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 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

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

Anderson was pretty crazy this week, which means we were doing what we were supposed to do ;)

Lots of rain adds up to some flooding. 

May 22, 2017

hey Dad! it has been a good week. my new comp is a boss, and is a great example, he truly loves the work and the people, and so i have a few things to learn from him. he is from UPALCO Utah (Utah power and light company) a TINY town outside of Roosevelt. he's definitely a farm kid hahahaha. we get along really well.  C is doing really well! we had stake conference yesterday and both recent converts showed. C helped usher cars, so that was cool to have him out serving. we had a lesson with him on Friday--the new member lessons. he described the feelings of the Spirit he has been having, and it was really cool, he is totally drawn into the Spirit. W is doing really well too, he saw us at Walmart today and was like "SEDLACEK!" from across the produce stuff. it was pretty funny haha. 

we found a few more people this week. there's a part-member family, that we have been waiting for a chance to teach the husband. Tuesday right after transfers, we got a text to go over and teach him that night, it was sick! we taught him, and set a return appointment. then L got permission from his parents to be baptized, so we will be getting that done soon. B found out about a former member in the ward, who cannot return to full fellowship for a long time. i think B got hung up on the problem, but he won't tell us what it is, just that he still wants to be baptized. but he will not come to church until whatever the real situation is, is fixed. we talked to J, and he really likes Elder Mitchell, so we were able to address some concerns he had, so hopefully that helps. 

we met a ton of people, but no one kept the return appointments. it's sad when that happens. it rained pretty hard for a few days there, i thought there would be more flooding than there is. a lot of the farmers' fields are drowned, so they can't plant yet--it will make for a late harvest. some people have managed to get the planting done, so hopefully soon the rain will dry up. we did not get it too bad though. that is crazy that Utah got so much crazy weather hahaha, well that's Utah for ya. 

sounds like the popular teams are doing pretty well hahaha, we need some upsets. i have heard that after the Indy 500 goes down, that all the hicks start driving like mad out in the country. hahaha! i am excited for that :) 

that is so funny about Brigham and the cake, he is a funny little guy. i hope they enjoy the humidity, it's been sticky here lately.  you go to bed feeling sweaty, and wake up feeling sweaty, and come out of the shower feeling sweaty hahahaha. 

hopefully you get someone good to fill your old spot at work, that will be good. ever since Elder Nielson's talk, i have tried so hard to not just refer to the atonement as its own thing. Christ performed the atonement, and he did it out of love for us. he performed the act, so we need to acknowledge that. i have definitely felt the effects of Christ's atonement this week. i was a little worried about running the area, but every time i had something not work out, boom! we had something else to do. i absolutely felt the power that comes when you have to run an area for a few days. i have noticed that i can suddenly do a lot more--i had had a ton more things we can do come to mind with planning and things, and then the blessings that come. we had several miracles happen, it was so cool. 

i love the fact that your experiences help shape your testimony, and sure as can be, your life is tailored to help you become who your Heavenly Father wants you to become, if you choose His plan. i am so grateful for that wonderful aspect of the plan of salvation. we have the ability to choose, and from that springs the opportunity to grow. i know that if we choose Christ's will, we will succeed, and His act of the atonement will make it possible for us to accomplish anything with His help.

thanks Dad for all you do for me! i love you!

Elder Sedlacek 

hey Mom! it was a great week. Elder Mitchell is a lot like me, he even likes engineering and he welds sculptures, so pretty much we have the same hobbies. he used to wrestle heavy weight, but was never fat, so he is super strong hahaha. 

thank you for the prayers, i absolutely had help running the area this week, and now it is going great. one miracle we had was on Tuesday. we had a part member family contact us, to have us teach them. that was cool, because we have been waiting months for the opportunity. the other day, we felt like we should teach Brother E the missionary lessons so he could help his kids. his wife is not wanting any church right now, and then on Sunday we got a text from him telling us that L got  his mom's permission to be baptized. we were like, heck yeah! so we will get him dunked soon. i am excited for this transfer. we will work hard, and i know we'll accomplish a lot. 

the most fun lesson we had was when we taught C the restoration again. he described the Spirit he felt, and it was super cool to hear that. he truly is seeking the Spirit. we also had a really good district meeting. we had a training given on the talk at general conference about hearing the music of the gospel, and not just the dance--look up the Mormon Message based on it. i learned a lot from that video. as we were sharing it with an older couple yesterday over dinner, i had an epiphany per say. that happens a lot when teaching, i will either learn something from what i say, or have experiences like that, where everything about the gospel just suddenly makes so much sense. it's an amazing feeling. everything just made sense to me, i can't explain it over email, but it was cool. 

