I will never forget the people who have helped to change my life. It's a bonus to have helped to change their's.

Hey Dad! it was a good last week, it went by so fast! it feels like it did not even happen hahaha. it was really fun to have Jeff and Nicole and Brig at church with me. the ward just ate it up hahaha. Brig was such a funny little guy--he was running and screaming after church, it was fun to watch him. 

Sadly, we did not find anyone this week. we saw K & R, and we were planning to have to drop them, but we found out we are both leaving the area, so we did not do it. no investigators were at church yesterday. we were not able to do a whole lot of teaching, which stinks. I don't know though, it was still a good week. we got to talk to a lot of people, but everyone we talked to was uninterested or did not show up when we were schedule to come back. even still, I felt like I had a much greater appreciation for the calling i have. to be able to do my best to fulfill it has always made me happy, but it was more fulfilling this past week because i knew it was not for much longer. 

Hmm... i am not sure why you would be excited for Wednesday....maybe you drank some bad milk, or forgot a party they will have at work? you will have to pray about that one hahaha!! 

that is a cool story from church. it is really amazing to me that God reaches out to us in such personal ways, all the time. He knows us perfectly, so he knows exactly how we can feel or see His hand and realize that we do have a connection with Him. that is really interesting thought about the lesson on James 1, i haven't thought about connecting it with our baptismal covenant, that is neat. 

I really like Elder Rasband's talk. it occurred to me that the first step to having the Holy Ghost with us is living worthily, and then all the steps after that come from our efforts to look for God's hand in our lives, and to seek out those promptings that will come.  I am still learning new ways that the spirit touches me, and it amazes me sometimes the many different ways I feel the influence of the spirit. we have agency to make choices for ourselves, but God will always reach out to influence us, so we can learn to choose the good, and not have to go through as much pain. 

I am so grateful for my mission, and that I have had time to feel and to listen to the promptings of the spirit, so that I could come closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. the Spirit will guide us to all truth, and I know that the path I have chosen will lead me to become who God wants me to be. I know that God lives, and that He loves me and all his children. I know that all good things testify of our Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. I will never forget the wonderful things I have experienced on my mission, and I will never forget the people who have helped to change my life. it's a bonus to have helped to change their's.  Thank you Dad for all you have done to help me through the last 2 years! love you Dad! see you in 2...........days! hahahaha  

-Elder Sedlacek

Hi Mom! it was a very good last week. we worked hard, but we did not find the "fruit" we wanted. I know that there are still people out there to find. that was so crazy to have Nicole and Jeff show up to church! i was not expecting it, because Brother Gilbert is a cheeky little man, and told me she was not coming, so it was pretty surreal. haha I think it helped the ward, and they just ate it up, they loved it. everyone seemed to mention missionary work in their testimonies, so it was awesome. Brig was so funny haha, he is a crazy kid. 

this past week was a good way to end my mission. we even got out to one of the small towns in our area, and had a member drop us off there early in the day, and another one take us home at night. it was fun. we had a cool thing happen too. we were out on our deck, and we may or may not have been burning a shirt, but who knows?  and it may or may not have gotten a little smokey, so we may have shut the door and it may have latched shut and locked itself hahaha! I suddenly remembered Kelly teaching me how to break into a house with a sliding door hahaha, but that wasn't working cause the door was too tightly fit together.  i just kept trying, and then suddenly it opened. to be honest, we should not have been able to get it open, it was a miracle. 

that is good you stayed busy, busyness is happiness.  sounds like you had a fun week. that is good, because you're about to receive your little terror coming off a plane, you will need that rest. haha I did realize that i've had a few days beyond my two years, and I am lucky. pretty crazy that it has been over two years. it will be super weird to be home. it was weird enough yesterday to be hanging out with Nicole and Jeff at church. i was not even the slightest bit turned away from my missionary duties, or at least i tried not to be! I caught myself wanting to do that more than just visit with them hahaha, that was strange. it will be so weird to be home. 

