Last transfer!

 

June 26, 2017

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-Elder Sedlacek

Christmas in Marion, Indiana

hey Dad, it has been a crazy but good week. for the first half of the week, we had heard several days ahead of time when we would move, so we did the usual stuff and saw all the 'gators from Noblesville, all while having meetings with the Indy mission APs and their office elders. It was fun. guess what? Elder Hemuli, who graduated with me, the one who'll be playing Stanford football, is an Indy AP, so we got a pic together. that was super cool. we showed them around the area book, talked about the ward and had our ward mission leader involved in those meetings, so the change should go smoothly for them. sad thing is, they are getting rid of the barn we lived in, and won't be staying in it.

we moved here to Marion on Thursday and i don't even know where to begin to describe the area hahaha. it's the country, but it looks like inner city. it was once a booming industry town, that was left to who couldn't move out when the industry went south. the people here are friendly though, and have the famous Hoosier "gift of gab." They can talk your ear off hahahaha. 

we are on bikes full time, but luckily we live close to the church in a small house, a single floor up the street from the church. we don't know too many of the 'gators yet. it was kinda hard to have only one full day on Saturday, and that was Christmas Eve, so we did not get to talk to a whole lot of people. stay tuned to the next emails for info on the teaching pool i guess. i guess a lot of the ward is less active, so we will need to be helping a lot of those, as well as finding as many 'gators as we can get hold of. 

thanks for the advice on goals, i will definitely need a plan for the next few months of my mission, and for home after. i am  not looking forward to the adjustment hahaha. goals help us to achieve what the Lord would have us achieve, and it allows Him to fully reach out and help us get there. 

that is a crazy storm! i am glad you had a white Christmas, but that is too bad you did not get to make it to church, i am sorry.  my meeting wasn't a whole lot better though hahaha. that is good you got to help out the neighbors with their snow, that is a very worthwhile thing to do. i loved doing that when i was home. it sounds like you will  get a good rest of your holiday break, hopefully it is very enjoyable for you. 

so this bowl game between Utah and Indiana should be fun to hear about haha! that is so cool, Hoosiers against my home town team. the Hoosiers are good, too hahaha. should be a good game, but Utah will crush them hahaha! 

that is a very interesting thought about Mary and Joseph, thanks for sharing that. as i read the chapters in the Bible surrounding Christ's birth, it hit me that when Christ was in the temple teaching the old guys, when he was just a boy, and how in D&C 93:13 it talks about how he received grace for grace, to his fullness, or his glory and knowledge--he must have had some exponential growth and had to have really understood his purpose at an early age to be able to do that! that is so amazing. as children of our Heavenly Father we struggle to understand the purpose of life and how we get there, and gaining that knowledge of the plan and everything else, but Christ made it all possible. even though we struggle and we are not perfect, we can always turn to Him and he can help us learn and grow from our experiences to become better. 

i am so thankful to be able to declare the glad tidings of his birth around the Christmas holiday, thank you for teaching me what is right and being patient with me. i love you Dad, have a great day! and week, happy New Year's too i guess hahaha! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi Mom! it has been a crazy week. i wrote about all that happened in Dad's email. i wish i knew more about the area, but that will come in time. in Noblesville we did get to say goodbye the day before we left, and see a few of the members who had helped us a lot, so that was nice. 

the move was crazy cause they kept pushing the time back.  we moved at 5:00pm on Thursday and made it up here about 7:00, so that was a fun day. then we headed off early Friday to the Christmas conference. that was really good. they divided the mission in half and had games during the first part, then the Gilberts catered a lunch for us, and then we had a good devotional as we studied the nativity. that was really good. it was another good Christmas on the mission, and sadly my last. i so wish i had another! 

after we got done Skyping yesterday, we headed up with the ward mission leader from Noblesville to his family who lives in our ward here. we had a good lunch complete with fresh venison! yeah!!!!!!! then we came home and elder Nelson skyped with his family at the church, and then we came back to the house and did our puzzles and stuff. it was fun. 

that is crazy that you got so much snow, i can't even imagine that much snow here. that must have been fun to go to grandma and grandpa Ds, grandma makes good bread hahaha. i don't have any huge miracles to share, but just that we got here to Marion safely in the move, and having a bit of divine help with my diabetes hahaha! Marion is a fun place, that is for sure. it is actually the poorest area i have been in since inner-city Cincinnati, so that is a big change. the poorer areas always test me a bit, they make me kind of anxious, but not because it scares me or anything, it's just taxing, it's hard for me to describe why. 

