A New Leaf

. . .become even as my friends
 in days when I was with them,
traveling to preach the gospel
in my power . . .
Doctrine and Covenants 84

Monday, March 2nd, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

I have received the Valentine's Package a couple of weeks ago. I forgot to mention that. Thank you for the package.

Yeah, the weather has been bi-polar. It seems nice one day, then it is extremely cold. Then, it snowed recently. Then, there was freezing rain. It has been so much fun driving in it.

With Elder Taylor, I am not sure. The day after splits he seemed a lot happier. But, by the end of the night, whatever it was was back. I cannot explain it. Despite this, he did work a bit more and we were able to get some work done. I talked to Elder Henstrom, who had Elder Taylor as a companion, about what he did, which he said the sleeping part at least happened. Elder Henstrom said he did not have much of a work ethic. Well, now that he is in Woodbridge, hopefully that will get him a bit more motivated. Yes, I did talk to Elder Henstrom recently, because I went back to Tappahannock this weekend. That good news is to follow.

Monday, Elder Taylor said good bye to Mama, because I suggested that he should. We helped a family that were in the midst of moving. Our dinner was supposed to help, but they had to cancel on them and, in some ways, us. They did drop off McDonald's to us, so it was not a total cancellation. At least we received food for which I was grateful. Elder Taylor finished packing that night, late at night. 

Tuesday, we headed, with another set of missionaries, to Cafe Rio. I did not get anything, because I knew we were going to have dinner with our Greek lady. A member paid for the other three and gave us a frequent diner card. Cafe Rio is miniature Utah. From there, we headed to transfers. 

My new companion is Elder Tanner Jensen, first name added due to the multitude of Jensens that are in the mission. Elder Jensen was over in Charlottesville in the country with nobody really to proselyte. His companion was going home that transfer, so he was trunky (thinking of home). Elder Jensen has been out for six months, so he is very zealous at this point to get the work done. I asked him, "Do you like to work? Do you plan? Do you tract?" He answered yes!

As we were leaving transfers, we were talking about what we were like. I told him that in high school I did two main things: study and watch television. He asked me what television shows that I watched. It was the perfect opportunity. I could then put him to the ultimate test of whether or not we could be companions. I stated, "Oh, I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender." He got excited and asked, "Have you seen, 'The Legend of Korra?'" I stated that I have only seen the first season, which is the only season he has watched too, though I know what has occurred in the second season and some things in the third season. So, yes, I do think we will get along and work together. We dropped off his luggage, rescued another set of missionaries, and took them home. We talked when we returned home and discussed some ideas. I told him about Goochland and its issues. I told him about our investigators, whom we only had seen one this past week. People are sick or not home. That night, we had dinner with our Greek lady. Her food is not bad; it was reheated, because she cooked it the day before. I enjoyed it, though my companion was more iffy on the food. It is rather unfortunate, really. As I have explored her teaching record (since she is a less active), I have read comments other missionaries have put down. She has been decried as "crazy" and her food "rough on the stomach." It bothers me a bit, probably because I think she is a wonderful lady, despite being less active.

Wednesday, we worked on the area books. I have been trying to combine the two area books. It has been a slight bear of a challenge. Both area books are thick with old names and formers. We have been weeding it. If they say they are not interested on multiple occasion, then chances are they are not interested. We have done this work on multiple occasions. The ward has been focusing on part member families, so we, not having access yet to the ward clerk, drew upon an old list of part member families to try and go see. We did go tracting on this day, which was great, though nobody answered. We are definitely in a finding mode, which happens to be a specialty of mine. I'll get to that subject in a moment. That night, we had dinner with the new elders' quorum president. And after Bible Study, we had correlation over the phone with our ward mission leader. From these two events, I noticed that the ward is painfully aware of what we do and our actions. They know the rules; they know what we are supposed to be doing. It is important for us to do all that we can to do what is right and to build trust. So, our tasks for the transfer is to build trust with the missionaries, find and contact part-member families to teach, and help less actives to be spiritually self-reliant.

Thursday, we worked at the health center. Mama was at Bingo, which is a first for me. It is good to see her out and about. She was happy to see her new son. Elder Jensen went through orientation and then we helped with Bingo. We contacted one part member family that night. The man, who as far as I can tell, is less active and he has attempted to help his wife, who leans more on the side of being "Wicken." He is a nice man, a bit of a hunter. He has ferrets that roam around; one of them tried to take the car keys. He simply told us that his wife is not really interested, though we can try hanging around and try to connect on common ground. It is a potential idea, but I do not think it is the best. 

Friday, we did four hours of weekly planning. It was great to formulate a plan for not only lessons, but what we need to do to help this area. I do believe that the work looks promising; we just need to put in the effort. We have been helping the bishop with his questions that he has as well as the tasks that he gives us. We have one unfulfilled mission that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. Other than that, we have been on top of things. We had dinner that night with our ten year old investigator and his recent convert mom and brother. We taught the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him with cups. It is evident that he understands the concepts and it was taught to him before. As his mother says, he needs to make the right decisions. We plan on giving a Book of Mormon reading chart to help him be more accountable. 


Saturday, we went out to Goochland to fulfill one of the bishop's assignments. The lady we talked to is not a member and from her teaching records, she has lost interest. We got what we needed to get from her. She kept on talking about her problems and animals. It was interesting. We left and headed home in order to get ready for the baptism in Tappahannock. The single mother investigator's son was going to be baptized. You might want to message Elder Meibos to tell him for he did find her and talked to the son. Hopefully he remembers. Anywho, it was a great baptism. Another missionary, besides Elder Henstrom, came down to see the baptism. He is in Prince William, my old area. He got a ride from a member who looked familiar. I did not interact too much with this member, because he was away at the time I was there until my last week. He recognized my name and was like, "Oh, hey Elder Todd, you might not know me. I am so and so while you were in Woodbridge. You snow shoveled my driveway while I was gone for my wife and kids. Thank you for that."

The baptism was great. The son was quite happy to be baptized and bore testimony at the end. He stated that he always felt a part of this church and coming here, something clicked for him, though he knows not what. I am so happy for him. The talk on baptism was done by another kid around his age. He asked the son what are some bad things he has, wrote it on a chalkboard, and then showed that by baptism, everything will be wiped away. After baptism, it is a lot harder to erase, to which the kid demonstrated by making marks on a piece of paper with a pen. The son retorted, "Unless you burn it." Or as the kid said back, "That is true, but you can also use white out."

Afterwards, we headed to the members' upstairs. The wife was like, "Oh, it was so good to see my sons." It seems I have also been adopted by her and her family as well. I am adopted. Everybody, but I and her, went downstairs to play pool. I talked to her, just like old times. I will tell you what I told her. I have had a lot of, if I may say, difficult work. Any kind of missionary work can be difficult. One of the things that I have noted is that I find, I help teach, I help people progress, and then I move on to the next area. I never really see the whole progress from point A to point B, though I am a big part of that transition. It has been difficult in that way, because you never know what will happen to the person you are teaching and you would love to see them reach point B. But, I have seen, especially in Tappahannock, a lot of people enter in the waters of baptism. I often am never sure what I really did in Appomattox, because the people that I did find fell away quickly and never progressed that far. I guess the thing that I did help with was the elders' quorum president, especially when he lost his two counselors as quickly as they came. It has been a wonderful work and I am not yet finished. I have four months to go, as sad as that is. Right now, it is a matter of getting back in the saddle and pressing forward. It is tiring, because I am tired. I am satisfied, because I bear testimony of Jesus Christ. I help people be happy, truly happy. I am happy to see others happy. Well, I do not know all that I said, but it goes something along those lines. I have worked miracles by the power and grace of God; and I have seen miracles done, which has been my greatest blessings.

Sunday, we sought out part member families. Not much else happened. Oh, and we were blessed with a dinner appointment when we had none. Which, is another brief humorous note. I have seen the fulfillment. Remember how in the MTC I was prompted to eat fish, because I would be eating fish in the field? In all my areas, I never had as much fish (in fact I hardly ever had fish) as I do here. I am tired of fish, but I grin and bear it.

Tout va bien!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Glad to hear you are well.

A Puzzle Piece is Missing: Are You Sitting On It?

