FW: Patience while learning

Well things were pretty amazing this week. It was a pretty over whelming and spiritual week with having General Conference and also having our zone conference. I am pretty worn out from it all and am thankful for things slowing down.

My favorite talk in General Conference was Elder Uchtdorf in the priesthood session. He talked about two things that can get you through adversity, work and learning. I have a testimony of this because that has been what has gotten me this far on my mission, if there is a trial I know that I have to keep moving because if I don't I will stop my progression. I also liked Elder Bednars' talk about being consistent. As I sat contemplating questions and concerns that have these two talks connected in my thoughts and what I got from it was that I need to be consistent in my labors and do what I know is right, even when it is tough. There was a ton that I learned during all the meetings.

My whole past transfer with Elder Buhler prepared me for the lesson I learned on patience these past few days. Remember when I got back from North Carolina and I was very patient and easy going about everything? I was thinking about that time of my life and why it was that I was so patient with things and I came to a conclusion while reading Romans 5:3-5 and thinking about the message that was given in General Conference, it says that tribulation works patience. The tribulation that I was put through to be patient when I came home was the 5 hour plane flight that I really hated! If I had not had such a hard time on that plane flight I don't think that I would be out here on His mission. In that scripture it says that patience works experience and that experience works hope, or in other words patience comes before hope, and if you go to Moroni 10: 20-21 it says if there is hope there is faith and if there is faith and hope there is charity! Which goes to the over all theme that I got from General Conference which was doing things the more excellent way and following the Spirit. When the Law of Moses was fulfilled the higher law was given, which you could call the more excellent way, and the more excellent way is charity! If tribulation creates patience and patience creates hope, which creates faith, which creates charity then we should become a more charitable people as a whole because of the trials that we are going through. We are going to suffer some of the most trying times that the world has ever seen, which should create some of the most charity lead people we have ever seen.

Michael S. is getting baptized this weekend. Yesterday night we had dinner and Family Home Evening at the Martins and with Michael. It was so fun! We taught them about the sons of Mosiah and how they labored to bring others to Christ. We then used Alma 24 to teach out the successes they saw on their missions, and how the Lamanite converts buried their weapons as a testimony that they were going to keep the commandments of God. After the lesson we played the animal game, which was an instant hit! It brought me back to the times where we would play them as a family and even at family reunions.

We have plans this next week to get Sou and her family to a member's home to have dinner and a Family Home Evening. It's going to be a combined effort with the Spanish Elders because they have a family they are working with that they are having struggles with.

Elder Buhler has grown a lot these past few days. It is amazing to just think about where he was when he first got here and where he is at now. We are unified and are striving to be even more unified because we have both come to the conclusion that missionary work will go nowhere unless we are unified. I have always noticed that the missionary work is a lot more enjoyable and stressless when I have been unified with my companions.

Today we are getting some people together and we are going mini golfing we are going to this place that has an indoor course that is lit up by black lights and everything glows, its going to be great! Michael is going to be there and so is Alina and one of her friends that we have started to teach whose name is Chris, who is my new best friend because he helped me dunk it last week during basketball! He helped me after I told him my goal that I had of dunking it before I went on my mission. It was pretty sweet.

I love you and thank you for all that you do for me!

Love-
Elder Conrad