Light Versus the Dark: "We Are Winning the War"

November 4, 2013

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

Thanks for everything. A lot of this mission thus far seems to be personal struggles, trying to become a better person. 

Essentially, I know I will face the dark continually as a beacon of light, especially here out in the field and with my career choice. I understand that. Every day, I am learning more about trusting God and the Lord, which trust is hard for me to sometimes give. I pray, I should be now, openly, alone to commune aloud with God. 

I do admit that I do have personal struggles. All I know is that day by day it will get better and that fulfilling my mission goals will help with all my problems. I have been praying a lot on all things.  My mission goals seem to be inspired and the reason why I have goals is, because, seeing as interviews are coming up (November 7 with mission president), President Wilson wanted us to make goals.  I know what I need to do. I need to do whatever God wants me to do, so I can be the person he wants me to be. There are things that I need to do on my own; I just need your support in ways that are not advice or help that is specific in certain directions. If you feel inspired at all, go ahead, maybe I will see it that way. Thanks for everything.

There is one thing that I do need to do now. I struggle a lot with identity and so far, I feel as though I have split between a secular identity and gospel identity, that I am trying to merge. Again, do not give me advice on this or anything like that. I have things to figure out with God. But, just keep on reading. So, who am I? I could tell you my name, that I am a child of God (which I will inevitably do), and many other things, but regardless, the question still stands. What answers this question that I pose is what makes me, me. I am a man of study, of scholar. I read, I write, I study. The most fun, the enjoyment I get out of life is studying, is to read. I have a list that I carry with me of all things that I would like to learn. I am spending my life learning; it is one purpose to life. I am a man of psychology. I love the mind. It is a puzzle in itself. I love behavior, in why we do certain things as well as the abnormalities of the mind. I find the mind so fascinating; I find it as evidence of God. I am a man of law. I find the law interesting. I was reading the Book of Mormon and I read about law in Alma and some of the Nephite law and it was so interesting. That is why I want to be a forensic psychologist. I may not understand fully what I am about to do, but, hey, I am willing to do it. I like different cultures. I love the different languages; I do not care about their talent in singing, I just care about the tale behind the song and the beauty of a different language. I find it fascinating to know these things. I find Judaism, fascinating, because of the history of it in the Bible. I love musicals and operas. Music becomes the story. The different pitches, or whatever, help convey the emotion, the personality behind a character. I wish I would have known this earlier; listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and their CD, "Showtime," I am envious in the fact that I have not heard of some musical. I love a good story. I understand if this all seems a bit worldly, but what I just put is part of who I am. Another part is the gospel side. This 2 years is just time for me to be spiritual. This is a life long commitment. I want to dedicate my life in following Christ. I may be quiet, but I am great listener. I can listen with love. I can speak what testimony that I do have. I am a child of God and what hope and happiness that simple phrase brings. Every soul is worth something to God. He loves us. I am a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. I may not understand it at this current time, though I am a bit unsure exactly what I am seeking (that will come in time), but I know it is God's power, it is authority. I have been called to bear the priesthood and do all that it entails. I may not have realized it earlier, but I am starting to do so. I am a disciple of Christ. I will follow Him, for I know that He lives. I am a bearer, a beacon of light. I will not be hid.

So, this week was a good week, despite all our appointments falling through (well, most). A lot of service was performed. Lots of raking. But, fall is definitely here. It it getting a bit chillier. My electric blanket will have to suffice as my source of warmth, seeing as I do not have my dog with me. Oh, which reminds me I was really happy to see a boxer, yesterday. My companion was able to baptize someone that he taught in his previous area. That person was taught for a while, brought a friend along, and then, moved up here to go to school. And the mission split and Fredericksburg became part of the Virginia Richmond mission. My companion got transferred up here, they saw each other, and the person asked him to baptize them. It was great to see that. And the sisters here are getting people on date, which is really good. One of their investigators was sick and they were teaching her when one of the sister missionaries felt prompted to talk about the priesthood and priesthood blessings. We got a call a bit later from the sisters while doing service, because the investigator really wanted a blessing right then and now. My companion performed it and mentioned something that he did not know, but the sisters and the investigator earlier talked about. Plus, after the blessing, the investigator was happy as can be; she had a lot of energy and kept on chatting up a storm. This week was also Halloween and the ward's Trunk-or-Treat. My companion and I were the judges for the chili cook-off. So, after a while, chili starts to taste the same, so you have to remember which ones that stuck out the most. It was great. Plus, at the end, my companion and I brought tupperware, so we were able to snatch a few of the leftovers to last us a while. Plus, when members offer for us to take food home to eat, we gladly take, although I am a bit hesitant with the dessert. We seem to have a lot in the apartment, seeing as Halloween just came by.

All is well.

Love,Elder S. Todd

In Christ Alone

Dear Parents, Mom and Dad/Dad and Mom,

It is not getting too cold, though it is definitely cooling down. The mornings are a bit chilly, but I have my electric blanket and portable heaters to help.

We should be getting a phone upgrade quite soon, so perhaps phone reception will improve. I can only hope, because there are a lot of phone calls that need to be made and it can be a hassle just to drive to a more receptive area, especially with restricted miles. But, I am learning to deal with it. It is definitely a hassle.

That is an interesting strategy to teach people about the action of prayer. I never would have thought to do that, but I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for the tip. 
(Turn the tables and ask if you wanted a Muslim to pray about the Bible how would you want them to pray? Would you want them to humble themselves, clear their mind of distractions, find a quiet place, read through the Bible and ponder what they read, etc? Then maybe the same should be done when asked to pray about another testament of Christ?)

I am still in the ward (congregation) that I was in before I moved to the basement apartment, the White Oak Ward. I really do love the people here. There are so many nice things about the ward and the people. Despite the imperfections, it is an excellent ward. I do love the area, seeing how green it is and how there is a lack of sidewalks (for the most part). I love the environment and definitely do not miss the environment in California. It was too much concrete and not a lot of green. And I am sorry for making a missionary homesick. (there is a missionary in Lemoore, CA who knows Seth is in Virginia where he is from)

Glad to hear all that Mom is doing. It sounds like she is doing a lot. I am glad that she is doing a lot for the sister missionaries. I am glad to hear visiting teaching and home teaching is going well. It sounds like Joy and Tim had a successful birthday party for Avery (his niece turned one). The joys of parenting? And keep on fighting Dad! (reference on taking on the administration and school board  where  his dad works over the loss of his dad's bilingual stipend, Sacramento is backing him up) 

I know that talking about forensics is not normal, but it definitely felt normal and I felt as though somebody related to me. It was great. That was a major highlight of my week of last.(see his previous post)

I have heard the soundtrack to Schindler's List and I absolutely love it. It is power in the violin. I missed out on the Ensigns. They are so great and I wished I knew how much good they were as I do now. And thank you for keeping my music bookmarks. You are always welcome to play one when you miss me (especially the opera, ha, ha).(His mother couldn't stand it when he played opera music when she was in the room!)

So, what an up and down week, but a good week as well. I am doing fine personally and that is much as that goes. Biking on last Monday went well, except my back tire went flat and it was difficult going up hills with such a tire and not knowing it was flat. But, the area we biked in was gorgeous. I will get pictures up as soon as I can. 

I went on a day-long exchange with the zone leaders and it was great. (Zone leaders are young missionaries as well but usually have spent more time serving in the mission. They oversee other missionaries in a given area.) It was very uplifting. I was able to cook dinner for a family that was in need. I was going to cook spaghetti and the family had everything, but they used it up. Instead of cooking spaghetti, I cooked sausage and minced cilantro and garlic. Once the sausage was cooked, I rolled it in the cilantro and garlic. It was very delicious and everybody liked it. As my companion said, "At first, you could taste the cilantro, then the garlic, and then the sausage." So, I know how to cook sausage, grilled cheese, and spaghetti. I am slowly learning. I am also learning about spices and herbs. Members having been feeding us a lot, which is great. 

One visit we were talking to this part-member family, specifically the member mother, and she was telling us about how she makes certain food from scratch and how to use herbs as medicine. She does not trust doctors and tries to avoid them. She likes to use herbs and such to cure sickness and when she cannot get rid of it, she goes to the doctor. She knows how to diagnose, so she just needs to get a prescription when she goes to the doctor. It is definitely a skill I would love to learn. 

This past Saturday was the Virginia Day to Serve. The stake put on a 5k run for food and I got to control traffic again. I love controlling traffic for whatever reason. It is absolutely fun. Then, I did "river" clean up. I am not sure if we did the correct area, but supposedly it was. And we definitely did not do the river. We cleaned the side of the road. I found pieces of a tire, some metal thing, and other trash. 

Yesterday, we taught a family that I was really unsure that was ready for the gospel. Luckily, I did not oppose my companion on going to visit that family , because they were definitely ready. Then, as we were leaving another new investigator's place, we ran into another person, who was moderately receptive. It was good, excellent even.

All is well. Enjoy conference! (He is referring to a church-wide conference held Saturday and Sunday, October 5th and 6th, in five different sessions where we hear from our prophet, twelve apostles, and other general leaders over the church.)

Love,

Elder S. Todd

Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence. 
-Vince Lombardi