Monday, February 2, 2015

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

You are right; I do not know what is going on with my companion. I have been persisting in trying to do the right things (In our letter to our son we suggested a number of reasons that might exist behind his companions behavior such as losing a loved one, parents who may have divorced while he was serving, or even a girlfriend who no longer has interest. When you are talking about young adults 18 - 25, reasons for not exhibiting the best missionary behavior can really vary.). I gave him that note (mentioned in a previous post) and I noticed that he withdrew a bit during that Sunday. However, he did not change and he got back into doing what he does. If anything, he has been more openly engaging in activities that are contrary to a person going to bed. I have not enjoyed it; I was slightly getting sadder. I have not given up, because I will not concede defeat. I try to understand what is his cause for behaving the way he does, but he avoids the topic like a plague. I asked him if he has any sleeping problems, which he only said that he has a hard time waking up. Later, I asked about the melatonin that he takes, which he says that he has a hard time falling asleep and staying asleep. Those things I can understand, but I am missing the big key to this puzzle. I am trying to figure out why then does he not go to bed. Once I find that out, I can proceed in determining the underlying issue. Last night, I planned to confront him and ask him these questions. He was shaving and he then proceeded to shower. I decided then to forego it for the night. If I am going to help him, I need to know how to best help him. I am trying open doors in order to help him. I tried small talk with him, but I am not the best at small talk. In summary, I am seeking answers and I am not going to give up. There are things going on here that I cannot even begin to explain, and I am not going anywhere until I can. 


The biggest success this week is we, for the first time this transfer, weekly planned. It was like, not trying to be negative here, pulling teeth or trying to lead a donkey. Ever since I began to weekly plan in depth, I have loved it, because it gives us a general idea of what we want to focus on and what general scriptures or questions we will use. To me, it shows that we are spiritually creating the lesson, so that we are prepared to enable the Spirit to draw something from us. It is a lot better than stating, "This person needs to be taught the Plan of Salvation... We need to follow up on... We need to invite him..." I will have to hold off on that for a while until I can first help my companion, because trying to do that was a headache. In due time, we will need to do that. Baby steps; that is how we will work. Big success here with weekly planning, though.

You are right. I am very enthusiastic about the work. I have been on this enthusiastic high about missionary work. The reason for this is because I know. From 19 months (and it is scary that it is nineteen months already), I have become more converted to the gospel. I know the Atonement of Jesus Christ is real, that by it each and every one of us is enabled to return to our Heavenly Father. By the Atonement, I have improved myself and closed the distance of my relationship with God. God is real, because He has become real in my life and I recognize the reality of the spiritual aspect of life. It is needed, because it is how we can be happy, not only for a temporal time, but for a lasting duration. My testimony is my fire. As I have learned in a recent meeting, "I light myself on fire, so that people can watch me burn." That testimony is my fuel that keeps me going and lights me on fire. It is both fuel and the igniting power.

A little interesting fact that I have discovered while doing family history this week. I was working on inputting information on Ancestry (as usual) and was correlating on FamilySearch (I was inputting information on the Todd line, which is easier to follow than most of the other names that I have branched off with) when I discovered that a sibling [Nellie Eva Todd, for your information] of Henry Matthew Todd had married John Whittaker Taylor, being one of his multiple wives. We have relations to John Taylor through this, which I thought was cool. Well, we have the institute manual of Church History in our apartment and I was looking through it. I came across John Whittaker Taylor, who during the Smoot hearings had to go into hiding (as well as another Apostle), because he had married more wives after the Manifesto was given. He later resigned from the apostleship and six years later, he was excommunicated for marrying another woman. After reading that, I now more fully realize that it is important to follow the prophet.

The highlights of this week. 

Monday, we had dinner with some members, who told us about this Greek woman who is a less active. We, after trying a few people, went to see her. She is an award winning hairstylist, who, as she had told us, won a competition, because she was able to cut hair really well in seven minutes. (And she will cut out hair for free) She has had some hard times due to the malicious intents of others. She has been asking about the Word of Wisdom and wine, coffee, and tea. This Greek woman is amazing. She is kind and, from what I can tell, is hard working, doing her work quickly and efficiently. We have addressed some of her concerns and answered any questions that she has had. 

Tuesday, we also contacted a man whose wife is a less active. He has a definite interest in the gospel (and he has been taught once by my current companion and my predecessor). We watched the Restoration video with him. He did not come to church this week. The wife was not there when we came by. That night, we had dinner with members who mentioned the press release that the Church had recently done. May I say that it is the most wonderful statement, not because I am a Mormon and not because I am a missionary, but because it calls for fairness for the religious community (in religious freedom laws and protection) and for the LGBT community (in basic human rights, such as housing). [I do hope that I understood the message clearly and conveyed it correctly.] If you have not watched it, I recommend it.  

Wednesday, we went to Cafe Rio, because some missionaries here wanted to go and somebody was leaving. It just opened and so we went. We got a free meal, because members were there and they gladly paid for us. Later that day, we contacted a few recent move ins who have not come to church. Some were excited to see us, others not so much. One person opened the door, we asked if the person was such and such name, and she asked how did you know. Well, may I add a note that her pants had the University of Utah logo on it with Utah near it. True, not all people in Utah are Latter-day Saints, but seeing as we were looking for a Latter-day Saint, it was a big sign saying, "Hey, I am such and such person." She told us we could come back, but she did not seem that excited to see us. Neither did some other people. 

Thursday, not much happened, unfortunately. 

Friday, we had a zone meeting. We talked about spiritually creating our baptisms, we talked about companionships, unity and ward council. Ever since I have come here, there have been a lot of talks and messages that I have applied to myself and my situation. There are some that I could easily look at my companion and say, "Listen," but I decided to take a look at myself. I love President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's "Lord, Is it I?" for it is so easy to look at someone else and say, "Oh, they need it." We are meant to improve and seeing we are imperfect, we should apply the messages to ourselves, even if we heard them multiple upon multiple times. I learned some things during this meeting. 

Saturday, we attempted to get our car serviced. The airbag light came on, which according to the manual, "The airbag may not deploy during a crash and may [in fact] deploy randomly." We found a place to get a diagnosis, which would cost ninety-nine dollars. We called the missionary in charge of the cars, who told us to hold off while he thinks about it. 

Side note, my nightmares have been changing. I used to have nightmares of school and my grades being below a B or even that of an A. I always felt like I was failing a class. Now, I had one dream where I was put into the hospital and I needed some sort of procedure, but before they could do anything, I stated, "Has this been approved by Missionary Medical?" Well, the obvious answer was no, because I was immediately ejected from the hospital. I had another dream/nightmare where I had a seizure and afterwards, I got up and was like, "I need to go to the hospital. I do not feel good." Then, I thought, "Oh, wait, I need to get it approved by Missionary Medical." I told my companion that I am surprised I have not had a nightmare about the cars and the processes with them. Then again, it is not too stressful, though it feels that it happens all too frequently.

Sunday, we had church and we weekly planned. We attempted to see people, but did not have success until that night. We were able to see a few people, despite it being the Super Bowl, the unofficial national holiday.

I do say that "All is Well!" At times, I do want to sing, "Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men, of a people who will never be oppressed again...." but I refrain (partially because I am not entirely sure of how it goes) and it gets me riled up. I will not be oppressed in spirit. My goal for this week is not to give up. I am going to go upward, not downward.

Tout va bien! Alles wohl!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Meat and Potatoes: Ephesians Chapter 4

Monday, May 5, 2014

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Good news is that I am not being transferred, so it will be a less of a headache for Mother's Day. So, I talked to the person who is allowing us to use his computer for the calls. He told me, via text, to give you his contact info... but I only know his cell phone number . . .

I was not even sure what the Power Show was; it was a giant flea market with a tractor pull. Yes, it was done by a coalition of churches. In fact, I work at a food bank that is run by the same coalition of churches. With this area, it seems as though I am helping the ward to go forward in missionary work and to help certain less actives. We are still trying really hard. The investigator that is on date has some things to work on and we are having to push it back. Another investigator, who is "waiting for her mom to die," finally let us know what is the problem: the priesthood. Luckily, like Apple, we have a talk for that.

I was talking to my companion this past week, especially with my communication (which I will get to). He told me that he thinks I'm proper, just by the way I say my words. He also thinks I sound British, because of the words I use. It is by the words such as "fairly well" and "excellent" that makes him think that. That made me chuckle.

