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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

talk to you next week!

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Elder Sedlacek

We really can't even comprehend how much Heavenly Father is involved in our lives.

hey dad, so this was a good week. we found a few new investigators and we saw a lot of grace, it was awesome! as of now we have been 225'ing a lot to find some new people. half of our teaching pool is hard to meet with because of busy schedules, so we are trying to find some new investigators to add to the pool. the new people we found this week will be meeting with us this week for their first lessons, so we will see how it goes. the weeks are really starting to fly by! it really seems like i was just emailing you! the days are blurring together all the time now hahaha. good thing i keep a journal. we had interviews with president porter this past week, and it was really good. i talked with president and he told me how much he has seen me grow and he said he is proud of me, and that i am becoming a leader. he helped me find my next step to work on, he is the bomb! that is awesome you are getting so much done at work, good job on the numbers and having the stock so good! has sarah been helping with the yard? it has been really nice weather this week, it hit 75 on saturday! it was awesome! it has been in the 40-50 degree range for the most part though, but i think it will be a nice spring as well (hopefully). it feels so good outside after having the teens for weeks hahaha. that is way cool about the car race, i was wondering about that. that is a cool pic! it is way cool the jazz won. cincy has the flyers hockey team, but I don't know if they are pro. that is cool about getting to go to jake's ward and logan on Sunday. i bet that was fun to see him and jeff and nicole. i like that thought about HF. i feel the same way, He is so involved in our lives we don't even know. just today when we were shopping, we stopped by goodwill to see if they had some shoes, cause my pros shoes are worn out (it's a pair i have worn every day that Ralph senior gave me for free) and i got a good pair of loafers that fit perfectly for $4! it was a huge blessing--now i have some meeting shoes. we really can't even comprehend how much He is involved with our lives, working to make it possible to have the blessings we receive. funny thing--so that air museum you told me about is out of our mission by a few miles, so we have asked president if we could go and he will let us go if we go with a member. so us and the other elders in our ward are setting something up for a district fun day for next week. i have heard awesome stuff about that museum! i like the thought from conference as well. that is something i have been working on, to never ignore an impression, and i have received so many more promptings than before, it has been awesome. this transfer i have felt way more guided than i have ever been. as of now, i am just trying to find those elect, and help them be baptized so they can follow the Savior. sharing this gospel makes me so happy, it is truly the greatest work and experience. thanks for all you do to keep me out here, it means so much! i love you dad! have a great day and week, it was great to hear from you as usual, talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so this was a good week, it went by so fast! we did find a few new investigators and stuff that i wrote about in dad's email. as for the other people we work with, they are not progressing as fast as we would like. it is kinda hard to meet with half of them, and one i have not even met yet! they are super busy so we are trying to find some more by doing a lot of 225-ing and working with less actives. we have a really good referral lined up from a less- active lady, for a family. the mom is interested in learning more, so she is going to meet with us. 

the best part of the week was interviews with president, and the most challenging was being sick for half the week with a cold that is just getting over. luckily it is not as bad as elder parker's haha. there is a part member family we saw last night, who has an unbaptized daughter who is a lot like mia, but a lot more sass and drama--she is funny hahaha. 

my pump supplies are doing good, i will definitely let you know when i need more. that is too bad that you didn't get to go into the temple open house, but hopefully you will get too soon. thanks for the pics, it looks super great! 

it is crazy about [some ward missionaries] already getting home soon, although it does not surprise me, the mission flies by! it is incredible how fast. the weeks are really seeming like days, it is crazy. it seems like i wake up and go to bed a few times and then bam! i am emailing again hahaha. i keep having these really vivid dreams. one was about my future wife i think, and the other was about when i get home and how fast it went by, it is weird. i am glad you guys got to visit to logan, i bet that was fun! 

it really is truly amazing that joseph smith really did do what he did as a 14 year old boy. i know that he truly was a prophet and that he did restore god's true church, and that the Book of Mormon really is the true word of god. by reading it and studying its words we truly can come closer to our Savior Jesus Christ. i have done this over the course of my mission and my love for Him has increased dramatically! i was looking back at my journal in the mtc and man, i didn't really have a testimony it seems like hahaha, it was so simple and now it has grown so much, it truly is my greatest possession. thanks for all you do to support me and keep me out here, it means a lot, this would not be possible without out you and dad! thanks!

Mom: I'm sorry you got sick! Did you have any trouble with your blood sugars? I have seen how much you have grown in 6 months--think how much more you will grow by the end of your mission. 

yep, i got sick but my BGs have been good still. it was kinda high last night, but other than that i have been good. yep, my testimony will grow a lot more hahaha that is funny that jake & jeff think i am emotional. hahaha what a funny joke! hahaha just kidding, i know. funny jake and jeff! although i meant that i cry more with spiritual stuff hahaha. 

Mom: So what is your favorite thing you have learned from President Porter?

it is hard to pick my favorite thing, but he is very knowledgeable about a lot of things. probably how to find our next step to progress towards so we can become who God wants us to be.

