Dad, I'm so so excited and happy that you were able to get hired on at a new job and will be starting there in 2 weeks! You are going to do so great! Mom and Garrett, you guys start back up at BYU-Idaho/Pathways next week on Monday right? You will both be so so great! School is the best of the best. What are you guys doing today for Labor Day? I think I remember you guys saying either Brinkerhoffs or Grandma/Grandpa Losee are having a BBQ at their house today, which is going to be so much fun!
This last week was spent getting everything ready for Hannah Saylors baptism that happened on Saturday (I'll talk about that in just a few min). At the start of the week though, I guess it was 2 Sundays ago now, we met up with a guy who was baptized by the assistants a few weeks ago and needed to talk with us. We met up with him, and he had had some issues in the past with the church, and so as we talked to him I taught him the importance of having complete and 100% faith in Jesus Christ, and following what it says in Helaman 5:12 of "building our foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer" -- Just like the wise men and foolish men in primary 😉. He then asked for a Priesthood blessing and so I was able to perform that for him, and I had only met the guy one time previous, but as I laid my hands on his head and started the blessing, I knew he was a son of Heavenly Father and that He would bless Ron to be okay in the end. I'm so forever grateful for the Priesthood and for the blessing and privilege I have of using it everyday of my life.
Wednesday was the big 20 for me, and so we had 2 lessons that morning and then went on 2 walks around town to get our legs moving for the day; then we went to Applebees for dinner which was so so super good! Thank you guys so much for the birthday package too, it was so much fun to open it and eat some of the food and have my favorite thing ever . . . Pie! :) It was all around a great day! Something I was thinking about that day as we were sitting at the booth/table in Applebees restaurant, was the thought of: "Who are we becoming?" And not just that question, but also about how we can be becoming stronger everyday, and being a blessing to others as we serve the Lord. I wanted to encourage all of us this next week to do and find some way to make someone smile😃 and that can come in many different ways -- Calling them by name and saying hi, leaving a cool uplifting sticky note on their car window, etc. I know that when we pray for opportunities and experiences to be the "pencil and pen" in the Lord's hands, He then writes a beautiful story for us to bring and lift those around us.
Thursday we had just a couple of lessons that day and the 2 people we had been teaching as of last week, have fallen off a little bit and so we are thinking we will still keep in contact with them, but also being able to share the reason we as missionaries are on missions is to invite and help others come closer to Jesus Christ. Super cool family and couple!
Friday, we had a surprise training visit with the district leader and his companion here in Wadsworth. We also went and set up the chairs and started getting things ready for the baptism. Then, we drove the 30 min up to the Talmadge church bldg for interviews with President Horgesheimer and to also have district council. Interviews went great and it is always so so good and so much fun to see the Horgesheimers in person. District council was also so good, and I gave a training there about "Gaining and obtaining personal revelation and inspiration". I jotted down some points and thoughts that I wanted to share with you guys:
- Seek to act, not to be acted upon.
- Pray for guidance to what the Lord and Heavenly Father want you to do.
- Reading our patriarchal blessing will bless our lives
These points are just a few of the ways that we can have the Lord's hand so abundant and play a huge role in our lives. Then that night, we had the district devotional and I was able to give the training for it. I showed Elder Hollands video on The Book of Mormon from 2019 October General Conference, and we talked afterwards about why we all need the Book of Mormon in our life and that it gives us guidance and is our stronghold in the waters of life. Very cool lesson!
Saturday, was a day I will never forget of my time as a missionary. It was Hannah's baptism! We got to the church at 7:45 that morning to start filling up the font, and then we had a mission wide zoom training meeting with the Horgesheimers and AP's at 9 am. We talked about different ways to find new people to teach and how we can be using facebook and social media to reach out to people. Elder Johnson and his companion came up for the baptism. Hannah's whole family showed up, which made us super happy! Her boyfriend baptized and confirmed her, and it was such a happy and special moment for her. Me and Elder Moss were able to be the 2 witnesses for the baptism and then stood in the circle for the confirming. I'm so happy for Hannah and her journey now going forward. It was a wonderful morning! Me and Elder Moss went on about a 2 hour walk in the evening, and were able to wave and say hi to a lot of people, which always makes me happy to do. We also met a super sweet older lady who is originally from Germany, and was our working in her front yard when we walked by. I asked her if she needed help, and we got started talking to her about her life and her cute little pug dog she has. She then asked who we were and what we do each day. We shared our reason for coming to Ohio and were able to share a quick message of Jesus Christ and His love for each one of us on the earth. I left her with a picture of Christ, and she said she would look into it.
Sunday was just an amazing and super cool day! We had 4 lessons with 4 different member families that day. The lesson we did with all of them is one you guys can do to, it's pretty fun! What it is, is you take a Book of Mormon and flip to 1 Nephi 1:1, and you have 20 seconds to count how many letters "F" you can find in verse 1. People usually get anywhere from 6 to 15. I usually get 6 and sometimes 13 or 14. But, the process behind it is if we count the footnote "F's" and even the small ones we dont think are there. We then relate it to how "by small and simple means are great things brought to pass", that even the small footnotes and "F's" we think dont count, actually do count. So we did that all day which was pretty fun. Elder Moss and I went over to Sister Zooks house and she had made us a lemon meringue pie (You can guess how happy I was ;)). So we sat and ate some pie and visited with Sister Zook. She is super cool and awesome! Then in the evening we had the mission wide Sunday devotional. It is always super fun to see all the missionaries from this mission and see how everyone is doing.
So it was a pretty great week and I learned a lot in it. One of the things that stood out to me during this last week was how important it is to Stay Humble and to Be Kind. When we are humble, we are better able to assess a situation with a kinder and more loving approach and we are able to make choices and decisions with a clear mind and asking Heavenly Father how we should go about that decision or situation we are in. Kind of like when Nephi was being rebelled against by Laman and Lemuel and he loved them regardless and even prayed for them. That probably took a lot of faith and trust on Nephis part, to forgive them for what they had done to Nephi, and turn his hate and anger and frustration to Jesus Christ and His atonement. It's pretty cool and powerful when we can look at others and see something in them that maybe they dont see in themselves, and can lovingly pray for them and help them in whatever way we can and are needed to.
Life is so amazing. It really is a happy and exciting time to be alive right now and going forward into the future. There is a lot of uncertainty out in the world these days, and people are scared, worried, and nervous about what that future holds for them and people and things they love. I know though, that as we trust and as we allow our minds to Stay Humble and Be Kind, then our hearts can be turned to Jesus Christ and He can be the G.P.S. that we all so very much need in our life and in the world today. Never lose hope, and never stop believing for a happy and bright day every morning when the sun arises, because the sun always sets at the end of the day, and with it, comes a new day and new hope in our Savior Jesus Christ.
Transfers are next week on Thursday, and so P-day is going to be on Wednesday for next week.
How is Salem and school been going? Say hi to everyone at the Jr High for me, and tell them they are doing a great job this year! Parker, how is your MA course going? Katherine, how is your foot zoning certification going? How is everyone doing outside of work and school? You all are so awesome and I'm forever and ever grateful for all of you and for everything that you each do for me everyday.
I miss you guys everyday, and I pray for you always, I love you guys so very much and I know that everything I learned from you guys while growing up, have been things that I have been able to share with and to people out here.
I love you forever and always,
Elder Dylan
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