No Hablo Espanol

This week was alright.  There was a leadership meeting for all the leaders in the mission.  Elder Brinkerhoff went to it, so I got to go on exchanges with some Spanish speaking elders.  I was completely useless, because I didn't know any Spanish.  I am very happy I was not called Spanish speaking.  One of the sister missionaries in the ward was transferred this week as well.

Yeah, it is great to be with the mission president. I think the biggest thing about being with him is the confidence he has in his missionaries.

That is good that Kiley is moved out and not having anymore roommate problems.  Also I did get the package, thank you. They always seem to show up the day after preparation day.

I am watching conference from the Ward building, and hopefully we will have some investigators there.  I feel really refreshed after General Conference.  It was great to go to the Temple, we should be going again in May.

I love that article from the April New Era.  I am nothing if I do not try to serve others.  All of a missionaries "power" only comes when trying to sincerely help others, or in other words when they have charity, the pure love of Christ.  However it takes time to develop Charity, hence why we are give time upon the earth to learn and grow.

I hope you are doing good and I will email you again next week.

Love, Elder Lakey

Proselyting with the Mission President

This week has been good.  The teaching is going alright.  We went proselyting with President Bernhisel on Wednesday that was interesting.  On Saturday, one of Elder Brinkerhoff's converts was endowed and sealed in the temple with his wife and kids.  We got permission to go to the sealing.  It was cool and surprisingly simple.  We also saw some temple workers from Jacksonville, so I got to talk with them a little bit.

Transfers are this week, I am staying in Pembroke and so is Elder Brinkerhoff.

Thanks for the spiritual thought!  Missionary work is the most difficult thing  I have ever done in my life. While many missionaries stay for the full two years, some missionaries will get burned out and become "trunky".  While I have way too much time on my mission to get trunky, there is no denying the fact that one can get discouraged on their mission if they are not careful.  But, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

I did not get the package you sent me yet.  I am glad Great Grandma is doing better, I have been praying for her and put her name on the prayer roll!  Tell Johnathan it is always cool to hang with friends on your birthday. I hope he can do better at the cello than I ever did.

I hope you are having a good week, I love you and I will email you next week.

Love,
Elder Lakey

The Book of Mormon is Amazing!

This has been a good week.  Our investigators are doing alright.  Unfortunately we do not have any investigators close to baptism yet. We had stake conference yesterday, we went to the adult session on Saturday and then they had an area broadcast on Sunday, where Elder L. Tom Perry spoke. The whole conference was all about missionary work.

In order for the work to hasten and to get 200 baptisms for the stake we need miracles. Good thing our God is a God of miracles. We will also need a lot of support from the members too. 

Hastening the Work is an all out effort for the church. Everyone must play a role in it.  If you think about it, many activities and aspects of church are a part of the work. What stood out to me about what Elder L. Tom Perry said was that he didn't add anything new. He just repeated what has been said for the last year and a half now.  Simply put, it is time to go to work.

There are also sister missionaries in the ward. In fact, Sister Cowley was in the Jacksonville 3rd ward with me for awhile and now she is in Pembroke.

I saw that President Reed's wife died, that is so sad. I remember President Reed telling me this was going to happen. I know their son Jeff well. He actually emailed me two weeks telling me he got his mission call to the Ventura California.  I hope he will still want to go.

I'm sorry to hear about Great Grandma, I didn't realize that it was getting that bad. I will be praying for her.  Thanks for sending a care package, it is well appreciated.  I will see what I can do about sending the photos home.

The Book of Mormon is amazing! There is a reason why we encourage everyone to read it.  There is also a reason why Satan stirs people up to hate it.

I hope all is well back home and I will email you next week.

Love
Elder Lakey

Hastening the Work

Things are doing good here in Pembroke.  This week was a pretty good week, we had a lot of rain, but that was it.  I already had my interview with the mission president, to be honest there isn't much to report on with that.  Our investigators are doing alright, we had a lot of appointments fall through last week.

Last week, all the stake presidents of the mission, mission leaders and an area seventy met together.  A couple weeks before this meeting all the area seventy for the South met with Elder Ballard. The seventy announced that based off their research that the area goal should stay at 2.5 baptisms per missionary per year.  Elder Ballard said no to that goal and increased it to 5 baptisms per missionary.  Based off of that meeting all the leaders of the Raleigh mission came to revamp their goals.  The Fayetteville West stake president has increased the baptism goal to 200 for the stake, and that means Pembroke needs about roughly 25 baptisms to meet that goal!  The Lord is truly hastening his work!

Elder McHan is in the Fayetteville stake, while I am in the Fayetteville West stake.  Thanks for sending out another package, more Mormon tabernacle choir music would be nice, and possibly a band called Inside Out Acapella (they are an LDS band).

I'm glad to hear Jonathan is getting the priesthood, it should be good for him.  It sounds like RSL had a crazy game!  As a missionary your interest, habits and desires change, but soccer is something I would love to pick up after my mission again.

Tell Taylee there are irons in all the missionary apartments I have been to, but the humidity usually unwrinkles clothes anyways, I never bother to iron my clothes for that reason.

I love that spiritual thought, I think that when we serve others, that is when we change the most. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most powerful force in the universe, because it changes people's will.

But I think that change happens when serve others with Christlike love.

I'm glad you feel like me going on a mission was worth it for you. I know that going on a mission is the best decision I have ever made.  It is hard for me to describe how I have changed, other than that I have changed a lot.

I love you and I will email you again next week.

Love, Elder Lakey

Well Fed

I am doing well here.  This has been a good week, we taught a lot of lessons this week, which is always great.  Investigators are doing alright, right now we are trying to build up the area a bit. But that being said, I have never been fed so much in my life it is ridiculous, even if I don't eat the food they will send it home with me, our fridge is full right now!

I haven't eaten anything different, but I did drink something that I never drank before.  Last night some members had a ton of caffeine free coca-cola that they were trying to get rid of.  So I tried one, it was alright, I would agree it is better than a Pepsi (an investigator in Jacksonville once forced me to try a Pepsi).  I don't think I am going to be a coke drinker anytime soon, though.

I hear we are having another storm coming through.  Every 3 months we have an interview with the mission president and this one got moved because the storm that is suppose to hit tomorrow.  

That is great to hear that Jonathan bore his testimony, it sounds like he is starting to understand the gospel!

I would like you to send the Thai Book of Mormon.  The  next missionary area over is the city of Lumberton.  Lumberton has a ton of refugees from Burma.  These refugees have they own language and do not have a Book of Mormon in that language.  However, many  of these people spend years in UN refugee camps in Thailand, so while many don't know much English, many know Thai and perhaps some may be able to read the Thai Book of Mormon.

I love that spiritual thought, the fact is everyone has to rely and faith at one point or the other, and that is why we must have a testimony. They will come a time where we will be back up to a wall, but we will be rewarded if we continue faithfully.

I am glad you bore your testimony on facebook I really enjoyed it.  Ironically, I was so busy yesterday I wasn't able to get on facebook and post my testimony.  I will do that in the next day or two.

I love you and I will email you next week.

Love,

Elder Lakey