the most challenging thing was probably the first day with Elder Mitchell. it was kinda awkward. we didn't talk much, cause we didn't know each other, but heck--that always happens at transfers.  a funny story: so Anderson was pretty crazy this week, which means we were doing what we are supposed to do hahaha ;) we just were teaching a guy on the street, and we were just getting to a part about Joseph Smith, and then bam! his pastor shows up and calls him over. we were like "oh crap." luckily nothing happened in the way of any bashing. but then we said the closing prayer, and instantly a little way down the street a car wreck happened, and then the congestion in the road caused another wreck nearby. total chaos! {i got pics hahaha}. then a few hours later, we are walking around, and we heard a bomb go off. it was a crazy day! 

that is cool you got work and stuff all figured out, i bet it's nice to be done for the summer, huh? thank you so much for sending the strips and stuff! that is crazy about Sarah graduating and all the other kids getting so old hahaha. Brig looked really big in those pics! i am missing the total cute phases! that's okay though hahaha. guess what? you will have to take me to the dentist, or i take myself when i get home. i have at least one cavity. people feed us so much sweets, it's not good haha. 

that is so funny about Brig and his cake, he sounds like such a funny little boi. i hope Brig can eat like Jeff used to. sounds like you had a good time at the grill with all them. 

we also had a really good stake conference this week.  Pres. and Sis. Welch spoke, and yes, Sister Welch came up to me and inquired about my diabetes. hahaha! you can be sure she does hound me on that stuff, but in a good way, like you would. she and President spoke about missionary work, and tried to motivate the members (YES!!!)  

i am so grateful for the Spirit teaching us and others the gospel. Heavenly Father has specific ways to speak to each of us, and He does so through the spirit, and if we listen we can hear the still small voice, and/or thoughts prompting us to act. i am so grateful for that. all i can do, if nothing else, is to strive my best to follow the spirit. we are blessed as missionaries to have it with us so much, but if we blink we could miss it. you see the effects from it everywhere. it's so amazing.

well, i have to go now. thank you Mom! you're the best! i hope y'all have a great week! i will talk to you later! go eat some watermelon for me!

-ELDER SEDLACEK

Marriage is like rubbing two stones together to knock off the rough parts. Same story on a mission--it's life training!

Not sure what this is! 

Broke yet another gripper. 

Mountain biking for p-day! 

May 1st Emails

hey Dad! it's been another good week. can't believe it's already May though. C came to church yesterday, he is still working on his probation, so hopefully he gets that done really soon. we found a bunch of new people this week, which was good. we pretty much dropped J, and a few other people who are just not ready right now. 

yesterday especially was a great finding day, despite the hurricane force rain hahaha. it came in waves ;) we met a really cool guy named J. as we were walking up to his door, it was dumping, and i was like "yes! he will invite us in" (cause he did not have much of a porch). then second thoughts of doubt, like "nah, he won't," but he did! we taught him the restoration and it went really well. we also met a guy who is coming out of being homeless, and wants to meet with us mostly cause he has a huge crush on a younger woman in the ward hahaha. 

we met a guy named O, and man, he came to the door for the first lesson, and he looked just like Hancock! if you don't know who that is, look up a pic on Google. it was pretty awesome. he has some good promise as well, because he is trying to turn his life around. C is doing well, but it is worrying me because he doesn't have a solid fellow-shipper. i fasted for a good fellow-shipper to come along, but not really many people are reaching out. i want to take the focus off of us so badly. 

sounds like you had  a good week between the gym and the floors haha. that is good you're getting some exercise. i got my share today, ran 5 miles, and then went mountain biking an hour later, it was great! i caught some really good air a few times haha. it's not real "mountains" of course, but the hills make some good whoops and stuff. it has rained a lot here too, it's back to the monsoon-type crap ;). that is super cool about the Jazz winning round 1! that is so funny that Brig likes chocolate milk so much, he sounds like a funny little guy. 

that is so cool that Adam got his call, you will have to tell him congrats for me. speaking ASL would be pretty cool! that is so true about the comfort in the growth zone. i have seen that especially true over the course of my mission. Heavenly Father loves us, and wants us to grow, and have big spiritual muscles. each area and companion i have served with, i know is for a reason, if nothing else to help me change in certain ways. each one has had specific challenges and has made me have to recognize my weaknesses and then i can work on that particular thing, and do my very best to accomplish the purpose i have there. it makes a mission more fun when you recognize that the hard parts are for something specific Heavenly Father wants to add or remove from us. 

a wise hick once told me that marriage is like rubbing two rough stones together to knock off the rough parts. same story here on a mission. it's life training! hahaha. i also like the goals and planning, that was part of the personal revelation i received last week. i will send a pic of my planner hahaha. Pres. Welch helped to hammer this in to me. if you don't understand where you want to go, and you don't have a goal of when or how you want to get there, and plan to back it up, you won't get there. setting goals with God, is the best way to accomplish something, and then you come up with a plan and trust that God will direct your path or help you change your plan, he will help you achieve any righteous goal. i know that is true, i am still on track for my mission baptism goal, and there is not much that i have done to really make that happen, i just set the goal that God wanted me to set, and i try my best. i know this gospel is here to bless our lives, and if we live by its precepts, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. thanks for emailing me Dad, i love you! have a great week! talk later!

Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it has been a good week. yep, we have had some crazy rain, like hurricane force rain hahaha just without the wind, but hey, that's Indiana in the Spring! that's crazy about the hail around Bro. P's house. i did notice some leaves all over the running trail this morning, so i bet we got some last night, but i didn't see it.  

that would be super fun to have Jeff & Nicole come see me before i head home. i would just contact the mission office, i am sure they would love to set that up. that would be awesome. who knows, maybe i will get down to Bellbrook for my last area? that would be cool. 

we had a good week, we did find a few new people, mostly a bunch of crazy Hoosiers! hahaha. a few have some promise, like J, who has a small family. that would be cool to teach them. we also found a lady named B, she is a pretty cool lady, she is older, late 50's (and i just realized i called you both old hahahaha, whoops! just kidding, you're not old). she is showing some good promise, we have another appointment with her tonight. 

i know i always write about the area stuff to Dad, but your emails are always my favorite hahaha. don't tell Dad. ;) 

i definitely had a tender mercy, as a few prayers of mine were answered in a very nice personal way. my favorite person was probably the guy who looked like Hancock, he was a pretty cool guy! one challenge was a few days when we just ran out of things to do, so we just did out best to come up with something. that is where you really have to rely on the Spirit to guide you, but often times you are the one to act first, then the Spirit will tell you if what you're doing is right and the best thing you could be doing or not. 

that is funny about Brig and Grandpa's chocolate milk and the walking! i bet that is fun to see him doing that. he sounds like a funny little kid. that is cool about the Williams' and Adam's mission calls. if Adam still looks young like me, then yep, he should expect a lot of crap from people hahaha. you get used to it though, i usually don't care anymore. one guy made fun of me for "looking like Little House on the Prairie"--what the crap does that mean?! hahaha but hey, you just learn to forgive and forget i guess. 

it's so true, the gospel is really just learning how to be like our greatest example. the gospel teaches us how to be like the Savior. the commandments and the rules and laws we live by, are not just to help us be good people, they are helping us be more Christ-like. the blessings come after we have put the effort in to following him, they are gifts for doing what's right. we don't necessarily earn them, but we are qualifying for them. there are so many blessings that the Lord can bestow upon us, and so much joy we will feel if we just choose to follow his example. i know that Christ is the only means of salvation and true lasting happiness in this life, and serving a mission is a huge blessing that has helped to teach me that. i know this gospel is the way, and i am so grateful for it.

alright, well got to go now, thanks Mom! you're the best! have a wonderfully awesome week! talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

The Book of Mormon really does change anyone

April 24th, 2017 Emails

hey Dad, it has been a good week. we did find one more person to teach, as well as a few people we set up appointments with. the guy we found, L, is the owner of the orange truck that i sent a pic in front of last week. he is a pretty funny guy, and you can tell by the truck hahaha. 

we had such a great church meeting yesterday for all three of them, it was awesome. first we had C show up, as well as I and J, two returning members we have been working with. then the Sisters' recent convert brought her brother in law, who just got out of jail. the whole time he was very emotional and kept saying "he found the right place". it was so cool to see, he was explaining how he was feeling the spirit as we taught gospel principles. then after elders quorum, K totally opened up to him, and just straight up was teaching him better than we could have, it was so cool. K has been in the church for a year now. 

we have been kinda concerned for C, not having a solid fellow-shipper, but we helped him get set up to go help with a youth activity. they are doing archery, and he will help them. then a few members just started talking to him after church, and the dinner appointment we had invited him too, and he biked over, he would not accept a ride. he is super solid, but just has to finish his probation, that's the only stipulation. 

we worked hard all week! we are working some lists right now, and Pres. Welch gave us some new direction for a YSA program they are setting up mission-wide, so we have started working potential Elders lists. 

that will be good to have your old position taken care of, take some off your load ha. the floor looks so good, you did a tremendous job! that would have been fun to help with haha. that is funny about the gym, cool you won all that stuff. today we ran another 5.3 miles, i am starting to really like running haha. 

it sounds like you had a similar sacrament meeting to us, we also had a bunch of talks about the Book of Mormon. the spirit really came and was a lot stronger than usual. we had some really good speakers. I love having the gift of the Book of Mormon, it really does change anyone. one quote i really like out of Preach My Gospel, can't remember who it's by right now, but it says, "the study of doctrines will do more to improve our behavior, than the study of behavior will improve behavior." i really do find that true, and it's so cool to see it work in others' lives. 

i had some really cool thoughts come to me about the purpose of life, and then being anxiously engaged in a good cause, haha see if you can point out the scriptures that came to mind haha. and then a diagram came to mind, that i was feverishly drawing in my planner hahaha, it was cool. that is cool the jazz are still going, hopefully they did well. i have been studying a bunch about gaining knowledge lately. i really like the Book of Enos as well. (partly because he is hunting hahaha). 

missionaries are called to turn people to God, and shine some light, so they too can turn to God with us, and gain knowledge for themselves. if a missionary can do that, we have taught them successfully. the ordinances and covenants will follow, as well as greater light and knowledge. I love pointing people to the temple, it truly is the Lord's university. i know this gospel is true, and i am so grateful for the Savior, and that he helps us become better, as we allow him to. i know we have a living prophet, we can trust his words are God's words, because he speaks for God. i am grateful for his guidance. thanks for emailing me Dad! have a great week, love you! talk with ya later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom! it's been a good week, as usual haha. the weeks absolutely fly by, it's crazier as time goes.   sounds like you have had some good weather, it is pretty good here, not too muggy yet hahaha. it smells so good outside, and man it is green. the trees are fully covered with leaves. i did get the package, thank you so much! it's a big help. 

it will be crazy to have Jeff, Nicole & Brig within a few hours of me, unless i get exiled hahaha! President does know they are coming. Brig gets to experience Ahia! haha. 

Zone conf was really good as usual, it was in Fort Wayne, so it was a long drive, but it was worth it. plus i got to see parts of the mission i might not see again. 

one cool story, so we were driving around, and there is a less active we have been trying to contact for a minute now, but she is elusive. she has a really cool jeep with all the bells and whistles, so we drove past a Kroger's and she was parked out front, eating some food. so i was like hey! so we turned around and talked for a min, and it turns out her mother was in the hospital in Las Vegas, and she needed a blessing. so we helped her contact the Bishop of the ward the hospital was in. it was cool to see that happen, i normally would not even have noticed it was her Jeep, cause she had taken one of the racks off of it. 

prayers were definitely answered with people fellow-shipping C, that was awesome! i am really excited for him, he is doing really well. that is cool you are getting all your work done, i bet that is nice. the floors look so nice, and all the rugs look really good too, same with the truck ;) haha. it does look a lot better, i am sure that raises the value quite a bit to the house. 

that sounds like a good church meeting. it is so true in missionary work, and in any situation, service to others is an excellent way to gain charity for others. i could probably do more stuff like Elder V, and that is a good reminder. i am grateful for all the comps i have had--we may not all be best friends, and that's fine, but they are all great guys, and have taught me so much. i love being able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands, to teach others, it's such a fulfilling feeling. when we give our hearts to God, he can do remarkable things with us. i think that is the best thing about a mission, seeing your talents, gifts and experiences lifting others, all because Christ knows where to send us at the right time and place, if we listen. i love this gospel so much and i am so grateful for it.  

well i got to go now, thanks for emailing! love ya! have a great day! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

We have been playing a fun joke on the members since I look so young...

hi Dad! it was a good week. i am enjoying the new area and my comp is a great guy, and an awesome missionary, so that is awesome. we have a lot more people to teach in this area. we have a few investigators that come to church and we almost got one there yesterday {D, she is awesome!}. we had a pretty good lesson with her and her daughter, and she seems to be pretty solid, but skipped out on church yesterday.  we did not get to meet with all of our investigators this week, i guess some were busy. we have a bunch of less actives and returning members to visit too, so we are always having a full schedule and i really like that.

i am glad Kyle Busch at least one the first stage of the Nascar, that is weird that they run it in stages now.

too bad you have snow now hahaha, we have been in the 60's and only got two cold days this week in the 20's, but the temps jumped back up today, and we went on a run with a member this morning. that was nice. it sounds like the wood floors are going to be pretty nice, that will cool to see. i like how you have related your job to the purpose of helping others keep covenants, that is so cool.

i had assumed we would get a new pass along card like last year, that will be cool. i always like using the specialized cards. i bet it was fun to watch the weekend sports with Jake haha. it is really cool that Sam is starting now!  i am excited for the March Madness bracket.

i like the new youth album they have released about the youth and asking God, it is pretty good. some of the missionaries think it's cheesy but i like it, it has some good messages. we are literally in the mist of darkness, it is a crazy time we live in. if people just understood more about Heavenly Father and utilized his help, the world would be a lot better place.

i am thankful for being raised in the gospel, and that i get to learn and grow on a mission. my testimony has grown a lot lately, and i am thankful for that. if nothing else, i have a testimony and that's what counts. thank you Dad, you do a lot for me, it means so much. i hope you have a good day! love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been a good week, and i am liking the new area and all the people we teach. my new comp is a funny guy, we already have plans to go to Betos and Vasa when we get home together hahaha. he went to Viewmont, unfortunately hahaha! 

we have been playing a fun joke on the members, since i look so young. we have tricked a bunch of them into thinking i am in training hahaha. we had a meal last night, and we told them i'm training, and then we busted out the restoration lesson and they were like, "wow, this greeny can teach good for being out 3 weeks!" hahahaha! it was funny. i wrote about our teaching pool in Dad's email. 

this week i had some flu-like symptoms start on Wednesday morning--headache, chills, fever, body aches, and cough. it was terrible hahaha. my fever was all over the map and so that stunk, but now i have just a nagging cough left. it is so annoying hahaha. i took some Nyquil the other night, and just passed out immediately hahaha. i am getting over it now, so that is good. 

the time has flown by for me, like i have all the memories of all this time, but it still seems like yesterday i got dropped off at the MTC. it is so weird. hahaha i will be home soon enough hahaha. 

it is crazy that Jessie and Carli are so far along, home and half way? that is crazy. at transfers i got to see the Connellys and that was super good. they are doing well. they seemed happy to see me and Elder Heumann, and it was really nice to see them again. 

Anderson is huge, but we only cover downtown. the sisters get the other part, all the country. bleh, i wish we had country! hahaha. Anderson is a Hoosier town. i like it. we have tons of 'hood people to teach hahaha so that makes it fun. 

when i was sick, i got a blessing from my comp. that itself was a tender mercy from what the blessing said. i definitely have a purpose in this area, and i was promised success as i do my best to accomplish it, so that was cool. 

i have 1 1/2 vials of insulin, so i will need more soon.  

that must have been fun to have Jake come home for the weekend. and i'm excited for the wood floors. 

i have been studying about our purpose and learning more about my purpose, it always helps strengthen my testimony. i printed off some talks to help me study it, it is super awesome. same with our gifts, i am still figuring out my gifts hahaha, it's so rewarding though to see them at work. to me that is a sign that Heavenly Father is proud of us, so that is good indicator when you see them working through you.

thank you so much for the package! i loved the beef jerky, it is so good! it was nice to get the package when i wasn't feeling too well. 

Mom: I'm sorry you were sick! Did you stay in any days because of it? Did it mess up your blood sugars too badly? And how was your last a1c?

no, i didn't stay in any days even though i could have. i just didn't want to. it didn't mess me up too bad, and my a1c was 8.3. i think i have better control now though, so it should be better next time.

okay well, i have to go now Mom, thanks for emailing me, i hope you have a great day! i love you Mom! talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Transferred again! This time to Anderson, Indiana.

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek