[4/22/2013] Week 6: Fresh Courage Take

It's incredible to me that I have already completed my first transfer.
The time truly flies.

As I mentioned previously, our investigator, Jordan Edwards is on date
for this Saturday. We confirmed with him that he still is planning on
being baptized. I am so excited!

We also met yesterday with a new potential investigator, the fiancee
of a recent convert. Her name is Ellen, and she already knows a lot
about the Church as she has been taking lessons for a little over a
year. Even though she suffers from severe epilepsy, she bears brightly
the light of the gospel in her eyes and has expressed a strong desire
to be baptized. However, she and her fiance are living together and
plan to be married in the near future. I'm sure that will only prove
to be a small hurdle. We'll be seeing her again on Tuesday.

We visited a potential investigator's home, but they were away, so we
walked a few blocks down to visit a less active family, street
contacting on the way. Only about half of the less active family was
home, but it was an effective visit nonetheless. The father, who is
usually marginally participatory, was fully engaged, discussing
personal interests and sharing mission stories. The children who were
present sat down and participated in the lesson.

My personal study time is still on the rise. I find that when I
structure it and pray for the Spirit beforehand, I get a lot more
substance out of the time I spend, and usually, I find myself
referring to what I read throughout the day.

I have done a lot more to convince Elder Deakin to work hard. It's not
easy, but as I call upon the Lord for courage, I have seen that we are
spending more of our time being effective and productive. I am
grateful for this added strength. Sometimes I feel, however, as though
I have to be the one setting the example for obedience. Regardless, I
am grateful for the opportunity; I know that obedience has played a
huge role in Jordan's conversion.

We visited Farlan this week and let him know we're still thinking
about him. He expressed gratitude and welcomed us right in. He still
just wants to take a break for a little while. We plan on inviting him
to Jordan's baptism.

By the way, I'm totally becoming an awesome cook, Elder Deakin and I
cook fajitas, stir fry, and fettucine alfredo on a regular basis. I
even cook French toast this morning, no recipes or anything. I winged
it, and they were delicious!

I'm really glad to hear that Seth is receiving quality care and that
they're honing in on a solution. I still pray for him daily. That last
test sounds kind of fun. :p Let me know how it goes!

It seems as though I've been running into a lot about neuroscience
lately, with Seth's issues, another lady in our ward who has had a few
TIA's, with poor little Liam's trials, and with our new investigator
Ellen. I just want to help everyone! I think I'd definitely like to
study that when I get back.

I can't wait to hear more about Seth's truck!

This week, we did all kinds of biking all over the area. We found a
beautiful bike trail that leads all the way up this giant hill at a
gradual angle, so we traversed that in order to visit some less-active
members. After we were done working up on the hill, we came to the
main road that extends away from and down the hill. It's laid on a
three-tier stair-like hill and the descent runs for about a quarter
mile. We decided to just book it; what better way to get down? About
halfway through the first tier and at about 25 mph, we zoomed past a
giant spray-painted sign that read simply, "SPEED KILLS". Great!
Fortunately, we are both still alive, but what a thrill!

I love you all! Keep working hard to show your love for the Lord and
earn His blessings. I have seen how it works out here and know that
obedience and faithfulness will work for y'all too!

Elder Martin