Josh's Mission July 21 2014

Iakwe Baamle!

That's pretty exciting about finding Grandpa's house. (Laurie - I found out the address of where my father lived when he was born)  We've actually been talking a lot this week about our ancestors and the importance of learning about them. I also read Pres Uchtdorf's talk that he gave at the pioneer day devotional. It was really good. I love what he said about the importance of keeping in perspective what our ancestors have done for us.

"Whether we descended from the pioneers or not, it is wise to remember that the glory of their sacrifice belongs to them. We can’t place the trophies they earned for their faith and industry on our mantels. We can’t pin the medals they earned for their courage and bravery on our chests. 

Our generation will need to stand on our own achievements, not on those of previous generations."

I love that because we can't learn on anyone's testimony. I sometimes wonder if we hid our light under their bushels rather than letting our light shine with theirs. I love learning about all the great sacrifices they made for us, especially in the part of the country. It's pretty amazing. They left a wonderful Legacy for us.

So something that is really exciting, this Saturday we are going to the Nauvoo Temple and then we are going to see the Nauvoo Pageant! We're super excited! It's been a long while since I've been to the temple, so I'm really excited I love the temple and I wish that we could go more, which I've realized is a huge blessing of living in Utah; there are temples everywhere! It's so easy to go. Most of the people here go about every 3 months, some try hard to once a month, but for most people it's 3 hours away. Which is still amazing, because there are some many people that can't even go to the temple that often. But it just got me thinking about how blessed we are in Utah to live so close to so many temple!

So our investigators are doing pretty well. We found out that Stacey is allergic to the sun, so we haven't been able to meet with her, but we are going to try and focus more on her daughter Arissa. We haven't been able to meet with Isaac this week, because he's been working so much. Taika is doing really well, her boyfriend is a  member. Unfortunately though she is out of town for a few weeks, but she said that she is reading and praying everyday! She also told us that when she gets back, her parents want to meet with us as well. - Her dad is a member of a Methodist reformed church in Pella and is pretty open about her meeting with us. Her mom is from India and doesn't really have a belief in God though. - Mary is doing very well, we just have to teach her a little slower because even though she is about 55, she has the mentality of a 10 year old I think, she is a really sweet spirit though. It's amazing with her how she feels the spirit and wants to do what is right. Oh and we are meeting with a former investigator you might remember me talking about, Robert. He is really smart, he's read all of the book of mormon and thinks that it's a really good book, but he's not sure if Joseph Smith is a prophet. So because he is a huge seeker of knowledge and he wants to understand everything, we are reading the D&C with him. We are working with him to feel his anwsers.

Thank you so much for everything! Thank you for all your love and support and for your prayers. I love you so much!
  

Kajoor ilo Christ

ij iokwe eok!!

Elder Broadbent