Pressing Forward

May 3, 2014

It's been an interesting week filled with ups and downs as we continue to try to build up our area. As I've mentioned before we had to "white wash" our area at the beginning of this transfer (about 5 weeks ago) so we've been starting from scratch. It's tough at times because we have other responsibilities pertaining to our leadership calling in the office so we are doing our best to balance that with working in our area. At times it can be discouraging when we have to continue to find, find and find but it's incredible how the Lord leads you to the elect as you move forward in diligence and faith.

On Monday we had a zone activity at President Zackrison's house which was quite a bit of fun. We were able to play sports, eat some nice food and watch a missionary movie together. The following day we had a "mini" transfer with a couple of Elders moving from the Botswana mission to our mission. We had some changes in the mission to accommodate the new arrivals so we spent the day arranging logistics and welcoming the new Elders. With the new Elders arriving in the mission we were able to open one new area in the mission where it was very much needed!

On Wednesday I was working with some Elders when I received a call from President that he wanted us to attend a Young Men's youth convention later that night. We agreed to go and we brought the 2 other Elders that we were working with. The convention was being held about an hour south of Durban at a camp with about 100 young men from the Durban stake. We were asked to encourage the young men to serve missions and share our testimonies of why serving a mission is so important. I shared my own experiences about my decision to serve the Lord and the tremendous blessing it has been dedicating these 2 years to Him. The young men from Margate were there along with Bro. Jean-Pierre who is the YM's President (we lived on his property when I served in Margate). It was my first time seeing them since I left in October 2012 so it was wonderful to see some old friends once again.

The next day my companion and I were in our area when we decided to check on a family that we had contacted last week. We found that they were not home but we felt prompted to do some finding close by. We traveled down a road where we found a complex with the outside gate open so we decided to walk in. It was a holiday so we knew that it would be a good time to find families at home together. We immediately found a house with multiple cars where we knocked on the door and the father with a surprised look on his face decided to invite us in where we found him and his wife. We explained to them our purpose and told them that we love to answer peoples questions such as "Why are there so many Christian churches?" Of course that question is on the minds of many South Africans because of the thousands of various denominations here so that father immediately wanted to know the answer. We started into the Restoration and as we were teaching it was incredible to see the interest of this man. After explaining the apostasy he said:"So your telling me there is no one that can communicate with God anymore? What are we supposed to do?" I'm always excited when that question comes because it shows that they understand the apostasy and it leads perfectly into the restoration. We shared the story of Joseph Smith and the spirit in the room was undeniable. We left them with the Book of Mormon and as we were about to close he asked: "But before you go I want to know where I go when I die?" Hmm... It took me a second to respond because we had already been there a really long time and that's a long topic but we promised him we would talk about in more in depth next time and we testified that life does not end at death. He was anxious to learn more which is always a good sign and it was wonderful to find a full family! It's extremely difficult to find families here so that was a real blessing. We are hoping and praying they'll be able to progress.

I have been reflecting a lot on the scripture in 1 Ne. 1:20 that states: "the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he has chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance." I love this scripture because I've seen it come to fruition time and time again as I exercise faith in His wisdom and timing. His tender mercies truly are manifested in our lives daily but we don't always recognize them. I am truly grateful for His hand over this work because I know without His help none of this would be possible. We are out here to find the elect and that we will do with His help! The work will roll forward despite the opposition of satan because the truth cannot be stopped.

Much love!
Elder Summers

In Charge at the Office??

April 26, 2014

Dear family and friends,

It's been another wonderful week here in the South Africa Durban mission! On Monday we were able to go and play some basketball for the first time on my mission. Almost every sports activity on my mission as revolved around soccer so it was nice to be able to play a sport where I actually know what I'm doing. On Tuesday we had our final zone conference here on the coast with about 80 missionaries. The zone conference went well just as the other ones and it was great to be able to see so many Elders gathered together in such force. When that many missionaries are present the spirit that illuminates the room is undeniable and we all feel strengthened by each others presence. I know that I felt very motivated to finish strongly after coming out of zone conference!