Mom: What does he have you working on next?

we are doing a purification challenge, and we each picked out a few things to get better at. mine was not having unapproved songs in my head haha, and just a few things like that. also I want to never ignore a prompting, but the most latest one is that i am going to study the atonement to understand it better.

well i have to go now mom, it was great to hear from you. I love you and all the fam so much, have a great week y'all!

-Elder Sedlacek

I can literally change the world around me. We all can! It's amazing that we really can make the world a better place.

They don't get many good thunderstorms in eastern WA. Elder Sed was excited about this one!

Hey Mama!

Hey hey hey! It seems like just yesterday we were emailing. The week went by crazy fast. Thanks to all of your prayers and the mission fast, we found two (!!!!) new investigators last week. It was awesome! One of the new investigators is on date for a July 11th baptism, too. It was a pretty good week.

YEAAAAAAH for a package hahaha! I will be excited for it. I won't get it until tonight when we go back to Milton though. Thanks for sending it!

That is seriously so cool about the suit you found for me. Does it look nice? Yeah, you should send it up. Guess what I bought last Wednesday at Goodwill  for $7 after we emailed? I bought a pretty much, brand new size 42 suit jacket from Pronto Umo. It's a really nice jacket, I just don't have the pants. I have some pants that are close, but I got the info on the color and everything from the jacket label, so I was hoping you could look it up on Google or something like that to see if it's possible to get the matching pants?

That is crazy that Jared is graduated! He is sooooo tiny hahaha. He doesn't look like it. Are you enjoying school being out yet? Or do you want them to go back haha?

Haha Duke is really funny. He could be like a diabetic dog. I wonder if he can tell when Jared's blood sugar is low? I know a member in the Milton Freewater ward who has diabetes, and he has a dog that will let him know when his blood sugar is low. He's trained specifically for it. It is really kinda cool they are able to do that.

That sounds way cool about the Puzilla site. You are going to show me the tricks of the trade. I can guarantee I am not going to have any clue what I am doing with computers/phones haha. That is going to be super weird.

Thank you so much for the prayers this week. I really felt the support keeping me going. You guys are the best!

Mama: Hey Son! You sound great! It’s so good to hear that your week got better! What is the info for the suit pants you need? That was a good find! So far, school being out is okay. It’s kinda nice to have piano students in the morning and then have the rest of my day to myself. I wonder if Duke can sense stuff like that. Remember when you had your knee surgery and he wouldn’t leave your side for an entire day after surgery? 

Elder Sed: Well, I am doing great so it's good to sound great too haha.

The info for the pants: The RN # 77219

                                        BC # 159250

I don't really know which one is the color code so I just got them both.

I bet it is nice to have the day kinda to yourself.

I wouldn't be surprised if Duke can sense that stuff. I do remember that. He's an awesome dog! You will have to give him a hug for me hahaha.

Mama: I will see what I can find on the suit pants.

Elder Sed: Hey by the way, I got some trial contact lenses from a member in the ward here and I really like them! Contacts are so much better than glasses. 

Mama: You got some trial contact lenses? That’s good. It’s good to have both around, because sometimes you don’t wanna mess with glasses and sometimes you don’t wanna mess with contacts. 

Elder Sed: Yeah, I would agree with that! They are lots better, because I don't have to deal with something on my face. I will probably get a prescription for them. I know the member can give me a discount on them in July when he buys the practice, so I will wait until then.

I do have to get going now though. Thanks for emailing today! You all have a great week! I love all you guys! Thanks for sending the package! Love you Mama!

-Elder Sedlacek

Hey Dadio,

Sounds like you all had a great week back at home base. That's awesome, because I had a good week too. We of course got to go the temple, and that was amazing, but you guys already know about that. 

We saw some pretty good success the last half of the week. I know it was because God was answering prayers. We found two new investigators. One named J****, and the other is A*****. They are both doing amazing. It was also a huge blessing this week that we got a TON of referrals. It seemed like everyday we were getting a way solid referral, so we should be getting a whole new teaching pool again. That will be amazing! I know God blesses us for our hard work. 

WE HAVE AN ON DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We put J**** on date for the 11th of  July and he is pretty excited to be baptized. We took him on a tour of the church bldg and those are always so powerful. The spirit is always in the church buildings so strong. It is the whole reason he accepted a date for baptism. He sadly wasn't able to make it to church yesterday but it's okay--he had some family stuff already planned. We are really hoping to teach his whole family as well. That would be amazing!

We found A***** just by going through our phone contacts and calling the ones that said investigator next to them. There are a ton, since missionaries just have so many numbers saved up. We called her and she was really wanting a copy of the Book of Mormon. She is really wanting to learn more as well. It's amazing that God will always lead us to people who are prepared. I know that for sure!

Well, like I said we have been getting a ton of referrals. One of them we got just a couple days ago named Mark. He was really excited to read the Book of Mormon and meet with us. We are going to contact him today and we will hope that everything works out with him. We are going to put him on date! You better believe that hahah. I'm so pumped.

Those are some pretty good questions about what I've learned Dad hahaha. Thinking back on my mission, I really have learned a lot. I have learned that I have a love for the gospel that I really didn't know I had before my mission. I really do love the gospel. All I really desire right now is to serve the Lord--that's really all I care about. If you are truly serving the Lord, you are going to have all the Christlike attributes, and be the best missionary you can be. I have also learned that I have great potential as a son of God. I can literally change the world around me. We all can! It's amazing that we really can make the world a better place. What better way to do that but share the gospel as well. I love to share it with everyone! I have also come to know my Savior more than I ever thought was possible. He has been with me through the rough. The good. Everything. I know He lives. I know he atoned for our sins. Every single one of us.

 

These things are all meaningful because they make me who I am. Who God wants me to be. 

We didn't get to see any of Elder Perry's funeral but I heard it was good. There were some testimonies yesterday that mentioned it and that it was good. Good thing we have a living church with living apostles, so no matter what happens there will always be prophets and apostles on the earth. It's going to be exciting to see who the new apostle is going to be. 

That is sooooooooo crazy that Jared is graduated. Yeah, he better watch his back side so he doesn't get in any trouble haha. He's a good kid though so I am sure he will be fine.

Thanks for that quote on love. I really have realized how important love is. It goes right along with charity. That is something that I continually have to work on. I struggle with it sometimes. If I'm not careful I catch myself just being my stubborn self, when really I need to put others first. It makes life sooo much better when we do. It's way more rewarding. 

I know that this gospel is true. Thanks for all the support you offer me Dad! You're the best! I love my mission! I am going to enjoy til the end. Love you guys!

-Elder Sedlacek

 

I didn't always make the best decisions, but it led me to be who I am today.

 

 

Hey what's up Dad,

My week was pretty great. We were able to get some awesome work done. God is certainly blessing the  ward right now. This week we found a very promising new investigator. Her name is C****. She is in her 20s and has a couple kids and she is awesome. She was raised Christian. She is super open-minded. The first lesson we had with her, we went over the restoration. It was SUPER good. The spirit was really strong. I know she felt the spirit teach her truth!!!! Later this week, she texted us and that brought some not good news. She has a BF who is anti-Mormon and he had given her some stuff. I was able to resolve most of the concerns. I just hope she will want to continue to meet with us. Pray for the spirit to help her know real truth from God!!!!!!!! She NEEDS this right now!!!

L***** is doing great things as well. We had a lesson with him that was super good also. At the end of the lesson we had asked him to say the prayer and he didn't want to, but amazingly his girlfriend stepped up to the plate and was like, "I will do it." Ever since then, L***** is completely comfortable praying. He even volunteered to give the opening prayer in our latest lesson with him. He is praying for some guidance as to what to do about his living situation. Pray for him to be able to gain an answer he is comfortable with so he can be baptized. He wants it so bad! It has been an amazing experience teaching him and bringing him closer to Christ.

M***** has been doing great, too. They are still working on progressing towards marriage. Pray for them to be able to continue to make progress.

T****** is doing great things as well. She came to the ward Christmas party this week and really enjoyed it. She was able to meet a lot of the members of the ward. She is really struggling this holiday season though. Pray for her to have the comfort she is seeking.

The mission had a Christmas Devotional this week. That was fun. They gave out temple recomend holders that President Ware had made up for each missionary. They are super cool. I had been secretly wanting and hoping that they would do that. Lucky me! They did haha.

I am glad that the wedding was a huge success. It looked really good in the pics Mom sent. You should do it for a business. On a scale of 1-10, how stressed out were you on Friday? haha I can't even imagine how you felt. You're awesome, Daddio!

I like your idea to set some goals to stretch myself for the rest of my mission. I bet it would help me to stay focused on my purpose. You know I will do that. Good thinking Dad. I always want to be the best missionary I can be.

I don't have a clue when I will be Skyping on Christmas Day. We are going to be Skyping from our house, so we can whenever pretty much. When is the best time for you guys? I can probably plan on doing it then.

Well, I know the gospel is true. I know Jesus Christ lives and He watches out for us and leads us to where we need to be. Psalms 23:1-2. I know that all my life, I have been lead and guided by my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that is why I was sent to you and Mom. He knew that we would help each other the most. I am so grateful for you and Mom helping me and raising me to go on a mission. I didn't always make the best decisions, but it led to me to be who I am today. I know the atonement is real. God loves us and I KNOW He lives!

I love you guys tons! Thanks for all that you do!

-Elder Sedlacek

Transferred!

What's up Mama,
This week was great with conference. I had a lot of the favorite talks that you had, but I will share some of those thoughts too haha.

Transfers. I am getting transferred to East Kennewick. I am also going to be District Leader over there. I don't know how excited I am for that. I really don't want leadership, but now I have it. I don't really know much of what I will do yet. President Ware took a pic with me after the priesthood session because he was going to send it to you. He went to the priesthood session with me and  Elder C and took us out to Dairy Queen, too. It was fun to hang out with him a little bit. He is so inspired. I know that FOR sure.

As far as our investigators, we didn't get to meet with many of them this week. We had a really great week planned out, but everything seemed to cancel right before it was planned. It was just one of those weeks, but it ended awesome with conference. We are still trying to find new investigators here, but I will be leaving on Wednesday, so it's not something I have to worry about, at least in this area haha. This area has been tough for that. Probably the toughest one I have had so far. I love the members of the ward though. I am going to miss some of them. Good thing I can go back and visit huh? haha.

I am glad that the Bro. and Sister W were able to stop and visit with you guys. Yesterday they gave me the package you guys sent back up. I like the slacks. I'm wearing the light grey ones right now. They are just super light. I have to get used to them after wearing dark for so long haha. Thanks for sending them to me Mama. You da best.

That's great that everything is going good back home. It's good to hear.

Mom: Well son, I'm happy to hear that you don't want to be DL, because that means you are humble. The Lord will be able to use you however He wants to because of it. I have every confidence in you, you will be a fantastic DL. 

Elder Sed: Thanks Mama. It's good to know that you believe in me haha. I have no more email time today but it was great to email home and know that you guys are doing well. I love you all so much! I have a testimony of prophets today. I know Joseph Smith restored the gospel to the earth. We have priesthood authority on the earth and God still speaks to us. Missions are awesome! Love you guys!

-Elder Sedlacek

What's up Dad,

This week was really good. It was kinda slow teaching-wise, which just sucked, but Conference was really good. I really liked almost all the Seventies' talks. It was super weird to hear them speak in a different language. I just laughed out loud when the one started speaking in Cantonese. It sounded really funny to me for some reason haha. We really tried hard to get some investigators to come to the church to watch it with us, but weren't able to get anyone to the church. We invited TONS of people to listen to the prophet,  so I hope at least someone watched it. Elder Bednar's talk was perfect for any non-members who were watching. 

I gave the major transfer news to Mom. I bet you already know by the time you read this. Should be fun to go see a new area. This area has been a tough one conversion-wise, but the members are awesome. I am going to definately come back up here after to visit some people.

That is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome that Utah beat UCLA! Top 25 Baby!!!!!!!!!!! That is what I am talking about. Sucks that Taysom Hill broke his leg. He was a good guy from what I understand. BYU is probably not ranked any more because of that huh? Thanks for the updates on the sports.

Yep, Washington apples are the best. We have a lot of really good honey crisp in our apartment. I have learned how to split an apple in half with my bare hands. I took a video of me doing it haha.

That is good that you got the pic from the photographer for the cardboard cutout. I am glad it looks good because I have not seen it. I have lost some weight, yes. You guys should make the cardboard cutout life size. I bet you could mess with Duke with it haha. That would be fun for Jared haha.

I can't believe you didn't go duck hunting on the opener Dad. I am so disappointed haha. I saw some HUGE flocks of geese flying early this week, and it reminded me that the opener was very soon. We will have to go next year. Just be prepared for that haha. I will start thinking what I want to go for, and where I want to go for school. 

Well, I hope you have a great week. For my spiritual thought go read Mosiah chapter 8. I have read that recently and it really helped me to appreciate the blessing we have of having a prophet. Ammon's testimony of prophets is amazing. I know just as Ammon did, that we do have prophets on the earth. I know President Monson is a prophet of God. I am so grateful for the chance to learn from the apostles and prophets. I love this gospel and the chance to serve a mission! Have an awesome week! Love you guys!

-Elder Sedlacek

"Mission brain"

"Ask the missionaries. They can help!"

What's up Mama,

My week was pretty good. It felt like a long time between last Tuesday and now. We moved to our new apartment (that is super nice) on Saturday. The new address of our apartment is _____.

The apartment is so nice inside. We have a dishwasher that I figured out how to start for like the first time in my life haha. I don't ever remember starting one in my life but maybe I did. Anyways, I know how to now hahahaha--as sad as that is to say hahaha. My birthday was fun, too. I got some gifts from Grandpa and Grandma D, and Ann & Jim, so make sure to tell them thanks for me. We ate all my cake and it was super good. It was a good birthday.

I bet the cabin was really fun. I love the fall colors, but up here the leaves aren't really changing yet. Maybe it's just a different climate. There just aren't many trees either, so maybe they would be more noticeable if there were more. 

I bet Mia is having fun in the play. Sounds like you guys are going to be VERY busy this holiday season haha. I bet you're going to have so much fun going from this to that, and then everywhere else.

I wish I could have seen the temple dedication. We will have to go to that temple when I get home. It looked really pretty. Did they do the dedication for church like they did for the past couple dedications?

Mom: So it seemed like a long week, huh? That’s funny. When we got back home last night, everyone said it felt like we’d been gone a long time haha.

I’m glad you are all moved! Sounds like a nice place. You’ll have to take some pics. I will send your SD cards back to you asap so you can do that.

Well, I’m glad you REMEMBERED how to start a dishwasher, because I’m pretty sure I had you do it at least once haha.

Yes, the dedication took the place of church, so that was nice. It really was a great meeting. All of us kept saying how awesome it was. 

Elder Sed: I did take lots of pics of the apartment, so when you send the SD cards back I will send one to you.

Did you get the letter I sent with the Ross card in it?

I bet you did show me how to start a dishwasher, but it's been 14 months without doing it so I was out of touch okay haha. Mission brain.

Mom: Okay, good boy on the pics haha.

Yes, I checked the mail this morning, realizing that Saturday’s mail was still in it, and your letter was there! That was great to get one after all this time! 

Elder Sed: Yes I try to be a good boy and take pics so grandma Sed won't kill me hahaha!

That's good you got the letter. I am just really, really bad at sitting down and writing an actual letter.

I am glad that you guys are doing well. Thanks for all that you do for me. I love all you guys! Missions are the bomb. Just wanted you to know that hahaha. Have a great week!

Love ya,

-Elder Sedlacek

What's up Dad,
I am doing good, and it sounds like you guys are too. I bet it was
super fun to go see all those deer and bears. It's been along time
since I have seen anything other than a bird or a white tail deer
haha. oh and ducks and geese. I see those all the time with the
river close by.

My week was pretty good. We moved this week, and with the temple
earlier in the week it was pretty busy. We did get lots of
tracting in, which was fun because that is where all  the stories come from.
Needless to say, there are still some crazy people in the world. hahaha. 

One of which was a lady who was staring out her window at us
and when we came up to her door she came outside and started talking
to us. She was really awkward and would pause for like 40-50 seconds
right in the middle of when she was talking, and then tell us exactly what
Jesus said to her, to tell us. She told us we are saved and we're going
to heaven so we don't even have to try anymore haha. That was
interesting to hear. She also talked about the devil watching
her through the red blinking light on her smoke detector. It was just
a very, very interesting conversation haha. I am sure you had some of
those on your mission.

As far as our investigators go, we were able to meet with _______

this week. It was going really well, till a bunch of teens
from their church showed up and ruined the whole lesson. It ended up
with _____ very closed-minded and not willing to listen to
anything we said. We just told him we would come back later and talk
to him. It was frustrating, because the lesson had been going so well. He had
some really good thoughts and questions, and then the kids had to show
up and ruin it. Oh well. I know he felt the Spirit of the Plan of
Salvation. He really likes it.

Our other investigators haven't been home, but we have given lots of
lessons on people's porches, which has been nice. We are just still
working on finding new "golden" investigators. We may have found one
this week, too. His name is B and he told us when we knocked on his
door that he and his wife have been thinking about coming to our
church. We left him with a Family proclamation that he was going to
study with his wife. We are going to go back and see if we can start
teaching them this week. Wish us luck with them, and pray for them too. 

The pic you got was me and Elder C tearing up a wood floor with our
ward mission leader, Ryan M. It was fun. You are right that
there are so many ways to serve on a mission. It was really fun too
haha.

That is sooooooooooooooooooo awesome that the Utes beat Michigan the
way they did at Michigan hahahaha. Now they just need to keep up the
wins. That is good that BYU won too. I have heard they are really good
this year. That is good for them.

Good luck with your lesson in Sunday School. Study up haha
Thanks for all that you do for me Dad. You're awesome. I love you all!
I am so grateful for the chance I have to serve a mission. It has been
so awesome. Because of my mission, I have really developed a love for
the gospel that I did not have before in my opinion. When
we focus on our Savior Jesus Christ, our lives will change. The Book
of Mormon is the word of God!
Talk to you next week! Have a GREAT week!
-Elder Jake Sedlacek

Happy Birthday, Elder Sed!

What's up Dad,
Thanks for the birthday wishes. I did get the package and I really
liked it. I don't know if you picked out anything for it, but I liked
it haha. The temple was amazing this morning. I just love being able to
go to the temple. It's always good.
Things are going pretty good. We are in the finding stage right now,
with being dropped by G and not really being able to catch the
Ukrainain family. The LA family you are talking about came back to
Pasco this week, so the baby is home from the hospital. He is still on
a feeding tube though. We are going around to the members of the ward
giving them a lesson. We watch a Mormon Message titled "Waiting on our
own road to Damascus" by President Uchtdorf. We ask them about their
conversion and how long it has been since they have read and prayed
about the Book of Mormon. Conversion is not a one-time thing, so it's
good to do it multiple times--every time we finish the Book of
Mormon. All of you should take that challenge too. Read and pray about
the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is truth and it will help you to
feel more of the Spirit of the hastening in your lives. I promise
that.
I had heard that the Chargers beat the Seahawks, which I was happy to
hear. That is crazy that USC lost too. I hope Utah does good over in
Michigan. They can beat them. I don't think they (Michigan) are that
good this season.
You're going to have to study up on Isaiah haha. I bet you will learn
lots from your lesson though. It will be good for you.
I am glad that you liked the pics I sent.
I did find a new pair of shoes too. I would hope that the new ones can
last the rest of my mission. I will be sure to keep the old pair of
shoes.
That is super funny that you got roped into the wedding shopping. I bet you
won't make that mistake twice huh haha. You should tell Jeff that he
does owe you big time haha. That would be funny.
It's good that things are going good with all the siblings. I bet Jared
is loving his job. That is awesome Mia did such a good job, and that
Nicole is doing good. I bet Sarah is amazing at debate haha. That is
her calling from the very beginning. And Libby is just awesome.
What Dad turned down fruit??????????????? Has he died and gone to
heaven????????? nah, I'm just kidding dad. That is good though haha. I
bet the wimpy Utah apples are nothing compared to the Warshington ones
haha. I just had an amazing apple that was huge the other day, so it's
apple season already. That is crazy. I love the fall weather though.
Here it's been still up in the 80s so it hasn't felt that much like fall
yet. The mornings are a little cold though which I really like. I
didn't even know that there were northern lights visible, so no. I didn't see
them haha.
Well dad, I hope you have a great week. Thanks for all that you do! You da bomb.
I love serving the Lord on a mission. It's amazing.
Love ya tons!
-Elder Jake Sedlacek

I love you guys so much. Remember that!

 

 

What's up mom,

Turns out I was able to email from the church today.  Sounds like everything is going good back home. That is good that Nicole is going to be able to get into surgery tomorrow as was planned. I will pray that everything goes ok with that. I would have fasted Sunday too if I had known that all of you were doing that. That's what limited communication does haha.

 

It is way crazy that it's already September. I also found out that Elder C's sister got married while he was on his mission. They did a card board cutout of him and when you take the picture it has to be done with a profesional camera, otherwise it looks terrible. There is a member that he knows that does the pictures and sends it to you for free. I just need the wedding tie before I get transfered out of this area, which could be next month who knows. Just a thought.

 

That is good that you got the pics from the Myers. They are a really cool family and they took us out for dessert. I am glad I look good haha. What do you mean that you really mean it?

 

My week was pretty good. Monday we found a super awesome family from Ukraine. They have super awesome questions about the plan of salvation. Wednesday, we had a good lesson with a LA family in the ward. A couple weeks back we met with them and I felt like I should challenge them to read the Book of Mormon as a couple everynight and they have been doing it. They came to church yesterday too for the first time in a long time. Friday we had a zone breakfast where the stake feeds all the missionaries breakfast in the zone. It was super fun and yummy. One of the stake presidency shared a thought that I really liked on what he called the divine paradox. Missionaires come out to the field and time feels like it is super slow, but as we get older and wiser the time goes super fast. He related it to the scripture where the Savior says whosever will lose his life shall find it--if you know what I'm talking about. When we lose our life and stop caring about ourselves time just flies by. It is so true from what I have seen.

 

That is super cool that the nectarine tree is growing good. That sucks about the peach though. I really liked those peaches. I bet you're having so much fun canning all the junk that dad brings up too, huh haha.

 

That is super cool that you had a great experiance like that in the temple. Isn't the temple the best. That is why I am so excited for the 16th, because we get to go to the temple in the morning and I have the rest of the day to just have fun on my birthday. Awesome!

 

I love being able to email home and find out what's going on back at home right now. I hope you have an awesome labor day! You need to do something fun in the evening. You need it. I can tell. I love serving a mission right now! It is awesome. I learn so much everyday and really want to make my mission experience be the best I can. I know the Savior lives. He loves everyone of us and is involved in our lives. I know the atonement is real and its power blesses our lives. The gospel just wows my mind constantly. It's so cool!

Have a great week. Don't forget to send me a letter or something letting me know how the surgery goes. I will be praying for all of you guys and her. Tell her good luck for me and not to be nervous. I love you guys so much. Remember that! Talk to you guys soon

-Elder Jake Sedlacek

 

 

What's up dad,
       I had a good week. I already gave some of the updates of what I
did to Mom so I won't talk about those. You did ask about G and I
wish we were able to meet with him this week. His family is taking all
of his attention right now. He is still
reading and studing from the Book of Mormon though, which is really
good. He just needs to keep that up even if his life is busy. The La
family is still up in Seattle and their son isn't doing very well
sadly. He is stable but not improving like they would hope. I really
hope everything works out okay with them. It will be super hard on the
family if they lose the baby. Keep praying for them. They need
all the prayers they can get. I will be praying for you guys too with
Nicole's surgery going on tomorrow. I hope everything goes well!
       Ever since last week, which does to me feel like it was
yesterday, I have been working on that challenge you gave to me on
Mathew 19:20. I have really felt like I could be more centered on
Christ throughout my day so I have been working on that ever since
Monday. I really feel like it helped me. I studied up on Preach My Gospel ch 8
which is the Christ-like attributes chapter, and I have been working on
developing every one of those. It's just helped me realize that Christ
is everything in all that we do. We need to involve him in our life
and he will help us out but if we get selfish and think we can do it
all on our own we will figure it out the hard way soon enough. I think
that is what may have happened to me the past couple weeks. I found
that as I involved him more in every decision, my day went by so much
better and smoother. Pretty awesome huh.
       I am glad that work is going good for you. Seems like its
always busy which is a good thing I would suppose.
       Having withdrawals haha. I like the way you put that. I would
be having withdrawals too without Sunday football. We don't get ESPN on
the Roku? I would think that we would since there is a ESPN channel on
it. Maybe you should look into that, or maybe I have no idea what I am
talking about. I have mission brain so bad hahahaha. I am hopefully
not going to be too awkward though when I get home.
       I think that is awesome that Sarah is going to the Bountiful
games. Is Jared not going to them? if not he should be since it's his
last year of them. That is cool though
that Austin got some interceptions. He sounds like he is really good.
I like your spiritual thoughts from church and what not. They are
pretty good insight. I love the scriptures. That is one thing that I
have come to love on my mission. I really do everyday want to read in
them for at least 10 minutes when I get home. I will always be sure to do
that one. I have a testimony of scripture study. I love it and the
strength it brings. It's awesome! I love my mission as well. Thanks for
the sacrifice that you give up to keep me out here and going. Love you
guys so much!
Let me know how the surgery goes with Nicole.
Have a great week dad and fam.
Love ya again!
-Elder Sedlacek
 

 

"My testimony is stronger because of my mission and the hard times I have had."

Elder Sed and his comp on Easter Sunday.

What's up Mama,

It sounds like your week was really good.  Mine was too. After all, it was Easter and we had a baptism for Eva! The baptism went really well. She is already doing missionary work with her family so we will see if we get some new investigators from her. We need all of those we can get right now! That is the problem with baptizing haha. I guess its a good problem to have.

Funny that you mention transfers. I think I am going to be stuck in "the Sunnyside hole" haha ( the joke is that's what Sunnyside is for missionaries. You come to Sunnyside, you don't leave for a long time haha) It's alright though because I really like it here. 

Looks like coloring eggs was fun. It sucks Dad had a kidney stone! He needs to drink more cranberry juice and water haha. Hopefully he gets feeling better from those "rocks of hell" (that is what the members up here refer to them as sometimes haha)

I did get the package on Friday. I like the tie. It is a very bright blue haha. People commented on it so I guess it looks good on me. Thanks for the tie. I really like the socks too. They are good ones. They should last a long time. You also put all my favorite easter candy it too. You know me too well haha. There wasn't one piece of Easter candy that I don't like so that's good. Good choices Mama!

That's cool Sarah is doing well in track. Hopefully she keeps it up. 

I want a pic of Jared at prom. I want to see this haha. This is one of those things you have to see to believe.

For the goal we have 3 baptisms so we didn't hit the goal but I think we didn't hit it because HF wanted us to learn some other things. I am still trying to figure out exactly what that is but I will figure it out haha.

You guys are awesome! Love you family!

-Elder Sedlacek

What's up Dad,

That sucks super bad that you had a kidney stone! Those are super painful I have heard. Drink some cranberry juice everyday and more water and you won't get them again. That is the trick that I have been told. Hopefully it goes away! Sounds like the blessing really helped you. That is super cool. Power of the priesthood is awesome.

This week for me was pretty cool. We had a really good lesson with the D family, with one of the members up here and she was the key in the lesson. Because of her the D family are on date for baptism! Both of them too. They didn't come to church yesterday, but they are doing much better. I think they both know the church is true now it's just a matter of time before they are baptized. We taught them about the priesthood and it really helped them. B really liked Elder Oaks' talk from the priesthood session of conference. It helped her a ton with some of the concerns she had.

Like I said in my email to mom Eva got baptized. It was great! She is working on her family to get them into the gospel as well. She is going to do great things as a missionary if she keeps it up.

M is doing well too. She is going to come to a FHE with a member tonight and hopefully come to church on Sunday. She really has opened up huge to the gospel and I know she's going to accept it. She really liked the plan of salvation so I am sure she will like the family history idea you gave me as well. 

Carlos went to the temple to do baptisms on Saturday and he really enjoyed it. He also had a super cool experience. He is just doing awesome. He is also working on his family as well. I think that is how we are going to find new investigators is thru our RCs. We are kinda struggling with that right now so we are going to see if it works better through our RCs. I believe it will.

Sounds like you have had an eventful week though. Life is never boring for you it seems with work and callings haha. Now that you are released though maybe that will change. We will have to see what calling they have for you up their sleeves haha. 

That sucks that that Jazz didn't get last place. I was really hoping they would haha. Hopefully they get a good lottery pick and are able to do something with it and not blow it. That is super cool thought that there are that many Utes going in to the draft. I hope they can do really good next year. They need a really good QB is what I think they are missing. They can get one and I think they should do fairly well.

I am doing great on my journal. I write in it every night and I try to include those experiences. I don't need a new one quite yet but I am getting close haha. I will let you guys know when I am almost done with it. 

As we hold strong to the rod and the gospel we can stand strong through any trial that comes our way. That is just the way the gospel works. We act in faith, even when it's hard, and we will be blessed and protected. I love the gospel. My testimony of it is so much stronger because of my mission and the hard times that I have had. That is why missions are great though. They help so much with life.

Thanks for everything you guys do for me! You guys sacrifice a lot for me to be out here, and I am so grateful for that! I love you guys!

-Elder Sedlacek

The Gospel is Amazing

Email to Dad 4/7/14

 

What's up Dad,

Hahaha that is super funny that you deleted your whole first email by mistake. Did you try the undo button when you deleted everything? That might have helped you haha. 

Sounds like you guys had a good week. Mine was pretty good. Over conference though the adversary really seemed to not want the D family to watch any of it, and they didn't. I was super, super bummed that they didn't watch conference. Really, all hell broke loose on them over Saturday and Sunday. It was not a coincidence I believe. I really feel like if they had watched it they would have gotten an answer, just like you said. Good news for confence online though! They said they will watch confence online, so they better do it haha. But I know it's just like what they said in conference-- "Righteousness cannot be forced. It must be chosen." E was able to watch it though. She really liked it. 

 

Both E and J were on date for this week, but fell off to next week, so hopefully they will be baptized next week. I am really trying to stay patient with our teaching pool. I really needed to hear that quote from conference. It was super good. I think President Eyring said it in his Saturday morning talk. That was one of my favorites. I went through and explained all my favorite talks to Mama in my email to her so you can get them from her haha. I don't want to type it all out again. It takes forever haha unless I copy and paste. 

 

Sounds like conference weekend was fun. It would have been super fun to hang out with all the family. It is crazy to think Grandpa Sed has been gone for a year now. I wish sometimes that I could email back and forth with them too, but I know they are watching over me. I am sure Grandpa comes and helps with the lessons I teach, since he wasn't able to serve when he was my age. I am sure he is helping me out as much as he can. I know he is in a place better than he was at, and you know that too. I really liked when Pres. Uchtdorf said "Death is hard because we aren't made for ends. We are made for eternity. Death sometimes seems like an end but really it's the beginning." You already know that too just as I know that. The gospel is amazing isn't it? The comfort and peace it can bring into our lives is amazing to me. 

 

That is fun about the March Madness. You will have to let me know how the score ends up in the final. That is funny about the Jazz. They just need to stay at the bottom at this point. That is what is going to help them the most in the future. I hope they can get a really good lottery pick and they don't blow it like they have before.

 

Well, I want you to know that I am doing well. The goal we have for 14 baptisms is getting close and we only have 2. We are really searching for that magic solution personally so we can achieve the goal we have set. I know we can do it if our investigators follow through with their comitments. That is what we are really having trouble with right now. Just pray for all of our investigators that they will do what they know and feel is right. Keep praying for the goal of 14 as well. April 22nd is the last day of this transfer. 

 

Good job on fixing Bro. N's machine haha. He called you because he knows you could fix it of coarse. That is funny that it rained over conference just like it always does. Here in Sunnyside it was perfect days. The weather is great up here right now. Not too hot, not too cold during the days and nights. It's great.

 

I am doing great. It sounds like you guys are, too. I am thankful for all that you guys do for me. Thanks for everything. I love you all! You're an awesome family.

-Elder Sedlacek

Doing my best everyday

Emailing back-and-forth with Elder Sed went a lot better this week. He sounds good, is finally getting over the cough from bronchitis and is learning a lot about dealing with companions who might not be your best friend outside of the mission, but through compromise you make it work. We are really proud of him. As for The Fast and the Forty goal of 40 new investigators by the end of September? They beat it by 10! 

 

I am doing great! General Conference was awesome. I loved all the talks. We watched all the sessions at the church and it helped me to focus and I took a lot of notes. I am just starting to re-read them. I was kinda bummed though that Elder R wouldn't let me continue our priesthood session tradition and go get some ice-cream or something because he didn't want to. Elder C wanted to but we just got too busy.

 

We really aren't teaching that many investigators really solidly. They are all so hard to get hold of so its kind of off and on. I really hate that. President Ware wants the mission to focus on member teaching visits so we go teach the members and get feedback and ask for referrals. We haven't gotten any referrals yet, but we just barely started doing the member teaching visits. Member teaching visits are kinda cool. All the rest of the numbers usually drop, but baptisms don't. I just found that kinda interesting.

 

{In response to Dad's story about doing his best everyday}I really do try to do my best everyday. I am sure you do too.

 

Dad, I saw the pics of the yard and it looks really different without the tree. It looks good though. What kind of chain saw did you get? Does it run really good? I bet you had a blast cutting it down. It always seemed you like being a lumber jack haha.

 

That sucks about the scores of the football games. That is also too bad about Chuckie Keaton!  I wonder if they will medical redshirt him and give him the year back? I will ask Nicole about that.

 

We haven't gotten any snow in the valley yet, but the tops of the hills were snow-dusted. The weather has been really nice. Cool in the day and cold at night. Its not too cold anytime though, at least yet. All I have is my coat so far, but if I ever need the other stuff I will go buy it.

Thank you for your prayers for me. It means a lot. I love you guys a lot. I will be sure to share my testimony with everyone, Dad. Testifying is really important. I hope you guys have a great week too.

 

Love, Elder Sedlacek