So, before I get to the meat and potatoes of this letter, the one part you want. Monday, we had a district P-day, where we played games. I was distracted in basketball over my communication, so I did not do much. They went easy on me. And when I did actually make a basket, one elder, who is greatly taller than I, picked me up and hugged me, all the while I was being swung. My back hurt after that. Then, we played soccer and they said I did fairly well and asked if I ever played. I told them no and described my brother and Bria and what I did during their games. Apparently, somehow, I picked up something from osmosis.

Tuesday, we went to our blind less active. We do have someone that is working on his music, thankfully. Now we are trying to figure out how to help him, because he avoids gospel topics. He is not ready yet; I personally do feel that. The answer that I have received is to make him happy. Why? Each day is a living nightmare, because he attaches himself to the past with his friends and other things. His life is never going to be what it used to be, yet he latches onto it. Everyday he forgets the day, because "it will be better in the morning" and he wakes up and it is another nightmare. He cannot move forward, because he does not know what to move forward to. He surrounds himself with bitterness. Once we get him to church, he will start to move forward, hopefully. So, make him happy is very limited, because he latches onto something to talk about. Right now, he is talking about massages, because he is a certified deep tissue massage therapist that has no clients.

Tuesday and Wednesday, it had been raining and we had an awesome storm with tornado warnings and such. It was nice. We tracted beforehand and ran into a lady that was deeply devout about the Bible. She had found it sad that we accepted more than the Bible, "for the Bible is everything, for Jesus said it, and if we accept more than the Bible, we call Jesus a liar." We made her very sad, despite how many different ways we tried explaining it. But the storm stopped on Wednesday. We went into the church, then we went out. It was hot and my companion complained about the humidity. (You could see it cling to the glass.) But, to be honest as I said to him, I do not feel it. It just feels hot. (He is from Idaho.) He did not understand until we used our phone to call the weather service and looked at Lemoore. That day it was 96 degrees. I do know that our heat is dry and this is humid, but I cannot tell the difference. It just feels hot.

Friday, we had a zone meeting. Then, we had a companion exchange. It took forever coming home, because a van had hit a bus. That night, I had a wonderful dinner, because I had some excellent conversations. I also have an option to use, (I have to get permission), for the blind less active.

Saturday, we had Elder Bednar and I will get to that. Then, it was a day of service for the rest of the day. We helped a less active by circumstance, the wife of the less active who is in the nursing home, to be uplifted, especially after all she goes through. It really helped her to go forward a bit and turn to God. And Sunday, we helped that less active as well. Plus, we had a special stake conference with Bishop Dean M. Davies.

So, before I get to Elder Bednar, there are a few things I would like to discuss. One, communication. So, I learned to stop fighting God. When you do, you do not win. So, what do I mean? I never accepted where I am and who, in terms of communication, I am. Hence, why I was struck with Proverbs 17:27. I accept the fact that I am a quiet person. Now, I wish I was social, which was also a problem. I figured it was what I needed and I always read about Enoch and Moses who had similar problems and God helped them. Then, I read Ezekial 3:26, which God, to one of His servants (a prophet), struck dumb to make sure he was not a reprover. So, what was I to do? It was accepting where I am and being grateful that I have this weakness. It will get better, however God wants it to get better. It was here that it actually seemed as though I moved forward. Two, I had an idea that I am going to do when I am older. With the journal that I have, particularly the spiritual things written, I am going to get another, later, much later, to formalize all of those spiritual thoughts and form, in a sense, scriptures for my children, using those thoughts, testimonies, and the true scriptures.

