"Well, there's a Sign!"

My family!!

There is so much I have to say today so I'm just going to ramble. The Clark's are legit. Sister Clark is awesome and hooks us up all the time. They'll be one of the famillies we'll visit when we come back. Oh and also I'm not expecting any Christmas things I was just messin with the whole Santa Clause thing! Use the money you would've spent on me on someone who is less fortunate please!! Oh and that chile pepper is called an arbol chile by the way. Don't know why but I just remembered that. 

So a couple of really memory-maker things happened this week. Remember the lady I was telling you about that let me borrow her cell phone so I could call you guys at the Provo Airport? Check this. Yesterday during Sacrament Meeting at our second ward these two ladies walk in. They pass me and then one of them stops abruptly and says "Well, there's a sign!!" Haha I started chuckling because it was pretty funny having this lady look at me and then it transitioned over from funny to being legit because I realized she was the one at the aiport! Holly.  She is either a non-member or super less active and it was neat seeing her. Crazy how things work like that. 

Also remeber the crazy lady who we talked to at the apartments a couple of weeks ago? Nancy is her name and her husband is Jim. We helped them move on Friday and it was legit. She claims she knows Patrick Swayze.. haha something about how they used to dance together but in all honesty she reminds me of an older lady form of Hunter "h-bizzleton" Banks. (Shout out to my brotha!)  She was always talking about this and that, always making us laugh, & always punkin on us... seriously it was hilarious. So we are going to visit with her this week and help Sista Nancy see the light for herself.

Also we taught Kathleen the final lesson. She is going to get baptized this Saturday and she asked me to be the one to baptize her so I'm pretty excited about that! She is an awesome lady but can you guys keep her in her prayers and pray that she can have the courage to be baptized and that she can be conforted throughout the process? Thanks. My comp is doing pretty good. I have found out that we are really similiar in completely different ways. This go around I'm praying for and learning patience and charity and I have already learned so much on these two attributes.

Oh my goodness I almost forgot! Hostess shut down?! What in the hayyyy??! Now when I tell my kids about the time we stuffed twinkies in kids shoes during the middle of the night at scout camp, they'll have no idea what I'm talking about! Crazy crazy! This week I really learned a lot about how I can become a better teacher and one thing I'm going to implement is to teach how our Savior taught: through parables. It's a cool thing because by using things familiar to the person I can see a light go on as they are given a true to life example to teach a principle or doctrine that is abstract and intangible. I was reading a talk by President Packer called 'The Light of Christ' and he does a great job using a parable to illustrate what the light of Christ is. He compares the light of Christ to sunlight just like sunlight is familiar to everyone so is the Light of Christ as we can see in Doctrine and Covenants 84:46. Just as darkness vanishes when sunlight is present so does evil when the Light of Christ is shown, Doctrine and Covenants 6:21. We know that darkness is subject to light. Even though the sunlight may be covered for a brief time by rainclouds and thunderstorms, the sunlight always dispels them. 

So it is with trials in our life. When we are having a bad day and letting the rainclouds and thunderstorms take over, we're going to have some pretty big frowns. BUTTTT thank goodness because we all have the Light of Christ in us and we all have the power to use this light to dispel our rainclouds and thunderstorms. We need to foster the Light of Christ. Along this same concept of the Light of Christ I also learned about sheep and shepherds and our Savior. A couple of days ago I was trying to imagine how Jesus Christ feels about His lost sheep and what He does to find them. I remembered back to a time when good ole Bazil ran out of the house and we lost him for a little bit. I ran out by myself calling his name but I realized I couldn't do it alone so I came home and rounded up the fam and we all went out as a search party to find Bazil. We found him of course but I remembered how worried I was during that time.  Our Savior calls out to us and searches for us, but He also has a search party. That search party = every member of the church! I know that once we understand this principle our lives will be filled with the joy that comes from finding those lost sheep. 

Another thing I learned / relearned is Jesus Christ knows us intimitely as individuals. He knows if we are lost and he knows the exact route we went to stray off the path. I know this is another reason for the trials we are given so as we call out and search for those lost sheep, we'll know how to bring them back because we have been down that path before. With the whole experience with the lady from the airport I know there are no coincidences. I know our neighbors, friends, and people within our cirlce of influence are there to be placed in our path so that we can reach out and extend a helping hand. Alrighty so yeah there's just a tad bit from my studies this week! 

I was able to see all of the kids that I left the MTC to the mission field with on Friday at a meeting.  So that was cool but heyyyyyoooo it's Thanksgiving!!! Whatchya hurd about dat!  A few things I am grateful for: Mom, Dad, Austin, Braden, Parker, all my boys back home and serving, all the girls that were so kind enough to bear with me as I went through my phase of thinking I was the ish, all of the girls that told me off during the same period of time, letters to make me laugh, In-n-Out double double animal style no tomotoes or pickles, fries and a chocolate shake, all the fun time with friends and family, drum patter patter patter patter.... and the joy and peace that comes with the knowledge of the Gospel!! 

Oh and mom! Grandma sent me a picture of me that I'm pretty sure came from the batch of pictures that were taken for my plaque and the picture makes me look like a barbie doll! Like seriously my eyes have that sparkle in them, like even more than the sparkle that was already there, and my cheecks are all rosey and shiney so I was just wondering if the picture used on the plaque in the church builing looks normal or if I'm going to start being referred to as Ken the Barbie man or something. Just wondering. Oh and Dad thanks for the letters.  I'll write you back today and Parker wrote me too. This guy. Tell you something. Boy's gonna be a shrink cause he knows exactly what to say. Hahah imagine as a shrink just sitting there on his chair with his legs crossed as he tries to be all serious. hahah Pt Cruisin!! (that's one of Parker's nicknames)  I love you all and pray everyday in gratitute for you guys! Keep staying true to who you are and what you know. So yeah just know I love you and am grateful for all you guys have done, are doing, and will do for me!!)

-Elder T