May 26, 2009

As usual, I don't really know where to start. Everyday we are working on getting better, and helping people. Everything just seems like a whirlwind. Some of the things I really enjoy about this area are, as you can tell, the ward and the scenery. The weather has been picking up the beginning of this week after raining the last half of last week. There is a lot of history and scenery that we don't even get to see or hear about, but I do love the stuff we do get to see. We went to the ruins of an old castle yesterday. I don't know much about the history, but we did get some cool pictures.

The Davies name is very popular in Wales. I see it on buildings for companies everywhere. I haven't been able to teach or meet anyone personally with the last name, but it is really fun to see the name all over the place. I hope to leave a good mark on this country, the country of our ancestors. Who knows if any other Davies from our family will be able to serve here!?

M***'s baptism went very well. D*** W*****, a member, baptized her. I heard that the water was very warm. She really felt wonderful after wards. She said that she went into the water with a kink in her neck, and came out without anything. She is a great lady. She is working on many of her friends, and she reads a lot of gospel stuff. I am impressed with how well she has made the transition.

I love studying the gospel, and I look forward to being able to continue this love when I get home. I was studying about knowledge recently, and how important it is for a missionary. I am not necessarily speaking about deep knowledge, or knowledge that we can bash with. But we must have a clear knowledge of our message. We must know it and share it so well that no one can misunderstand. B.H. Roberts says that the Spirit has a better opportunity of testifying when we state the truth more simply. The best way to really understand that gospel, and thus to state it well, is to live it. Applying the gospel brings added understanding, on top of the study of it. It is what the Lord means in the 88th section of the D&C when he says to learn by study AND faith. Applying the gospel not only brings added understanding, but enduring understanding. It makes what we learn last longer. There are so many things to study and learn, it is so exciting!

I will give a better update on the few investigators we have. That is the tough part, is finding investigators. And then the trick is to find interested investigators. It is difficult for some people to see how this would make a difference in their lives, when actually it would mean everything. I love our message. I love all of you. Please continue to pray for us.

Love,

Elder Davies