President and the couples have been gone for a few days for a couples retreat at a game reserve. So we have been put in charge! (Not really but sort of in a way...) We've had to handle all the office stuff and it's incredible how many things can go wrong when all the couples are gone. It's always great to serve the Elders here in the office though and I have to laugh at some of the experiences they have at times. On Wednesday night we got a call at about 9:30pm that our fellow Elders in our ward were stuck at a gas station because their card wasn't working. They didn't have enough cash to pay for the gas so we had to drive 15 minutes to meet them and pay for their gas. It's a good thing they have a reserve bank here in the office! Haha.

We've been doing quite a bit of finding within our area to try and build up our teaching pool as we are brand new to this place. We had a couple of neat experiences that I'll share with all of you. On Thursday we were walking away from a house where our 4pm appointment had fallen through. As we were walking from the house there "just happened" to be a taxi that dropped off an older lady with a lot of groceries. There were way too many groceries for her to carry so we offered to help carry them to her house. Her house was further then expected and by the end of walking to her house my arms were finished! The mother didn't really speak English but she was very grateful for our help. After departing from her house we were walking back to our car when I recognized the name of street we were on from a former investigator record in the area book. I couldn't remember the exact house number but we decided to try and find the house. I know that the Lord places opportunities in our path for a reason so I felt strongly we were in this area for a reason.

We couldn't find the house that was a former investigator but we did find some other wonderful people. The first house we found a father who was slashing the trees next to his home. We offered to help him but he said he was OK so we told him we would come back on Monday to do service for him. He accepted and was very friendly to us so we left him with a pamphlet and we're hoping that through doing service we'll be able to teach his whole family. It's difficult to find a friendly father like that who is willing to talk to us so we're excited that there is potential there. After visiting that house we walked up the hill where we knocked on a few more doors. We found another father who was quite friendly to us and invited us to come back and teach him this weekend. Then we knocked on the house next door to him and found a 21 year old young man and his mother. They were extremely friendly to us and we sat down and taught them part of the Plan of Salvation. It was just so nice to be able to go from house to house and find potential priesthood holders who were willing to talk to us. That's something that's not easy to do in any part of the world so the Lord has blessed us with some great potential investigators.

Yesterday we went into an apartment complex searching for a couple of former investigators. We knocked on their doors but none of them were home. As I mentioned before the Lord leads us to certain places so it's important to always be following the spirit and looking for opportunities. As we were walking down the stairs we knocked on a door where a young man opened for us. He told us he wasn't interested in the gospel and that he enjoys doing other kinds of "stuff." At first it seemed like a door where we say "Okay, thank you for your time and have a nice day." but he mentioned something that got us talking. He said he doesn't like all the churches fighting with each other and the confusion among churches with the same Bible. I asked him: "What if I could tell you why we have all that confusion and the reason we do this as missionaries is because we know that answer to that?" That made him pause for a moment and he said lots of people have tried to give him the answer but they can't. We asked him to give us 10 minutes and we'll give him the answer. He invited us in for 10 minutes and we instantly went into the establishment of Jesus Christs' church and the apostasy. After explaining the apostasy he said:"So your saying everything is gone and were all screwed?" I wanted to laugh but it showed that he understood what we were saying unlike most people when explaining the apostasy. It gave us the perfect opportunity to share the restoration and the story of Joseph Smith. We left him with the Book of Mormon and he invited us to come back Sunday night. It's interesting how a door contact that seemed like it was going no where led to a wonderful lesson where the spirit of the Lord was felt. The Lord is mindful of His children and he will lead all honest seekers to a knowledge of the truth.
Until next week!

Love you all,
Elder Summers

Easter Weekend

April 21, 2014

Dear family & friends,

We are back from our travels around the mission as we had 2 of our 3 zone conferences in Bloemfontein and Newcastle. The zone conferences were focused primarily about President's vision of becoming consecrated missionaries, working hard and the importance of planning. As part of the zone conference I had the opportunity to share an inspirational story that I received in my greenie area called "Pushing The Rock." That's a story that has motivated me so much when nothing seems to be moving. I would recommend looking it up! We had the first zone conference in Newcastle on Tuesday and we had the zone conference in Bloemfontein on Friday. In between the zone conferences we were able to work with the Zone leaders in Welkom and the Elders in Phuthaditjhaba. As you know those are both my previous areas and it was my last time being able to pass through there. 

When I worked with the Elders in Welkom I was happy to see that the work has really progressed there. I remember thinking in my 3 months that I served there nothing was happening but I was so grateful to see that the Elders have kept the ball rolling and a lot of the seeds that were planted have not gone to waste. The branch is moving forward there despite the difficulty of the area and it should be a ward soon enough. We had some great lessons that day and I learned a lot from the young Elders working there. 

