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

You can't take away anyone's agency {although it might be nice sometimes haha}

June 12, 2017 Emails

hey Dad! it was a good week. we did not actually find anyone new to teach this week, it seems that everyone we talked to did not keep the appointments we set, so that was kinda lame hahaha. that's work though haha. you can't take anyone's agency away, although it might be nice sometimes hahaha. we had to push B's date back, because he has been drinking and smoking quite a bit, and he was quite sad about it. he expressed that he still wants to be baptized, and he is going to come up with a new date for himself that will work with his family too. he will make it eventually! 

as for the W family, we have not made contact with them lately. they have been super busy. a bunch of our teaching pool has been dropped or is now avoiding us, so we have had some opposition there and so we have been working on finding--the eternal work of missionary work, finding. our mission is coming out with a new way to seek referrals from members. it is basically just focusing on following the Bishop's council to visit members and increase their faith to have quality gospel conversations with people they meet to prepare or bring them into the gospel for us to teach them. we call it priesthood directed finding, it all starts with the stake presidents and they push it to bishops who push it to members, so in turn we have more people to teach. it is supposed to increase the statistics to new investigators who are baptized to like 1 in 10 or something like that high. it's really cool. i am very excited about it, and we are meeting with the bishop and the sisters on Tuesday to get it rolling. 

C is doing really well, he got to pass the sacrament yesterday and liked it quite a bit, same with W. he is coming out with us on Friday to teach with us. W is probably one of my favorite converts hahaha he is super funny. i don't have much more to update you about, but it was a good week, we got to give a blessing to one of the people we have been teaching, and we had a really good lesson with K last night. we showed one of my favorite Mormon Messages, "spiritually fit," it's super good and since K likes to workout too, it helped him pretty well. 

that is super cool you got to go to Chile, that is a very long flight haha. now we are all visiting each others' missions it seems like, you to Jeff's, Jeff to mine, you to Jake's a while back.  how you spelled the Spanish made me laugh pretty good hahaha, you almost got it all right haha. sounds like you had good church meetings despite the language barrier.  we had ours about forgiveness, it was super good, one lady talked about a girl that was hit by a truck, and killed. the parent immediately forgave the driver. it was cool to think of that and how much more Christ will forgive us. it was a cool experience. that sounds like you have a bunch more traveling to do. that will be fun. 

it really is so important to keep an eternal perspective on things; if we do that, it is so much easier to keep the commandments. the  gift of Christ's atonement is all-encompassing, and it makes it all possible. i have strengthened my testimony of that lately. i know that i am changed through Christ, he can change our hearts and desires, and he will, if we have desire and if we pray to him in faith. i am so glad to have a mission experience that teaches me so much. thank you Dad for your testimony and your example! i love you Dad! i hope you enjoy the rest of your trip! have a great week! talk to you next week!

Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it was a good week! we did not find anyone, and Billy did not make it to church. he had some issues with the Word of Wisdom, and he is working on it, so we are pushing the date back. i wrote a bunch about our teaching pool, but in short it's time to find a new one hahaha, or add to it i should say. although we have some cool potential sprouting up lately. we got 2 referrals the past 4 days, that is pretty unusual. we have yet to contact the first one. he is a super rich guy, lives in a HUGE house. big for the Midwest at least, not always Utah though. i am excited to meet him. 

we have a lady we met last week when we passed her taking a bed off the top of her car, so we got out and helped her. she invited us back, so we have an appointment in a few days. should be exciting. L is still excited, but we need to get his parents into it more, or i won't be baptizing him. he needs support to stay active, or he won't be. 

my favorite part of the week was probably my birthday. it was a good day, just the same as the rest of the week, but we took our sorry selves to Burro Loco, a way good Mexican place that serves the dankest food! it was awesome. then we got ice cream haha. thank you so much for the gifts too, they are aweome! i ate the cake, it was pretty good for my cooking hahaha. Elder Mitchell also made cherry pie for district meeting too, it was really good. 

my favorite person was probably B, i am feeling a lot more love for people lately, it's a great feeling to have that Christ-like love, it boosts you up! we have really liked playing with the magnetic Thinking Putty hahaha, we make faces and have them eat the magnet haha. 

that is good you're staying busy this summer, and all that, it's nice to stay busy. i bet it's weird having Dad gone, i bet he is having a good time though, you will have to do something fun for yourself too hahaha. that is cool you had the people from India speak at stake conference. that would be fun to hear. sounds like you had very good meetings. i wrote about our sacrament meeting in dad's email. it was super good. a lot of people think that we try to "earn" our way into heaven, or "earn" blessings, but that is not the case. we qualify and will be more open to the Lord's blessings as we are obedient. if we are not doing our part, he can't bless us as much as he would like to. obedience shows the signs to God that we love Him, and are seeking to become like Him. the commandments are simple, but not always easy. we have a simple path to follow the Savior to be able to live with God again, and it will get us there. he  will make it "easier" for us to make it there, by lightning our burdens because of the atonement he performed. i know that because of Christ, we can be changed, we can be joyful, and we can become better. we had a great week!

you asked how i'm feeling about coming home? it's just the paradox of leaving behind something i have looked forward to my whole life, and now it's almost over. it's weird. and being able to feel the Spirit so much and then...i also am just excited to be done, since i am sooooo tired. it's constant battling thoughts and feelings. i just ignore it, and Elder Mitchell is a good help for that! what Jeff talked about when Jake was coming home is all true hahaha! it was a good warning. if i think about it too much, it just makes me sad.  

well, i have to go now Mom, i do need test strips this week, i am on my last vial, but good on everything else. well love you mom! i hope you have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

We have our own personal trainer. He's with us every step of the way!

hey Dad! it has been a good week. we had our one dinner cancel, but they gave us a pizza instead hahaha. it was good. we did find a bunch of people this week, so that was really good. C is doing well and still progressing. 

as for the investigators, B is doing well, he puzzles me though. when we go over he shows tons of interest, and he wants to be baptized. he is working for a June date. but when we ask about his reading, he has not delved into it that much, and has trouble coming to church, but he is already stopping smoking and drinking. so there is progress, but i would have expected him to be reading more with the desires he has showed. he is doing well though. he talked about the first time he came to church--he went home after and promptly decided to go cold turkey off alcohol, and he is an alcoholic, so that was super cool. 

we had an awesome lesson with D, and he had a bunch of questions about the plan of salvation as we taught it. they all were about the lesson, it was so cool. he got sick and could not make it to church, so hopefully next week. 

we were walking around Saturday morning, and a guy randomly called us over, and told us to come back. he is a guy who loves to talk, and his neighbor came over to see what we were talking about. his neighbor is not all there any more because of drug abuse. it was really sad to see. we talked about the plan of salvation with them, and the neighbor started noticing the spirit, so we asked him to pray at the end, and he started crying. he started asking for his trials with drugs and stuff to be taken away. it was really humbling, the situation he is in, and how much faith he had to ask to have that stuff taken away. that was really cool. 

we also taught a guy who is on house arrest, but he's really interested, so that might be a trick. he has awhile to go before he is off probation. we will have to see how it goes. 

that is crazy Nicole and Jeff were so close to me. did they go right by Anderson, or through Indianapolis? that is weird hahaha. they should have drove through, we probably would not have seen them, because we work deep in Anderson usually hahaha. that's cool they made all those sight seeing stops, must have been fun. 

a cow elk tag would be fun, thank you for doing all that for me Dad! the 500 sounds like it was a fun race to watch, that's cool. we had a mini 500 in Anderson at the race track, they had such a huge tailgate, i took pics and a video hahaha. we got stuck for half an hour in traffic cause of it hahaha. 

i am definitely learning about being strengthened by the atonement in this area, that's for sure. and having more love. missionary work is all about love, and in order to have desires to help save the souls of man, you have to love them as Christ does. i always have to pray for this kind of love, it's not easy for me to love people. but i am learning, and that's what counts. i feel the power of Christ's atonement strengthening me, and because of his atonement, he knows the perfect way to help me learn lessons, and he also understands the people we teach. it is so cool to be able to have specific experiences that apply so much to people we teach. God is definitely guiding his work, and i know there is no better work on earth. i am so grateful to be a part of it. thank you for the love and support you give me! love you Dad! have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! its has been a good week. sweet, i am glad the new card is coming, my old one is starting to peel really badly. thanks Mom! 

it is crazy how time is flying by, it's super weird. we did get to teach a bunch of lessons, however lately we have been teaching a lot of people who have what's called the gift of gab, they talk A LOT, it's almost impossible to steer the lesson back on track sometimes, so that has made the teaching a little tough, especially for me. it makes is kinda frustrating sometimes, cause it's hard to teach when you ask a question and they just run with it hahaha.

that's been the hard part of the week i guess. we did find a bunch of new people though, so that is good. right now i am working on loving the people more--it's hard for me to love people, so i always have to work on it. it's also tough for me to be in the poorer areas, they make me depressed, so that wreaks havoc on me sometimes. my comp gave me a blessing, and it said how my love has grown so much, but there will be a time when it is tested, i think that is now, so i am working on that for the time being. in order to be a representative of Christ, i have to love people, but sometimes my weaknesses get the better of me, and i just don't like people for a while hahaha. so pray for that for me if you will, please? 

my favorite person was D, we had such a cool lesson with him, it was awesome. that is cool about finding the person from Czech. sounds like you had a fun week, even without work. i hope Sarah's talk went well, that is cool she got to speak at seminary graduation.  hahaha that is super funny about Brig walking around! and the nickname he has for Dad haha. 

i love how this life is a proving ground, it sucks in the moment sometimes, but there are also very good times. we learn so much, and it makes us better. i think i find the same motivation for life, as i do to work out. i want to be my best. Heavenly Father has a plan that gives you the best spiritual work out you can possibly get. it's so tough, you would get fetchin' wrecked if you did not have a personal trainer, Christ. He is with us every step of the way, and he helps us, he spots us, and gives us the strength we need so that we can make it through. He gives us all the supplements we could ask for, in prophets and scriptures. they help us recover, and strengthen those spiritual muscles. in the end, we get the opportunity to be out best selves, but we have to put in the work and do our best. i know how much Heavenly Father loves us, he wants us to succeed, and we will because of our savior Jesus Christ. i am so thankful for that knowledge, and that i get to share it. 

thanks Mom! could you please send some pump batteries with my birthday box? i am needing some more.

alright, i have to go now. thanks for emailing me Mom! love you guys so much! have an awesome week and day! thanks so much for all you do! i love you Mom!

-Elder Sedlacek

I am lucky to serve a mission!

It is bug season again....this is just one of the "weird" bugs in Indiana/Ohio.

Enjoying a feast of chicken wings.

Emails from March 27, 2017

hey Dad! it was a good week. we found a bunch of people to teach this week, it was awesome. we started off the week with one of the LAs we've been working with. we lifted weights with him on Monday, then he took us out teaching after p-day ended, to a gal we found the week previous sitting on her porch outside. she invited us back, and we taught the restoration to her. it made sense to her and she had no questions. the next time we went back she had to run to work or something, but her Mom said how excited she was about meeting with us, and that she was too, plus her two other daughters (teenagers) also want to come to church. we gave her the meeting times, and she is taking work off next Sunday to bring herself and her three daughters. we spent some time finding them rides, and so they will now be coming to our ward Family Home Evening that we have every Tuesday. that was so cool! 

we met another young couple that we taught the restoration to, they seemed interested, but they don't have much religious background--not even praying, so it is all new to them. we have another appointment set with them. there was one more lady, who is quite humble, and loves the Savior enough to make a poster of him to hang in her living room. she is quite busy visiting her son who does not live with her, so we have to go back soon and try to catch her. we took a high council member out teaching with us, to see J and we had an awesome lesson with him. the high councilor was quite bold, but J actually loves that, so it went really well. 

