July 20, 2009

I pray that this e-mail finds you smiling and happy because of the wonderful blessings of the gospel in our lives. We truly are a blessed people. This week has been a very fast one, and I don't imagine that they will slow down. I had my second to last Zone Conference, and it seems that many things are trying to remind me that I only have a short time left. I know that everything has its time, but I would never want to look back on the next two months and think that I got 'trunky' at all. At Zone Conference, President Bullock made a cool announcement that next transfer's zone conference will be a tour of the church history sites in the mission. They did this the transfer before I left, so President Bullock wanted to do it so we wouldn't miss out. I am excited. I will not have another proper zone conference, which makes me sad.

This week we have had some success with working with members. We received three new investigators from member referrals. They are all younger, I think all of them are 15. One is from a family who has been bringing along a boy from their neighborhood for the last couple of weeks. Another is from a girl in the ward named S**** W*****. She is really cool, and we have developed a good relationship with her. She has been inviting two of her friends to a lot of things in the church, and on Saturday we were able to sit down and talk about the restoration. Members are the best. I continue to grow in my love for this ward, and consider it a great blessing to have served here.

There was a baptism in the ward on Saturday from the other Elders, Elder Atkin and Elder Wagner. It was a single woman named V****** J****, and it was wonderful. She is such a sweet lady. I am so impressed with her spiritual insights and excitedness about the gospel. Sister M*** H*****(baptized two months ago) gave a talk at the baptism. It was amazing! I was so impressed with her. She is a very smart lady, and has really been digging into her scriptures. We don't get to have as much contact with her anymore, which makes me sad, but I don't plan on losing touch with her after the mission. She is such a nice lady, and I have really enjoyed watching her flourish in the gospel.

I went on splits over to Chester this week with Elder Atkin. We had a good time. I like going to Chester, because it is a new area for me, and it seems that something great always happens on exchanges. However, whenever I go to Chester, it rains like mad! Not nice.

We had an amazing tea appointment with the S***** family on Sunday. Brother S***** is not a member yet, but he sure is amazing. He lives like a member, and is one of the nicest people I have ever met. He is so pleasant to be around. They are both from the Philippines. He is an amazing cook, and has been trying to give us cooking tips. I don't know how well it has sunk in, but it is a pleasure to always taste the outcome. They just had their first baby and have been trying to catch up on sleep. Despite that, we were roaring with laughter for most of the visit. Most of it isn't funny if described. One of those things that you have to be present for.

Well, I am happy to be a missionary, and happy to be in Wales. I hope that continues. I love you all, and constantly feel blessed to be a member of the family. Take Care,

Elder Jo