Too Many Things This Week...

Sept 9, 2013 Dear family and friends, It has been a week of overwhelming spiritual experiences, some moving apartments, hectic transfers, sickness and the most horrific traffic accident I've ever seen! Where to start? First off we started the week with a great lesson. We met with a mother named L___ and her daughter N____. We tracted into this family but only found some small girls. We left a pamphlet with our number and the mother called us that night (that has never happened on my mission). She told us to come back so we've been teaching her and her 17 and 15 year old daughters for about a month now. They have come to church a couple of times. We asked them how they feel when they pray to know our message is true. Ntokozo said she had taken time the day before to pray and she felt an incredible joy after she prayed. She said it was something she had never felt before. Then her mother said that she knows what we share is true because she just feels so happy and peaceful each time we visit. We helped them understand the spirit and how God was answering their prayers. We are working towards their baptism at the end of the month, we'll see if they are ready in time. We also met with a man named S____ (about 30 years old) for the first time. We tracted into him about a month ago and he told us to come back anytime. We had checked a couple of times before but could never find him home. Usually when that happens I tend to give up because it's like a wild goose chase but his name kept coming to my mind. I felt a certain "push" to keep trying. Well we finally found him home on Tuesday and he invited us in. He was happy to meet with us and was so open with his feelings. He told us how he had been struggling so much and how his faith as been wavering. We helped encourage him and show him that God does care for him and that's why He has sent us here. We taught him the whole restoration and he was so excited by the end. At the end of the lesson when we gave him the Book of Mormon he said: "This is the answer to my prayers, I didn't realize how much I needed you guys." Awesome!! I hope this guy can continue to progress, we are going to meet him again tomorrow. X____ was interviewed for baptism yesterday, he passed with flying colors. He is so excited to be baptized! This past week he asked us: "How do you feel now that you've won a soul?" I started laughing. He says he "can't wait to be a missionary someday." This guy is power and it's cool to see how quickly he has progressed. He understands very well and his mother (young women's president) is thrilled because she will now have a priesthood holder in her house! He is only a couple of months younger than me so he can still serve a mission. The new Elder moved into our boarding earlier this week. We had 4 Elders stuffed in this little apartment. Luckily the church purchased another apartment next door and the other 2 Elders moved in there. Our apartment is now more open and will be a lot easier to keep clean! You know what they say... Cleanliness is next to Godliness. Having a clean apartment really does make a big difference in feeling the spirit! Alright and then I got sick... as sick as I've felt on my mission. I felt terrible on Wednesday but I still pushed myself to go in the area which wasn't the greatest idea. I hate sitting at home but I'm glad the Lord gave me some strength. I decided to rest the next day and not be a hero. That Wednesday night my fellow Elders gave me a priesthood blessing and by morning I was feeling so much better. My body was still weak so I had to recover a little bit but I could feel the worst part was over. I know the priesthood exists, I have seen it time and time again on my mission. As we exercise even a particle of faith we will see miracles. I'm doing great now and no more problems! On Thursday one of the worst traffic accidents occurred that I have ever seen and it happened right next to our apartment. 30 people were killed when 3 taxis and 1 small car were bulldozed by a semi truck who ran a red light. We were coming back from our area just about an hour after the accident and we found out from the members the next day what happened. One of our investigators has a relative who was killed in the crash. This accident is being talked about by everyone. It's such a terrible event and unfortunately some people begin to question why God would do such a thing. Death is something we all deal with and we cannot avoid but there is HOPE in the gospel of Jesus Christ. As Mosiah 16:8 says: "the grave hath no victory and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ." The amazing thing that we know through the gospel is that all of us will be resurrected one day and life does not end when we leave this mortal estate. Everyone is given agency in this life and that is why terrible things happen, it's part of our experience here in this life. No matter what happens God does know everything and we cannot begin to question His plan. Despite this accident, I felt a certain peace in that I know life does not end here and I'm grateful for the reassurance of the scriptures. We will continue to move forward in faith and by God's grace. May you all have a blessed week! Love, Elder Summers P.S. I heard BYU crushed Texas, about time BYU gets a big victory!! Go Cougs!!