Now, Bednar. Elder David A. Bednar is really great, along with Elder Lynn G. Robins and Bishop Dean M. Davies. He is straightforward, yet funny. Meeting an apostle makes them human, because you get to see how they actually are. You still sustain them, but you get to see who they are. Hopefully, that makes sense. We, beforehand, read 3 talks and he followed up with them. He asked questions and we responded; we asked questions and he and the other general authorities answered. It was funny. At first, Sister Bednar spoke, then Bishop Davies, then Elder Robins, and then Elder Bednar. When Bishop Davies came up, he said in the words of a famous song, "I feel good." In response, Elder Bednar, when he got up, told Bishop Davies and us, in good humor, that every Thursday, he has a meeting with the Apostles and the First Presidency, and now, he has interesting report to give about Bishop Davies. He reminded Bishop Davies, he was not kidding. Elder Bednar was going to tell them that. Then, Sister Bednar came up and humorously said, "You still like that stuff. Whenever we play the radio on those stations, you always ask me who sang this. I do not know, my grandma never let me listen to that on the radio when I was young." Then, Bednar gave us some guidelines. He was not going to play Guess-What-Is-In-My-Head, because whenever he points (and he pointed to an elder) and asks a question, "that poor elder's mind has gone totally blank. He does not know his name, not even where he is at this point. All he knows is that Elder Bednar is pointing at him. In fact, he is gone blank, just by pointing at him." Later, when we asked questions, he gave guidelines. He was not going to play Stump-the-Apostle, "I forfeit, you win." He told us to not ask where the Sword of Laban is or where Kolob is, "I do not know and I do not care." He told us not to pull an obscure verse of scripture from Isaiah and ask for the meaning, "I got the same set of scriptures as you do. When I became an apostle, I did not get a set of scriptures with answers in the back."

Now, here is what I got from the entire thing, because they did not give talks. Sister Bednar briefly spoke, which helped confirm that this is the time for preparing for the future. Bishop Davies reminded me that I am on the Lord's errand. Elder Lynn G. Robins reminded me that part of what I have learned thus far is to fight Satan and the darkness. It also reminded me a future trial I will face with a certain temptation. And that will come from marrying at the appropriate time and day, which may indeed be later than I expect.

Elder Bednar modeled teaching for me. I learned overall the Gospel is active and personal. We have agency; we are agents to act and not objects to be acted upon. Satan wants us to be objects. We have to learn in faith and pray in faith. It is all active, not passive. Conversion is acting on testimony. We should expect to act and to choose the right, because we chose to make covenants that said to do that. My own teaching has to be active and personal. I am to be the conduit, which means being worthy and bring in the Spirit. My pattern of teaching is and should be asking questions and testifying. It requires in part, observing and listening. My goal is also to help others to learn to find things out for themselves. Interestingly for me, he hit a lot of my patriarchal blessing and helped me to understand it. That is in part where I got this new direction on my teaching. When the time comes and the mission ends, I should keep the habits I have learned. Now, I am not expected to wear a white shirt and tie. The world is supposed to and should be weird for me. (As if is not already.) I should not quickly go back to the world and perhaps just be in the world and not of the world. I should always have a temple recommend, be on guard, and be humble. The world will be like in Babylon. "Whenever [I] enter into a mall, it should feel as though I am in the midst of Babylon." By accepting the covenants and things of the Lord, I am enlarging my agency.

Bishop Dean M. Davies spoke at the special stake conference, which was quite different from most stake conferences. He focused on the temple. I need to have a testimony of it. I have a few active and less active people who dislike the temple. I was reminded to have a testimony and then enter into the new and everlasting covenant. The temples show God's love, because it is where the living and the dead receive ordinances. We should not be afraid to talk of Jesus Christ. After all, we are Christ's church. It is okay to talk about Him. He put that we are the Christian church, due to its restoration. (Of course, we do not go around saying that.)

After all of that, I felt exhausted. Spiritually drained is the fastest way to be physically drained. I did not want to do much yesterday after getting home from stake conference. I was done for the day and it was only 1:00 PM. Of course, I worked.

All is fairly well!

Love,

Elder S. Todd

P.S. Can I be honest for a second? Well, either way, this makes me laugh. But, I always mentioned Avatar: The Last Airbender for a reason. I knew you never did like it and thought it was just a cartoon. So, I always brought it up for the fact that, "Hey, other people like it too!" 

August 19, 2013 - Miracles - Service - Servants of Jesus Christ

Dear Parents,

It is so good to hear from you, even if it is a small letter as this. (All that I have received is the postscript, which I am grateful for and I am not sure if there is more. In any case, I am grateful.) I got mom's letter and I do plan on writing back as soon as possible. I also got Mom's invite to Google Plus, which I do not believe that I will be able to go on. I do thank you for that. I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with ants. They seem to be quite a bother.

My week here has been one of the best thus far. My companion and I had received a "mormon.org" referral. We did not have a set appointment and so we decided to go knock that door after doing service. My companion had forgotten his dress shoes and so we had to drive back to our apartment to get his shoes. We got there and knocked on his door. It did not look as though anyone was home, but we tried anyway. The thought came to my head to expect a miracle. I rang the doorbell and the door swung open and this muscular black man is at the door. We gave our statement as to who we are, "We are servants of Jesus Christ." He replied to us, "Come on in." Well, that does not happen that often and I was quite honestly expecting the door to close on us, seeing that the last Mormon.org referral cancelled on us. I was taken aback and we went inside. He was talking to his friend that referred us to him on the phone and she was happy that we were there. We shared the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit was there strongly. He wanted to be baptized, to read the Book of Mormon. We called him a few days ago and he said he was ready to turn his life over to Christ.

The same day, we had an appointment for this Baptist woman, but that day was not the right day for her due to unfortunate circumstances. Despite this, we decided to try a few people nearby who said that they might be interested. We saw this girl who we had given a pass-along card and who had invited us back to talk to her family. She brought her mother, who told us, "I already know of the Mormon church and I am not interested." We persisted and asked her if there was anything we could do for her. She told us, "No, there is not anything... Well, do you have gas money?" We gave her some and it softened her heart where she let us in and told us a few personal stories of how she came to believe in Christ. My companion and I shared our testimonies of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. She pulled out a Book of Mormon that she had found on the ground one day outside her little townhouse. She said she felt full and we made an appointment to come back. As we were leaving the neighborhood, there was a man on a bike, who shouted at us, "Mormons!" We stopped our car and rolled down the window. He told us where he lived and invited us back. (We believe we met with him again and he tried preaching to us.)

The next day many of our appointments fell through, so we decided to try a few referrals. We got two new people who are potentially interested, though one of them was not a referral. God has helped us find new people and has shown us who is prepared. This week has been a miracle in that way. And while, yes, it was disappointing to not see them at church this Sunday, I was comforted in that fact that I had sowed seeds.

I did more service on Saturday for an Eagle Scout project. This young man that I was helping decided to put on a 5k Run for Canned Food. People would come to donate canned food and join the race. It was huge success for the young man, because a lot of non-members were there. I was a race marshal along with my companion. I had to go in the middle of traffic and stop it, so that the runners would be able to cross the street. I even helped other joggers, who were not part of the race, cross the street. Nobody wanted to kill me for stopping the road, which was great. Though, there was this man who was not going to wait and took his opportunity to go when he could. But, it was a lot of fun helping people cross the street. I walked the race at the end to pick up the signs that pointed the way.

I have been assigned to give a talk this upcoming Sunday on preaching the gospel. I am really excited and I have a few quotes down. I am not writing anything, but the introduction. I have created an outline, but other than that, I will rely on God and tend to the talk throughout the week. I also realized a few things this week about me personally. I love to sing and I have been learning some of the hymns. I learned Master, the Tempest is Ragingand I am working on A Poor Wayfaring Man of Grief and School Thy Feelings. I do want to learn other hymns and other musical songs (though that will be a long while away). It also struck me that I should be a forensic psychologist and on the side, be a victims counselor. I feel as though the Lord has helped me realize a few things and I know that the Lord will help provide for me.

Also, thank you for all that you do for me and for sending me the list of birthdays. I now know when to wish people happy birthdays!

I hope everything is going well.

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Footnote to the above post which is a letter our son sent to us:

My son received a postscript to a letter that I had written him in the form of a short email. The letter that I thought I had sent him was in a draft folder. The postscript message had a different signature message than the original letter. So it was quite interesting to see him mention the word miracle twice in his letter. The letter that was sent to him that he received after writing the above letter included the following quote from Albert Einstein: "There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; or you can live as if everything is a miracle." Also note, that his mother always chooses a quote from Pinterest to include in his letter. That quote is what you see included in this post. Notice that it is a quote from Ezra Taft Benson and also mentions "miracles." Was it just a coincidence that we sent him those particular quotes unknowingly to him or was it inspiration? I would think it was the latter. Life is full of miracles. -Stephen Todd, Seth's Father