A Hug a Missionary Will Never Forget

Monday, May 11, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Good morning. It was so good to Skype the two of you. I am glad that I am looking healthy. I will admit something here; I should have mentioned this yesterday, but it was not too important. I do have healthy meals. I have Greek yogurt for breakfast and salad for lunch. I have been doing that for a while now. I am able to get my protein in and follow the Word of Wisdom (reference to LDS guidance on diet) a bit more. I am still figuring how to follow the Word of Wisdom more fully and I am quite happy with doing this. Of course, one day, I will expand beyond salads. I realize there are more ways to eat meat sparingly. And no, I am not becoming a vegetarian.

I am quite happy that I am looking healthy and that most of my teeth are white. I feel happy about the

changes that have been made physically for me. I feel like I am eating a bit more healthy and I am getting back into exercising. I am so happy that I could run (which I will get to that story in a bit), which makes me want to run, though that will have to wait a bit. There are more steps that I am going to be working on, such as eliminating desserts and, eventually, snacks (though I will have some for emergencies). Please note a couple things here. I am not trying to prevent myself from becoming fat; I am not trying to be a health nut. I am trying to take care of my body and to do those things that will help me. I am trying to explore ways that I can more fully live the Word of Wisdom and it will take time. I am trying to do things better, trying to make good things become habits. The Word of Wisdom is a good start for me.

I hope this explanation makes sense. And that you will not panic. One day, I will add a bit more to my breakfast and add a bit more to my meals.

It has been a good week, quite enjoyable and definitely we had to work hard. Plus, lots of crazy little things happened.

Let us begin with Monday. Our P-day was of the normal kind. It was enjoyable. We decided to clean our car and try to fix our door. We did not do anything to the door, but the sensor is not working properly. It keeps on saying the door is ajar. We tried to figure it out and messed with another door... until the door would not shut. It is hard to explain over an email, but it had to deal with the latch to close the door until the time comes to reopen the door. We could not get the latch down, despite our attempts. We called Elder Sopp and we prayed. We called some members and while we called these members, a miracle occurred. As it so happened to be, God thankfully intervened. A returned missionary, who was visiting the Staunton area that he had served in, decided to stop by his old apartment. His father, who knew how to deal with the problem fixed the latch and we were able to go about our business. Thank you, Elder Beaton. (Fun fact: This Elder Beaton was the trainer to one of my old companions, Elder Frank.) And thus began our week.

Tuesday, we had one giant zone conference. And guess who I met? Elder Short. And guess what I did? I gave him a hug for his sister. Yes, my quest of hugging Elder Short for his sister is complete. He was a bit surprised, but I figure he was happy about that. The zone conference talked a lot about creating our own personal ministry. I like this idea, because there are people we minister to each day. There are the people in need and the people we are in contact with on a daily basis. I pondered this idea for quite a while. After returning home and enjoying dinner, we headed off to see the recent convert man who was baptized when I got here. We shared part of the Plan of Salvation and helped him to set goals, so that he could obtain the Aaronic Priesthood and go to the temple. We noted some things that he needed, so that he could have aid as he continued to progress in the gospel; some of these things were also discussed in zone conference. We realized we need to find member friends for our people and we needed to help them have assignments. We also saw a less active who usually sits all day and watches the television (due to some injuries that he is suffering through). We again applied our zone conference and it worked.

I realize even more that things work quite well when we have the Spirit more fully in our lives. As

somebody told me, "When we live the gospel harder, it becomes easier." Somebody had faulted me on that before on "the gospel becoming easier," but it means that when we have the gospel in our lives, we are able to withstand our trials even more. We do not despair; we come to know that these trials are for our gain.

Wednesday, we headed off to see the people in the health center. We went to find; then our dinner appointment called us and asked us to go visit somebody. Off to the hospital we went. We met the family and the person who we were asked to see was wheeled away for some reason. The family asked us to help in giving a blessing, but we needed to wait for the sister. The sister did not show up, and, unfortunately, we had to go. We gave them some oil (a drop of olive oil is used that has been consecrated) and headed off. We met a member of the bishopric to go to a lesson. We tried to see our elderly man investigator (whose family consists mainly of LDS), but he was not there. The bishopric member suggested that we go and try to see a recent move in. He, too, was not there. And speaking of rain, it poured while we were doing this. We met up with our dinner, who gave us money due to the fact they could not have us over for dinner. After dinner, we met up with one of the Ms. Mary students; we tried to help her to understand more about faith. After this short lesson, we headed over to the church to help with the priests' mutual activity involving the Preach My Gospel.

