January 16, 2011

Allo,
What a week! So much happens here every week that I never have time to write it all, which is sad, but it's all in my head so no worries there. So, P and L are doing great! P is having his baptismal interview tonight and will be baptized tomorrow night! L said she wants to wait and see P be baptized first, then she will. They're such a riot. So funny. Last night they had us taste this three month old saurkraut juice. Elder Buss almost died. They're so ready for the Gospel. L is really searching to have peace in her family and raise her kids on a good foundation. I think P is giong to be my favorite member of the ward. So, R is back, and he's getting baptized on the 28th in the ocean! We also invited T H. to be baptized the same day with R and he's going to pray about it. R is the man. We went through the baptismal interview questions with him and he did great. At the end he said, "sometimes I have doubts and thing I'm not ready, but then I just say to myself, you need to have more faith!" It was like music to our ears! He's doing so well. He came and played bball with us on Saturday and he's super tall and just rejects everyone, including the sisters, everytime they try to shoot. I heard the Elders in Toulouse found a chinese investigator named Y Ming :). C go tback from England on Friday. he want there with part of the Wilkey family. He's still crazy as ever. F is still doing great too, he should be getting the priesthood pretty soon. I love being a missionary.
Friday and Saturday, basically all our plans fell through. Saturday night all our backup plans fell through as well. So we were at place de la victoire and we had 2 and a half hours left to proselyte. Before us was St Catherine, the longest pedestrian road in all of Europe, and it was full of people for the January sales. It was freezing cold, but we just looked at eachother and said we were gonna do it. We walked down the entire road and talked to everyone we could. I remember just dreading the thought before starting, but as we started going, I started loving it. I wasn't cold, and I was happy. We didn't have tons of success, and after about an hour and a half we still hadn't gotten to the end of the road. Then I saw this rich looking guy who was pretty chic, and usually I wouldn't contact that kind of guy if there were other people to contact, but this time I did. His name is J and he's from Bolivia but he's lived in France basically his whole life and he plays rugby. he said he's searched his whole life to know if God exists and he's read all the books on religion. I simply asked him, "have you read the book of mormon?" and showed him a copy. He said he had read about it on the internet once but had never really read teh book. Then I just testifed of how I found out for myself that God exists through prayerful study of the Book of Mormon, and that this book could bring Him closer to God than any other book. I offered him a copy and he accepted. We talked for awhile and he was so awesome and so humble, despite his appearance. He said, "Rugby is my religion, at least for now." Not for long, buddy! Haha. I got his number and he said to contact him this next weekend. I remember leaving that contact with just such an amazing feeling in my heart.
The Gospel is for everyone. EVERYONE has the light of Christ and can be guided to accept the restored Gospel. I'm so thankful for the Book of Mormon which, with teh Spirit, has the power to convert people durably and for life. Sunday morning I studied the talk The Power of Scripture by Elder Scott. As I read, I felt like I was reading the exact words I would have written down teh first time I read the Book of Mormon and all the times I've read it since. Last week I talked about how teh BoM helped me be converted, but this week I found out just how deeply the Book of Mormon has healed my soul. I testify that the Book of Mormon heals the sinner's soul, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and even physically. The Book of Mormon adn the Spirit bring true conversion. Together, they destroy any desire in us to do evil, and replace it with a desire to good and serve God and His children and keep His commandments. I know it's true, because it's doing it to me. I love the Gospel and how it changes lives. I love the words of our prophet from last conference. We live in a world filled with evil influences that threaten to destroy us, but will we hang our hands in despair? No! We have the Gospel of Jesus Christ! I honestly don't know if that's what he said, but it was something like that. How thankful I am to share it with God's children. Every soul needs it. The longer I'm here, the more I realize how the sons of Mosiah felt when they couldn't bear that any human soul should perish. That's what I want to be like! I'm not even close yet, but in moments of reflection and meditation, I realize just how important this message is for every human soul. Now I just need to conform my actions to this knowledge, which is easier said than done, but I know the Lord will help me through prayer, study, obedience, and diligence. I love this work, and I never wanna stop! Thanks for your prayers and your love. Jesus Christ is our Savior and this is His church and His Gospel. Have a great week - love you!
Elder Tudor