August 27, 2008

I hope that this e-mail finds you well and especially our band of Liljenquists. I am so grateful that we have witnessed this miracle. Let us always remember how merciful the Lord has been. What an awe-inspiring story. Please tell Dan that I love him and am so grateful that he has been helped. Please let us also remember those who are feeling very down at this moment. More down than we would feel if the roles had been reversed, because we are so blessed with the knowledge of the gospel. I wrote down many things that I wanted to tell you during this weekly letter, but I left the paper at home. It was mostly about the people we are teaching, as I have not been very descriptive about what has been happening with people or events in this area.

We have been teaching some members where the Dad is not active. They actually met Elder Morrow's parents in Idaho when they went for a wedding a couple of weeks ago. It has been a good experience to watch how the dad changes when we teach. he listens intently and seems to be willing and thirsty for the gospel. He just has to put off his worldly ways and see that it is cool to be a member of the church. Getting out to their house takes a couple of hours round trip on a bus. Needless to say I hope I pass my test next week and have the privelage of using a car sometime soon. We have been visiting with a lot of Recent Converts. One being a man named P****. P**** has more history than this e-mail has memory to send, but he is very ill and could pass away at anytime they say. He has been able to bring a lot of people into the gospel and still helps us out a lot. C**** is his friend, the one we recently baptized. We gave him a blessing yesterday. I love doing that! C***** is also doing well as she has been growing in the chruch. She does very well with the homework that we give her. We found R****, but she hasn't been keeping appointments. That drives me bonkers. P**** is also introducing another friend into the gospel. he is a great member missionary. We have been working with a member family from our ward named the M*****. They are a great family and he just actually delivered his own baby, because it was coming too quick for the ambulance. What an experience. We taught them about receiving answers to prayers and we talked about three main points. Our approach to the prayer, the action following the prayer, and recognizing the answer. Approach, Action, Answer. I thought that was pretty clever. I hope they liked the lesson. Another less-active we have been working with is M***. He knows that he needs to stick to the gospel and loves the prospects of the type of life that comes from being a 'full mormon'. People are funny. It was his birthday and we made him some brownies and watched Mountain of the Lord with him. He has a thick Irish accent, and it sure is fun. I will have to get some pictures.

We have had the opportunity to pick up some new investigators. One named T****, who is a middle-aged women who has already made some friends with the ward. She really loved the Plan of Salvation and we are seeing her again on Friday. We pray that she can exercise the faith to follow the gospel. Another is named K********. He is from Butan. I love people from the East. They are so humble. He loves meeting with us and loves church. He doesn't have too much background and we have been teaching him about Christ and his role. Also, his friend just got baptized in Manchester and that has been a huge help. The work is going very well over here and we try to bring some people back, and some new people in. I am grateful for the bleessings that come from missionary service. I love you all, and pray that we can stick close to the gospel.

Elder Davies