This letter was written August 16, 2014:
Hello everybody!! If you're wondering, the title of my email is "Hello Family and friends!" I have been trying to use the words I know.. which isn't a lot, but I'm working on it! This week has been pretty great! I have been learning a lot with the language and the gospel/personal study. This week has flown by, which is a good thing, I think. It means that I have really been into the work and been trying to not linger over thoughts of home and friends.
At the beginning of the week, we continued teaching Patricio. He was becoming quite interested in Gods plan for him and how it can help him to see his wife again. We explained to him that through the atonement and with the help of Jesus Christ, he can return to heaven and that he can be sealed with his wife for eternity. He seemed to really grasp on to that concept which made it easier for us. On Monday, we taught him about the plan of happiness. Tuesday we taught him about the commandments, and how there are certain expectations that we have to reach in order to take full advantage of the Plan that God has for us. On Wednesday, our last day, we taught him in more depth about certain expectations/commandments - Baptism to be exact. We told him that in order to return to God, we need to be baptized, and then we are cleansed of all our sins that we become pure, and then through Jesus Christs atonement, we can continue to live the best life that we can. We challenged him to baptism, and he accepted!!!! It was so amazing. The spirit was so strong, and we knew that he was really intrigued. He asked us the perfect question afterwards - "How can I best prepare?" So we took this op[opportunity to tell him to read the Book of Mormon (Aklat ni Mormon) and to pray about it to see if it was true. It was such an amazing experience. And, during our last lesson on Wednesday, Elder Olson and I decided that we weren't going to bring in any notes or journals, and just use what we had in our brains. It turned out being the best decision we ever made. Even though it was difficult at times, especially when he would ask us questions and we had no idea what he was saying, we were able to testify and tell him that through Christ and the Aklat ni Mormon, he can be blessed. It was so amazing, and it got me insanely pumped to go out into the field and start teaching!!! I even said a prayer and said "If you give me the language right now, I will go out and work so hard in the field." I was so ready! haha.
Elder Olson and I have been getting closer, and we have become good friends! It is so nice having such an amazing companion who wants to work hard and do a good job. He is also willing to have fun, so that is nice. I always have the quote running through my mind "Don't lose the work in the fun, but don't lose the fun in the work." It is so true. If you don't have any fun, than eventually you become bored and you don't want to do anything.
I also appreciate all of those wonderful letters and packages you have all been sending me! It gives me something to look forward to everyday! "Mail Time!" I love it when my DL comes over to me and gives me slips for packages! I feel very blessed and humbled to have such an amazing support back home. I don't know what I would do without you all! I am so very grateful for this amazing opportunity to be out here serving the Lord, and bringing back his children to live with him for eternity.
Also, this week. During my personal study on Wednesday, I had this amazing feeling. While I was reading the Book of Mormon, I had this sense of "Hunger and Thirst," like I couldn't get enough! I felt like I just wanted to sit there all day and study the scriptures! And then during companion study, we were going through the spirit section in the Preach my Gospel, and we were reading the gifts of the spirit, and that has always been an interesting topic to me, so when we sat down and went over that, it made me feel like I wanted to learn as much as I could possibly learn from that. It has been so amazing, and it makes me so happy, and it makes me really excited to go out and share this happiness with everyone in Cauayan!
Thank you all, and you can send me as many packages/letters you want :) They are incredibly helpful, and its like I said earlier, it gives me something to look forward too! Plus, it allows for more communication than just once a week. If you have any questions, ask away!
Love you all, and I'll talk to you soon!
Stay True!
Elder Walstad
This is where I'm going!
Studying
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