yeah, Dad's full of talk, telling me that you might be at the airport. I would turn right back around if you did not show hahaha. here's my schedule for the next couple days: we leave here Tuesday morning by 7 am {wake up about 5:00 am} so we can get to transfers by 9 am, cause Elder Jasinski is training and has to be there early.  I get to just chill there, and then we leave for the temple. After that we go to the mission home and have a feast with President and Sister Welch. then Sister Welch has a bunch of stuff for us to do while we are at the mission home, like scrap booking and other things that women like to do. {haha just kidding}. Wednesday we fly out early, and i am SURE you have the time of when the inevitable happens hahaha. tonight we just proselyte from 6-9, so i have approximately 3 more hours to do really missionary things. 

true joy is what i have come to know on my mission. it is a gift from God, from serving Him with a true heart. that is the only way we can continue to progress, is to continue to serve with love.

well, i have to go now....for the last time. I will see you in 2................Days! hahaha 

I love you Mom! have a great 2 days! don't get too excited to see my beautiful face! haha

-Elder Sedlacek

I love these people, and I will absolutely miss them a lot.

hey Dad! it has been a good week. to start off the week we had an appointment set with a part-member family. they were just married, and the husband is not a member. he wants to take the lessons so he can at least know about his wife's church, but he has already come to church so many times that he is pretty much a member already.  he is a "dry Mormon" as they say haha. i am super excited to teach him, and he really likes us, we have similar hobbies. 

sadly, we did not find any new investigators. we talked to a lot of people who invited us back, but they did not show for the appointments. thus is mission life I guess haha. K and R are still kind of wavering right now.  we are in bad need to build a new teaching pool, so that is what we have been working really hard at. 

I got to have the Zone leaders exchange with us this week, so I had one of my good buddies, Elder Schott, come with me. he served with me in Englewood and we always have a lot of fun together, so that was nice. we had interviews with President Welch too. I had my departing interview, however hard that is to believe. He asked me lots of questions about my mission, and some of the people I have met, and some comps I have served with. that was a really neat experience i have to say. He totally said some things in line with my patriarchal blessing and helped answer some questions I had. 

we didn't have anyone who is progressing show up at church, although we did have C, who is a non-member waiting for his 18th birthday so he can get baptized. he is a great guy. 

I have actually been studying those same sections in D&C. those are my favorites. I have really liked section 1 of the D&C this past week. we had a big district meeting with Sister Welch and the Zone Leaders there, and I had based my training around it. it went really well. It talks a lot about why we even try to share the gospel, and the wording that is used is awesome. it's like verses 12-20 or something like that. it talks about sharing the gospel so that God's children might be blessed, and might implies a lot in that. it doesn't mean everyone will accept it, it doesn't mean we will be perfect at it, but it does mean that God loves all of his children enough to give them a chance to hear it and accept it. a mission is a sacred privilege to be able to give others that opportunity. i am very glad i have been able to be part of it! 

that would be so cool for Sarah to go on a mission, and that is crazy she is 18 now. oh man, I want to cut the lawn when I get home! haha I want to see if I can still cut it like I used to. I have no preference for any particular food, if anything my mission has made me very not picky with food, anything is good for me. 

that talk coincides with what President talked to me about in my interview. hahaha--we talked about marriage. He explained how finding is just the same as dating, and that you have to keep doing all the things that bring you a closer connection with God, in order for you to find someone who is also trying to do the same thing. It re-affirmed the goals that i have set for myself to keep progressing, and good things will naturally fall into place. I am thinking that going to the temple at least once per week will be the best thing to help me accomplish that, in fact i know it is. 

I am so grateful for the foundation that my mission has laid for me serving in the church, it is only what i can build on and add to that, that will stand the test of time. you can serve a faithful mission, but you're not done there, you have only laid the footings, and maybe some cement floors. you still have to build that lifetime of service to God. I am very excited for that. 

thank you Dad, for all the updates you send me, and your great example! I love you Dad! have a great week! I will talk to you next week, even though that is kind of a joke to email right before i board a plane! hahaha  

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a great week. Honestly, we did not find many people, but we did meet some cool people. I cannot explain the feelings i have for Hoosiers hahaha, but I love them, and I want to help them so much. it is only because of what we have with the gospel. I love these people, and I will absolutely miss them a lot. what comes to mind is the hymn that goes, "bright as the sun, this heavenly ray." it makes me sad my mission is coming to a close, because I won't represent the Savior for very much longer, but at home I will have all the time in the world to bring friends to the gospel, through various means. 

