Moving Forward

May 26, 2014

Dear family and friends,

These past couple of weeks have been busy as ever. Sorry that I've become lackadaisical when it comes to writing letters home. We are usually so busy on Mondays it is difficult to find the time to sit down and write! This past Tuesday we had a missionary fireside in our ward that went really well. We had been planning it for a while and we were able to get President Zackrison to attend. We had a great turn out for the fireside (always nice when you tell people there is food) and President Zackrison set a great tone for the meeting when he talked about they "why" of missionary work. We had 2 YSA's speak who will be leaving on their missions soon and they gave great testimonies. I was able to speak and share some of my experiences that I have seen on my mission when members and missionaries work together. The spirit was strong and everyone came out of that meeting motivated to act.

We had a wonderful lesson with our investigator Sister N_____on Wednesday evening. We had asked her a week ago to start reading from the beginning of the Book of Mormon. When we followed up we found that she had read from 1 Nephi to Mosiah! She understood it perfectly and I was shocked to see how much she had read. She is progressing very well and she has come to church the last 2 weeks and the missionary fireside. Her 2 children love church also which is always a good thing! She agreed to be baptized if the Lord answers her prayers; she just keeps talking about how she is scared to leave her church but she knows everything we teach her is true. It's incredible to see how the Book of Mormon can change people's lives.

We also have a YSA named S_____who is progressing towards baptism. He came to church for the first time yesterday and he really has a strong desire to change his life. He used to be taught by missionaries along time ago and we tracted into him a few weeks ago. We have taught him the first 3 lessons and his understanding is great. I hope he'll be able to commit and receive the fellowship he needs as he continues to go forward. We also have another YSA named Dumsani who lives right next to S______. He is around the same age as S_____ and he is also progressing quite well. He has a strong desire to change his life; the first time he met us he said "I want to be like you guys are." I took that as a big compliment and it's always nice to see young men that have the desire to set aside the things of the world and grow closer to the Savior. We had a nice lesson with him yesterday and committed him to be baptized in July.

On Tuesday/Wednesday we had our missionary leadership council meetings which went quite well. We conducted the training of the zone leaders and focused on the importance of staying positive, eliminating pride and various other topics in the mission. I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of staying positive in life. We have an equation in the mission which says faith + obedience + hard work = miracles but sometimes I forget the first step of faith which is often manifest in my attitude. If I am complaining or being negative it shows a lack of faith in the Lord's purposes. I love what PMG says in chapter 8: "The attitude you have towards your mission experience is a reflection of your love toward your Heavenly Father and His Son and your respect for the priesthood." I really have the choice each day when I wake up; I can choose to be happy or I can choose to be sad. In missionary work we face a lot of challenges and I think it can be a lot easier to complain than to stay positive but I'm doing my best to look at the glass half full even as I finish out my last few weeks.

Thank you for your continued love and support! The Lord is in this work and in the details of our lives. May we always look to the Savior as our example.

Much love,
Elder Summers