The branch in PJ seems to be struggling a bit but I was grateful we were able to work with the Elders there to try and help them out. I showed the Elders a lot of members, less actives and potential former investigators while I was there for the day. They are both new to the area so a lot of people had been lost. I was so happy to see that a lot of the people that were baptized while I served there are still strong in the church. Brother L_____is still very active and is looking to get married in the church soon. Brother L_____g is currently preparing to serve a mission and is serving as the branch clerk. Brother B______ is doing great and is progressing towards receiving the Melchizedek priesthood. Both of his younger children have been baptized into the church as well. There's not a greater feeling as a missionary than to see how the gospel can completely change someones life. I'll never forget the converts in that area and the miracles I saw there. 

At the end of each zone conference there is a section for the departing Elders to share their testimony if it is their last zone conference. I decided to share my testimony in the Bloemfontein zone conference since I have an affinity for that area and I remember so many great experiences there. It was wonderful as always to be able to testify of the truth but sad at the same time as I recognize this is my last zone conference as a missionary. It was a special experience to be able to share my testimony on this Easter weekend as we have had the opportunity to reflect upon the Saviors atoning sacrifice. I have come to feel His atoning blood in my life as I constantly fall short of the glory of God but through His grace and mercy I can repent and come unto Him. I have spent a lot of time the last few days reading about and pondering upon the Saviors sacrifice. My conversion to His gospel continues to deepen as I realize the majesty of His sacrifice for me and for all of us. As PMG states: "As your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ grows, your desire to share the gospel will increase." That's a statement I have reflected upon again and again. If my desire to keep the commandments, to share His gospel or to love those around me is wavering then that means my testimony of the Atonement needs to be strengthened. 

I was reading in 2 Ne. 2 this morning when Lehi is speaking to his son Joseph about the atonement. He talks about the great importance to make these things (meaning the atonement) known to the inhabitants of the earth. Sharing with those around me about the atonement is something that brings me so much joy that I just want to share it with everyone! It gives me hope to know that because Jesus Christ resurrected we will all be able to reunite someday with our loved ones. Death is something that we cannot avoid, it's a step in the Plan of Salvation but it's not the end. As Abinadi states: "But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the string of death is swallowed up in Christ." (Mosiah 16:8) I have no doubt this is true and that through our Redeemer we will all stand in the presence of God someday. These doctrines are at the focal point of the gospel and nothing else matters until we gain a testimony of these truths. I know that Grandpa is struggling and his mortal journey is about to come to an end but it's part of our Heavenly Father's plan. I have no doubt everything happens in His time and according to His will; that is something I have come to see time and time again. That's the beauty of the gospel, we know it's not the end but simply a beginning. Our lives didn't begin at birth and they will not end at death. Stay strong, move forward in faith and the Lord will bless each of us with the peace and comfort of His Spirit. 

I love you all and my prayers are with you.

Elder Summers

Work, Work, Work

April 12, 2014

Hello everyone,

This past week has been a great one filled with many tender mercies from the Lord. We spent quite a bit of time proselyting in our area which was nice in addition to the other office work we've been doing. We had 2 training meetings for the zone leaders this past week first on the coast then for the outer zones. We spent quite a bit of time talking about consecration, hard work and leadership responsibilities. It was probably one of the best leadership training meetings we have had. We are currently preparing for zone conferences starting on Tuesday in Newcastle. I'm really excited for these zone conferences but at the same time I just realized this is going to be my last zone conference on mission. It's interesting as I reflect upon the zone conferences throughout my mission and what a tremendous motivation they were to improve and keep moving forward.

On Wednesday after completing our training meeting at the mission home we came over to the office to pick up a few items. As we were in the office a man came in looking for Elder Poelman (vehicle coordinator). He told us about how he had been directed here by the Pinetown Elders (2 other Elders in our ward) who had hit his side mirror and damaged it. Elder Poelman was out of the office so while we were waiting for him we began to talk to this man. He seemed really curious about the church and so I got him a pamphlet and a DVD and explained a little bit about our role as missionaries. Then Elder Poelman got to the office and spoke with him and told him he would pay for the minor damage which occurred but then said: "Since I'm going to pay for your mirror you have to listen to a lesson from these Elders here (pointing to my companion and I) while I go and get the money." He then closed the door and we all looked at each other with stares. Haha.

