The Day of the Spanish

Hey Family,

How are things going? I was excited to get on my account and actually have an email from you... It's all good though, I forgive you for the last couple of weeks. This week has actually been pretty good considering some of the disappointments and bad news we've received. Unfortunately David's mom did not give him permission to be baptized. It's so sad to see something like that temporarily hold him back from the blessings Heavenly Father has in store for him. Even though he can't be baptized now I'm confident that things will work out, I only hope that they do sooner rather than later. Our other three investigators with baptismal dates aren't looking too good either. There are a lot of obstacles in their way, but we're there to help them overcome them.

This week I went on a couple of exchanges, one of them being with Elder Puma who is one of the assistants. It was a great opportunity to learn how to be a successful missionary. Another great thing this week was being able to teach Rob. Rob is a 16 year old kid who is friends with the stake president's daughter. We had seen him at church, stake conference and a fireside before and so we were excited to finally be able to teach him. We even found out that he watched the Sunday session of General Conference. He is an extremely bright kid who has a real knack for recognizing truth. I can tell that he is searching for it, and is willing to do all that he can to have it. We had an amazing lesson with him at the Pettits, (the stake president and his family) and at the end of the lesson, he gave possibly the best first prayer I've ever heard from any investigator let alone a 16 year old kid. He, like David, may have a problem with his mom allowing him to continue to learn more. We will be seeing him again this Thursday, and am really hoping everything goes well.

This week we were also able to attend the "something something Hispanidad", which I think translates to "The Day of Spanish". We invited David, because he is Hispanic, and so we were able to go. They had booths set up for each South American country and served food that they eat in each of countries. Then they had a performance for each country. Most of them were dance routines of some sort, and it was a blast. I can't speak a lick of Spanish so I wasn't really able to communicate with half of the people there, but it was fun to enjoy some of their culture.

I can't believe how fast this transfer has flown by, It ends on Oct. 24. I don't really know what will happen so we shall see... One thing that's a challenge for all missionaries, especially new ones, is being comfortable with contacting people. You just have to get over yourself and not worry about what others think of you. Walking up to every random person you see and immediately striking up a conversation about the gospel is just not normal. The sooner you can realize that it is awkward, the better. There's not much you can do about it, that's just the way it is. I'm finally getting to the point where I truly realize this and am getting comfortable with it. I actually enjoy it at times and am really seeking to help others realize their divine potential.

I pray for Charity every day and can feel the difference in the way I view things, and the way that I think of others. Yesterday I had a neat experience with prayer. We pulled up to a street we were planning on knocking, got out of the car to do so, and I felt terrible. I was exhausted, I had a headache, and quite honestly my heart wasn't in the right place. As we began to walk up to a house, I looked at Elder Larsen and told him I needed to pray. And so I did. I put my trust in the Lord that he would give me the strength I needed to accomplish the work in front of us. I prayed for help and I received it. The interesting thing about it, however, was that it didn't come the second I said "amen". In fact, It didn't come soon at all. It came as I pushed through the pain and contacted everyone I saw. It came as I put forth all the energy and effort I had in the work in front of me. I showed the Lord that I was willing to do all that I could, and he did the rest. I felt as good as I ever have and truly felt the power of prayer. I know that it is as we act and do all that we can, that our prayers are answered. I am thankful for the many prayers that are given in my behalf and know that it makes a differences. I love you all and pray for your happiness and success.

Love, Elder Tilley