It's been a pretty uneventful week. We've been struggling to help our investigators keep commitments. They love talking to us but they never come to church or read the scriptures, which is really frustrating. Hopefully as we are more upfront with them about our purpose, they'll come around.
It's starting to get warm and I'm now smelling the classic Florida air. In other news, I'm really excited and grateful for these new options to talk to family every week. It's a huge blessing as I was already able to talk to my family. It will definitely help relieve stress and prevent a lot of homesickness. I love how the First It's interesting how it lines us with my year mark. Half of my mission was spent with the normal emailing and 2 calls a year, and now the last half will be more relaxed. It'll be a cool experience!
“The ultimate purpose of every teaching, every activity in the Church is that parents and their children are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, and linked to their generations” - President Boyd K. Packer
I think that this ward has gotten to me. I was doing the dishes the other day and I got the sharpest pain in my elbow for no reason. It didn't go away for a long time. I literally feel like I've aged 20 years in 3 months. Also, Elder Taylor has been talking a lot of Bruce Lee. He saw a magazine at the grocery store and couldn't stop thinking about him all week. I think I've heard the name "Bruce Lee" more times this week than I ever have in my life. We've also been getting really into Kenny G's Christmas album. Elder Taylor plays the saxophone so he loves it, and I'm a sucker for smooth jazz.
As for the more Spiritual side of things, we had Stake Conference this weekend. The Stake President got called as the Mission President for the Mexico Chihuahua Mission, so they reorganized the Stake Presidency. Little fun fact, Bishop Boulter from the Apopka Ward is now the Second Councilor! Elder Gerard of the Seventy came down for the reorganization. He said some really profound things. He talked about a time he told a primary group to stay on their knees after they said their nightly prayers, to wait and listen. I am guilty of jumping right into bed after finishing my prayer, but I now want to wait and listen. He stressed the importance of personal revelation as well as who we become. He said that the most important things you could do to prepare for a mission, is to study the Christlike Attributes in chapter 6 of Preach My Gospel and go to the temple. It's all about becoming like Christ.
"This is part of what it means to endure to the end through increasing your faith in Christ, continuing regularly to repent of your sins by relying upon Christ, renewing your covenants with the Father and the Son through partaking of the sacrament regularly, and following the promptings of the Holy Ghost in all things." (Preach My Gospel, pg. 121)
I know that my mission is more about who I'm becoming, and how that will affect my future wife and children, than about the people I meet here.
Elder Poulsen
New District