As we began talking to him more he immediately asked us "Why are there so many churches today? I am so confused so that's why I don't go to church anymore." Whenever someone asks that question it always gets me excited because we have the answer! We ended up teaching the entire restoration and as we recited the words of Joesph Smith's first vision the spirit illuminated the room. The man had quite a few questions but he seemed to be quite satisfied with our answers. He told us at the end that he didn't have to come to our office to get this resolved but when he first met the missionaries he was curious. It's incredible what he spirit can do and how those who search for the truth are ultimately led to the truth. We are hoping to meet with him again in the future and we'll see what happens. It's always nice when investigators come directly to you!

Not more than 2 hours after teaching that lesson we started to go check on some former investigators we found in the area book. We were led to a house where the missionaries had been teaching a couple of individuals. As we were invited into the house by a little boy who answered the door we could hear in the back room that something was wrong. After sitting in the entry room for a few minutes a man came out and began to talk to us. It was apparent that he was used to the missionaries and he explained to us that their brother had passed away earlier that day. We began talking to him and he was very glad we came at the time we did. We shared with him from the Book of Mormon about the spirit world and my favorite scripture in Mosiah 16:7-8. It was not by coincidence that we had been led there that night as a tender mercy to that family in their time of need. The man that we were teaching was named Sindy and he told us that each time the missionaries came he was usually busy but he felt prompted that he needs to meet with us. We are going to his home later tonight so we hope to have a lesson with him and the whole family. There is nothing greater than testifying of the truths of the Plan of Salvation and the restored gospel.

On Friday I was on exchanges with the zone leaders in Umlazi. Umlazi was the first zone I was in when I served in Margate and it felt so long ago! They have a nice flat that overlooks the ocean. As I looked out over the ocean again it reminded me of when I was there on my first ever exchange as a greenie on my mission looking over the ocean and thinking that 2 years was the longest time ever. Haha. Time flies and it was wonderful to have the opportunity to be in Umlazi again. We spent a bit of the day tracting and facing a lot of rejection but we kept saying one more door...one more door... one more door and each time it seemed to get worse. We got in the car and decided to check on a less active only to find that the less active wasn't home but one of the ZL's decided to knock on one more door across from the less actives house. As we knocked on that door a mother let us into the house. She had seen missionaries before at uShaka marine world (like sea world) where she works. She was always curious as to what we do exactly so we were able to answer all of her questions. She was so shocked that we do this for 2 years and that led into why we do this. We taught the entire restoration and the spirit in that room was intense! By the end she asked "How can I really know what your telling me is true?" That led perfectly into the purpose of the Book of Mormon which we left her with and she committed to read for herself. I was glad that we knocked on that one more door because it made all the rejections before that worth it.

It's been a week filled with a lot of small miracles and blessings as we continue to go out and shared the restored gospel. I'm so grateful for the Lord's hand over this great work and we couldn't do it without His help. There is no greater joy in this life then being a tool in the Lord's hands to bring salvation to His children. It's not always easy but in the end it's worth it; I'm grateful for the challenges we face as missionaries as it helps us become more converted to the gospel.

Have a wonderful week and may the Lord bless you all.

Love,
Elder Summers

Back In Durban-

Dear family and friends,

I'm back in my nice comfortable bed in Durban!! Unfortunately I wasn't able to write last week due to our hectic schedule. We have finally finished up our tour throughout the mission of introducing the "My Family" booklet. This past week we started our travels in Pietermaritzburg (1 hour north of Durban), then continued to Phuthaditjhaba, Lesotho and ended in Bloemfontein. It was fantastic to be able to work with the Elders in their areas in addition to conducting the training meetings. 

