K, first things first. Cole, I need you to go outside and have Dad help
you with rebounding. I heard that you're doing super well! But, just a
little bit of help will be good. Practice some boxing out and all that
(and then remember to jump when you rebound). And have you ever painted
before? haha why are you winning all these awards for stuff that's so
new, it's amazing.
Bethany! That's super awesome. I don't know if I ever scored 15 points in a game haha. How's your dribbling?
And
Dallin, that's lame about your coaches, but just keep pushing. And then
destroy the league in the Spring. I sure hope you're getting ready!!
I'm excited to talk next week, but we still don't know how.
Also,
I love Alyse's blog post. I don't have time to entirely read them, but
even just skimming I get the picture. "Cutest..... love him....... I
love being a mom.... "
Well! The weather is great. IT's snowed a couple of inches yesterday
and this morning. Driving is definitely a new experience, especially
since both Elder Lanning and I are both from California and have never
driven in snow before. But it's good, we're taking it slow mom, don't
worry.
It's not terribly cold, because a lot of the knocking doors we do are
inside apartment buildings, but eventually they're going to run out, so
we'll tell you how that goes.
Turns out I don't have gloves or a hat, so we're going to go to the store and buy some.
This last week with Elder Lanning has been awesome. He's a great
missionary. He's definitely more quiet than maybe Elder Umana, but he
knows how to teach. And find! So that's a great combination. We were
really blessed with a number of new investigators this week, and almost
every less active member we passed by let us in to teach them. So far no
one has come to church yet, but yesterday 7 or 8 less actives who we
have seen came to church. It was awesome. It was just so great seeing
them and realizing that we really don't do much except for be there for
them, and show them a loving hand and then the Lord does the rest.
Also, our buddy Cedric plays a great role in keeping these 'less
actives' still in the church. He calls and visits them all the time, and
never really lets any of them out of their sight. So, when the
missionaries like us come over and drop by, they're ready to open up
because they know someone besides the boys in white shirts is thinking
about them. I really admire that, and think it's pretty key in our work
with these members.
For our teaching pool, we're now teaching at least one person from:
Quebec, Egypt, Romania, Jamaica, Barbados, Cameroon, the Philippines,
the Sea Shells? (some tiny island off of madagascar) and Guatemala.
Montreal is just so awesome. But we were really blessed by letting us
find these people this week. Many of them seem to be actually searching
for something, and have just loved the idea of the Book of Mormon. Our
friend Hutira from Romania read all the way to Helaman since the last
time we saw him. And two others have said they'll do the same thing.
We're just excited to go back for our first real appointment (not just
at the door) to help them out.
One of the most precious things that I've learned so far is just how
to better recognize the Spirit. Just being out for this short while and
searching for it, praying for it, and then trying to teach by it have
been some of the greatest experiences. I've learned some pretty
important lessons though. We can't force the Spirit to be with us. If we
are seeking for something specific how we would like it, chances
are we won't find what we're looking for (for example, an overwhelming
once in a life time experience every time you do something good, like
reading the scriptures). But really, he speaks calmly, and he prompts us
so subtly, that it might be difficult to recognize if we're not humble
enough to accept how it is that he will show us. Another thing is that
he really is the teacher. I love the verses 26 and 27 in John 14,
because they're true. The Spirit really is to comfort us, to teach us,
to bring all things to our remembrance. I can testify that those are all
true. And I love seeing others recognize truths these as well.
This is the best church in the world, and I know it's the one that
Christ leads through his prophet and apostles. What a blessing.
But! Have a good week before Christmas. Find someone you can go help, all y'all.
Love,
Elder Murphy, eh?
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