J*** is now reading the Book of Mormon, and we have an appointment with him in a few days with the ward mission leader, so hopefully it has gone well for him. sadly, everyone was busy for church except for a few less-actives we have been working with. 

the weather here has been amazing the past few days, it has been nice, and we have not had as many monsoons as last year so it has been good. people are already cutting grass here, it's as green as it will ever get in Utah already hahaha. i like that thought from your sacrament meeting. we see it a lot in missionary work, if you focus too much on you and how well you teach, find, etc. (i mean in an unproductive way) you will miss out on a lot of promptings and you'll miss a lot of daily miracles. 

that is good you have got the floors installed, that's awesome. i bet it feels nice to have it done. 

I have a testimony of the Book of Mormon. often times when i read i get distracted so easily. i am sure it's the adversary trying to distract me, but even then, it still brings the Spirit in such a way that really helps me to refocus on what really matters. it takes time for me to put all the stories together, but i am starting to understand more and more every time i read. it really is written for our day and age. in the world today there is a lot of bad things, but the gospel of Jesus Christ and the gift of the scriptures teach us how to better ourselves, so we can avoid the problems that exist in this day and age. i am so grateful for the gospel and the Book of Mormon, as well as the Savior and his atonement. i am lucky to serve a mission! thank you Dad for all you do! have a great week Dad! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it was a good week! i am doing really good. i wrote in Dad's email about the awesome finding experiences we had last week. i am super excited about it, and to see what happens with all of them. one thing i have really come to recognize this week is just how much i love teaching the gospel to people. it always brings the spirit so that at least i can feel it. the spirit that is available to us as missionaries is such an awesome feeling. i have really learned about how i feel and recognize the spirit. for a long time, i was just expecting to know when i was feeling it super easily all the time, but that is not the case, i have had to learn over time how i feel it and to recognize it. it was frustrating at first. 

i read a talk that was talking about spiritual growth and it talks about how it takes time, so you won't hardly recognize it in yourself until you look back to who you once were. i find that super cool. i love the growth that occurs on the mission. probably the most challenging thing was having people cancel appointments we had been setting all week, but hey, that's missionary work i guess haha. 

it is fun to have diabetics in the ward here. it was weird, cause the sister was telling me all the carbs in the food she made, just like you used to do hahaha. oh man, that is crazy you got that letter about my travel plans.  and FYI, it is the 9th of August. we would spend the night in the home, and then you could pick me up from the mission home on the morning of the 9th, according to President Welch. and this is the last week of the transfer again, crazy enough. 

sounds like Dad did a great job of doing the floors, that is awesome.  that is super interesting about that thought. it is true, because where our innermost thoughts and feelings are, that is what we will talk about without even noticing it. i have been studying the Christlike attributes lately, and virtue, patience and charity all have a good connection to our thoughts. i love studying those gifts cause you simply ask for them, and do your best to receive and use them, and they come. the Lord is willing to give us any gift that will help us accomplish the tasks he has planned for us. i am so grateful for the Lord and his love for each of us. i am grateful to be serving a mission so that i can come to know him and Heavenly Father better. thank you for all your support!

i am sending a box home, there is a surprise in it for the family, you will have to take video or pics or something and send it to me so i can know how you all like it and how it turns out hahahah. just read the note i put in the box.

well, i have to go now, thanks for all you do! i love you guys so much. enjoy the surprise! talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Gratitude is a mind set.

Emails from March 20, 2017

hey Dad! it was a good week. we did find more people to teach again, which was awesome. S and W dropped us, that really stunk, but they are obviously not ready right now. we did find an awesome guy named J. 

we saw a house with a mustang II out front, like an old one that is still original, it was cool! so we decided to ask the owner about it, and he came out, we asked a few questions and introduced the gospel to him, and set a return appointment. we went back and taught the restoration, and he had lots of good questions. he plans on coming to church, hopefully this week. we have another appointment tonight. we found a bunch of potentials (people who have appointments with us) and that was super cool, so hopefully those go well. i really do enjoy finding, but it can be tough when people don't keep the appointments. 

we did not get anyone to church--J got a new job, and we are passing D to the sisters cause it's so hard to meet with her since she is a single lady, we thought the sisters would have an easier time meeting with her. 

that is super cool Mia sang in church, is that her first time? that sounds like an awesome talk Carli gave, the atonement is an awesome topic. part of why i love the Doctrine and Covenants so much is cause it's all about missionary work and service in the church, and it has lots of cool deeper doctrine hahaha. i think of missions as the boot camp for life, they help you ground yourself and train yourself spiritually and physically to survive. we also learn how to endure and serve in the church. 

nice work on the floors, they look really nice! i bet that was fun. we moved a guy this week, who had tons of chunks of black walnut wood. that would be perfect for turning huge bowls. it made me laugh, 'cause i was the only one who knew what wood it was--cause of you hahaha.  

gratitude is a mind set. i have to always work on that. the joy and happiness we feel and the love for our Heavenly Father is a choice. we have to try to be thankful to feel thankful. when i am looking for the blessings and God's hand in my life, i see a lot more of it, and that helps to bring me closer to God. i am so grateful i have the opportunity to teach others about the restored gospel. the gospel makes so much sense, and it has brought me closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. i am so grateful for them and all they do to bless me. thanks, Dad, for everything you do, too! love you Dad!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been another good week. i did get the pants, and about the other ones, they did not come with a return label, what should i do? i have maybe two more vials of strips i think, not sure i really need anything right now, thank you Mom! 

