission hahaha. 

that is cool that Mia's play is starting up. that is funny that now Libby needs glasses, so 3 of us kids are down for the count and the other 3 are still standing. i hope to never have to have glasses! hahaha. that definitely is a blessing that the insurance is good enough to pay for everything. 

that must have been nice to go the temple the other night. can you believe it has almost been six months since my last visit? we get to go in the next few weeks, i am excited! that must have been fun to have Jake at home for the weekend. Hopefully his spring break goes well. i am glad you had a good time at church as well, and i am glad you were able to use what i said last week. it is amazing how the spirit works through us to touch other people's lives. I really mean what i said, too. that sounds like a good lesson, it sounds like you are really trying to follow the spirit when you prepare your lessons. if nothing else you will be able be a tool in the Lord's hands as you do that, that is awesome! thanks for all you do mom! 

I sent a picture of me with one of the member's dog--he is huge and stands up to my shoulders. The members are always telling me how young i look too. They like to tease me that i was just in the womb a few days ago! haha I've gained a few pounds so most people think i am 14 or 15 now. 

Mom: Well, that means you have aged to a Teacher instead of a Deacon, so that is good. ;) 

Elder Sedlacek: Yep! haha Is there anything else mom? I have about 10 minutes left.

Mom: Yes, did you find out what your A1C was?

Elder Sedlacek: Yes, it was 7.8, so not very good, but that is what happens when you go from walking everywhere to driving in a car. i've been adjusting my basals so hopefully it is lower next time. my averages recently have been 150 and below, so i think it is helping.

well, i am out of time. thanks for emailing me mom! i love hearing from you! i love ya'll! have a great week!

Elder Sedlacek

I am so thankful you and Mom raised me the way you did.

hey dad! so this was a awesome week! we had several member-present lessons, and found a few new investigators that seem pretty promising. we went to see an investigator that elder anderson (my disctrict leader) and I found on exchanges. he was not there, so we looked around and in the parking lot of the complex there was a man who had just pulled in. i went to offer him a pass-along card (that is my usual approach) and then we started talking to him, and he invited us back for another discussion this week. then on friday, that girl (who reminds me of Mia) who we are working with in a less-active family, had a powerful lesson with us. she told us that every time we come over,  it feels like HF and Jesus Christ are in her house. we told her that was the spirit, and she said she wants to be baptized! so we will start teaching her regularly now and put her on date. they invited us back for dinner tonight! heck yeah! (that is what the Bishop wants in this ward, to have meals at LA's homes). we had an awesome week, we even made contact with the guy we were trying to see when we found the new guy in the parking lot. we were trying to see a guy named ED, and he is promising as well. the girl's name is R____. she even made it to church with her mom and sister, who are less-active. i am glad you had a good week at work, that is awesome. it sounds like you had a good leadership meeting. that is what being a leader is all about, providing counseling and helping to change patterns and help others through loving them. it is good you are getting some exercise in, i have gotten a little more lax with my jump rope routine and so i am now working out hard again! hahaha it is almost all i can do to just jump rope in the mornings, because i am so tired! i have more motivation now that it is getting warm. that is way cool you saw a bald eagle, i see ducks and geese all the time and elder parker is like "wait, where are they?" hahaha  it sounds like it was a good concert and fun date with mom. i love the sports updates--those are all great, thanks dad! i bet that was a good ward conf. i had no idea that sarah was on the stake youth council, that is cool. Family Home Evening is important, that is for sure! i am so thankful you and mom raised me the way you did, with regular FHE. i may have given you crap for it and been a little snot {May have?--Mom (wink, wink)}, but now i am so grateful you stuck to it. thank you!! i see all these broken homes and stuff, and i just want to help them be happy, because that is how our family is, happy and centered on Jesus Christs' teachings, thank you! boy dad, you are really going ham on all that family history, nice job! i saw that the Fiji temple was dedicated, that is cale's temple right now--he went through that hurricane, crazy huh? i love that talk with elder bennett, that is a awesome talk, and that is definitely something president porter wants us to learn for sure, he always tells us to go to the edge where miracles happen, which requires lots of faith. i just love this gospel so much, it makes me so happy, i can't wait to have my own gospel centered home, just like i was raised in!  thank you so much for the example you are to me dad! i think about you and your mission a lot, it gives me lots of motivation to be better and to try harder. i love reading your emails every week, thanks for always sending them, i love you dad! have a great week and day, i will talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so this was one of the best weeks on the mission so far, as far as lessons and finding new gators and being led by the spirit goes. i still had some challenges but they are always there in every step. i wrote about some of the miracles from this week in dad's email, but the best part of my week was probably yesterday--or a dinner at my favorite members' house on friday. 