We worked with the Elders in Pietermaritzburg which was great. They are training and as I've said before I love working with the trainers. We had some great lessons including a lesson with a sister who recently lost her mother. She is a member of another denomination and this was the Elders first visit with her. We asked if she knows where her mother is and she said: "That's the question we want an answer to but no one can tell us." Well we testified of the Plan of Salvation and I shared my favorite scripture about the resurrection from Mosiah 16:7-8. The spirit is always powerful when we testify of life after death and it furthered my testimony that this life is not the end. I really learned a lot from those Elders and it was a great day! Here are Elders Peterson and Wilson: 

 

After working with the Elders there we moved to Phuthaditjhaba. We were going to conduct a training meeting for the "My Family" booklet for the zone there but we had an emergency. The new couple missionaries for that area had arrived the day before only to find that the car from the old couple missionaries was no longer there! The old couple missionaries had driven the car to Johannesburg which we were not aware of. So when we got there instead of helping President with the training we drove halfway to meet up with some other couples driving from Durban with their new car. Whenever there is an emergency we seem to always be involved but I guess that's part of the call! We worked it all out and got he new couple their car. President had to take over for our part in the presentation but I guess it all went alright. 

Then we attended church in Phuthaditjhaba the next day. It was great to be back in my old area and be able to attend church in their new chapel there! The best part was to see the progression of Brother Benjamin who was baptized my very last Sunday serving in PJ (last week of April last year). He taught the Elders quorum lesson and he conducted the baptismal service after church. He has grown so much in the gospel and it was incredible to see him testifying of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the divinity of the Book of Mormon. These experiences make serving a mission all worth it! I would have never thought he would be at this point when we tracted into his door over a year ago. His son has also been baptized and was passing the sacrament. 

The next day we traveled to Lesotho where we spent the day with the Elders. No problems crossing the border this time! Although I was greeted by the border security as "Hey white man, how are you?" Welcome to Lesotho I guess. It's a nice country though and it was great to spend some time with the Elders there. Elder Turner (Elder working in Lesotho) gave me some of his poptarts from the package he got which was awesome because I haven't eatten those things in years. Elder Turner is actually doing this really cool GPS program in Lesotho at the moment. He has been working on it for awhile; he goes around tracking down where less actives and members live and inputs it into a GPS (It's more sophisticated then that but I don't know all the computer stuff...) The goal is to have all of this information accessible to members and missionaries so that people are not lost. There are no addresses in Lesotho so there are hundreds of less actives that have been lost and are difficult for missionaries to find. It's a great program and it's already leading to a lot of success! 

We then traveled to Bloemfontein where we ended our tour. I was able to visit sister Happiness who was baptized over a year ago. We tracted into her family in PJ and she is now a dedicated member in Bloemfontein. She introduced us to one of her friends who had a lot of questions so we shared a short lesson with her, gave her the Book of Mormon and referred her to the missionaries in Bloemfontein. It's wonderful to see the continued progress of those who have found the restored gospel. We then traveled back to Durban; it took an entire day to drive all the way from Bloemfontein which was rather exhausting! It has been incredible to drive through the mission and to see this beautiful country. I'm learning a lot as I continue to work with the Elders and with President Zackrison. 

Thanks for your love, support and prayers. Remember that no matter the challenge, question or trial you may be facing the best response is to be a devoted disciple of Jesus Christ! That pathway will always bring peace, joy and hope. 

Love,

Elder Summers

(We saw the worlds smallest church while driving)

More Travels

Dear family and friends,

It was my birthday this past Monday and I'm grateful for all of the birthday wishes! Thanks for the letters and packages; it made it a great birthday. I got a cake from Sister Zackrison and the couples in the office so that was nice. My companion didn't know it was my birthday until one of my old companions sent me an sms wishing me happy birthday and my companion read it haha. He was mad I didn't tell him! 

It has been another week of driving, driving and more driving. My companion doesn't have a license so my foot might fall off from pressing the gas pedal but I'll survive! We have been rolling out the new "My Family" booklet throughout the mission while President is traveling around doing his interviews. As I mentioned before the mission has been asked to pilot the "My Family" booklet. We have been doing mini training meetings throughout each zone on how to use the booklet in proselyting. It has been a great experience as we see the spirit of Elijah touching the hearts of the people within our mission. The purpose of the booklet is to give people a way to record names and memories of their ancestors without the need for a computer. As I've been filling it out myself it has been great to be able to record my memories and I've felt my heart turning as I seek to learn about my own ancestors. 