Thursday, we did our weekly planning session. We talked with our elderly man investigator, but not much happened in this visit. We finished off a street that we previously tracted, but nobody was home. We visited with the other Ms. Mary student, who is involved with drama. She, the next day, was going to get her patriarchal blessing... though she thought it was an interview for the blessing itself. She was surprised, nervous, because she had not realized that. We explained what occurs and the sacred nature of those blessings. She felt a bit better and even more after she had received that blessing. We had dinner with a new family that moved in. They are a wonderful young couple, very nerdy, but they are fantastic. They made some really good food. They have no furniture, so we sat on the floor, which I enjoyed a lot. Until, of course, I got up and had to hobble off. But, other than that, it was a good time. They later commented on how they loved our trio; they said we were personable and fun and we were able to bring in the Spirit. Later that night, we met with our investigator family to check up on them; the children still want to know more (they loved us) and the father is still interested. The mother, whom we never taught, is waning.

Friday, we completed our progress record. Mainly this day, we tried to contact a lot of people. Not much happened. 

Saturday, we updated the members who need rides that they have rides. Then began that 6 and a half hours of service that we did. We helped out this member who needed some items moved; she owns this shop and it has a lot of stuff. There is a back room that is one giant pile of clothes and other donated items. Luckily, there was some smaller items that I could move and lift. Somebody gave her a dog, so that she can find this dog a home. That dog tried to escape. The three of us went after it; and that is when I realized I could run. Yes! But, man I am sore after running. I had not run in a long, long time, because I was afraid that I would screw up my back even more. It did not though. Happy about that. After reclaiming the dog and returning it, we headed over to Staunton Post Office. There was a food drive going on that helps the Feed America thing going on and a food bank that is in the area somewhere. The postal service was used to make notice of this event and for the picking up of the food. Well, everybody was late. There were cans, glass, and dry goods, plus other random things. One bag of food was compiled of Cheez-its. There were marshmallows and random medicine. It was a great time, though some items were odd. We did not finish until seven-thirty.

Sunday, we had meetings and church; this time we did not lose our befuddled man. We had a quick lunch and then headed over to the people that allowed us to Skype at their place. Elder Day went first; his family was trying to figure out things, so he did not see them as much. Plus, the microphone was not working all that well. By the time I went, everything was figured out. Then, we had dinner and Elder Hansen talked to his family. Afterwards, we blessed a home.

And that is our week. Many appointments cancelled; many people were not home. But, it was great. Lots of service performed and good times.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

#Virginia Richmond Mission

Fire Nation Attack: or the Midlothian Switch

May 12, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I do not know how to say this, that rule for forty minutes for us is try to stay under an hour. We did try, but regardless, it was great talking to everyone. I hope Mom enjoyed her Mother's Day card; I meant to ask her about that. What I wrote was to remind all of the good times we had. It has been a long time, so I tried to remember what I could. There were other things that I forgot to mention, which you helped remind just now. So, remember that golden investigator, the one I was privileged to baptize? Well, I was able to get an update on him recently. His fiance dumped him and she was the one that introduced him to the church. While he was sad over that, he is still attending the church and has recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood. That was really good to hear.

It sounds like everything is busy over on the "Left Coast." Keep on doing what is right and press forward. And remember the eternal perspective. While it is hard in this life, things will turn out for the better.

So, I guess I will proceed to tell you of my week. Monday, we had zone P-day, where we headed to the stake center to have fun as a zone. This was with the Midlothian West Zone. I got to say good bye to people that were leaving, but did not really say good bye to others, thinking that we were safe. We never received any calls, so we, the people who were still there, were excited to be together for another transfer. We had played basketball, soccer, and it was a lot of fun. Tuesday, we cleaned, for it was that time of month, and tracted. We also helped with the food bank that day. It was a fairly well week thus far.

Well, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked (another reference to Avatar: the Last Airbender, just to bug his parents). So, Wednesday, it was starting off good. We just got done with studies and were about to have lunch. Then, we got the call that started the week wrong. It was zone leaders of the Midlothian East Zone. They had called a couple weeks previous for a question about a member of the Powhatan ward, so I picked up, thinking it was follow up. No, not at all. We were being welcomed to the Midlothian East Zone; I put the phone on speaker, so my companion could believe this. We were both confused and it was a blindside. We called our previous district leader, who called the zone leaders. We went about our way, hoping the situation would be resolved. When the zone leaders of the Midlothian East Zone called, I promptly told them my issues with this, thinking that they were confused. Our district leader and zone leaders of the Midlothian West Zone had no idea either. So, the East called the West and there was nothing West could do. We are now part of the Midlothian East Zone. Well, I was extremely agitated at that point. Do not worry I put a smile on my face.

While, yes, there is nothing really I can do, but smile, and accept it, I still have feelings about it. Couldn't we have a little more warning? We just had zone P-day and we did not get to say goodbye to anyone, really. I felt like I had actually found friends and was included. It is bit hard being ripped from friends without warning. My other zones I really did not get out much; that, and I did not feel that included. So, it was hard, but hey, I will make some new friends. I know it is a bit selfish to feel that way, but I made friends. Major accomplishment on my part. And Powhatan is in the middle of the Midlothian West Zone; it literally splits the zone. But, hey, I know it does not make sense, yet President is inspired. What takes the cake for me is that I have fears of not being included and the area not understood. I came into this area with the idea to tract and find new. However, six weeks later, I realize this area needs to focus on the less active members; this will be a major boost for the area. It is what it needs. Yes, we still will go out and try to find people. I am not at all giving up on baptizing people and trying to help them. I just see that this area is more geared to less active work at this current moment. If we baptize someone, my fear is that the people will want another; after all, it has been four years since they had a baptism. It is an odd fear, I know. But, this area needs to gradually build itself up, which can be accomplished through less active work. Having a sudden peak through baptism will only ensure a quick and faster descent that will hinder the work. I prayed about this and felt right about it. This area needs time; while yes, we have two investigators who are potential for baptism, they need more time. I have that fear about the zone and it is hard not knowing what is going to happen, because it is not just two people in a new zone, it is an entire area. It just is a bit frustrating to know this and having no one else know. It does not help when you receive nearly daily texts about people being put on date. We are trying and we rejoice in people's success, but as I have learned in the MTC that can really get on people and actually burden them. Another fear is for whoever comes in. Is it odd for me to feel this way? I do not think so. I have seen what this area is like and know now what this area needs. I feel right about it.  And we had basketball that night and I have been doing a bit better with defense.

Thursday, we worked extra hard and nothing came about. We received anti-Mormon material, which was a bunch of garbage.

Friday, we talked with an investigator who has been investigating for three years. We finally got down to the meat of the issue. She had a problem at first with the priesthood, but Dallin H. Oak's talk helped clarify that. Now, she has an issue with tea. She also feels more included in her church that she has been going to for the sake of her mother. At first, it was an obligation, now it is her actually taking a liking.

Saturday, we talked to our investigator who has been having issues with the Word of Wisdom, who wants to be baptized, but just actually wants a clean slate. We saw our less active who is in a nursing home. It was so awesome to see him; his brother came to get him and they and us spent time at the less active's house. We celebrated his birthday, which was back in April. (We weren't able to celebrate in April, because he went to the hospital.) And Sunday, we talked for a while. It was good day. So, our week was okay, up and down, Satan trying to get at me. I woke up this morning feeling good and ready to overcome.

And the checks.... So, I went to Well's Fargo, in the hopes I could cash them. Nope. Why? I did not have an account with them neither did Grandma. So, I looked at where the nearest Bank of America is. Three words: out of area. Which means required permission, miles, etc. I looked at Fredericksburg; also, out of my area at that time when I received the checks. Woodbridge, very dependent on members. So, it may be a while if I can see if they can be cashed. I will update you. I get to be out of the area this coming week for district meeting.

So, I am good. Happy now. I just had a lot of feelings to get out. It was great to see and talk to you. I was glad to see Joy and Bailey as well. I was glad to see Carly, Coda, and Buddy. And more importantly, Mom and Dad, it was great to see you. It was nice to talk. Things will definitely have to be done with the Spirit. Thanks for the chronology. I am almost to the epistles; Paul has yet to go on his third missionary tour.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Love the quotes, especially Sister Hinckley's. And do not worry over the zone issue, it is not bugging me, it is nothing that you should worry about, it will be what it is.

A Visit From Elder Sitati

 A Minnionary

Monday, November 18, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Good news is that I am not being transferred. No calls yesterday, so that is a definite sign. (Unless, of course, they forgot to call, but I am optimistic.) So, yes, no transfer for me. Thank you for sending me that laugh. It is good to laugh. This transfer was a lot of personal spiritual growth. I am refocusing my efforts and am working hard. I am glad to hear about my dog and I am glad that she is keeping warm. I am glad to see that missionary work in Lemoore is going well. Congrats on the work!

Oh by the way, I have a secondary medical insurance called Missionary Medical. I do not know if you knew that, but it would be great for you to know and to let our primary insurance know. Just in case I plan to take a visit to the hospital any time soon.

So, I hardly have enough time emailing. I can barely email president.

So, this week. Elder Sitati came on Tuesday and talked to us about our missionary purpose. It was awesome. I received a lot of personal insight and had a lot of personal revelation. We plan on using that to put on a fireside to teach members about missionary work. We did service; a lot of raking leaves. A lot of spiritual insights. This week was great in spiritual insights. I learned a lot. Our investigators are doing good, sort of. Two got injured this past week. One got in a car accident in Arizona and snapped his arm. Another was riding his bike and fell into a ditch. He injured his head, shoulder, and knee. One investigator family is leaving and moving to another area. Others we need to contact again, because they have not talked to us in a while. Still working hard, though.

That sums up my week. I have been praying a lot to know what I need to do. I need to be a shepherd. I am learning a lot about having compassion.

I love you. All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

(Who is Elder Sitati? 

Elder Joseph W. Sitati

First Quorum of the Seventy

Elder Joseph W. Sitati was sustained a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 4, 2009, at age 56. At the time of his call, he had been serving as president of the Nigeria Calabar Mission.

Elder Sitati earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Nairobi in 1975 and a diploma in accounting and finance from the Association of Certified Accountants. He has also done course work for the MBA degree from the same university in 2000 and worked as an executive for “Reach the Children,” a nongovernmental organization. Prior to that, he worked in several positions with the Total Group, the 4th largest oil and gas company in the world. Among those positions was that of strategy manager at Total Kenya and consultant for the overseas division. More recently he served as the Church’s International Director of Public Affairs in Africa.

Since joining the Church in 1986, Elder Sitati has served in numerous callings, including branch president’s counselor, branch president, district president, mission president’s counselor, stake president, Area Seventy, and mission president.

Joseph Wafula Sitati was born in Bungoma, Kenya, in May 1952. He married Gladys Nangoni in July 1976. They are the parents of five children and currently reside in Accra Ghana, where he serves in the Africa West Area presidency.)
.

Serve, Give, Live, Know, Sweat, Plead, Come

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

We are still working with the people in the duplexes (mentally ill but capable), though we may end up giving these people, who are mainly single sisters, to the sister missionaries. Our appointments with the one couple whose wife is interested keep on cancelling, so we are trying to see them as soon as we can and hopefully, the bishop will come to talk with the husband.

That is so awesome that the lady that Mom has been working with is getting baptized. That is so cool! Congratulations to her! Dad keep up the missionary effort! That is great that you are using the technology of today for a force of good and helping move the work. And you are trying to find members from the ward I am in? I am sure they will say good things, but I do not know what they use. Have fun with Stake Conference! (Stake Conference is a combined gathering of several congregations in a geographical area. The guest speaker will be President Gelwix of the California Fresno Mission, an unpaid minister and former rugby coach) This week for us, I believe, is going to be the primary program (a program put on by the children ages 3 to 11 for the congregation), which is great.

My MTC companion has been emailing that he got in contact with our TRC that was the real investigator. No news on how much she has progressed, but, finally, I know something. I have been slow to write a letter to her. I am a bit frustrated with myself. I know that I am busy a lot. 

To answer your questions I did get the thermal skins, I think I got the socks, but nothing on the jacket. And yes, mail is fine coming to where I live. Our landlord is good at leaving our mail in the mailbox and thus far, since he and his wife are gone for a time, his mail is still in the mailbox. So, mail is good coming here. I do believe sending camera SD cards back and forth will work fine, unfortunately (cost of stamps, I realize could add up (only about three dollars)), but it is the only way that could work (it makes me nervous to do so, but it is best way to go anyway).

And about the hotel, cool! (We learned that the hotel we stayed in Salt Lake City is listed as haunted.)That is interesting! I would not want to go back in it, due to our experience, but what interesting information. I wonder how Bria found that out. Also, sounds like a good "Criminal Minds" that you watched; I do not miss watching the T.V. shows even though I still like hearing about them.

So, this week; slow, but good for the most part. Not a lot happened that was so awesomely amazing, but it was good. I was so happy when I saw a fox. It ran across the road, which I was really amazed at it. No picture, because (a) I was in a car and (b) it ran. I did see some deer, but that was when I was driving and riding a bike (and the deer ran across the road). In fact, when I was driving with my old companion (Meibos), I almost hit Bambi, who was standing in the middle of the road before it scampered off. Last Monday, there was traffic, oddly, going to our residence, because somebody who did not want to hit a deer swerved and flipped their car.

And speaking of time, time is starting to blend. My weeks are starting to snowball into some shape and blend. I am not too happy that September went by so quickly and now, October is nearly over. It feels like it is going to end; this mission is going by way too quickly and it has been what, three months, if not four? I am enjoying my time learning. There was this one person who told us that this is the time to be serious and after this, have fun. Hearing that, I think to myself that I find the most enjoyment out of writing, learning, serving, listening, and thinking. Most people do not think that is enjoyable. I will always find myself weird, but all is well. I am normal and to a degree unique.

I do not know if I told you, but we had a slight meal policy change. Still no meal calendar and it is still preferred that members invite non-members, but regardless, this change is to help members understand what is going on. So, we are no longer to have weekly invites by members, which I took to mean all members. I told this one part-member family that her weekly invites could no longer happen, which she was perfectly fine with, though she wants to make sure we are fed. I was doing this to be obedient and as it turns out, her weekly invites as a non-member are okay. As I soon as I found out, I told her, which she was quite happy to hear.

I learned how to stack wood, which was quite fun. I am learning a lot here both temporally and spiritually. We have a new investigator that the sisters were teaching, but the investigator secretly told a member that he wants us to come over. The sisters are still teaching him, though mainly to his wife. We do not think the wife knows that we are teaching him, but it may go well. When the sisters (missionaries) found out, they were understandably shocked and upset (to a degree). 

We also helped this recent convert (who is a single mother) tag clothes, which was so much fun. What ended happening was that Elder Longman and I started talking about the different cartoons we had watched when we were little and some of the better cartoons. (In fact, he has some permissible Disney movie music with him.) We talked about Avatar and such and we both agree that today's cartoons are horrible. The single mother piped up that she still watches cartoons, especially when her kids are at school to which her 19 year old asked her why she watches cartoons when the kids are not around. It was a fun day.

Like I said, there is not much to say. This week, not much excitement happened; that is okay. I have done plenty of personal reflection. I have found that my favorite scriptural heroes are Elijah, Enoch and Melchizedek. I read as much as we have on all of them and they are my favorite three. I love Elijah for how awesome he was. I love Enoch for his personal weakness that he told the Lord he had and the Lord basically still made him go out and teach. Enoch was a good man. I love Melchizedek for what we know and that he was an admirable priest. I have been thinking about Melchizedek a lot lately. In the most recent Ensign, I believe, there is a picture of him blessing Abram and I absolutely love it for some reason. Which brings up my next point, I am really loving gospel art right now. It is the best art and I wish there was more on the Book of Mormon. I seen some new pictures besides the ones you usually see (the ones where the men are usually muscular and such) due to the Ensigns. There are some good pictures, especially of Christ out there. And the Mormon Tabernacle Choir has excellent music. I love the albums "Love at Home," "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," and "Showtime." I love the "Battle of Jericho" from "Come, Thou Fount" and I love "Homeward Bound" from "Love at Home." (You can probably guess as to why I love Showtime.) There is so much beauty around this world that we do not recognize and I am so happy to realize what is around me. I love the gospel art and I love gospel music. So, I guess, I have been reflecting on art and music. I am so glad that there is so much more time in my life to greatly appreciate this beauty.

So, short week, slow, but all good. Truly, all is well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Monday, August 12, 2013 - the Sun still Shines - Understanding People

Dear Parents (Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom),

Well, this week was okay, but that is just all right. All is well! Even when it is raining, the sun is still shining on the other side of the clouds. Lessons went okay and investigators are somewhat progressing. One of our investigators wants time away from us, but I understand, seeing as that he is dealing with the possibility of losing one of his last living relatives. You know, I have come to see that I put a lot of emphasis on understanding people, which I believe is a good thing. By understanding people, you come to find their needs and where they are at in life, which is when you teach people and not lessons. That there, is a big key, because people are so different. I talked to this man who came from Trinidad, who saw Hitler when he was little, and was a soldier and I see that he is a very spiritual man. His needs are totally different from another investigator who has doubts about certain things. With that article portion you shared, (http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2013/06/01/time_for_some_mormon_myth_busting.html) I do tolerate a lot of people. I have been blessed by the Lord with humility and optimism. Truly, there is hope for everybody.

Well, I talked to President Wilson, the mission president and had a nice interview with him. I did not have any questions or concerns this time around, but maybe next time. I looked at the blog and I figured I should mention the name of the mission president, seeing as his name is President Wilson, not President Bradley. Maybe his first name is Bradley, I do not know. When I saw that I thought I had the name of my mission president wrong and then I went to check. It is alright. I am glad to know that I am loved and missed. I miss a lot of people, especially my family. I think back on some things, at times, but I press forward. 

I miss you Mom and Dad, but the months are already going by. It is insane as to how fast time is flying by. I heard that you two are counting down the months already from a little birdy (23 months). All will go by as it should. I am glad to hear both of you, Mom and Dad, are doing fine. I am glad to hear that Mom enjoyed babysitting and that Dad is getting ready for what looks like his last year.

My companion, Elder Meibos (My-bus), is good. We are getting along fine and I have no quarrels with him. Yes, he is a bit odd, such as stating that it is okay to double dip and that it is okay to drink out of the milk jug (which if I ever need milk, I buy my own). But, he is a good person. He is a studious person and loves to make jokes. We support each other so that we can do the best that we can. If anything, we are united as companions and know what might be best for the people. When I upload pictures, which I am assuming to use the account that you sent, you will actually see him in a tie dye shirt with my zone leaders, Elder Braithewaite (who will be in the middle of one of the pictures) and Elder Felt. (We went to see the Chancellor Battlefield)(Missionaries have the morning and afternoon to shop, do laundry, and to sightsee. Virginia has a lot of historical places of interest to Seth.). And I know my pictures are not the best; I will do my best to make them look good.

I have plenty to eat. I do not eat much at the apartment, except maybe for lunch. Lunch, sometimes the members provide and most of the time the members provide dinners. There is good food here and fish(We still can't believe he eats fish since he wouldn't at home.). I do not complain or murmur for I have enough. The members are so kind. We talk to them to set up appointments and they offer dinner sometimes. Or sometimes, we talk to them and they bring up dinner and it is a free meal. Yesterday, the bishop's wife of the ward (local congregation, more than one congregation may utilize the same building) that I am in, gave us free food. She had wanted to give it away, because she had enough. She had a lot of food because one of their daughters got married and there was a lot of food and cake left over from the reception.

Sorry to hear about Chloe (his sister Bria's dog). I am glad that she is doing okay, but, wow, a foxtail up her nose. I wonder how that got there. Well, I am glad that it was not Carly (Seth's Boxer), but I am so glad that Chloe is doing okay after that. Hope the dogs are doing well and continue doing well. 

I helped with an interfaith service event where at one of the church buildings, they were giving school supplies and clothes to children in need (this was on Saturday). I helped direct traffic as cars were coming in, which was fun. It was not too busy. Most of the time I was singing hymns (specifically, Welcome, Welcome Sabbath Morning, Now Let Us Rejoice, Master, The Tempest is Raging) and some songs from Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables (which is quite sad, because I do not remember most of the lines from the songs and I do miss the songs a bit). I waved to a lot of cars, because I felt great and a lot of people honked their horns or waved back. Then, it rained, or poured down on us.

All is well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

One's only rival is one's own potentialities. One's only failure is failing to live up to one's own possibilities. In this sense, every man can be a king, and must therefore be treated like a king.
Abraham Maslow