Hi Mom and Family,
That was a big letter! Haha don't apologize for writing a big letter! It's a good thing. It just means I can be lazy and write less for you guys ;).
I don't know if Dad will remember this but there was this really funny [insurance company] commercial that he always thought was funny and it was a short clip of a cowboy/rancher man in a court room and all he said was, "but I digress." So, I digress.
This month has been pretty busy. I've never seen such motivation and hard work from our mission and especially our zone. Zone 4 is going crazy and we have amazing leaders who are helping us do what we're doing. We were the only zone in the entire mission to have every companionship teach over 20 lessons this last week! I'm grateful to be a part of the mission at this time, and like that sister you met had said, it is a huge turn around from what this mission used to be. President Barr (last president) was exactly what this mission needed and President Jeppson is the best mission president in the world. And now we are preparing for this mission to receive nearly 100 new missionaries. The excitement and energy that is building is incredible and I hope that it continues to grow!
As a companionship, Elder Thompson and I are still getting along near perfectly. He's a great example to me. We are still preparing Westernia for baptism on the 27th and I do hope that she makes it. We had a lesson with her about how a prayer of faith can bring about miracles. The reason we had that lesson is because her grandma (legal guardian) was strongly opposed to Westernia being taught by missionaries. Up until last week, she hadn't said anything about it because any time she mentioned the Church or missionaries her grandma would get angry. She even had to hide her Book of Mormon. However, after that lesson we committed her to pray that God would open her grandma's heart so that she would allow Westernia to be baptized. She did, and told us that she explained the situation to her mother and father in order to help them convince her grandmother. In our last visit with Westernia, she told us that after all was said and done, her grandma agreed to sign her baptismal record. In my eyes that was almost unbelievable! It was great news. She is prepared for this Sunday, and I hope all works out that she can be baptized on that day.
I'm sure that Reese's farewell and that of the other missionaries was awesome. I miss him. I so wish that I could have been there. We actually had a talk given by our amazing branch president on Sunday that was all about the pioneers of this Church and the sacrifices they made. He related their experience to that of the members of the East Orange branch. The message of his talk was something along the lines of that quote on sacrifice that you put in there from Reese. He also said that we must not be afraid to stand alone. It reminded me of a story I read that President Monson shared a while ago in his General Conference address, "Dare to Stand Alone". He said,
"I believe my first experience in having the courage of my convictions took place when I served in the United States Navy near the end of World War II.
Navy boot camp was not an easy experience for me, nor for anyone who endured it. For the first three weeks I was convinced my life was in jeopardy. The navy wasn’t trying to train me; it was trying to kill me.
I shall ever remember when Sunday rolled around after the first week. We received welcome news from the chief petty officer. Standing at attention on the drill ground in a brisk California breeze, we heard his command: “Today everybody goes to church—everybody, that is, except for me. I am going to relax!” Then he shouted, “All of you Catholics, you meet in Camp Decatur—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!” A rather sizeable contingent moved out. Then he barked out his next command: “Those of you who are Jewish, you meet in Camp Henry—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!” A somewhat smaller contingent marched out. Then he said, “The rest of you Protestants, you meet in the theaters at Camp Farragut—and don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!”
Instantly there flashed through my mind the thought, “Monson, you are not a Catholic; you are not a Jew; you are not a Protestant. You are a Mormon, so you just stand here!” I can assure you that I felt completely alone. Courageous and determined, yes—but alone.
And then I heard the sweetest words I ever heard that chief petty officer utter. He looked in my direction and asked, “And just what do you guys call yourselves?” Until that very moment I had not realized that anyone was standing beside me or behind me on the drill ground. Almost in unison, each of us replied, “Mormons!” It is difficult to describe the joy that filled my heart as I turned around and saw a handful of other sailors.
The chief petty officer scratched his head in an expression of puzzlement but finally said, “Well, you guys go find somewhere to meet. And don’t come back until three o’clock. Forward, march!”
As we marched away, I thought of the words of a rhyme I had learned in Primary years before:
Dare to be a Mormon;
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm;
Dare to make it known.
Although the experience turned out differently from what I had expected, I had been willing to stand alone, had such been necessary.
Since that day, there have been times when there was no one standing behind me and so I did stand alone. How grateful I am that I made the decision long ago to remain strong and true, always prepared and ready to defend my religion, should the need arise."
One question, who is that sister you met? If she just got home six months ago, I might know her name, and it's always cool to tell others who would know her. That's really awesome that you got to meet her and hear from her.
Alright I have to go now. I'm so glad to hear that Rorie is loving skiing! I can picture it in my head now. I don't know if you hear much from them, but how are my other friends doing like Coleman and Ben and Landon? I hope they are doing well. I got a great letter from Coleman. Make sure you tell everyone hello for me. Tell Reese to go DO WORK!
I love you!
Tab
p.s. I outdid you in letter length I think. Ah! It is 18 degrees here, but it feels like it's about 0. I think the humidity has a little role in that.
Tim's letter to Tab
Hi Tab.I hope that your investigators continue to make progress and that you are finding new people to teach. I know how difficult both of those things can be. Faith, preparation, and hard work are the key — you cannot let the difficulty or the long odds discourage you. Be relentless and dedicated to the work.Here's a quote for you:“God loves us. He's watching us, he wants us to succeed, and we'll know someday that he has not left one thing undone for the eternal welfareof each of us. If we only knew it, there are heavenly hosts pulling for us -- friends in heaven that we can't remember now, who yearn for our victory.”-Ezra Taft Benson(BYU Devotional, December 10, 1947)Heavenly hosts are anxious for your success and welfare and for the eternal welfare of those you teach.Tab, I encourage you to devote every ounce of effort, every thought, and every minute to furthering the work of the Lord. Be fully devoted and consecrated to the work. You will be blessed as you do so. You have a great mission president. Follow his counsel.We are grateful for you and love you!Dad
Hi Dad!
Thank you for sharing that with me. I had actually given some thought to that a couple of days ago. I contemplated how I can't be lazy and I have to watch my thoughts because I can't hide from God. It gave me motivation to think that I have friends and family in Heaven who are doing all they can to help me do my best. I cannot let them down! So I have been working on that.
I was a little sick this week but stuck to going out every day. It paid off when we had four investigators at church and several less active families that we had been working with. Now we just have to keep on them! Thanks for your support.
Love,
Tab
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