sunday afternoon the weather was awesome! i got to take my suit coat off and i had my brown loafers on and a brown belt so i looked pretty hipster with my black and rose tie hahaha. 

my favorite 'gator is not mine but the other elders, a 19 year old lady who already has a daughter. she is a way funny black lady who loves to give the missionaries heck, and she is getting baptized! i have taught her a few times on exchanges, and did again this week at the members' house. my own favorite is probably C___, who we found this week. he is a cool guy. 

it is also good you are finally getting your porcelain crown. how bout my porcelain vase, is it still on display? hahaha 

these days it is even hard to wake up in the morning, harder than you would believe, it is literally like i lay down and then the alarm goes off half a second later!  hahaha that sounds like another fun date night, that is good. i bet that was a fun concert, i like that guy's music, it is really good. if there is one thing that i have learned to love, it's conferences, they are always so inspired and awesome, you can get so much inspiration from them. i will have to keep up trying to help others even after the mission, missions are not two years, you get to be a missionary for two years strait, but you get to be a member missionary for the rest of your life!  we really don't have a choice to set an example or not, and for me that is amplified, i am constantly being watched when i am outside of the apartment--i have to represent christ well, and the church too. it is a miracle they let 18-20 year olds do it hahaha because we are not always the best at being good examples, but we have to do our best. 

i wrote Bro & Sister Black a letter this morning and sent it so they should be getting that this week. i might write you one hahaha just kidding i will soon, i just have to find the time hahah i am either sleeping, working, studying or eating hahaha. i will get you one though. well how is everything else going?

Mom: Sounds like you had an awesome week, that is great to hear!

Everything is good here. I just need to know: WHAT IS YOUR A1C? and how many sites do you have? How many strips?

Elder J: i still have plenty of everything, like 4 boxes of strips left and 2 boxes of sites and i don't know what my A1C was. sister w never called back, and i keep forgetting to call her so idk. hahahaha i will find out asap. that is good everything is going good!

hey, watch out for pics on the facebook page this week. we are having a zone conference, and i am in the dayton zone.

okay mom, i have to go now, but it was great to hear from you! i always love to read your emails, I love you all so much, have a great week as usual, talk to you later! ps i am thinking of getting that grey suit refitted soon--within a month or two--what do you think?

-Elder Sedlacek

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 knew growing up with diabetes that I was protected

"Dern Tooten I'm a Rebel"--Elder Sed sees these a lot.

hey dad! 

so this was a good week, and it flew by. this week we really focused on listening to the spirit--even all the generous thoughts we get. it was a great experience, i felt the spirit guiding us a lot more than usual. thursday was especially good, i was on like cloud 9 that day, for some reason, and i was just so happy! it made me realize just how awesome this work really is, all the struggles that you go through, getting doors slammed in your face, called rude names, exhausted half the time; all of it is worth it for those days like Thursday and seeing the gospel bless others. we had a really good zone meeting this past thursday, and they taught us a new way to 2-2-5, and to ask the people at the door why they think we are there? we know we were led to go there at that specific time.  we tried it out and got a return appointment with this guy who works at mcdonald's. it is a very inspired way to knock on doors, it was awesome. 

 

sadly, not too many investigators showed at church yesterday. last night elder parker got sick and had a high fever, so we had to stay in from like 6:30 on. so he went to bed and i did all the usual collecting numbers and stuff. then i called some people to set up some lessons and then i started to go through the area book and call some formers and potentials, and literally almost no one was answering--or they were just not interested at all. i was ready to give up at this point and study some more before bed (it was like 8:30 by now), but i decided to call just one more. i called this lady and she answered and was like "who is this?" so i explained why i was calling and she said, "oh sorry!"  i asked if we could come share a message about jesus christ with her and she already had a day in mind. that was a huge testimony builder to me of sticking it out and just to keep trying. it was a huge miracle for me. 

 

diabetes has definitely helped me to grow closer to heavenly father and jesus. i knew growing up when i was able to wake up during those times when i would wake up at {a blood sugar of} 40 in the middle of the night and not know what or why i had woken up so suddenly, i knew that i was protected. i am alive today because i have a loving heavenly father who loves and cares for me and wants me to succeed. hahaha my eyes are watering saying that! i am such a baby now hahaha. 