we did find a few more people this week, that was awesome. our efforts are starting to pay off a little more. we have been working lists like crazy, we even had an Elder who went home 'a minute ago' send us some names of the people he used to teach. we  are finding that some of the people who weren't ready back then, are more prepared now. it is so cool to see the Lord's timing work like that. 

we did not get anyone to church again this week, that is the real struggle we are facing, we are trying to get some chapel tours set up so we can help them come to church. Elder Hammond and I get along pretty well, we are working together well, so that is good. he is a really good guy. 

one tender mercy: i had a bad earache through the middle of the week, so i had to spend a bunch of my funds on medicine for that, and that took a chunk out of my food money. then i randomly happened to find a bunch of money the other day, so i was able to still get all the stuff i need--that was awesome!! another cool thing, a guy from Noblesville came to church yesterday because his son is in our ward, and that was cool to see him. there are always the daily answers to prayers i get. the best part of the week was probably the last few days before the weekend, we were able to talk to a lot of people. my favorite person was probably J, who we found this week. 

the atonement really is such a great gift we have been given, and it's free, we just have to accept it. we can receive so much strength from it, it gives us the power to do anything we need. Christ loves us so much and you can really feel that love for others if you understand your role as a missionary. i am so grateful to be able to witness Christ's love being manifest through the gospel to others every single day. thanks Mom!

well, i got to go. thank you for everything you do Mom! i hope you have a great day! and week! love you so much!

-Elder Sedlacek

Beating the odds

hi Dad, it has been a really good week. it was long though as most first weeks in a new area are haha. Springboro is affluent, and is a lot like West Chester and Englewood, in fact it's right next to Mason, in West Chester, so it feels like home hahaha. i love it! 

Elder Payne is a boss, he has been out for 4 1/2 months and knows a lot and teaches really well. he loves giving gospel lectures in comp study, so those are on point hahaha he is really funny too, and i am pretty sure he had fulfilled part of my setting apart blessing with the part about new missionaries. we have a full time car, a really nice Malibu, so that is nice. 

they just baptized the most solid kid ever, so we have to get a new teaching pool, which might take some time, but we have been getting some really good referrals this week. one for a guy named C, he is cool. we have a return appointment with him this evening. another referral we got was for a lady who was supposedly 39, so we show up to give her the Book of Mormon and she turns out to be 13! so i said "oh, are you _____?" and she was like, "yes", i was all "okay then..." hahaha she is pretty intent on finding the right church, although she is scared of us i think, or intimidated, so she seemed nervous about a return appointment. so we will follow up by phone soon. this ward focuses on the less actives, so we have a lot of those to work with. 

that is good you are staying busy and working hard at work and at the gym hahaha, that will really help you a lot. 

it is true, we think we can sometimes know God better by "head" knowledge, and not turn it into heart knowledge. we have to earnestly seek him through study and apply the teachings we learn to make it heart knowledge. i mean, if it's spiritual it has to deal with how we feel things, so naturally if we want to understand and know God, we have to feel him. we have to establish a prayerful relationship with Him and apply the atonement. 

Bro. A really does love the air museum! hahaha Dayton stake is the best! sounds like some good games are going on, i also heard about the Raiders pending move. that would be super cool hahaha. speaking of cars, we have a Ford dealer outside our apartment with the coolest lifted and modded F150s! i go crazy thinking about driving them hahaha. 

i think of D&C 93 with that conference talk, we have to receive our understanding and knowledge line upon line, grace for grace, just as Christ did. i know that as we seek through study, prayer, and action, we will continue to grow our knowledge of the gospel. thank you Dad! i love you Dad! i hope you have a great week! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been such a great week! Springboro is the best! i wrote some about the area to Dad, but it is a rich area, and has some country in it too--i really like that. the ward is super awesome and supportive, they feed us a ton! Elder Payne is from Gilbert Arizona and is a boss! this is his second area, and he had a rough time with his past companion, so he has thanked me up and down for how i am. we do work well together, and teach equally so that is really nice. 

i saw Bro Gilbert and Bro Pawlik at transfers, so that was super nice. another perk of the area is that Elder Nielsen from Cincy is my District Leader. he is awesome, so that is cool. one tender mercy was getting permission to go to the Columbus temple with another set of Elders. i learned so much and got to spend time in the Celestial room, and it put me on a spiritual high for the rest of the day! it was great! 

one cool experience, we were trying to contact a less active, and decided to "225" and so i said a prayer just silently, "i know there is someone here, and so tell me where to go," and i felt inspired to knock a certain door and a teenage kid answered the door and invited us back, so that was awesome. 

a funny story--so on Wednesday after district meeting we went out with our DL and his greenie to eat at Steak n Shake, i don't know if you have heard of the 7x7, but it's huge and i lost in "what are the odds" to eat it {meaning Elder Sed's "odds" to eat it all were "not good"}, and man that thing was hefty hahahaha. but i did eat the whole thing, and it didn't destroy me haha! 

hahaha poor Dad, got shopped to death with all the girls....did he pass out? hahahaha i will save him soon hahahaha. i do not remember J.T., but that is a really cool story.  that is a cool story from you, too. it really is when we lose ourselves in the service of others that we find ourselves and that is where the miracles are. 

one thing i am really focusing on this transfer is to not let the things i can't control that make me stress out, not bother me in the least. it has really helped me to stay positive, since i was told to when President Stuart set me apart as a missionary. i really do feel that is my example that i am supposed to set, it has helped me to really understand the purpose that God has for me a lot more. i may not be a District Leader or anything like that, and that's ok, i don't need to be. but i am sure as heck trying my best and doing everything in my power to grow my own testimony and the testimonies of the people we are teaching. this is God's work, and He will make it all possible. i know this will be a good transfer, we are gonna baptize all of Springboro! hahahaha. 

thank you Mom for all you do! i have to go now, it was great emailing as usual! i love you all so much! have a great week! love you Mom! keep being such an awesome Madre!

-Elder Sedlacek

We are refugees

Emails from December 12, 2016

hey Dad! it has been a good week. i am glad you got the cards and stuff, and yes, there will be a boundary change for this stake. all i know right now is that i am leaving this area very soon. it turned out the Assistants were wrong about leaving last week so we did not leave yet, but sometime near the end of the week.  so you could possibly send the package this week, cause if you send it to the mission home, it might take a long time to get it. 

as  for how the week went, it went pretty well. we did a lot of less-active hunting and it was successful. we found a few new ones to stop by, so that is good. they were all friendly and hadn't seen missionaries around in a while so they enjoyed the visits. SD did not make it to church this week, and we don't know why yet, but we will hopefully see him tonight. B has been meeting us at the library lately. he finally revealed to us need, so now we can teach him more effectively. we have been reading the Book of Mormon with everyone so they can get motivated to get into it themselves. K is still doing about the same, same as the W family, except the cold temps keep them from coming to church for health reasons. she may have been healed, but still struggles in the cold air. pretty much everyone is doing about the same. it is kinda tough, i just wish they would read the Book of Mormon and be able to feel its influence. it is such an amazing book of scripture.

that is super awesome all that stuff happened and went well. and even better you are going to the gym! hahaha, are you gonna bulk up and be a buff Grandpa and squish me? hahaha i can't wait to go back to the gym hahaha. sounds like work is kinda  hectic, that is good though you get to stay busy, that keeps you from being bored, right?  

that must have been a good meeting at stake conference, here stake conference is like a whole zone meeting hahaha, so it's fun to see members i know and all my mission buddies. i saw Elder Hurst at the stake conference, one of the guys from the MTC. 

i really like that thought you shared, it's interesting Elder Causse said Christ's birth was secondary to his atonement. that was his whole purpose for this life, to save us all. he had one thing on his mind, serve the Father's children. we had a lesson surrounding this topic with Kristy this week, about always seeking after Christ. if we are not intent on coming closer to Him, all the harder our lives will become. we need the gift that enables us to become better--the atonement--as we utilize it more fully in our lives our happiness and joy will increase, as well as our knowledge and relationship with Christ and Heavenly Father. i know that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is his prophet and revelator called to these latter days to usher in the restoration of the gospel and to bring us the Book of Mormon. as i have read the Book of Mormon to finish by Christmas, starting from Nov 8th, it truly has increased my testimony of its divinity of the book and my love for Christ and Joseph Smith. i am so grateful for this gospel and that we can live for eternity as a family. thank you Dad for the example you put forth, for serving a mission, pushing through college and for every day that you get up to go to work for us. it makes it possible for me to serve a mission and to gain a testimony of the gospel. i love you Dad! have a great week! you're the best!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, so you heard about the changes. sorry to scare you a bit hahaha! i am glad you enjoyed the cards, thanks for distributing them for me!  so i guess just send my packages hahaha. we will see where i go. we almost thought it was a joke, since we were supposedly moving this week and nothing happened. we finally texted the APs and they were like, "it should be announced today and the changes will me made this Sunday" and so they said we will probably leave near the end of the week. we are refugees! haha we need to jump ship. can you send me a pic of the new mission logo? we have not got it yet. 

the best thing that happened this week was when we got a super sweet member refferal from a guy in the Indy mission for a person in our boundaries, so  she should be taught soon by whoever is in this ward. the ward will probably change its boundaries too, because they are reorganizing a new stake. i definitely saw small miracles throughout each day, but not any big ones to mention, just another week with an awesome ward. 

one tender mercy, a lady in our ward heard i have eczema and left a bottle of Ceravie lotion on the stairs in front of our apartment the other day, with some candy haha, that was super nice. she says it's the best for dry skin, and so far it's worked great. the Indiana weather has been in the 20s all week and snowing, but since it's Indiana it's gone within 24 hours regardless of how cold it is, and you don't get more than two inches hahaha, so that was nice. 

sister Murdock sounds like sister Welch. sister Welch used to walk a bit in the mornings and she set up a few appointments for us when i was in West Chester hahaha, they are both great missionaries. 

well, i know that this gospel is true. self change is a neccesary part of Christ's true church. we believe in continuing revelation, so God will always reach out to his children--that's a fact of life. i know that the Lord is at the helm of the Old Ship Zion and always will be. all things are done in wisdom and order, of God, who knows what needs to happen. as we approach this Christmas season we must always retain in remembrance the gift that Christ has given to us. i love this gospel so much, i am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and the temple in our lives. i love you all so much! 

well, got to go now Mom, thanks so much for all you do! i love you all so much! i hope you have a great day! talk to you later. you're the best!

-elder Sedlacek

We have some fishing to do

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

It is completely normal to have a tough week, I have them all the time; I won't tell you when though.

hey dad! this has been a great week. even though J** was not able to make it to church yesterday because of health reasons, we did have T** and M**** and her kids show up, so that was super awesome! M**** is gaining more and more traction in the church. we taught her about the temple and she wants to be sealed but she found out you need a husband to do that, so she was kinda sad not being able to be sealed to her kids as her situation goes right now, but we just told her the Lord will provide a way, we just have to trust him. 

one of my favorite verses--it applies to everything--is Psalms 34, i think  verse 19, it says "O taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man that trusteth in him." it is a great verse. as we really rely on the Savior, and taste of his gospel, we will be able to see that the fruits of the gospel will be great blessings to our lives. 

T** has some problems with chew and alcohol, but he committed to work on those things, so we will see how that goes. as far as we know, J** is still on date for the 3rd, but we need to check in with her today on the smoking. it really does help our testimonies to grow as we share the gospel, it is a great principle of missionary work. i love it haha. 

man that is so crazy, i can't believe that Sarah is a senior and Mia almost in high school, and Libby in jr. high, that is crazy! it's cool that the girls are finishing their hunters safety stuff, hopefully they did well. that sounds like a very good talk, amazing how a mission changes your speaking capabilities so drastically, i know i can speak way better than i used to, rather than just reading off my talk, i just speak what the Spirit gives to me along with bulleted points i have prepared. 

i really like that analogy with the fence, that makes total sense to me. we must stay grounded with our faith on the Savior, just like Helaman 5:12, the Savior truly can become our rock if we let him and he is our salvation. the atonement is so amazing to me, i wish i could comprehend it all. that is so cool about the medals the US got. i saw a brief glimpse of part of the ceremony last night when we were walking out of a house we visited, it looked pretty sweet. that is funny, i thought the Dodgers lost, i was so stoked! hahaha but I guess not hahaha. oh well, they will play good some day hahaha. that is not fun to be the bad guy, hahaha, dad hahaha.

thank you for your testimony, i know that a mission really is the place for me right now at this moment. we are all foreordained to do a work that the Lord has for us individually, this is mine, if i will rely on him, i will see success, that is desire D&C 138:56. well thanks so much for all you do for me Dad! i love you so much, have a great week! i will talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been yet another good week. that is ok you didn't send my strips yet, just send them today please hahaha. i wrote about the investigators in Dad's email, so you can read more about them there. 

me and Elder Erickson get along pretty swell haha. he is a funny dude and we compliment each others' strengths and weaknesses, it works out well. we did have a zone conference this week, there should be some pics up on Facebook, Cinci North zone, can you email me those today? please? thank you mom! 

it was a really good zone conference, i really enjoyed it. President talked a lot about our conscious and subconscious minds, and teaching more about repentance. the Spirit let me know I should stop thinking negatively about how well i can do missionary work, because i am doing a fine job. so that was a good tender mercy. 

the most inspirational investigator would probably be M****, though she has so much to deal with, she still just keeps trucking and is very Christ-like to her kids and everyone else. 

it did rain a crap ton this week, so that was fun getting soaked just about every day hahha. yep, we all go through a lot of crap hahaha, but just remember when all is said and done, it will all be worth it. it is completely normal to have a tough week, i have them all the time, i won't tell you when though hahahaha. you will get the knee back in order eventually, it will just take some work. hopefully the twice a week stuff will help with that. just remember the Lord told you specifically to get it done now, so i know it will all work out. 

i shared my fave scripture with Dad, Psalms 34: 19. you just have to keep going, and trusting in the Lord, and then eventually you will be able to say as Paul does in 2 Timothy 4:7. (now don't think i am some scripture wizard because i am not in the least hahaha, i have so much trouble memorizing scripture references, so i have to tab my scriptures so i can follow promptings in lessons hahaha!)

that is so crazy to think that Sarah is a senior this year, and same with Mia and Libby growing up. that is weird. hahaha yes, chubz! i am proud of that kid, he will do great as a missionary! and that is super cool R went too, that is awesome. hahaha i hope Nicole and Jeff had fun down back east, i can imagine the flight was cancelled, the rain out here has been a mess lately, i am sending a video of it today. it is insane compared to Utah. Utah doesn't know what rain is hahaha. well, that is pretty much all i can remember for the week, feel free to ask questions. 

well i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me! especially the pics, thank you! and i hope you have a great week! good luck with work! i love you Mom! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

The humidity is something I won't miss!

August 1, 2016 Emails

hey dad! this was a good week as well, it is always a good week hahaha. our investigators are so promising right now, M** and her kids have said they want to be baptized already, and she is progressing so much, they read the Book of Mormon everyday as a family, and the Book of Mormon story book for the kids. we extended a date to her of the 13th of Aug, but she was  thinking along the lines of January. Nah! haha so we still had her pray about the 13th, and we have been fasting for her to move up the date. hopefully she can realize how important it is for her to do it as soon as possible. she is so solid! she signed up to feed us this Friday, and i was looking forward to some authentic Mexican food, but she texted us and told us she is horrible at cooking so she is taking us out somewhere, which is good too. hahaha. J*** is still working towards the 20th, but she has to be living the Word of Wisdom by this Saturday. she still has a little to go before she is fully living it with the smoking, so we gave her a blessing and she is still 100% committed to it, so we also fasted for her. keep them both in your prayers. we have been teaching another guy named T**, we had a chapel tour with him this past week, sadly he did not come to church though. i think he might have been working, but he is a pretty cool guy. we are still deciding his commitment level, so we will see where he goes. we were also able to find a few more new people, so we will be stopping by to see them this week, and we will see how they turn out. no word from P**, although she is still keeping in contact with one of the members, so there is still some fellow-shipping going on there, which is awesome. i am sure she will be baptized some day. 

we have a few members that help us out pretty regularly, there is a guy, Bro Darling, he is awesome. he helps us out a lot. then J**'s brother in law, that she lives with, loves to help us teach M** and her kids. he is an older gentlemen, and loves kids. he is awesome. there are a few more that help us out regularly, so it is nice. 

that sounds like it was a good sacrament, that is awesome. good job on the family history stuff!  i hope the court of honor went well, hahaha i don't think you will ever get away from the scouting program hahaha. sounds like you are going to be swamped at work pretty soon hahaha that stinks, but that is also good, it sounds like you got all caught up with the quietness. i bet that will be fun to watch the Olympics. wow, so the girls are going to actually take hunter safely? who knows, i could see Mia hunting a little for some reason hahaha, maybe they will, that is cool. 

yeah, the Reds are doing terrible, hahaha there was a lady that was like, "of course they are losing, they are terrible!" hahahaha that made me laugh. that was a good conference talk, i read a talk titled "why 1820?" and it really explained why the restoration happened when and where it did. the Lord knew that was the perfect place, a perfect evironment to have a young man grow up in, so he could ask the right question at the right time, and do what was necessary with the answer he would receive. it is truly remarkable that the plates were buried in a specific spot, just behind where a young man would live more than a thousand years later. that is amazing. i do know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that because of what he did we truly can live with God and Jesus Christ again as well as our families. what a promise to be able to live as a family for forever, that is perhaps what i look forward to most in the eternities. thanks so much for all you do for me Dad! i love you so much! have a great week, good luck with work! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! so this has been a good week. i have written about all the 'gators in Dad's email for the week. but hey, we had six gators at church this week, it has been awesome! i can believe i've been out a year, and yet i can't, it is weird, it doesn't seem like a year and that i should not be able to say that yet, but it has at the same time. weird feeling. that is crazy i fly home on the 31st, weird, so that means that 4 years from when jake left, both our missions will be over! aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh! that is gross! terrible! haahaha. 

we have been seeing the success lately, we had a bunch of members out with us this week and we on average hit about 7 member-present lessons, it's awesome.  we work hard together and we get along well too. it has been super hot lately, been around 95 or so, and with 80-90 percent humidity, usually 90, it feels like over 100, it is weird. the humidity is something i won't miss! hahaha it feels like a rain forest. 

one tender mercy we had was being able to do a chapel tour with T**, i wrote about it in Dad's. that was cool, we knew we needed to do a chapel tour, so we just altered our appointment with him and it worked out great. my favorite investigator is probably M**'s five year old son, he is hilarious, he was hanging around me the whole lesson we had and was trying to show me stuff while we were teaching, he is a little ball of energy! hahaha they have some sheep in their yard that their Grandpa takes care of, and he ran up to one of the sheep and it butted him and knocked him so hard one of his shoes came off. he just got up like nothing happened and started chasing after it hahahaha it was so funny. 

my favorite part of the week was getting to help at the food pantry on Friday. i heard Bro. P was heading to the temple soon, so that is awesome he made it! that is so cool! good for him! 

it is good you have been getting better sleep at night, but i am not surprised the tourniquet area is sore though haha. it sounds like you have a full recovery ahead of you then, that should be fun (sarcastically). i will keep you in my prayers for sure! that is awesome you were able to make it to church, that is sweet. i am glad you got to hear Madi speak and get to take the sacrament. i find the atonement more and more amazing everyday. it can help us do anything, even if i get bored in studies, i can pray to have the motivation to keep studying hard, and He will give it to me. the atonement truly does make everything possible, all because of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He can command the winds and the rain, the mountains to move, and He listens to our every cry for help and is there at every step, helping us along the way, because He made it possible to return to his presence. i am so grateful for our Savior, i know how much we can do if we just rely on his infinite mercy and his guiding hand, we truly can accomplish everything. the mission is a gift from God, and i am so grateful i chose to open that gift, because of my mission and the Savior, i am changed and i am a better person. 

well i have to go now, have a great week as well, good luck with the PT! i love you so much! i shouldn't need anything else, thanks Mom for all you do! talk to you later!

Elder Sedlacek 

Staying in West Chester

Emails from July 25, 2016

hey Dad, so this has been a good week. we got a wonderful surprise on Friday.  M**** no longer likes being taught by the Spanish Elders, so we are teaching her and her kids again, and she is just as excited as ever to learn. she was so happy to have us back teaching her, that was awesome. so all of her four kids came to church, as well as her and J**. it was a full Sunday again. 

we really struggled with finding this week, but we are still working hard, so they will come. we moved into the former Sisters' apartment on Friday. that was super stressful cause Elder Erickson was sick with the stomach flu on Thursday, so i had to pack up all the stuff myself. the move still went great nonetheless, and the new apartment is super nice! sisters live in high class! haahaha it kinda sucks we don't have our track to run on anymore, so we can't run like we used to, so i have been doing pretty much football conditioning in the parking lot for my exercise. it is fun haha. 

i had the Liberty Elders give me a blessing when Elder Erickson was sick, to help to keep me from catching it and it worked, so that was super cool. {Note: stomach flu and diabetes is a tough combination to deal with, this is why Elder Sedlacek was so proactive}. there was some cool stuff said in the blessing. the miracle for our investigators is how M**** is still interested, i am so mad still that the Spanish Elders took her in the first place hahah, but when they took her over, it offended her and they really did not teach her. it really made me mad, but all is well now! haha she is happy to have us back to say the least. 

P** talked with her husband who is overseas working with the military, and he does not want to have us teaching her, so we can't stop by anymore. she was really sad, i felt really bad for her, so we have been fasting for her, keep her in your prayers. i did get the message from the office about Mom's surgery, thank you for that! it was good to hear! and i did get the strips, thanks! that is so awesome that her surgery went so well, i liked the note she put in the box. hahaha 

you've been cooking? so you didn't poison them hahaha just kidding, you're a good cook too. hahaha that is good you have been getting fed so many meals, it's like you're a missionary again Dad! hahaha just kidding haha. we have a joke in the mission from a funny video we have and there is a coach always yelling "one more! one more!" in it, that is you Dad. hahahaha that is super cool you have a good directer, hopefully he gives you that growth that you desire, that is awesome. 

i heard the Dodgers are playing the Reds in a few weeks, sounds like they are going to get killed hahaha NOOOO!!! thats too bad. that is so crazy that Antelope island is on fire, i bet there was a lot of smoke every where, that is crazy. i bet the Olympics will be fun to watch. 

it really is the atonement that makes everything that we have possible. the atonement even covers the effects of sin before it was performed. Alma was able to experience the healing power of the atonement before it happened, that is so amazing. the atonement is all-encompassing of the plan of salvation, what a gift that is! i know that because of what the Savior did for us, we are able to accomplish everything. we just got the transfer doctrine {news}, we are both staying, we will baptize! yeah! well, i will talk to you later Dad! i love you so much! have a great week Dad! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom! so this has been a good week. we are both staying in West Chester for another transfer. as you know we moved this week. President Welch has not made a lot of changes, but we will continue to see. i wrote about the investigators in Dad's email, so you can read it there, but suffice it so say we are teaching M**** again and they are all doing well. 

i am glad you are recovering well, that is awesome! It was nice to hear that message. hahah--Dad is your coach! haha. i am glad you are getting your meds under control.  that is also really cool that you have been blessed with those meals, that is really cool. 

yep, i love the Doctrine & Covenants, they are so awesome. we have like five baptisms lined up this transfer! heck yeah, me and Elder Erickson have each only baptized twice and been out pretty much the same time, so we will end our "fast" together hahaha, this will be the first area i have been in more than three months, that is weird. 

well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for all you do! i love you so much! you're awesome! have a great week! i will talk to you later! love you Mom!

-Elder Sedlacek

This work really is all about love

Monday, July 18th Emails

hey Dad! so this was another good week. we had P** and another investigator at church yesterday--actually we had five at church--it was awesome!  one of them, T**, we met just a few weeks ago. Elder Erickson taught him when we went on exchanges and it was a huge surprise to walk in to the chapel and see him just sitting there waiting for stuff to start! hahaha P** came with her only son, a 5 year old ball of energy hahaha, he was really riled up the whole meeting, so i was trying so hard to get him to be quiet so P** could listen to the meeting. he is the funniest kid. then a few other 'gators came to church that we have been trying our best to work with; the sisters worked with them a lot. they are Micronesian and it is hard to get a meeting with them, so it was a huge miracle to see them at church. we had A** come to the baptism on Saturday for the Liberty Elders and she loved it, even brought a friend, but sadly he must have anti'd her.  she called us the next day during ward council and said that she just got done being baptized, so she wasn't going to come and her search was over. so that sucked, she was golden, but agency is the king. 

J** quit coffee this week, and so she was super loopy the whole week. she was sick yesterday and did not come to church, so hopefully she feels better soon. that is pretty much the updates for the week with the 'gators. we met with President and Sister Welch this week for our first interviews, that was fun hahaha. i know that i am called to them for sure, President Welch is awesome, and then with my interview with Sister Welch, she shared a scripture with me that for whatever reason hit me like a train, so i was choking up as i read it aloud. then i was so frazzled when we ended the interview i accidently almost hugged her! hahaha i was kicking my self. they are new, but they are awesome. 

yep i write all my experiences down as best as i can, hahaha or try to.  when Dad is bored haha! that is a lot you got done while Mom and the girls were at camp. that is awesome, did you enjoy it haha? that is good you got the time off to be able to help Mom after her surgery. that will be good for her. i completely forgot about Sarah & Libby's birthdays! hahaha all stuff besides the work and mission life are a blur to me. i don't even have the energy to focus on other stuff hahaha. 

well, President Porter is a very nice guy for saying those things about me, i do my very best, sometimes i don't think it is as good as he says, but i guess it is. this work really is all about love, i still remember what you said before i left, that even if the people throw rocks at you or something like that, you can and have to love them back for it. hahaha sometimes it is harder than others, but you really have to focus on how they are all children of our Heavenly Father and no matter what He loves them, so we need to love them too. 

i bet that was fun to see that rodeo. Elder Berret, one of the Liberty Elders, used to be one of my zone leaders. we are good buddies. he is from Oregon and works on a cattle ranch up there, so that is cool you got to see that. i like that quote you shared, and the second part too. it really is hope and faith that are the driving forces to the gospel. when we teach people to increase their faith, it increases their hope for better things to come. in order to have faith in better things to come--that lasts--you must have hope for those things. i haven't really ever put those things together like that, that is very interesting, thanks Dad! so is Mom's surgery happening soon or right now? well i have to go now, thanks for emailing me Dad! have a great week! I love you Dad! i hope you get all caught up with work! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! so this week's updates with the 'gators i wrote in Dad's email. so you can read them there later after your surgery. hahaha people are still giving me grief back home for how young i look? hahaha oh well, i did look really young haha and i was slim but strong! now i am 10 pounds heavier and  i like to think i am still strong hahaha. you can still see a good portion of my six pack, but it went away for a while. hahaha 

those three questions about my week can all pertain to one day when we had interviews with President and Sister Welch. i wrote about Sister Welch's interview with me in Dad's email. but when i read those scriptures i could feel the love from Heavenly Father like he was hugging me, that sounds really feminine, but it's not. hahaha it was a cool experience. the most challenging thing was losing A**. 

thanks for getting that all sorted out with my pump supplies! i do need more strips, but if you can't send them in time to get here by Friday, you will have to wait. we are moving on Friday to the new apartment, but you can send them to the Liberty Elders' apartment and we will get them for sure. the Liberty Elders' apartment is in West Chester, not far from us, so do either or if you can get them here before Thursday at the latest. 

that is crazy that Libby is 12! holy cow!  that must have been fun to go to girls' camp with all the girls hahaha. i am glad you were okay when you fell, that is good. i like those scriptures, those are really good. there is a surprising amount of deep doctrine in the Book of Mormon, a lot of people don't see it that way, but there is some really cool stuff in there. i love the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine & Covenants, i study them both every day along with Preach My Gospel and the Bible for teaching. 

that is really cool with your blessing, the Lord definitely needs you to have a healthy knee for a purpose. look up DC 138:55-56 it is talking about the prophets specifically, but all of God's children as well. that is a cool verse about our purposes in this life, i will have to teach y'all the Doctrine of Christ lessons we teach when i get home. well, i hope your surgery goes well, I love you Mom! recover well, have fun resting and I will talk to you later, have a great week! love ya!

-Elder Sedlacek