my fave thing this week was the funny people in this ward. all the typical Hoosier things going on, with the accent and all haha. i love it! 

that sounds like a good tradition you have started with the Mary and Joseph dinner. i look forward to it. that is such an interesting thought you talked about. Mary and Joseph truly had to have been humble. they were totally willing to follow the commands of Heavenly Father and to do what they could to raise Jesus in the dignity that his life and the gift he gave to us so deserves. 

i know that Christ lives and that He did make everything possible, and He did it for all of us. i think about how much i lack, and what i have done, and what i could do better, and the reassuring knowledge of Christ and how He can help me become better always gives me peace and joy. because of Him i can become a better person. thank you for raising me on the gospel sod, i am so lucky to be your son. {I asked him if he was trying to make me cry?! ;)} thanks Mom for all you do! that's it for the week! haha

well, i got to go now, thanks Mom for all you do! i love you all so much! have a happy New Year's Day! not sure what we will do on that day yet. have a great week and i will talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

We have to do our best, and then the Savior will give us the power to accomplish the tasks at hand

hey Dad, so i had a good week. my new comp's name is Elder Erickson, and he is a boss! he is a great missionary and it is really nice to have a hard working comp. the sisters' area was shut down, so now our district is combined with the Liberty elders and sisters and my comp was made DL, because he has been out one transfer longer than me. so now we have the sisters' old car and we cover the whole ward, it is pretty huge. the area is shaped like a u. we used to cover half, but now we know the full, so i pretty much just got doubled in twice. i have to know the old boundaries and the new ones, so that has been fun. we also got a mini-missionary on Saturday morning, he will be with us til Saturday morning. it has been fun, he is a good kid and just graduated. he is going to start his own mission papers soon. we are still trying to work with Mrs. J. she is being a little hard to work with though, i think she does not like me at all--i think i offended her when i asked her to be baptized a few weeks ago. so yeah haha. i think she is trying to spite me or something--i don't know, all i can do is try my best to love her! her son B is awesome though haha. 

we pretty much spent the week using the car half the time to go meet the sisters' investigators, and then we biked the other half to see ours. we don't have a lot of miles to use on the car, so we still have to bike a lot. i am glad you liked the father's day card, i hope you had a nice father's day. that must have been fun to visit grandpa H. it is way cool you got out the row boat and went fishing! that is fun. hahaha but it's too bad you didn't catch any fish! i am glad that work went pretty well this week. 

what you said about true greatness is so true--we all want that perfection and greatness at something. we won't ever achieve perfection in this life, but we can achieve it in the next life eventually, with the help of the Savior. because of Him we have that opportunity to achieve that greatness we so desire. I know that because of the atonement and the Savior, we can accomplish everything. we have to do our best and then He will give us the power to accomplish the tasks at hand. thanks so much for all the support you give to me Dad! i love you Dad! have a great week and keep up the good work. talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

hey Mom, so this was a good week. i wrote Dad about the investigators. i will tell you about transfers: so my comp's name is Elder Erickson, he is from West Jordan and is an awesome guy. he is 23 and an electrician. he has been out a year, so one transfer longer than me. that makes him DL. we took over the sisters' area because they got moved out. we got their car too, which is nice, although we can't really use it too much with the mileage limit. we still have to bike a ton. so we pretty much got doubled in again, that is twice in a row. hahaha the other half of the ward (the area the sisters had) is like another world! there are tons of Micronesians. they are great people and it is so fun to talk to them haha. i wrote pretty much all the other new stuff that has happened in Dad's email. 

we were able to see a bunch of grace this week. we found a few new investigators, but even Elder E says this is a tough area hahaha. we actually both served in Englewood, so we like to talk about that. he served there a few months before i did, just on the other side of the ward. i like having a bigger district now. one of my old STLs is in Liberty, so that is fun. one of the Liberty elders is one of my old ZLs so that is super fun too. we get along great. last p-day he roped me with his lariat. hahaha

those are funny pics of Brigham's hair haha. he is a cutie!  that must have been an awesome youth conference, it sounds like it went well. so i am guessing you enjoyed the Manti pageant, that must have been fun. did you go to the Palisades camp ground? that is fun one.  that is crazy that the B** brothers have already spoken together, seems like yesterday that Jake and i spoke! hahaha 