 

that is cool you have been working so hard at family history lately, you have got a lot of work done! good job dad! i bet that truck show was way cool, did ford come out with anything new, a new raptor maybe? that is way cool too bad i couldn't see it hahaha. at least the cav's are doing well, i will have to be a cavs fan from now on since ohio. that sucks the jazz are back to the old slump, they need a new coach or something. that thought you shared was one of my favorite conference talks from last october. i really like that thought about the sharks and everything, it applies so well to missionary work, you just have to keep pushing on through the opposition because it will come and then the miracles after that. luckily the snow hasn't been too bad, when i say it really doesn't snow here, i mean it---we get like 1 inch on average and that is a bad storm hahaha so it is not bad, there is too much water in the air for the snow to stick around long too, it melts within a few days even though it won't get above 25 degrees. thermals are handy out here! hahaha. well anyway, it was great to hear from you dad! i love reading your emails and stuff, i will talk to you later, love you so much dad! have a great week and day!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

 

hey mom, so this was a good week! so are you ALL home then? cool. i suppose you have probably read dad's email then. i have had a great week, i love englewood, other missionaries call it englehood but it is not a hood compared to what i have experienced. now that i am no longer in Cincy look up "over the rhine"--it is a sketchy part of town and not even the worst! haha i went there a lot. we always got referrals from there.  but yeah, i love englewood (angle wood) it is great. elder parker is a great missionary and loves to work hard and do what is necessary. he is a funny guy too.  he has helped me  a lot already. 

 

i did get your package, thank you so much for it! and i did get the insulin and i did get my A1C done, so i will get you those results next week probably. or you might be able to call the mission nurse for them yourself. my favorite part  of the week was probably thursday. it was such a good day, we received  a lot of promptings that day and i feel like we were really guided the whole day long. that is something i have gotten better at, following the spirit and listening to it.  friday was much the same too and the package really made my day as well. tell libby thanks for the valentine! haha 

 

that is way funny about those little kids you work with hahaha they really look up to you!  that is good every thing is going well with nicole. i saw that the new provo temple was almost done, i am so excited to see it. i got to watch the time lapse when it was built.

 

 i like that story about the man on the cruise ship who didn't know that everything is included in the price of the ticket. it is true, all we are trying to do is share the happiness that this gospel brings us and it makes me sad when people won't even try to listen. all we ask is that they pray about it and see if it is for them or not, but that is easier said than done sometimes. that is funny about Bro. G,  because i have experienced the same thing. in batesville i did get hit by a car--hahahaha--i wasn't planning on telling you till after i got home. luckily it was not bad at all, i really just got tapped by the car.  i jumped around the hood as it rolled through a stop sign because the old man driving "didn't see us"-- so don't worry it is a funny story hahaha. well how are the heck are ya!?

 

Mom: hey!! I am good! We are all here (except Jeff & Nicole), because school is out for President’s day and Dad has the day off too. Dad and Jake are outside at the moment changing the oil in the car Jake drives.

 

Yep, I read Dad’s email. It’s a good one. Sounds like you had a really great week. I’m glad!

 

Last week, I did look up those Cincy areas you were in, as well as “over the rhine” and the “Price hill” area. Good thing I didn’t do it until you weren’t there anymore! haha. Grandma H is seriously so relieved that you are out of there! I also looked up your new area, the street where your apartment is. It looks pretty decent.

 

So do you not know what your A1C was? I’m glad you got it done though, that’s good.

 

YOU GOT HIT BY A CAR WAY BACK IN BATESVILLE?? haha! Well, I’m glad it’s just “a funny story!”

 

Elder Sedlacek: that is good you are all home today. that is funny you already looked up those areas. hahaha yep, cincy is a fun place. hahaha price hill is the worst of it! i didn't get to get out there much, it was a long bus ride, like 2 hours and a 30 min walk, so we didn't get out there much. yep, this area is very nice compared to cincy, i love it! nope, i have no idea what my a1c is yet. and yep got hit by a car. hahaha i have lots of hilarious stories! hahaha

ok, i have to go now mom, we are going to steak n' shake. hahaha it was great to hear from you! have a good day seeing the provo temple--let me know how it is. i love you guys so much! i will talk to you later, have a great week! 

-Elder Sedlacek

 

Transferred to Englewood, Ohio.

