Email- July 21, 2012

Hey family!

I'm so sorry I didn't write yesterday. Turns out my P-day actually was supposed to be today, because yesterday we had in-field training all day getting us ready to go out into the field this next week. :) ! We leave Wednesday morning at 6 AM and are taking a bus up to Salt Lake to meet President and Sister Winn!! I'm so excited! This isn't relevant to anything, but I got stuck with the computer that has a keyboard that bulges out in the middle and am having a tough time trying to type everything without typos. I guess it is supposed to be more convenient for typing... Anyway, I'm trying to type as fast as I can, though, so you can hear about everything that's going on here, so just overlook my incorrect spelling and stuff.

So everything just started to click this week when it comes to teaching lessons. We kinda were having a tough time trying to get the hang of it, but it just all is working out! The Spirit is the key. Definitely. And studying the scriptures. Prayer and the scriptures are my favorite thing. There is NO WAY I could be successful here without it. I still have lots and lots to learn to become an even more effective instrument of the Lord, but I just need to remember to be patient and diligent, and it will come. I still love it here! It's never getting old. Progressing spiritually is inevitable. I am in love with my Book of Mormon. Sometimes when I'm holding it, I just stare at it with admiration. Don't make fun of me. I just truly know that it is true. And because it is true, Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and really did restore Christ's church here on the earth. We have the true and living gospel! Isn't it amazing?! I can't believe I was afraid to share with people before. There would be no reason for living if we didn't have it! People need to have it available to them! There is no other way for people to have true and complete happiness. Pure happiness. I am so happy. Has that obvious at all?

At the beginning of the week, when we went to TRC (where we have real lessons with real people outside of the MTC) and had an AMAZING lesson with an older couple named James and Joni. (OKay, just so ya know, half of the time these people are actors - sometimes they are active members in the church playing the part of a nonmemeber or a less-active member, or sometimes they're situation is real. But they won't ever let you know! One time I actually thought the lesson was real with this one adorable old guy, and it went so well that we committed him to baptism by the end of our first lesson! I was so happy, I got a little teary! But it turned out it was fake. I was bummed.) So we figured out real quick that we finally actually had a REAL lesson with this couple. He has been a member all his life, but was only forced to go by his parents when he was younger. He seriously didn't learn anything while he was there because his heart was so hard and quit going when he moved out. His wife gained a testimony of the truthfulness and joined the church before she married him, and still wants to go, but she doens't want to go alone. Right at the beginning, he just asked firmly, "WHY...TELL ME WHY...IS IT SO IMPORTANT TO GO TO CHURCH?" So...we started at the basic. Talked about how God is our loving Heavenly Father and went from there. When the Spirit started testifying through me of the healing power of the Atonement and how he could start off with a clean slate, I could see his hardness melting away. You can always see in the investigators' eyes what's going on in their heart. You could see him going through a change. Anyway, it came down to Joni saying how much she wanted to be sealed to him in the temple and it got pretty emotional. Before we go to finish everything we wanted to bear testimony of, we ran out of time. And we all grew so attached to each other, they asked if we could teach them next time they come. But we can't :( I am so sad. So we're in the process of writing them a letter to keep in touch with them.

Anyway, I love God's work. And I love my family! I am so blessed to have such an amazing family that sends me letters all the time! Thanks so much for that!

Love,

Sister Candice LeSueur