Mom, remember to go and record President Porter's talk for me please! that is such a cool story that Jeremy told in his mission talk. in this mission we have been promised we could all baptize in June. we are waiting for our miracle because right now it doesn't look like it will happen, but we are trying our very hardest and trying to exercise our faith. so keep praying for us! we will use that story, thanks so much for that Mom! that is awesome! well, that is mostly it for the week. i am hoping to send a package home this week, so if it comes don't scatter around all the stuff [Mom's note: worrying about his stuff being "scattered" is so Jared haha!] it should have some old planners in it, as well as the fitness watch.

i don't need anything sent with my strips, thanks Mom! i will watch for the package.

oh, Elder Hueman is in my district, so that is fun. i heard from one of the sisters who got doubled in to Englewood after i left that they are baptizing a few people i taught, so that was way nice to hear!

well, i have to go now Mom. thanks for emailing me. i love getting to email every week. thanks so much for all you do Mom! have a great week! i love you! talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

Transferred to Englewood, Ohio.

Email didn't work well for chatting back and forth again....my emails weren't getting through to him for some reason--dang system. :)  Oh well. Hopefully next week!

hi dad! i am doing great, i am in englewood ohio, it's just outside of dayton, so we have a mix between small town and some "ghetto" inner city. it is not really ghetto to me at all since i have been living in the real ghetto for the last 3 months hahaha. it is a lot like batesville, mixed with cincinnati's size. i love it! my new comp is elder parker, he came out with me as well and we sat on the plane together, crazy huh?  i heard the broncos won, so i am wearing my orange and blue striped tie today.  i was so happy to hear that! i finally won a prize in your scoring grid when i was gone hahaha, i knew it haha! update me on anything like b-ball or stuff like that, whatever you want, i like to hear about it all hahaha. a summer job at cabela's would be way cool for jake. i would love that--outdoors here is putting on a flannel shirt and hunting deer in your backyard hahaha. enjoy the mountains for me! that is awesome that you were able to get so much work done on family history! that is crazy the ward is growing so much, i don't even think i would remember anyone's names now hahahaha So what is the church's new Easter campaign dealing with, like pamphlets and stuff or is it electronic?  i will look forward to it. i know it to be true, through the Book Of Mormon we can come to know jesus christ on a more personal level, if we read from it with an open mind and if we focus on the over-arching message of hope in Jesus Christ.  i also know that God really does know each and every one of us personally, and that he loves us all more than we can even comprehend. i know for a fact He knows who each and everyone of us is, and he knows how to help us the best way possible to return to Him. through Christ it is made possible, with the atonement--the best gift we have ever been given. well, it was great to hear from you! i love you so much, thank you so much for all you do for me to keep me out here. i love my mission and i love sharing the gospel, it brings me a lot of happiness and joy. i will talk to you later dad! have a great week!

love you!

-Elder Sedlacek

hi mom! so my new address is in Vandalia, Ohio. thank you so much in advance for the packages! so my area is Englewood Ohio, we are just northwest of Dayton. Dayton is awesome, it is like Salt Lake City, but with taller buildings. it is cool, i love it. although i am not in Dayton, my area is the suburbs of Dayton and and we live in Vandalia. my whole area is like Batesville mixed with the size of Cincy, it is awesome.  i am seeing a lot more rebel flags, just like in Batesville, i love it hahaha! 

My new comp is Elder Logan Parker, he came out with me from the MTC. he is a good guy, it is nice to have an obedient comp! we have a car full time, but we do use the buses occasionally.  we drive a ford focus, and  it is nice to have a car, although i am going to get fat in this area with the way the members feed us hahaha, every night (almost) and they really give us tons of food. the ward is awesome! so we have a few people we teach, and we just picked up a miracle 'gator on Saturday. H is her name, she is 19 and just moved from Indiana. she grew up going to church every week, but her family are not members so she never got baptized. amazingly enough, she contacted the ward through their Facebook page, and had us sent over to meet with her. she came to church yesterday and bore her testimony about the church and everything! she is going to be our next baptism! she just is waiting for her uncle to come out here to do her baptism. he is always busy with work so we don't know when that will happen. 

we are also teaching a girl who is autistic. her parents adopted her and they now believe that she is fully accountable and able to understand everything, so we are teaching her the lessons. we have a few other "eternigators" we are teaching who could be baptized any day, so yeah, we have a pretty decent teaching pool. our goal is three baptisms for this transfer, and we will make it happen! 