Email didn't work well for chatting back and forth again....my emails weren't getting through to him for some reason--dang system. :)  Oh well. Hopefully next week!

hi dad! i am doing great, i am in englewood ohio, it's just outside of dayton, so we have a mix between small town and some "ghetto" inner city. it is not really ghetto to me at all since i have been living in the real ghetto for the last 3 months hahaha. it is a lot like batesville, mixed with cincinnati's size. i love it! my new comp is elder parker, he came out with me as well and we sat on the plane together, crazy huh?  i heard the broncos won, so i am wearing my orange and blue striped tie today.  i was so happy to hear that! i finally won a prize in your scoring grid when i was gone hahaha, i knew it haha! update me on anything like b-ball or stuff like that, whatever you want, i like to hear about it all hahaha. a summer job at cabela's would be way cool for jake. i would love that--outdoors here is putting on a flannel shirt and hunting deer in your backyard hahaha. enjoy the mountains for me! that is awesome that you were able to get so much work done on family history! that is crazy the ward is growing so much, i don't even think i would remember anyone's names now hahahaha So what is the church's new Easter campaign dealing with, like pamphlets and stuff or is it electronic?  i will look forward to it. i know it to be true, through the Book Of Mormon we can come to know jesus christ on a more personal level, if we read from it with an open mind and if we focus on the over-arching message of hope in Jesus Christ.  i also know that God really does know each and every one of us personally, and that he loves us all more than we can even comprehend. i know for a fact He knows who each and everyone of us is, and he knows how to help us the best way possible to return to Him. through Christ it is made possible, with the atonement--the best gift we have ever been given. well, it was great to hear from you! i love you so much, thank you so much for all you do for me to keep me out here. i love my mission and i love sharing the gospel, it brings me a lot of happiness and joy. i will talk to you later dad! have a great week!

love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so my new address is in Vandalia, Ohio. thank you so much in advance for the packages! so my area is Englewood Ohio, we are just northwest of Dayton. Dayton is awesome, it is like Salt Lake City, but with taller buildings. it is cool, i love it. although i am not in Dayton, my area is the suburbs of Dayton and and we live in Vandalia. my whole area is like Batesville mixed with the size of Cincy, it is awesome.  i am seeing a lot more rebel flags, just like in Batesville, i love it hahaha! 

My new comp is Elder Logan Parker, he came out with me from the MTC. he is a good guy, it is nice to have an obedient comp! we have a car full time, but we do use the buses occasionally.  we drive a ford focus, and  it is nice to have a car, although i am going to get fat in this area with the way the members feed us hahaha, every night (almost) and they really give us tons of food. the ward is awesome! so we have a few people we teach, and we just picked up a miracle 'gator on Saturday. H is her name, she is 19 and just moved from Indiana. she grew up going to church every week, but her family are not members so she never got baptized. amazingly enough, she contacted the ward through their Facebook page, and had us sent over to meet with her. she came to church yesterday and bore her testimony about the church and everything! she is going to be our next baptism! she just is waiting for her uncle to come out here to do her baptism. he is always busy with work so we don't know when that will happen. 

we are also teaching a girl who is autistic. her parents adopted her and they now believe that she is fully accountable and able to understand everything, so we are teaching her the lessons. we have a few other "eternigators" we are teaching who could be baptized any day, so yeah, we have a pretty decent teaching pool. our goal is three baptisms for this transfer, and we will make it happen! 

that is good you are enjoying your job, hopefully jake can get a summer job, then he can help me get one when i get home haha!. It is so awesome that J Hale left on his mission, he will be blessed so much for it. 

thanks for putting my name on the Superbowl scoring sheet, i totally forgot about that haha. thanks for the treat! that sounds like you had an awesome Sunday. mine was good too. in my district, we have just us and another set of elders.  my DL came back from medical leave just a week ago, and man, he is hilarious! he is so funny, he is a riot hahaha. we have meal appointments together with the members so they are always a lot of fun. so did you get the pics from sister connelly? i saw them at transfers and they are doing great, frank seems to be more solid than ever! i love them so much, they are literally my grandparents away from home!  that is a cool promise from the family history work, i am glad you are getting so much done, that is awesome! 

i am glad you didn't get driven insane not knowing where I was for a week hahahahaha.  so what is new?

by the way, i can now hold the flag postion for twice as long at least, in my coat! and my church clothes! so yeah the pullups are working, and i am getting stockier. i don't know how much weight i have gained, but i know i have gained muscle 'cause my shoulders are fuller.

okay, i have to go now mom, it was great to hear from you! sorry the email didn't work that great this week, again. i love you all so much! have a great week, i love you  guys, talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

I'm going to miss downtown Cincy!

 

I guess Elder Sed wanted us to see his stylin' sweet socks.

Elder Sed sent some pictures of downtown Cincy. He's leaving there tomorrow (Feb 2nd). 

 

hey dad! so this week was good, it went super fast. we kept really busy going though a less-active list, it was good. so for the 'gators updates this week, LC is doing awesome. he has already read up through mosiah in two weeks! he loves the BOM, and he is solid in progressing. p**** tried to bash with us again; i was ready to yell at him at several points because he was saying such horrible things. hopefully elder holman drops him soon (hint hint). that sounds bad, but he is just wasting our time.   all the other 'gators are doing about the same as they were. we found a new part member family that seems really cool, and they invited us to come back at another time because they were busy. t as you may be wondering, i am leaving cincy tomorrow. i am kinda sad, but it was such a tough transfer that i am also a little glad at the same time. guess what? they changed how transfers work in this mission, so i will find out tonight who i will be with and where, and so there is no transfer meeting on tuesday. we just meet up and leave from the church building in centerville ohio like usual. that is orders from the Twelve. a lot of us are kinda bummed out about no meeting hahaha. i am sorry you got sick! that sounds pretty horrible. i hope you feel better, i have been praying for you. i wish i could help you in some way, but as you know, i can only send prayers right now hahaha. that is really good you turned to prayer, heavenly father often gives us hard times to learn from, you defintely learned from this experience. it is pretty cool to think about, we just have to do our best to learn and grow and HF will send stuff in our way to help with the rest. He is always there for us, I know that because i have seen it in my own life, with diabetes, and with my mission so far-- it has all blessed my life immensely! i love our heavenly father so much for it. i love that chapter in the BOM, and i love 3 Nephi in general. that is awesome you had your own "sunday school" haha. i am excited to see about the super bowl, but i don't really care about the pro bowl anyway, they are overpaid babies hahaha.  thanks for that dad! i like the thought you sent, and it is true, our testimonies are the most valuable things we have in this life. we have to constantly be on the guard for them, we cannot ever let them go or we will lose our faith in christ and slow our progression, that is no bueno!  thank you so much for the prayers that you send me, i definitely feel them every day, there is no other way i could do this without prayers and the savior and a loving heavenly father. well, it was great to hear from you dad! i love you so much! i hope you feel better soon, have a great week and day! talk to you later! love ya!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

 

hey mom, so guess what? i am leaving cincy! i am kinda sad but glad at the same time. it has been a rough transfer! yesterday i was walking down the street, and i almost bumped into a black guy because i wasn't paying attention. i almost said "oh sorry bruh" hahahaha without even thinking about it! it has become so natural for me hahaha! i am so comfortable in the hood now hahaha. well there's the funny story for today hahaha. 

 

my favorite part of the week was yesterday, it was 65 degrees and it felt so nice! we went downtown to contact a media referral, and of course it was a bum address :( so we caught a bus home to see a recent convert who is crazy funny! hahaha love that guy! at that point, i knew it was one of my last times downtown for a while, so i took a bunch of pics hahaha.

 

i am sorry you guys were not feeling well, hopefully dad gets better soon haha. i am glad your tooth is better, that is good news. i prayed for you and elder holman prayed for you, too. that will be really good to visit those people in the ward, they could really use some visiting. i love all those people so much hahaha 

 

that sounds like a good talk from bro ricks, he is awesome too. haha yep, i used to give you guys such heck! i feel bad for it, because you and dad really did raise me the best way possible and i will be forever indebted to you for it! well, how is everything going today?

 

i will miss downtown :(

 

Mom: Hey son! I am great today! Thank you so much for praying for us, we needed it! Dad went to work today, I think he is feeling ok but not all the way back to normal yet. I'm sure he will be tomorrow though.

You are leaving Cincy!! Any thoughts on where you are going? 

Elder Sed: no i have no idea where i will go, i want to go to the boonies in Indiana, but what i want doesn't usually happen anymore (hahaha) so we will see. i am glad dad is doing better.

 

Mom: The Lord will send you where he needs you most, I'm sure about that. If you say goodbye to any members tonight, maybe one could text your mom and tell her where you're going....wink wink! 

Elder Sed: i will see what i can do haha (wink!)  but that is true, i will go where i am most needed.

 

well i have to go now mom, thanks so much for emailing me! it is great to hear from you every week, i love you guys so much! have a great day! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek