I have learned to avoid contention at all costs. I know that is the opposite of how I used to be haha

hey dad, so this has been a great week. we beat about half of our goals and we had a lot of grace to help us do it. we went on exchanges twice, so i stayed here both times and took over the area. that was fun, especially since it was for two days in a row hahaha. elder sutton came back and said, "I haven't slept here since Tuesday," and it was now Friday night! 

as you probably know we have about three investigators who could be baptized at any time; however, because of difficult family circumstances, it seems pretty bleak that they will be baptized this transfer. we have been fasting and praying to hit our goal of baptisms for this transfer, but we have no idea how we will hit it. I do know that if we trust in the Lord things will happen. all of our other investigators did not come to church this week, so the ones that did accept the date of May 7th cannot be baptized then. so we have been fasting a little bit hahaha. 

we had a pretty trying week--we even met an anti Christ. that is the fourth person this transfer who has tried to anti us in some way; two of them just this week. we are doing well though. we are working with a few less actives: DB, the B family, and a few others. they are all pretty tough nuts to crack, but they are good people. they are the ones who have been offended in the past in some way, so they just need to feel loved and listened to. 

What you said is true about reactivations--they are just as good as baptisms. i have had two or three reactivations so far. 

hey, that is cool you got a new computer, i bet it runs pretty sweet. that is awesome. so you still have the old computer running? 

hahahaha you finally had to mow the lawn then? we have been mowing lawns here for weeks! hahaha since like early March and late Feb hahaha. Utah folk are the ones with dormant lawns in the winter hahah. just kidding Dad haha. 

I bet that was fun to go fishing with Jake, and dang that is a lot of fish you caught. you bet your boosh hog {Mom: No idea what "boosh hog" means!} i will be goin there when I get back. that is way cool. it's fish fry time haha. 

that is too bad that the Jazz lost, darn it. that is crazy, so many earth quakes, i haven't heard about a single one of them. being on a mission is like being in a special bubble where you only see the bad stuff immediately around you, but you don't know anything about anywhere 50 miles away! hahaha you are also surrounded by the spirit all the time to add to it hahaha. 

the stake pres. has asked all the members to join a service site called Just Serve, look it up, justserve.org. it would make for some good FHE's.  Elder Holland's talk was one of my favorites from conference, it was really good. We can really rely on the Lord, we cannot allow our selves to get discouraged when things seem rough and when we don't experience what we want. we have to remember that the Lord is in charge and He is watching out for us. the Lord has his own timing and we have to be grateful for the blessings we receive. i know this church is true, we are coming into the last days and this gospel will  guide us along as we follow the Savior's teachings and as we live the gospel. I know that we can be examples to the world and as we let our lights shine others will see it and will follow along. thanks for emailing me dad, your support means so much to me, it means a lot! i love hearing from you dad. i love you! have a great week, i will talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey mom, so this was a pretty good week. it has been in the 80's all week long, and very humid hahaha, it never dries out here, just gets more and more humid and then dumps a butt load of water on us and repeats itself hahaha. 

sadly, we didn't get to meet with all of our most promising investigators, just due to people not keeping appointments. we did not have the car, so we had to have members take us to some places we can't access without one, but they had to bail on us too due to getting stuck at work and such, it was a tough week for that. we even got kicked out of a trailer park when we were 225-ing L because she bailed on our appointment. this guy just walked up and told us to "hit the road" over and over again, so we could not even explain that we were visiting someone and just asking the neighbors about when she might be back hahahaha. 

on Saturday we rode the bus to the church that morning, and on the way i saw this lady sitting there reading out of the Bible. she was reading James 1:5 out loud to herself, just loud enough that i could hear it, and i was like "no way!" i had just sat down on the bus, so i gave her a card and started talking to her, and she was very interested in learning more. sadly, she doesn't live in our area, so we sent out a referral for her to our STLs {Sister Training Leaders} and they contacted her that day and got her committed to church that night.  she is super solid. it was a pretty cool tender mercy to find her. 

at the church that Saturday there was a child's baptism going on, so while we waited for the other elders we went in and sat down. the spirit was super strong and this particular family, the mom was just baptized and the dad recently reactivated. i realized that as 18 year-old boys, the Lord allows us to be able to strengthen families just like this one and bring them together. it is a huge blessing to be a part of things like that, and i started crying too hahahaha. 

we had interviews with president this week, he told me i am an excellent missionary and a great finder, but i am not bold enough with moving people to their next steps. so he wants me to learn to do that. i really focused on that this week with the exchanges we did and it helped a lot. since {an earlier companion} i have learned to avoid contention at all costs. i know that is the opposite of how i used to be haha. i HATE contention, so i have to just be fearless and loving when i am bold with people. 

that is good that you are getting some nice weather in Utah. that is cool you are helping out at the school, i bet that is fun. hahaha funny Dukey, that crazy dog. that is good he has been being a good boy. 

i am sorry about your cousin's boy {recently diagnosed with T1D}. Diabetes is tough at times, but definitely he will learn a lot from it. he will come closer to his Savior and will learn about his Heavenly Father in a way that only diabetes and trials can teach him. diabetes is a curse and blessing, but Heavenly Father knows he and his parents can handle it. it will make them grow to who God wants them to be, just as he has done with me. 

well i hope the Young Women fundraiser goes well, good luck. that sounds like good church meetings this week. ours was good too, they had me bear my testimony of service in sunday school, and i got to wear my freshly fitting suit. it looks nice, i have grown big enough again that my shoulders are as big if not bigger than they were, so the jacket fits pretty well now. 

In answer to your question, the Book of Mormon became important to me when i was reading it one night back when i was going through those "challenges" in high school and I read Helaman 5:12 and it hit me like a train, that i could read the Book of Mormon and actually get a lot of comfort from it. it was no longer just a book we read to learn about God. it was something that i could turn to for peace and comfort. that is one of the times that changed my view of the Book of Mormon. i know that it is true and that we can come closer to the Savior than by any other book if we read it with an open mind and focus on the message it shares. I love reading it! 

The pictures show my sunburn, and a member took us out in his 1969 AMC Javelin, sick! that car ain't no BOOSH HAWG hahaha! it was pretty fun to ride in. and it turns out humidity makes me burn easier haha. oh, and I am up to 275 pull ups a day. 

mom, in my next package can you send some lithium AA batteries for my pump? i am almost out and they are more expensive here--about 10 bucks for 2! that would be much appreciated, thanks!

okay, i have to go now. thanks for emailing me mom! thanks for all you do. i love you mom, and i love you all, have a great day, and week. talk to you later and remember that deli meat is awesome! Skype you in a few weeks! bye! 

-Elder Sedlacek

I just need to pray and listen...because even I am a little clueless. Haha

 

 

What's up Mama,

 

Wow! Sounds like a way crazy week. That sucks that Nicole's results came back like that. I know she will be okay though. She can do it. I have been praying for her and I felt good, so I take that as a good sign. I won't worry too much. Don't worry about that. I will be praying for her and you guys as well. I know the power of the priesthood is real. It does work! I have seen it right in front of me before, when a blessing that we gave was answered. It's probably just a trial Nicole has to overcome, and when she does she's going to be awesome!

Is she going to have a wicked scar on her neck? I would assume she is put totally out for the surgery too. How long is recovery?

I bet Sydnie's wedding was awesome. That is crazy that she is married now. I looked at the card this week and was like "Holy crap, Sydnie is married now!" Haha That was the next day--I had the invitation in a drawer and when I opened it I saw it. Crazy crazy haha.

  

That is  cool that Uncle Jim is doing that mile count thing for Nicole. I have no idea how many miles I walk in a day haha. Lots! haha

Mama: Hi! Yes, Nicole will have a scar, but it'll be pretty unobtrusive after it heals. Someone told her to say she had a head transplant. :)

Elder Sed: That is super funny about the head transplant hahahaha. It just might work too haha.

Are you at the doctors right now?

Mama: We are just leaving the doctor. 

Elder Sed: Anything else going on back home that is good? 

Mama: Well, school starts again in two weeks. Jared grew 1 1/2 inches in a month! What are you doing for p-day today?

Elder Sed: Wow! School starts really soon. That summer went by really fast. I am doing good today. We are just hanging out at the stake center and emailing.

 

I have to go, but like always I enjoyed emailing today. I am glad that everyone is doing mostly okay haha. I will be praying for all of you. I know the priesthood of God is on the earth. It blesses everyone and the power of it is real. I know Joseph Smith was the prophet to restore God's church back to the earth. God hears and answers our prayers. It's a good thing to know at a time like this. I love all you guys! Thanks for all that you do to keep me out in the field! Have an awesome week! 

-Elder Sedlacek

What's up Dad,

I had a pretty good week. I will start by talking about the investigators and what-not for this week. The week seemed to go by really fast, which was good. Wednesday and Thursday we had a mini-missionary with us, which is basically a priest who is preparing for a mission, and stays with us for two days during the day. He was pretty cool and was from Kennewick. We got a lot of member present lessons because of it, so that was great! 

 

G is doing pretty good. We took him to a baptism on Saturday, and he really, really liked it. He almost committed solidly to get baptized on the 23rd of August, but then some member priest kid came up and ruined the conversation. Sometimes members jump in just at the wrong time. Just make sure to never do that haha. If you see the missionaries talking to someone, don't jump in. That is what I have learned haha. We had a good lesson with G on the plan of salvation. He said it's opened his eyes, which was way cool to hear coming from an investigator. He is still somewhat planning on the 23rd of August for baptism, so I hope it happens. 

 

Our other investigators have seemed to fall off the face of the earth. We had a couple lessons with people on the side of the street, so that kept our numbers looking pretty good, but we are just trying to get something rolling in the ward. I'm curious to see what the Lord has planned for this area. He knows how to best help, so I just need to pray and listen to Him, because even I am a little clueless of what to do haha. It is definately an interesting situation.

That is crazy that Nicole has some cancer in her thyroid. From what I hear it should be pretty easy to remove. I will be praying for her, that is for sure. I just know she will be okay though. I have felt that lots over this past week.

Haha, that is funny Libby had you dancing. Can Mom even get you dancing? Libby is pretty impressive that she was able to do it. I bet it looked cute but way funny at the same time.

It will be way cool to go through the Ogden temple when I get back. I have seen pics of it and it looks super pretty from the outside so I bet its even more pretty inside.

Football!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have already seen glimpses of a Seahawks game haha. It probably won't be too hard to be able to catch a little bit of the games haha. I always knew my Chargers could be good some day haha. What about the 49ers?

I am so grateful for all that you do for me and the family, Dad. You're awesome! Thanks for being an example to me all my life of how a priesthood holder should act. It's helped me all throughout my life. I have a testimony of the gospel. I am grateful that we do have the priesthood restored. Not only the Aaronic priesthood but the Melchizedek as well. It is certainly a blessing that blesses everyone.

I hope you have an awesome week. Thanks for writing me a letter. I haven't gotten it yet, but thanks in advance haha.

Love ya!

-Elder Sedlacek

The kind of news that every Mom wants to hear

Elder Sedlacek's study area in his apartment.

 Today's email was exactly what every Missionary Mom wants to hear!

Elder Sedlacek: Well this week, we did a lot of tracting. It was really cool. It's funny to see some people who get so tickedoff when we knock on their door. We had a guy yell at us "don't knock on my door like that, and don't ever come back again" then he slammed the door in our faces. It was really funny. I just started laughing and walked away. Some people these days haha. Religion makes them angry, which is the exact oppositeof what it is supposed to do.We alsocame across a guy named David and his girlfriend Meagan. They are awesome people from what I saw of them. We are going back to see them tonight so we will see what happens.They offered to feed us right off the bat as soon asthey opened the door,and they aren't even members. Talk about charity. I don't thinkifsome stranger cameand knocked on my door, I wouldimmediately offer to feed them.We didn't eat from them because we had just ate but still, that was awesome to hear. We are also starting to teach more and more college students which is so awesome. They are all so cool. Its great to be there and see the spirit work in them and change them. the only problem with teaching students is the crazy schedules. Its sometimes really hard to meet up with them. Yesterday we went to a member's house and had the most amazing dinner I have had in the field. Huge steaks, mashed potatoes, and the sweetest corn on the cob I have had in my life. It was so yummy! That is the thing about living in a farming community. The farm food is always really fresh. We are still working with Jim, and Jay and trying to get them to quit smoking. They are making progress though, which is good. Other than that, we are just tracting and teaching investigators. Everything is great here in Ellensburg. I sent a letter with a memory card in it so you should get it today. Hopefully the card isn't smashed though. I would send it in a padded envelope but its like 2.50 every time you send it just for the little card. So I thought I would try to send it in a regular envelope.

Mom: It is so great to hear from you! I am glad you got such a yummy dinner yesterday. I will watch for the SIM card. I hear that JP always sends his in a regular envelope, so it should be fine. Love you tons, tons, tons!  Do you need anything? You sound great! Was there something great that happened this week?

Elder Sedlacek: Thank you love you too. I don't know if I really need anything right now. I am not really sure. I will write you though if I think of something. This week we taught Dave and we taught him about the priesthood. He really liked it, but as to an experience that made my week, really the whole week was great. I can't really think of some specific story to tell you right now. Just the whole week was awesome! I really liked what you said last week, to just take it one day at a time. It really helped me. Before I talked to you last week, I had been praying for comfort because I just felt like crap. I was really overwhelmed with all the things of the mission, all the things I have to remember and I was expecting to learn it so quick, and step into that perfect missionary role right off the bat but it was just overwhelming me. I learned that I was comparing myself to others too much. I need to just be myself and everything would be great. So I did, and now I haven't ever been happier. Its awesome. It was really an answer to my prayers. I had been praying for comfort and I got it. I know Heavenly Father hears our prayers.

 

Mom: You have just made my week! You didn't sound terrible, last week, but you do sound so much happier today. Everybody went back to school today. Jared even drove himself. :)

Elder Sedlacek: Oh believe me I am soooooo much happier.

I remember those days of the first day of school. Never a fun memory haha. Jared is going to wreck old blue haha. Hopefully he doesn't though because that wouldn't be good. Obviously he got his license.

Mom: Yep, he got his license. He didn't get a job yet, but he is still trying. He is following your example in lots of ways. You are really a great example to all of us.

Elder Sedlacek: Well, I am leaving now so I will talk to you later. Love you. Keep me updated about the family. I love hearing about what is happening when I am gone.