I wrote about the teaching pool to Dad, but we did not get to do any cut and dry service projects. we just do a lot of little things to help serve people each day. we always offer to help people who are out doing yard work and stuff. 

that pic with the cake? that was the best cake ever! it was decorated with fondant, and the Relief Society made it for Sunday after church, because of next Sunday being Fast Sunday. they know i am going home next week, so she decorated it for me. it was enough cake for the whole ward, it was awesome. 

that sounds like fun, Sarah having her birthday, and Mia getting to go to Southern Utah. that is a super cool story from that missionary's talk. that is kinda like Sister Boyd in Batesville, when we had a baptism my second week in the mission hahaha. 

Heavenly Father is very good at directing his children to the gospel, and we just have to trust as his laborers that he has people ready and waiting for us to give them a certain perspective on the restored gospel. the work truly is like a stone cut out of the mountain without hands, and it will roll forth simply by Heavenly Father preparing people to receive it. 

I had the great opportunity to do a couple of baptism interviews this week, and man, those people were prepared. it was so cool. one of the guys getting baptized has completely spun a 1-80, it was so cool to see the Lord's hand in preparing him, and the changes he has made. 

oh man, i can't believe it is my last week! I want this week to be the very best, and we will make it the best. we could use a better word for it, but we are calling it "Dank Week." hahahaha we have some good stuff planned to make it great. 

thank you for letting me know of everyone's good wishes Mom, I really appreciate all the support i have been given, I can't thank everyone enough. 

oh heck yeah! you don't know how excited i am to go hunting hahaha! thank you so much for everything--hunting, new clothes, all of it. you guys are the best! 

i still do have that little cooler for traveling with my insulin, so i should be good there.  i will have to throw it in the Welch's fridge the night before i fly home to re-freeze it.

well, i have to go now. thank you Mom for all you do! i love you guys so much! have a great week! 

talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

If we don't talk to God, how can we know God?

hey Dad! it has been a good week. we did not find many new people this week, but we are working on it. we have some plans we are rolling out. it should help us to be working a lot more with the members. we are still working with K and R, but D is kinda falling off the map. he still has some interest though. 

we did not get to teach as much as i would have liked, but as you know, finding and teaching is an act of faith. it takes faith of both the missionary and the investigator. it is meant to increase our faith, and to teach us to look to Christ. through being put into so many areas where we have had to build up a whole new teaching pool, it has really increased my faith, and taught me to come to know the Savior. 

I think it is interesting that my patriarchal blessing talks about living the gospel of Jesus Christ, and how much my mission has taught me to build a foundation of faith, which will carry me forward. 

we did get to do some service for one of the ward parties on Friday. we helped set up for the Pioneer Day activity, which took place on Saturday. a bunch of people brought "pioneer food" that consisted pretty much of rabbit and venison stew, heck yeah! it was awesome! hahaha 

thank you very much for that tie you got me! a real Distribution tie hahaha thanks! we did get some rain, although luckily we got inside for dinner right as it was going down, so we did not get wet. thanks for all the sports updates! i am glad the Sox are doing well. 

this week i was on exchanges with an Elder from the district in Winchester, and we talked to a guy about his high boy Ford truck, and it was sweet. then he showed us his F100 and revved it really loud for us, i will send a video of it haha. that is cool they are getting y'all into Just Serve. I actually got to participate in rolling it out when i was in Englewood. they could put a lot more projects on, because it seems there aren't ever any we can help with in our areas. 

i want to finish my mission strong, because i know how much it will help me. i am not about to leave my mission with the ends "untied."  we reference that talk by Elder Choi a lot, especially when it rains haha. i too know that in order to have a solid relationship with our Father in Heaven and the Savior, we need to be looking towards Christ with all diligence. by doing so, we come to know Christ, and how we can follow him. I also like section 1 of the D&C. it talks about the apostasy, and the restoration of prophets and the priesthood, as well as spreading the gospel. it talks about how we spread the gospel so that others may increase their faith, repent, and gain testimonies and relationships with the Savior and Heavenly Father. 

i am so grateful for the restoration of the gospel and for prophets who lead and guide us on how to come unto Christ in this life. we we look towards Christ through doing the simple steps of the gospel, i.e. reading, praying, practicing obedience to God's commandments etc. as we heed the prophet's counsel, we will come to know Christ. i am so grateful for my mission and for my testimony that Christ lives, and that as we found our lives on him, we will have great joy. thank you for your support Dad, and for your great example to me! i love you Dad! have a great week! talk to you later!

Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it was a good week! i did get the strips and stuff you sent, thank you very much! i really appreciate all you have done in sending me supplies the last two years! as of now, i should be perfectly fine to the end with pump supplies, and i am sporting the pink sites, thanks to the Jensens!  you will have to let them know. 

I have been serving my comp by just doing little things for him, anything huge, just cleaning and stuff like that haha. there was a man we talked to yesterday who mentioned that he is questioning if God is really there and whether he exists or not. it is sad, cause i have seen a lot of people like that. It helps me remember and strengthen my testimony of how God has influenced my life, and how much i see his hand everyday, and how much potential i have to see his hand more and more. I get the great opportunity to share that testimony with others, and hope i can make a difference and help them turn to God. that starts with an invitation to pray to Him. if we don't talk to God, how can we know God? we can't! we have to talk to Him, it's just like anyone else we want to get to know, we talk to them. 

i had a good blessing given to me this past week, and it was awesome some of the things it said. that was just one tender mercy. i also get to go on exchanges tonight with one of my mission buddies who is my zone leader, so that will be fun. oh man, i forgot to email Libby happy birthday! i am glad she had a good birthday. haha that is crazy you had your knee surgery a year ago, and i bet you love your knew knee. i like the picture hahaha.  

I truly was sent to a special people, they have such a faith in God. everyone we talk to mentions how they have a strong faith, and how much they love the Savior, and how much he helps them. those types of people are the humble people it talks about in the scriptures. I just wish they would listen to our message, because they already understand a lot about Christ, and that He does have a hand in our lives, but i know how much better it could be for them with Christ's restored gospel. 

we have so much more potential, and we can become so much greater through the help of our Savior. it is such a blessing to be able to help people to see that, and to build my faith because of people like that. I know how much this gospel will bless our lives, i am so grateful to have served a mission and for the time i have left to serve, and that i can always serve. the road never stops, and the gospel will never end, we can always be at least a little better than we were yesterday, and we can always grow closer to our Savior as we follow his teachings and commandments. thank you mom!

well thanks, Mom, for emailing me! i love you guys so much! have a great day, and tell Sarah i say happy birthday!  talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

I am so glad I'm not the same person as before I came out, that guy's a jerk.

hey Dad! It was a good week. we found a few new people this week, which was awesome. it rained really hard on Tuesday, hard enough that we did not want to bike in the rain, but we felt we should anyway. that morning I had felt very impressed to see some certain people. as we got out to one of the homes, it started to look like it was going to rain super hard, so they let us in. we got to talking to her and her mother, and shared the restoration with them. it went super well! we then started back to our apartment with it now pouring rain, and that was super fun cause we got so wet! hahaha we had realized if we had not biked, we would not have caught them home. the storm also helped us get in to the house too. 

over the the next few days, we stopped by again. the son, who has been reading almost the entire Bible, but a Jehovah's witness Bible--uh oh! haha--was super interested, so that was super cool. We also had a good lesson with R and K, but unfortunately we had to move K's baptism date back. we were hoping to move it back without discouraging him. my companion had an impression to share a certain Mormon Message, and they really liked it. it illustrated perfectly what we were talking about, and so they had their hearts softened before we gave K the news. He was smiling towards the end of the lesson and he is going to work on getting more ready for the baptism, so it went really well. 

we did have my last Zone conference on Wednesday in Fort Wayne. they had me give my departing testimony, along with a few other missionaries who are also leaving. it was so surreal!! my mission has absolutely flown by and it's crazy that it is about to end. It helped me to deepen my love for the things i have learned, and it was a long drive back to our area afterwards, so I got some good reflection in. it made me sad to be leaving Indiana and Ohio, but the Lord has plans for each of us, and that does not include a lifetime of being a full time missionary. (i can still be a member missionary hahaha). I have grown to really love these people and this area so much, as well as my entire mission, it has been the best experience of my life. 

that sounds like a fun girls' camp you got to help with. it would be a good workout hauling all them young women up the giant tree swing! hahaha. oh man, i can't wait to go hunting in the truck :) I bet it looked beautiful with a trailer on it hahaha. 

that will be interesting to have that training, hopefully you don't get too behind on your regular schedule, that will be fun! that is a cool spiritual thought, thanks for sharing. i was studying D&C 132:24 and the whole section, it was a such an awesome study. it talks all about knowing our Savior better, and that comes through repentance, obedience, and serving our fellowman. the mission has brought me so much closer to the Savior, and that is through serving his children. at times when it was all about me, or how many i could baptize, I did not have the same joy as i now feel doing His work. it makes me so happy to be one of the Lord's representatives, to feel the sweet redeeming love for all of God's children each and every day.  thanks Dad! you're the best! love you Dad! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Hi Mom! it was a great week! Happy birthday Libby! she is 13?! that is insane! i did get the pump supplies, thank you very much! and i do need strips badly, like i am just about out, if you could send them today or tomorrow, that would be awesome!

i also forgot to mention, i accidentally destroyed my temple tie, and am in need of a new one before we go to the temple as my group goes home. i would severely appreciate if you could send me one, if it's cheap i don't care, i actually prefer that haha. 

i had written about investigators to Dad, we had a pretty good week for finding, and we had received some good revelation in Zone conference to help us start getting more referrals, which is what we really need hahaha. I gave my departing testimony after we sang Homeward Bound as part of the group that is coming home with me. it was so crazy to be on that side of the bench--i never thought it would happen, but it did, i was kinda sad deep down, but i am excited at the same time, it's a weird feeling. 

we had a stake president come and speak to us, and he talked about his mission way back when. he had a very similar first couple months as I did, so that was super cool, and i got a good impression about how my mission has gone, and that was even more cool. i am so grateful for my mission! also for the ability to repent and change ourselves. i am so glad i am not the same person as before i came out, that guy's a jerk hahaha, but the best part about coming home is that i get to attend the temple on a weekly basis now, and do all i can to progress, and i get to do it on my own, with the Savior's help, and apply all the lessons i have learned. 

i talked about the scripture i read and studied this week with Dad, it's D&C 132:24. that whole section was exactly what i needed to read this week, it was so awesome! i remember ending my studies that day, thinking "ah that was so. COOL!" hahaha. 

it sounds like it went really well at girls' camp, that is super cool! sounds like your new knee has helped you become a new Mom! that is great to hear. hahaha i'll bet there's a lot of laundry, but hey just think about how much laundry you used to do with me and Jake and Nicole hahaha. hopefully you get caught up soon! 

as i like to say, life is all about the climb, you come off conqueror, but you're going to have another good hike ahead of you, and then another, until you get to the top, but it is going to be a lot of fun. that is so sad about Trent, i wish i could do something to help. 

also Mom, one more question: could you send me the pic that was posted on Facebook with the birthday stuff from Zone conf? thank you very much for sending the others too!

i shared some videos in your Google Docs. thank you for emailing me! i love you all so much! i am so grateful for the gospel and the teachings of Jesus Christ, and that we all can have happy lives no matter what. i love you Mom! have a great week!

Elder Sedlacek

I know that the last few weeks will help me to stretch and grow as much as I can

hi Dad, it was another good week. lately we have been struggling to find people to teach, so that has been a little trying. we are still working with K and his wife, R. K expressed his desire to be baptized so that he can be sealed to his wife. they are both very excited to have him baptized, however, we are trying to help him get into the Book of Mormon more and do all the little things that truly converts people and shows true conversion. it is interesting to me, that because of the righteous desires these two people already have, we just need to help them channel it. we talked about 3 Nephi 27 with K and read some of it--we are leaving small reading assignments with him to help him start reading on his own. 

we also met with D and had an interesting lesson with him. he told us that he is not yet sure whether it is completely true or not, but talked about how he has been recognizing the spirit, especially when we meet with him. he told us that the wisdom that the missionaries have could not just be from us, that it has to be something greater. i was so happy to hear that! it hints that he is understanding the role of the spirit better than a lot of people do. we answered a lot of questions he had and re-discussed parts of the plan of salvation with him. it was a cool lesson. 

we don't really have many more people to teach who are progressing, so we are doing a lot of finding and just talking to everyone we can. we met a guy the other day, who was sitting on his porch, and as we approached him it was like I knew exactly what to say. we invited him to listen, and he said "sure, why not." so we talked a bit more, and then set an appointment. he told us about his life and how he wants to get back into religion to help him raise his boys. it is amazing to me how much the gospel and the teachings of Christ can strengthen our families. as we strengthen ourselves and do the little things with our families {like scripture study} it brings us together. 

it sounds like you had a super busy week with work and all that, that is good. good luck with all the new stores! sounds like it has been very hot. I bet it feels just as hot here though with all this humidity! hahaha it's been rather swampy here, but luckily it hasn't rained as much as last year. we have a lot of black raspberries here along sides of the roads, and mulberries too. they are so good! oh man, that's terrible we lost Hayward! our team is going to suck haha! 

it's so crazy to think that Dallin is home now, but I bet it was fun to hear him speak. 

that is interesting about the spirit and how if we don't listen to the first prompting, we are dismissing it. i could definitely do better at listening to the first prompting, so that is a good reminder. in Moroni 7:13 it talks about how the spirit and promptings can be summed up as a good thought. all good thoughts can come from God, so we should do our best to follow those good thoughts. 

my comp and I had a good conversation about how the spirit touches us. for the longest time I questioned whether i was feeling the spirit or not. i did not realize that the spirit we feel when we do sacred things is different than the spirit we feel day to day, or i should say the way we feel it. and it's because of the sacredness of those things we do, like partaking of the sacrament. it took along time to recognize that, but now i know that the spirit touches us each in a personal way, and there is a lot more ways than one. it is up to us to learn how to recognize it, and that is why we do the little things each and every day, so we can learn how we feel the spirit and become better at following it. 

i know that as we do the little things, we will have the spirit with us more frequently, and we will know it better, and come closer to the Savior. i am thankful for the scriptures and for the gospel, because of how it helps me and others. 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. sadly, we did not find any new investigators, but we have a few referrals we are trying to contact. we are pretty much trying to contact everyone we can to see if they are interested or not. 

my new companion is a great guy. we get along well, and work together really well. i love the area, it's such a fun small town hahaha. it is so much like Batesville, and it's quiet and pretty peaceful. we gave several priesthood blessings this past week, so that was really nice. we also got to help give one of the converts the Aaronic priesthood and that was really cool as well. 

i am not sure i could pick one single scripture that helped me most, but just getting to read the scriptures each and every day helps so much. because of the new missionary schedule, we sometimes have meetings in the morning, and with the schedule we don't always get time to study in the morning. you notice a big difference. I love being able to study the scriptures every morning because of the peace that it brings and it truly aligns me more with the spirit. after i read, i truly feel normal i guess you could say. it makes me a happy missionary hahaha. 

the scriptures have taught me more about my Savior, and they teach me what i need to do to improve, and when i feel discouraged they give me strength and motivation to continue. i honestly have not thought about the goals for home a lot hahaha. i am trying to ignore going home i guess, 'cause it makes me feel sad hahaha. I don't feel ready yet, i feel that i still have more growing to do, but i will have to think about it i guess. 

thank you for sending me all my stuffs! how long 'til i can get more strips? i have about 1 to 1 1/2 vials left. that is so funny about Dallin being home already! i bet it's super weird going from Bolivia to Utah. that sounds like you will have a fun young women's camp, i bet it will go great! i sometimes feel the same way as district leader, i do not feel adequate, at all, so i have to remind myself that there is something the Lord wants me to help the other Elders learn. they are all younger than a year out, so i feel the great responsibility to help them. all i can do is follow the spirit and give my best efforts to help lead them and be an example for them.

most of all, our callings are to teach us. callings help us to feel the love that the savior has for all his children. as we stand in his place, he will give us charity and the things we need to serve with all our might. we each have a specific purpose, and we have to have faith that we can and will accomplish it with his help. darn, well that's too bad that Bryant and i won't speak together now, but it will be fun to go visit with him after he talks. i will also get to see my comps speak too haha. or rather, they can come hear me. Aww man, that's too bad Dallin claimed Brother Ricks, but it was inspired, it will be good to speak with Bishop Beynon! that will be awesome. 

yep, i do remember that lesson from Bro Ricks, and a few others that were like that. those, in my mind, were the best lessons we had. the spirit was so strong in each one, and i specifically remember when he taught us to "call out" the spirit, they were all very powerful lessons and discussions.  

i hope to be able to have the same conviction as Elder Hale, that I know my savior, and i know that the last few weeks will help me to stretch and grow as much as i can. i am so glad to have been serving a mission, to be able to learn what i have learned and still have time to learn more before i have to go. the savior has a plan for each of us, and i find true joy in doing my best to fulfill that plan. the gospel is our road map, and the mission teaches us the principles of the gospel in a very real way. i am so grateful for the time and effort and everything you put into making my mission possible! 

got to go now Mom, thank you for emailing me! i love you guys so much! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

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

Last transfer!

 

June 26, 2017

hey Dad, it has been a good week. we had some good things happen. first off, i am getting transferred to Connersville Indiana. which in other words, i am getting the ultimate shaft! hahaha i get to learn a new area for 6 weeks and then in missionary terms, i will "die." hahaha you know, the end!  i am going there with Elder Jasinski, he is a pretty funny guy. from what i have seen i really like him, so it should be a very good last transfer. i am finally getting put into an area where i can bike half the time so that will be nice. 

so we gave the commitment lesson to B, which pretty much drops him from our pool. it assesses the reasons why he started investigating the church, and explains what still stands in the way of his progression and from that point, we can't do much more. the rest is up to him. he is still in contact with members of the ward so it should be good for him. we did not find many new people this week, but we have been working the roster. we  have gained a lot of trust with the ward this week, which leads to great things :) like people to teach who already have friends in the gospel. 

we started working with J again, he has been reading with questions in mind, so we will see how it goes for round two. we focused a lot on the E family this week and that was good, we are kinda discreetly teaching Brother E, but he thinks it's more for the kids. he is starting to share his testimony with the kids on certain principles and that should help him to increase his own faith. 

something cool happened yesterday at church! C has a friend that he said was not a member who he has been trying to get to come to church with him for a few weeks now. he showed up with this friend yesterday! so i was all pumped, like "heck yeah, we got a friend to teach!" thus how things sometimes go, he turned out to be a less active who wasn't on our roster. he joined in basic training a while back, and just stopped going, so we got him to meet a few members in the ward. we went over to say goodbye to C last night before we both leave the area, and ended up having a good lesson with the both of them. C's friend seemed pretty excited to be back, he talked about feeling the spirit at church, and i have to be honest, it was a pretty sweet spirit there yesterday, more than usual. it was really good for both of them. 

haha that sounds pretty awful to have to try to sleep on a plane for 10 hours. you do get used to the conditions pretty quickly, isn't that weird how that works? i am glad the trip went well, i bet that was pretty fun.  So Sarah re-purposed her seminary graduation talk, that's funny. seems like yesterday i was in her boat!  hahaha. 

that is cool about the missionary thought each week, that will really help to increase the spirit of the meetings for sure. that's whats so special about missionary work, that there is such a sweet spirit about it, like none other. it's not super often that the spirit is not with us as missionaries, and you notice when it's not, but we get so used to feeling it that it's almost easy to stop recognizing it as much or appreciating it if you don't focus on it. the spirit we carry is amazing to have with us all the time. people notice and feel it when missionary work is discussed, that's why so many people love the missionaries. 

that is interesting you say that, cause i am putting together a training i have to give on Wednesday. i am trying to tie Christ's atonement and our missionary purpose together. as missionaries we are called to preach of Christ and to teach of his gospel, so that others may come closer to him through repentance and baptism. Christ's purpose was to give all of God's children the possibility of returning to his presence. he suffered all manner of pains and afflictions for us. we simply teach the doctrine of that and how to access it more fully. i am so grateful to be able to be a part of this great work. we have the privilege of standing for Christ as people learn and grow. we get to watch these wonderful conversions take place. thank you, Dad, for all the support you give to me! thanks for emailing and  i will talk to you later! love you Dad! have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom, it has been a good week! the weeks are flying by so fast, it's unbelievable. i did get the package, thank you very much! hahaha that is super funny about Dr. Lindsay, i am excited to see him again haha. he will ask me about my love life for sure, like he always used to hahaha. 

i am excited for my new area, and new companion. i know him a little and served around his trainer for a while. he has been out since just before Christmas, and he is a pretty funny guy. it should be a good transfer! i have heard a lot about Connersville from Elder Hammond. it's right above Batesville {my first area}, so i am a little familiar with it. 

probably the best day was Wednesday, we had a good day. it wasn't much different but we had a fun district meeting. the hardest day wasn't really hard, just at the end of the week before transfers it's always a little sad leaving areas and companions i get along well with. so that was sad saying bye to some people. i really like a lot of people in this ward. 

my prayers were answered with a few personal things. i had some trouble with high blood sugars all day Wednesday, cause i had a bad cold, so i was kind of out of it, that's why it was a fun district meeting {hahaha just kidding}, but the next day i ran high all day again, and so i had a blessing given to me. immediately i felt better, and my blood sugar came down very quickly, like impossibly quick. it was really cool. 

we had a really good sacrament meeting this week. we had a talk on missionary work and it was super good. the spirit was there super strong, and i had some questions answered that i have had for some time now, it was really cool and nice to have them answered. 

sounds like you had fun with Dad being gone for a while, i am glad he traveled safely! that also must have been fun to have the cousins and family over, it will be interesting to see if the boys end up at USU, that would be sick! 

i have been studying a scripture about knowledge and faith recently, it's in Proverbs. it talks about with all thy getting, get understanding. can't remember the reference currently hahaha. true understanding comes by experiences we have, and from the effort we put in to learn about the gospel (studying) as a gift from God. he will give us experiences we need to learn the gospel, but as you said, it takes faith and patience as well. i used to get super impatient with learning things and growing from that knowledge, but it takes time for us to turn our head knowledge into heart knowledge. 

i love the mission because, how it says in my blessing when i was set apart, the Lord gives us time to make our weaknesses turn to great strengths. i know that is true--Heavenly Father has a perfect plan for our growth as we seek to become like him. Christ makes it all possible. we have the blessing of being used as his instruments as we do so. if we have desires to serve God, we are called to the work. 

i have loved my mission so much! it is not easy, and you don't always feel that you love it, but i can honestly say that it is such a blessing to serve a mission! i cannot express in words how i feel about it coming close to ending, and it might just drive me crazy hahaha. i know this gospel is true and i know that Christ is our Savior, and my love for him has grown so much! thank you for sending me on a mission!

they also called me as the District Leader for a few areas, so that should be interesting, especially cause it's my first time. i have to train the other missionaries in my district every week on Wednesdays. i was betting on not having to be one, since i went so long, but i have only trained in other district meetings when the DL assigned me to, which was at least once a transfer.

Pictures: i found a lariat on exchanges, but Elder Mitchell kept it, and a frog "mysteriously" showed up at district meeting, according to the Elwood elders hahaha!

well, i have to go now. thank you very much Mom for all you do! i love you guys so much! have a great week! i will talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek