October 9, 2007

To the most AMAZING family in the world! The Irvines!

Elder S-A-N-D-O-V-A-L loved the card that you sent to him, it meant the world to him. He's been a bit more considerate since then, it really helped him out. His family is in Mexico and so it takes about a month and a half for him to get a letter. That was flat out amazing on your part Mom.

It was Columbus Day yesterday, so the library was closed. What luck! If you could do me a favor and forward parts of my e-mails over to my MTC teachers- marielroetto@gmail.com and devinkevin12@yahoo.com - they'd love it! Thanks so much!

Elder Bethke is doing well, but the previous district leader messed up the car so it's in the shop- he has a car area and he's on bike! What a rough beginning to the mission! It takes half and hour to go between appointments, minimum. Well, at least he'll get in shape quick! His companion is a good missionary, not cool because that means 'apostate', but really obedient and knows his stuff.

We are in the process of cleansing the earth, as it seems. We are picking up a few, dropping a lot. It's how it goes. It is really hard though, because our pool went from alright to 'oh my gosh we're in trouble numbers-wise'. If they aren't ready, gotta leave them behind! However, we made an amazing discovery. One of our investigators, the Saenz family, is actually a member! We didn't know this entire time! Elder Sandoval was in disbelief, as was I. She still doesn't have a testimony of Joseph Smith, but we're working on that. As for her oldest daughter, Myra, she has great potential. She always listens to us. She always asks questions, and is really willing to hear our message. We didn't even teach her a lesson yesterday but the Spirit was there as we bore our testimonies of the Book of Mormon and about the talks in conference. It was a great experience. I'm a bit miffed by the previous elders, who didn't even let us know they were members, and I'm talking about the ones from way back when (8 or so years ago). They were there for the girls...the bar has been raised. Our less actives are coming back to church, slowly but surely, and it disappointing to know that many less actives never want to hear us by making it increasingly difficult to find them! Ah! We shared thoughts and notes from General Conference, and it was hard for me because I had to translate from English to Spanish on the spot. It was very interesting to say the least.

As for conference, it was pleasing to see another Second Counselor up there, Pres. Eyring! And, I loved almost every talk. There were some that really hit me, such as Pres. Monson's first talk reflecting on his experience as a child, "Mrs. Patton, Arthur Lives", Elder Costa's talk about family as well as Elder Oak's talk about family. I loved Elder Holland's talk about the Restoration, that there was a need for a Restoration and whoever calls us 'un-Christian' better think about it again, because we follow the same principles that the old Christians did after Christ's death. I loved it, it was powerful, bold, and to the point. It made us all feel like fighting someone on the streets about the Gospel. It was a motivating talk. Priesthood was off the charts. Elder L. Tom Perry's 'raise the bar' talk, of not clearing the minimum. It is very true. We can't have 'minimum standards' missionaries- it doesn't work, it doesn't help, and it wastes not only our time as companions but the Lord's time. Elder Hales' talk about personal revelation was really powerful. The most poignant moment of the conference was when Elder Nelson helped Elder Wirthlin stay still to finish his talk. My friend's sister who is serving in Burbank, Hna. Zippi, she cried so much she walked out of the room. It was touching, and I know that we have loving men of God guiding us today. They love us because God loves us. And, Pres. Hinckley is still the witty self he is, "I'm 97, and I hope to be here in April", "Pres. Monson, I'm waiting for you to dye your hair red!", and the hilarious one when he mentioned that we always sing the same songs but the speaker is expected to bring something new each time. I love him! What a great conference! I have to admit, this is the first conference where I intently listened to each and every talk that was given. It is sad that I missed so much counsel before coming on the mission.

As for conference, I'd suggest to print one of them in Japanese or have Grandma listen to it, so she can slowly gain a testimony of the Gospel. Maybe Pres. Monson's talk, "Mrs. Patton, Arthur Lives!" Just a thought...

This past two p-days were fun! Last week we went bowling (I am not a good bowler- both under 100) and yesterday we played kickball. It was so fun! However, Sandoval got himself hurt again when the doctor told him to not play sports like soccer and what not, but he still played. I'm not his father so I just let him do it and he got hurt. Just great. Later that afternoon, I was riding the bike to go to the store with my temporary companion Elder Villa and I turned my ankle really bad. It's not pretty. We'll see what happens the next few days.

I am very pleased to see Kristy's progress, because that's exactly what the Lord wants. Exact obedience, nothing wavering, complete dedication and love for the people. I love this mission, I love serving the Lord and all of His children. Just some advice, always study the language. I have slacked off in language study because we've had morning appointments when I usually would study and my comp felt it wasn't very important most of the time to set times in the afternoon to study and make up that lost study time. A significant drop in my comprehension and speaking, and I know that the Spirit works through me, and it is not my own efforts that allow me to communicate with the people here.

Our zone conference is tomorrow, and we're going to the LA temple! It was closed last transfer, I can't wait to go again! During zone conference I'm supposed to give a thought about humility, how it has helped me become a better missionary and/or how it has made a difference in my mission. I'm humbled that the zone leaders would choose me out of 20-odd elders and sisters to speak on humility. Also, I'm a bit nervous for some reason, because I feel inadequate to speak on it. It reminds me of Pres. Eyring, that he feels inadequate to speak to us, and I have the same feeling of inadequacy because I know my weaknesses (humility isn't my greatest strength).

I've struggled this week as I have gotten letters and also as I sat back and reflected on what I've done so far. I'm not disappointed about the lack of baptisms, but that I have so much more to do, that I am not reaching my potential. I'm in the process of finding my weaknesses and trying to make them stronger so I can be a more capable missionary, because everyone is imperfect even missionaries (who could've guessed?). It is me that is preventing blessings from coming, and I know I have to show that faith, repent, and come unto Christ again as a humbled missionary.

We are blessed with great members! I love this ward! I am so blessed to be in the Spanish-speaking part of the mission...I love these people, my brothers and sisters of Arleta.

There's a lot of work to do! There's so little time! I've been here for almost 2 months! How crazy is that?! I don't want to waste one minute (I know I do) in His service. And yes, we are being blessed for our obedience to curfew, the one black mark in our companionship. We have been blessed with some great potential investigators, and we are in the process of visiting our potential baptism since we couldn't visit her at all last week due to her work and everything else. Just pray for us, to be able to help these people go into the fonts of baptism!

I love you all, may you all stay safe. God bless you for your prayers and support, I am lucky (and indebted to God) that I have a wonderful family that is supporting two missionaries and their companions. Thank you, and I love you.

Yours truly,
Elder Irvine