Faith and Fire

Dear Mom, Dad, Eric, Belle, and Coffee,

What a great week!  I love this gospel so much!  Elder Croft and I have been working hard to help as many people as possible to prepare for baptism and enter into covenants with their Heavenly Father. Each week has a ton of wonderful small experiences that I often forget by the time I get to the computer.  I exchanged with my friend Elder Erickson (because he is the Assistant, he exchanges with Zone Leaders) and we had a blast.  We worked very hard and sought to do our best the entire exchange.  We set goals and made plans to improve and really did improve.  It was great.  He's a wonderful missionary.  

 Elder Erickson's parents are renting a house for him to live in in which 7-8 others can also live in near BYU (starting this coming Winter semester).  Elder Haag will likely live there, as well as Elder Erickson, and Elder Allen.  Three of my favorite and also BEST missionaries in the mission.  I've come to find that one's missionary work ethic and success and skill are attributed to their spirituality and consecration to the Lord.  I've been asked to live there.  It's a little early to ensure it all, but I would like to live with them.  I trust them and their dedication to the Lord is astounding.  Truly spectacular.

My companion is great.  He's a hard worker and doing his best every day to be a good servant of the Lord.  He's pushing himself to hit some high goals that he has set.

My companion and I actually baptized last week and we are baptizing again this week.  We're really working hard to help as many people as possible accept this holy ordinance.  I am expecting June to be filled with white.  We have many people that are very, very, close to making that final leap toward the path to eternal life.  I have confidence that things will go well.

With regards to coming home; our interview wasn't the most productive.  We discussed it, and one option he threw out was to return on December tenth.  There's no way on earth I'm returning that early for anything.  I mentioned it in my email and I talked to Elder Taylor recently and he's going to ask about it too.  If it's an option, we'll likely go that way, if the "mini move" home doesn't work out then I will extend at least thirty days (which can be given and likely will be).  So I don't want you to fret over this too much, but yes, if there is no move call home around the first of the year, I won't come home till February.  The "mini move" would actually be later than we thought as well, probably on January 2 or so.  I discussed with him also how a major in English translated to his medical degree and he said it wasn't too bad, but if I wanted to graduate first in my class to pursue a hard science or physiology.  I thought that was interesting.  He felt that the ability to interpret narrative was very beneficial to being a doctor though.  He also told me that he actually went home in October, trying to return in September and unfortunately could not attend that first semester either.  He said that after forty years, there wasn't much of a difference to him.  I thought that was interesting.  I'm really shaken on what I should do actually.  I would love some parental advice in the next email as we wait for my Mission President's decision on a "mini movecall."

With regards to President Monson's wife, I found a very appropriate scripture this week.  As the Nephites began to wage war with the Lamanites, the Nephites realized that they were fighting for a better cause than the Lamanites and were thus succeeding.  In Alma 44:5 it says, "...in the name of that all-powerful God, who has strengthened our arms that we have gained power over you, by our faith, by our religion, and by our rites of worship, and by our church, and by the sacred support which we owe to our wives and our children..."  These are the words of Captain Moroni.  he was an amazing man.  Anyway, what I noticed is the special wording of "sacred support" with regards to the children and wife.  SACRED.  That is an incredibly powerful word.  I hope you, Dad, feel as though the support of Mom and your children is SACRED, for it is.  

I love you all so much.  Keep obeying the Lord.  I miss you just as much.

- Elder Woolsey