that is good you are enjoying your job, hopefully jake can get a summer job, then he can help me get one when i get home haha!. It is so awesome that J Hale left on his mission, he will be blessed so much for it. 

thanks for putting my name on the Superbowl scoring sheet, i totally forgot about that haha. thanks for the treat! that sounds like you had an awesome Sunday. mine was good too. in my district, we have just us and another set of elders.  my DL came back from medical leave just a week ago, and man, he is hilarious! he is so funny, he is a riot hahaha. we have meal appointments together with the members so they are always a lot of fun. so did you get the pics from sister connelly? i saw them at transfers and they are doing great, frank seems to be more solid than ever! i love them so much, they are literally my grandparents away from home!  that is a cool promise from the family history work, i am glad you are getting so much done, that is awesome! 

i am glad you didn't get driven insane not knowing where I was for a week hahahahaha.  so what is new?

by the way, i can now hold the flag postion for twice as long at least, in my coat! and my church clothes! so yeah the pullups are working, and i am getting stockier. i don't know how much weight i have gained, but i know i have gained muscle 'cause my shoulders are fuller.

okay, i have to go now mom, it was great to hear from you! sorry the email didn't work that great this week, again. i love you all so much! have a great week, i love you  guys, talk to you later!

-Elder Sedlacek

"It's been wonderful to see myself change into what God wants me to be"

Hey Mama,

Skype yesterday was fun. Sounds like you have had a good week. I would have loved to be in all that rain. That is one thing I miss is thunderstorms--like legit thunder storms. The kind that wake you up in the middle of the night with a huge "Boom!" thunderstorms. We just don't have those in Warshington or Oregon. Good thing I come back in the summer, just in time for all the thunder storms.

It was fun yesterday to get to know Jeff a lot more. I feel like I know him more as a bro now, instead of a guy my sister married. Sorry if you guys felt left out with me just talking to Jeff. I realized that after I hung up. At least I got to wish you a happy Mother's Day. That's what I really wanted to do. I would have been okay if that's all I got to do. You're the best Mama.

Elder Bowen is hilarious. We have a lot of fun and it's awesome to have a comp that we both know how to get things done and we are working hard. It's just a huge relief. We are going to have some awesome stuff happen while we are together--like two baptisms on Saturday! I am super excited for them. They are going to be sweet. We are just going to have to work on getting more of the ward to support it.

I really like the soap. It smells good and it cleans great. It really helps. Good thinking on getting it.

Oh man. Mr King {his junior high band teacher}. He's awesome! You will have to tell him I said hi. He's great. He's really talented at what he does.

You've had 2-3 inches of rain????? That's insane. I would bet things are green. They have every right to be haha.

Mama: Oh no, I didn't feel left out with you talking to Jeff at all! I am really happy that you feel like you know him better. That's important to me.

I'm happy you like Elder Bowen. Sounds like it is going to be a great week for you. 

Elder Sed: Oh good haha. Jeff seems like a nice guy. It will be fun to get to know him even more after the mish.

Mama: He is great. You'll have lots of time in Logan with both of them and it'll be great!

Are your baptisms on Saturday? 

Elder Sed: He is funny. It will be fun if they get to move in across the street from me. We will have to have parties and group dates--that way Jeff and Nicole can give me secret tips haha.

Yep, my baptisms are on Saturday. May 16th.

Mama: So what was the hardest part of your week, and what was the greatest? Also, how often are the members feeding you?

Elder Sed: The hardest part of my week? I don't know haha. It was a pretty easy week. Things just went well. The hardest part coming up will be finding new investigators to replace the two that are getting baptized. The greatest? It's always fun to see people prepared to be baptized. M*** and L***** are awesome.

The members feed us fairly often. It's not every night but we get fed enough.

Mama: Well I'm glad you get fed enough. :) do you need anything?

Elder Sed: I am doing good. I really don't need anything right now. 

Yep I get fed good. You don't have to worry about that.

I have to get going Mama. You're the best. I'm glad you had a great Mother's day. You really are awesome! Thanks for all that you do for me. Love ya tons! 

Have a great week!

What's up Dad,

This week was great. It was fun to talk to you guys on Skype yesterday. That's always really fun to do for me, and you guys, too haha. Technology is sure a blessing. Imagine what it would have been like on your mission if you could email, and Skype two times a year. It would have been really different for you I am sure. I'm glad I was able to make Mom's day. I am sure she was excited haha.

 

This week was great. We had some good stuff happen, besides it being transfer week, which is really slow at the beginning. We did find two new investigators. Their names are Br***** and J*****. They are teens that were a referral from the Spanish elders. They are pretty interested, but the only thing is that their parents aren't really that happy with them being baptized. I really hope that will change. Apparently it's been a problem with missionaries coming in the past. The girls know the church is true, but their parents won't let them be baptized.

M*** and L***** are doing amazing--both of them. L is, despite some family grief about her joining the church. She's really awesome. It would be really tough to be in that situation. You know its true, but your family isn't happy with you changing. She is really excited to be baptized though.

M*** is sooooooooooooooo excited to be married in the temple haha. It's sooooooooo awesome. It's what he mainly talked about during his baptism interview with the Zone Leaders. He's super solid. He loves coming to church, learning more. Everything about the gospel, he loves. It's awesome. He was definitely a prepared find for us. The Lord led us to him. I know that for sure. He even knows it as well.

Besides all that with M and L and finding the two sisters, it was pretty much the extent of our week. Transfers really takes up a lot of time between packing and saying good bye to members/ investigators. I really wish it didn't take up so much time, but oh well. This week will be awesome. We are going to really be working hard to find those who are prepared like M was. I know there are lots more people just like him who are searching for the gospel. Me and Elder Bowen are really going to work well together. It's awesome! It's going to be going out of my mission with a bang! Working hard right until the very end.

Elder Bowen says thanks for the NBA update haha. He thought that was awesome. You have always been really good at getting me up to date on the sports news. I appreciate it haha.

That is so awesome Dad that you've been finding Sedlaceks and doing the family history work. I really would like to do that when I get back. I think that would just be so cool to be able to help out our ancestors like that. I bet they are soo happy that you're helping them out. Seems like you have caught the vision of family history work. That's sweet. You're going to have to show me the tricks when I get home. I won't know how to use anything haha. That is going to be weird for me haha. 

Well it sounds like everything back home is doing great. It's good to hear. It is always nice to find out that you guys are doing good. You guys are sure one awesome family. I am so blessed to have the support that I do on my mission. Without you all it would have been much harder. I know the gospel is so true. I know that God loves us. He wants us to make covenants with Him so he can bless our lives even more. I know the Book of Mormon is the work of God. It's a testimony that Christ is the Savior of all mankind. I know the Savior is with me every step of the way through life. It's amazing to have that knowledge because we can know we are never, ever, ever completely alone. Christ has walked the road before us and He walks with us as well. By living His gospel that he has planned for us is how we can experience the most joy in this life. It's a time in this life to prepare for the life ahead. I love the gospel. I love the plan God has for us. I love serving the Lord! I love my mission! It's been wonderful to see myself change into what God wants me to be. It's been fun too,  and it still is every day. Love you guys!

Thanks for all that you do Dad! You're amazing!

Have a great week!

-Elder Jake Sedlacek

Transferring to Milton-Freewater, Oregon!

What's up Mama,

The past week went by pretty dang fast. With email on Wednesday it did just throw my head off a little bit. I woke up Thursday morning and I was thinking really hard as to what day it was haha. I remembered once my brain woke up a little bit though.

Transfer news. Over the course of my whole mission, I have had a streak of moving south. I started in Ellensburg, went south to Sunnyside, then I went south to Pasco, and south to Kennewick, and now I am going south to Milton-Freewater Oregon.  Pretty funny haha. 

 

As I mentioned, I am being moved down to Milton-Freewater. It's right by Walla Walla. I am going to be covering the whole city. It's kinda like Sunnyside, so it's rural like that. The ward boundary is the city, which is only two miles square and has 7,000 people, so it is pretty small. I will be covering the YSA ward or branch as well, so my area will be the whole stake for YSA peoples. That will be kinda fun. It's going to be interesting though because the Walla Walla zone is a sister zone, so the only Elders are the ZLs, the DLs and their companions. I think it will be fun though. I am going to be serving with Elder Greenburg. He's just barely finishing up training so I will be a greenie buster. He's from Tooele, and that's all I know of him.

That's awesome that Jared is getting so close on his mission papers, so with his interview on Wednesday, he could have his call pretty dang soon. That's exciting. I am predicting the WYM (Washington Yakima mission). His mission president will be President Taylor. He seems pretty cool.

Did Mia do good on her tryout? Runs to July 18th huh hahaha. I can see why you would want to be busy hahaha. Good one, Mama.

Mama: Milton-Freewater? I will have to look that one up. If it’s by Walla Walla then we will have to sing the Walla Walla Washington song. Have you heard it? haha If all the Elders are are ZLs and DLs, and your comp is a greenie, then what are you?

 

Elder Sed: Yeah, it's in the middle of nowhere I guess haha.I have heard the Walla Walla song if it's the one that you're thinking of.  I don't have a clue if I am going to be a DL again. They haven't told me yet. If I am, they are probably going to tell me tomorrow or Wednesday morning.

 

Mama: I looked up Milton-Freewater, and I see it’s in Oregon. You won’t be able to say you’re in WaRshington for a few months, will you? haha On its city page, it also says it’s called Muddy-Frogwater Country. haha! How does Elder R feel about being in charge after you leave?

 

Elder Sed: I had heard it called Muddy Frogwater haha. I guess they have statues of frogs all over the city. Guess I will have to take some pics with them. I think he is pretty excited. He realized the other day that I am going to be gone and the stuff I usually did, he is going to have to do. It was funny haha. He will do a good job though.

 

Mama: Yes, take some pics with the Muddy Frogs. That will be awesome.

 

Elder Sed: I have to get going now. Thanks for emailing me Mama. You're the best! Thanks for all that you do for me with school and everything. You're amazing! I love you guys!

-Elder Jake Sedlacek

What's up Dad,

The rest of this past week was pretty good. We had a good lesson with Phillip and the wards officially split into the new wards. Now the Union elders are going to cover two wards: Union, and Highlands which is the new ward. Pretty exciting stuff. The work is really hastening. It's super cool to see evidence of it.

Update of the investigators.........

P***** is doing pretty dang good. I was super impressed with him this week. We met with him, and had a really good lesson based off of Alma 32 and faith. We had given him the commitment to read and pray in the Book of Mormon, and he didn't do it. With President Ware's focus on using the commitment ladder, that means if they don't keep the one commitment you don't move on and leave them in the dust by giving them another one they can't keep, so we kept the focus on scripture reading. We had a really good spiritual discussion on how his faith is like a seed and it really applied to him. He made the decision himself that he wants to strengthen his testimony so he's going to talk to his wife and see if they can read as a couple. He also made the comment that he's feeling a good feeling come from the teachings of the Book of Mormon, and he believes it. It's only a matter of time before he gets baptized. I am totally positive about that. It may take a lot of time, but I am positive it is going to happen.

C***** had some great news this week. Guess what? Her family is wanting to take the discussions!!!!!!!! Her dad had been noticing that she reads her scriptures everyday in the car before school, and he asked her why she does it EVERY morning. She then bore her testimony of how much it blesses her and how she knows it's true. She invited him to take the discussions and he said yes. I wish I would be able to be a part of the teaching of her family, but I am going to be moving on. Guess we are going to have to come back and visit haha. She has an awesome family. It's so awesome how the Lord has prepared one person, and in turn it prepared the rest of the family too. The teachings of the church really do bring families together!

This past little while I have been trying to focus my personal studies on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus the Christ has been a huge help in that and it's given me some pretty good insight. I really want to focus the rest of my mission on the primary song "I'm Trying to be Like Jesus." I really want to become the most Christ-like missionary I can be these next months. Christ teaches/testifies so powerfully, with love, for all people. It's amazing. It is the reason he is the best missionary that has ever lived. It reminds me of a quote that I really like from another missionary. It goes like this: "God loves all his children so much! He would LOVE to have all of them return to Him. God sent Christ to this earth to teach us how to teach, lead and live. He was THE best in teaching and leading God's children back to Him. Of course, God would want the best missionary to teach all of His children so they would come back to Him, but Christ has other duties so God sent the next best he had. The next best thing is me, you, mom, and the rest of the family, as well as the church." As we strive to be the "next best thing" to Christ, we are going to be that much more effective in leading others back to the fold. That is why I love being a missionary so much. It brings constant change of good into my life. A constant striving to become like Him  is what everyone needs in this life. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone were like Christ. It would be pretty dang amazing.
 

Well, I am looking forward to working in Milton-Freewater with a new companion. It's always interesting getting transferred to a new area, but it will be fun. It could be my last transfer, too, which is kinda weird. I'm going to keep working hard til the very end. You can know that for sure!

I'm happy for Elder R though. He's going to be taking over the area with a younger missionary. He's going to do great!

Thanks for the bracket. I filled it out and sent it home for you to keep track of for me. You should get it today in the mail. GO UTES!!!!!!!!!! That's all I can say haha.

LOSING HAIR ON THE TOP OF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My hair is still the same from when I left. I'm betting you're just jealous haha. I didn't get a haircut dad. I got my HAIRS cut haha. My luscious, thick and full hair ;) Baldness is passed down through the mom though, so even if you're bald, I don't have to be...but because grandpa H is bald I guess I will eventually haha. I will just have to enjoy the hair while I have it huh? haha.

You can be sure that I am getting enough to eat haha. I don't really have a clue if I am losing more weight. I would think that I am. It's a good thing though. Working out everyday and walking does the trick I guess haha.

Well thanks sooooooo much for all that you do for me Dad. I like the thoughts of your training you gave. They are exactly right.

I know that this gospel is true. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet. I know President Monson is a prophet in these days and guides Christ's church. I am so pumped to hear from him  in a couple weeks. It's going to be so fun. I know a mission is where I am supposed to be. I love my mission! I learn so much everyday. It's awesome!

You are awesome Dad. Love you and your example of a great Dad and priesthood holder! Love ya dad!

-Elder Jake 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

I am grateful to be serving as a missionary for Jesus Christ

How's it going Mama,

This past week was pretty good. Transfer day was the really hot day where it was 110 and we were on the black pavement wearing suit coats. Let's just say it was super hot haha. Transfers were good. I am with Elder Christopherson now. 

That is crazy that Sarah is 15 now. She is getting so old haha. Are you going to take her to get her learner's??? Libby is 10 too. That is crazy! I bet the party was fun and geting to hear Jim's and Dave's stories. There are some fun mission stories I have had, so it will be fun to tell them later on.

Libby is so funny too, with her story of going on a hike with Nicole and Jeff. She is so cute sometimes haha. I bet she had lots of fun hanging out with her bro-in-law. When I get home Libby and I will have to go have some fun like that.

That sucks about the Suburban fuel pump going out again. That has gone out so much it seems! It is about time that GM would put a warranty on it.

Mom: Yo Son! It's good to hear from you! I'm glad you are doing okay in the heat. I got my brace and it works great.

Elder Sed: That's great Mama. Did it come today? Can you walk and do everything without the pain you had? It looks similar to the one I had. Is it hard to get used to?

Mom: Yes, I can walk and do everything with no pain. It's different from the brace you had because it pushes against the outside of the knee joint and causes the inside to open up so the bones don't rub together, so that took a little getting used to. 

Elder Sed: I am glad it is working out for you Mama! I love getting to email. I have to go now. I am grateful to be serving as a missionary for Jesus Christ. I am grateful for the gospel and it truly does bless my life in every aspect. I know that as we stay strong in the gospel and continue in the little things that great things will be given to us. I love you guys so much!

Have an awesome week!

What's up Dad,

Sounds like you had a good week. I am doing pretty good, but this week was pretty slow. I have a new companion, Elder Christopherson. I've known him since the MTC. Our investigators are doing good, but we had no lessons with any of them this week. They were all busy with other stuff so we taught a lot of Recent Convert/Less Active lessons. We did find a new potential investigator named Lilly. She had been to a baptism for her aunt, and when she opened the door to us all she said was "I really like coffee." It was kinda funny, but she does want to meet and figure out if the church is something she wants. It will be super cool to start teaching her. She seemed pretty awesome. 

 The other highlight of the week was transfers, which was really hot, but I told mom about that. It was funny because one of the mission presidency came up to me and seriously thought I was a greenie and had to go back inside the church with the rest of the greenies. He finally realized I'm not a greenie haha. It was kinda funny though. I guess I look young or something. Sister Jane W came up to the mission this transfer, so that was weird to see her there.  I also talked to President Ware a little more since transfers and he suggested that I do something that I really liked. It really applies to parenting as well, but that is awhile off for me haha. He suggested using the commitment pattern with my comp. 

Sounds like you had a usual Saturday with all the yard work. That would be kinda fun to do right now. At least for the first week I'm home, then it will go back to being a chore haha. Sounds like lots of work! 

I did get your letter in the mail last Monday. I liked the announcement on the technology stuff. It will be super cool to get that stuff eventually. It will be interesting to ask President Ware about it. I would love to work with it. It's going to be awesome for teaching.

The weather has been pretty good the past week. It was 95 and I actually felt a little cold! It's funny how your body gets used to the temp after a while.

Libby and Sarah are getting old and I can't believe it for either one of them. It's crazy! Time goes fast doesn't it? 

Thanks for all that you do for me Dad. You are a great example to me of doing my best at everything I do, that is the reason I want to be as obedient as I can. I know HF will bless me and all of you as I do. Love you all! Have a great week!

-Elder Sedlacek

Seven months in Sunnyside come to an end.

What's up Mama,

I am doing well. Let's just say this next transfer is going to have the theme of "I will go where you want me to go, Dear Lord." I am going to Pasco and guess what? I am assigned to Elder R AGAIN! I really couldn't believe it. I have no idea how it's going to go, but I hope it's going to go well. I'm going to be in the Pasco 6th ward and it's a walking area so that should be interesting. It's pretty dang close to Richland, so maybe I will be able to see Bishop.

That is exciting that Nicole got to go through the temple. I am sure she loved it. The temple is awesome. I have been able to talk to Pres. Johnson a lot and have learned some awesome stuff as well. Knowing temple presidents is awesome! They know so much.

It's weird that all these movies are coming out and I haven't seen any of them. I will have to catch up on the good movies when I get back, if I can force myself to sit through them haha. I don't plan on being too awkward though, hopefully so maybe I will be able too. You never know haha.

Today for p-day we are just going to chill. I will probably start packing and stuff, but it should be fun. Our DL Elder Corum is going home today so that's why. We are just chilling with him for the last day he's got in the mission field. It's weird to send missionaries home. It will be awesome though next July.

Thanks Mama for all that you do. You're awesome. So I am getting the package today? What is in it if there isn't shirts? How expensive are Costco shirts?

What's up Dad,

I am doing great. I did have a good week. I am glad that you guys did, too. 

I am going to be back serving with Elder R. Out of all the 250 missionaries in this mission, I go back to my first companion. It wasn't easy the first time, and we are in a walking area of the richer part of Pasco this time. Thankfully, I am sure it will make me stronger, but thank goodness for my testimony of the gospel! I really have had a tough couple transfers. It's really like Elder Bednar's talk this past conference about the more load we have, the more traction we gain. I will probably get to see that in action this transfer. Pray for me to be able to do it. I know I can though,  through the Savior and the gospel. 

I am really glad that you guys liked my last letter. I really do want to grow more and more in the gospel while I am on my mission. I think that's part of what missions are for.

That is a really good thought about the triangle between God and Adam and Eve. I have never thought of that before. That is totally true though. They do follow that plan. That is one thing that I will definitely do when I get married in the future. Pres. Ware is the man for advice like that haha.

I like that your week is sooooo exciting haha. Work, eat, sleep, work some more and all that. Sounds like a mission schedule to me. It's good to be so busy though. It is like your letter that you sent this week. If we aren't staying busy building up the kingdom of God, then that allows Satan to step in and influence us.

Speaking on the thought of what will future generations read about us? I have no clue. That is a good question. It will probably be everything that is going on right now, like the Ensigns and the stuff compiled into some file of our brain that we can read whenever and wherever. Who knows what technology will be like. I don't even think that there will be legit plates or records of our generation. It's all technological. They will have access to everything we did and do, I am sure.

That is crazy about the Suburban. Man, that would have been insane haha. Just threw it in neutral and coasted down the canyon then I guess is what you did. Grandpa D is the best. It's nice that he was willing to help out like that. That is a pretty good drive to do with towing somebody. Thank goodness for Christlike people!

 

I have been working on getting as many of the members here to friend me on Facebook as I can, and I have gotten some addresses too. I really do want to stay in contact as much as possible. It will be pretty easy living close in Utah but still. It should be fun. 

 

I would tell you about the teaching pool but I am leaving on Wednesday. Just know that everyone we had is doing great. There should be some more baptisms in Sunnyside after I leave, so hopefully I will be able to attend some of them.

Thank you all for all that you do. You do a ton for me, so I am glad that you guys can see the blessings coming to you. I love you guys too! Have an awesome week! 

-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