Whirlwinds

Dear beloved family of mine,

  Its been a long week. For some reason when you pack a bunch of events all in one short period of time that time seems to stretch to make room for many more hours that weren't there before. Maybe that's how Santa does it... To start off last Monday we had an Elder in our Zone come join us because he and his companion were not getting along very well. So we had three of us proselyting in my area for a little while. That day I also saw the inherent goodness of humanity still exists (that or it was an angel) because unbeknownst to me my wallet fell out of my pocket as I rode away from the market. The next event that happened was the miracle. As I rode on a lady on a moto came up to me and handed me my wallet. Not a single bill was missing. My prayers of gratitude to the Lord were many over the next few days each time I pulled out my wallet. 

        Tuesday brought with it a new investigator we contacted from our English class. His name is Long Seyha and he is so great! He has an immense desire to follow Christ and he told us he feels like he lacks guidance and he doesn't know what is right and just wants direction so he can do more good and prepare to start a righteous family with his bride to be. As we taught he felt as if we had all the answers and his face lit up every time we shared a gospel principle. It was wonderful having the opportunity to teach such an honest seeker of truth. That same day we talked to a recent convert that owns a shop selling grilled meat. She told us how every morning before she sets up her shop on the side of the road she peers out her window at 5:30 to see a group of people tossing powder in the air around her spot and making weird chants. She thinks they are trying to curse her and that the are crazy. She even went down to find a piece of paper with her name written on it one day. Despite that she sells all her goods every day without fail. Thus we see that the power of faith and trust in the Lord is far beyond that of the devil and his followers. The enemies of the Christ and the saints cannot and will not prevail!

          Wednesday was Mission Leadership council for ten hours. It was very uplifting! We talked about Understanding and experiencing the Gospel. We were implored to ask ourselves if we are a progressing missionary. I was inspired to follow the example of Jesus Christ by ministering one by one to the individual soul. That was a huge focus as we talked about the worth of the soul and referenced a talk by Elder Christofferson. It is so important to see everyone as a child of God. The worth of the soul is its capacity to become like God. Also in that training we learned some principle of presiding and then did a faux bishops council meeting to prepare for sacrament meeting. I played the role of the bishop and it all seemed very familiar to hear Bishop Brewer. Also it made me miss my father. I love you dad! One important insight I gained was that its not enough to understand, they must feel understood. 

        Thursday we got our phone stolen. So we had to borrow an extra from another set of Elders. That was fun.

Friday we taught Zoe training meeting and then got told we need to change areas. Elder Vore (My co-Zone leader) left that day with the other Elder and I got Elder Caine. Please note I have been in this area for 3 weeks and still don't know the roads. We get lost a lot. But somehow we always reach our destination. In the last couple days we got 2 new investigators and tonight we have 2 return appointments. We're looking forward to a great two weeks because that's when Elder Caine finishes his mission. A little bit about him: He is from Africa, his ancestors are the British colonizers. He plays rugby. He's also very difficult to understand sometimes due to his heavy accent. But he is super cool and fun to be around! 

  That's it for the week! I love you all! 

Elder Lyle R. Brewer

(This attached story he shares was one I remember. My oldest daughter was the same age as this baby. I was glued to the television for two days too. I remember praying for Jessica. Tami)