We started out the week by going up the coast to Richards Bay, then to Swaziland and down to my old area in the Newcastle zone. We were able to work with all of the Elders in their different areas so it is nice to be able to meet people in all of these places. We have been using the My Family booklet in all aspects of proselyting and from what I've seen it's working well. We had a lesson when I was in Newcastle with a less active sister using the booklet. She has been less active for years but when we presented this to her she said: "Wow this actually sounds fun! I don't know how to explain it guys but I'm really excited." She said she felt something different and that she just felt so happy she couldn't explain the feeling. We helped her understand that she was feeling the spirit again and she said she was going to fill out the whole book. The great part with this booklet is that it's something that's non-threatening to investigators and less actives because everyone loves their families and wants to preserve family memories. Another part that I've seen that has been working is that it gets less actives excited about wanting to go to the temple which they know they need to be keeping the commandments in order to do. I have a feeling this is really going to boost the mission and help take us one step closer to getting the temple in Durban! 

On Sunday we were able to attend Osizweni (my old area) for church. It was a very special day because Osizweni was becoming its own branch! When I was there just a couple of months ago it was still a group but President Zackrison officially made it a branch on  Sunday. It was amazing to see everyone there and so excited! There were 140 people at church (usually about 80-90) and the room was literally overflowing. The 6 of us missionaries had to stand outside the whole meeting! We were able to listen through the window; the spirit was pervasive and every person there could feel it. I was extremely grateful to be apart of that moment; public affairs took pictures so it should show up in the Africa Southeast area part of the Liahona. 

It will be another week of travels, interviews and conferences. We are doing our best to continue to move the Lord's kingdom forward here! It's incredible how the Lord is blessing the Elders in this mission who strive for consecration. I continue to be converted unto the Lord each day as I lay it all on the table. I have so much energy still and I'm moving forward with all my strength! I have to give it my all these last 3 months. 

May the Lord bless in all that you are doing!

Love,

Elder Summers

Transfers...

Hello everyone,

This past week has been so crazy I wasn't able to email last week! We have been busy with moving all the Elders around the mission. Since serving here I have come to realize just how massive the boundaries of the mission are; you can drive from Durban to the other end of our mission and it takes 10 1/2 hours. It's pretty hectic when we have to drive around working with the Elders, it can be pretty exhausting with all of the driving. I have received a new companion at transfers, his name is Elder Mathebula and he's from Johannesburg, South Africa. He has been on his mission about 15 months now, he has served in a lot of the same areas as me actually. He is an awesome guy and were getting along great! He has a lot of great ideas for the mission that we are discussing and beginning to implement. He will probably be my last companion on mission so I'm excited for him to "kill" me. My previous companion Elder Dube was transferred from here to Swaziland to finish his mission training which he was pretty excited about. 

Well overall transfers went really smoothly moving all of the Elders around. We didn't have anyone miss their bus this time around which gave us less stress! One of the challenges I have come to discover is that it's not always easy moving Elders around in this mission since we have 3 different countries in our mission (South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland). It definitely takes a lot of brain power and it can be mentally draining at times but it's part of the challenge which I enjoy. The decisions we are making here affect the entire mission and it's nice to be able to be involved in that process as it's helping me to develop new talents and attributes. At the same time it's also a humbling experience that's making me recognize my dependence upon the Lord and the guidance of the spirit. 

We have recently been notified by the Africa Southeast Area Presidency that he Durban mission will be piloting a Family History program called "My Family". It's a family history book that helps people record their family names, stories and photos. We are expected to implement this throughout the mission and report back to the Area at the end of April. We had a large meeting with one of the directors of Family Search the other day as we brain stormed ideas on how to implement this into our mission. One of the struggles throughout our mission is getting the members to do family history work and getting to the temple to do the work for their ancestors so we have high hopes that this will give a boost to family history in our mission. 

The Durban temple was announced almost 3 years ago but yet a temple site has not yet been chosen. I believe (my opinion...) that one of the reasons the temple is not moving forward here is because there needs to be more enthusiasm from the members to get to the temple. I think it's something we can really improve on as a mission that will help the members get more excited for a temple coming to Durban. If the Lord doesn't feel that we are prepared for a temple then it will not begin until we are ready! We play a fundamental role in preparing the people here for a temple to be built. We will be going around the mission preparing the Elders on how to use this Family History brochure in finding, retention and reactivation work. I'm really excited to do this and I believe there is a reason our mission has been chosen to pilot this program. 

I continue to see the Lord's hand over this work as He helps us work through the various situations we face on a daily basis. This really is His work and that's something I must always remember! I am weak but He helps me become strong which I am so grateful for! Thanks for your love and support as always and for the birthday package! 

Love,

Elder Summers