The Big GROWTH!

Mom, Dad, I want to thank you for what you have written me, it helps out a lot, and gives me hope and courage to take on my fears with more assurance that the Savior is going to be there for me when the fear comes. At Zone Conference yesterday we read a very powerful talk from Elder Oaks that was along the same lines as your e mails to me. It talked about true conversion and how we are to achieve that over the whole course of our life time. Later in the talk he makes a very powerful statement that hit me and opened my mind to a whole lot of understanding. He said that a testimony is going to grow more in times of hardships and pain, then when in peace and easiness. At first I thought of my self and how this is very true, I have had so much growth because of this past week with my new companion, Elder Jacobson. Mom, when I wrote that I was at my lowest point. I'm more over that fear now and have grown over it. "It is better to face your fear one time and get over it then live its shadow" So that's has been one of the things I learned this past week.

Things in our area have been great. The weather has turned really bad and it's been 19 degrees for the past few days. We are still out riding our bikes; fifteen miles average a day. Even though it's so cold we have been finding more people outside and OTM's then ever before. We stop and talk to everyone and share the gospel with them. I really like to OTM's where some one is fixing a car, I can talk to them about the cars and sound smart and tie it into the gospel some how. Like last Friday we met a man who was just as old as I am and was fixing up and old step side dodge truck. He had dropped a magnum engine in, but was looking to put the old 360 back in to it and beefing it up. His name was Nick and then we met his friend David. I tied it to the gospel by saying sometimes things work in our lives but don't feel right, and that when they don't feel right we change them. It might make sense writing it out, or I didn't do a good job explaining how I tied it in but I know that no matter what some one is doing or saying I can tie it into some principle of the gospel. So OTM's have been awesome but by Thursday of last week I was a little angry; every time I talked to some one I could see the confusion. I wanted to cut through it and help them out so much that I began to get impatient. Most of them tell me that their either Baptist and they have a whole sluu of anti that has been taught to them, or they just say that just believing in Jesus Christ is enough to be saved and that they don't have to be apart of a certain church. It's pushed me a lot, because now I'm trying to find better ways to OTM and to teach lessons so that people understand what it is that we have to offer them. So that's been real fun. The other day I had my first book given to me! This lady we OTM'd said she wouldn't leave till she gave me the book. Come to find out her husband is an X'd member. That was a way funny experience.

Elsie and her family are doing well, they are still coming to church and are growing, but Elsie didn't come to church last week, and she hasn't answered my phone calls or returned any of them, so we will be going over and seeing what's going on with her.

This past week was all one huge growth spurt for me you could say. New companion and having a lot of things heeped on me all the sudden wasn't fun, but now I'm getting a little rest, I guess it's to get ready for the next trial.

. I love you Mom and Dad!

Your Son,
Elder David Kelly Conrad