October 17, 2011

Cher tout le monde,
Well another week gone in Bergerac. It's flying! I've been here so long, but at the same time, it feels like I just got here. That's basically how it always is during the mission. We're here with M who just showed up at the cybercafe. He's trying to read this outloud and he doesn't speak a lick of english and it's pretty funny. Speaking of M, it was quite a week for him. He went to the hospital with stomach problems for a few days, but they found nothing wrong with him. We went and visited him though and he looked pretty miserable. He was in a room with an old grandpa who moaned all night and he could never get to sleep. Poor guy! Yesterday, M showed up halfway through priesthood (we start with priesthood here) and he walked in in a pink dress shirt and a pure denim suit, except the pants had patches of khaki sewed on, and on one pant leg in big red letters was "G-UNIT". I had to contain myself to not laugh and interrupt the lesson haha. He was looking pretty gangster, and he came and sat next to me and said, "Ca vient des Etats-unis ca!" (that's from the United States!) pointing at his pants. Funniest thing ever. Next week he'll be getting the priesthood (Not in his G-Unit costume I hope) and it was announced in Sacrament meeting yesterday.
We saw so many miracles this week! I don't have time to write them all, but we found some new investigators who are great and we made contact with a few old investigators. One new one is named D and he's from Russia, but he speaks English and spent most of his life in Lithuania. He met the missionaries over there, but it's been a long time, and right now he's living with his girlfriend in Bergerac. He believes in God but has a hard time accepting the fact that Jesus took our sins upon Him, but we used the BoM and testified of the role of Jesus Christ in the plan of salvation and that he is the only way we can receive mercy, and he understood and accepted everything, when at first he said it was impossible for one person to atone for another. It was pretty amazing, and I know that the BoM and the Spirit are our most powerful tools and can help anyone come to realize the truth. We also met an old man on a bench in the park that we were going to walk past because we were on our way somewhere, but I stopped and talked to him. He said right off the bat that he wasn't interested in our message, so I asked him, "Do peace and happiness interest you?" and we started a great conversation and we taught him part of the plan of salvation. He had lost his wife, and after we left he had hope to see her again. Those are the greatest miracles, when we can just help someone come a little closer to Heavenly Father by their hope and faith in true principles. The best part about it was that his name was Rambo! I told him he needed to repent because of all the people he's killed haha. He understood the joke, thankfully.
On Thursday I went to Brive on exchange with Elder Caldwell which was great. He's an amazing missionary and we learned a lot together. Friday night we had another miracle. We've passed the T's a few times in the last couple weeks but with no success. We decided to pass by Friday night and they were there and let us in! We were shocked haha. I was just thinking of how much of a miracle it was while we were there, and they even invited us to eat with them and we did. Mme. T told us how she was offended by some people at church and we were able to talk about it for awhile which was great. We're gonna pass by again next week and keep in contact with them, and I know they'll come around. They're such great people.
This morning during my personal studies I read the BoM first like I always do, and then I didn't really know what to study. I just felt like something was missing and that there was something that I needed to study. I felt like I needed to take out Preach My Gospel, so I did, and I flipped to the first section that came into my head, which was about the power and authority of our calling. I read a quotation by President Kimball about the setting apart of a missionary, and how it is a literal setting apart from sin and the things of the world which puts us above carnal things, and that the blessings of our calling depend on our faithfulness to this setting apart. I thought back to my own setting apart from President Hughes. It was a reminder of how I need to be above the thigns of the world. In the world but not of it. I set a goal to completely separate myslef from the world, even any thoughts of old music or movies or anything. I know the Lord will bless me as a try my best to do this. Then I felt to read "The transforming power of Faith and Character" by Elder Scott, which is one of my favorite talks ever. I love this line - "We become what we want to be by consistently being what we want to become each day." I want to become separated from the world. I want to be the best instrument in the hands of the Lord as possible. Sometimes it seems like a huge task, but after reading that I realized that in order to become what I want to become, I just have to take it one day at a time, I need to be what I want to become every day, and then I'll become it. There's no trick or magic about it. You've just got to want it and then do it and be it day after day. And through faith in true principles and acting on them, we become something as we do it consistently. I also liked this quote..."The measure of your character is what you are becoming." If we're not becoming something better, we're not being the best we can be. I know there's so many things I can do better out here and I'm trying to be humble enough and work hard enough to overcome my weaknesses. At the same time, I know that the Lord is happy with my work as I try to do this. I know he'll help me and all of us as we try to become more like Him. That's why he put us here! Anyways, I just have had that on my mind all day and that's what came out in my email, sorry haha. I'm doing great! I'm starting to feel the love of Heavenly Father for His children more and more. I'm starting to understand the true nature of my call more and more as well. I'm not there jsut to do things that missionaries do, but I'm there to be a Christlike missionary and invite all to come unto Him as He would do it. I love this work. There's nothing more simple and beautiful than the Gospel, and nothing that brings more happiness. Never let anything get in the way of living by its principles - anything! Nothing is worth more than what we become and what our Heavenly Father grants us when we live the Gospel. I love you all and hope you have a great week! Thanks for all you do for me!
Love,
Elder Tudor