Well I don't really know what to write about which is never a good sign because that means a really unorganized and hard to follow letter is sure to follow...
I love you all!
Alan Beck:
We are very excited for the progress that Alan Beck has made in the last week! We had three really good lessons with him and we finally got everything out in the open. We were all very honest with each other, which was good because we have both felt that we kind of have been beating around the bush too much. That is not like either of our personalities so both Elder Bigler and I didn't like doing that. Alan knows that we think he is very very prepared to be baptized a long time ago. We told him that he was without doubt the most prepared/knowledgeable/living all of God's commandments already/basically in every sense of the word besides the being baptized part a faithful and fully active member. He is a little concerned because he doesn't like being held to a higher standard that he would have to live up to if he were to officially join the church. He is worried about other people and God, but more so other people. We told him that was ridiculous because he is already at that standard (just not officially...) Our district leader went on splits with Elder Bigler and went to his house for an appointment. He told Alan that he should do the baptismal interview right then and there because he was ready for it. Alan laughed and declined but said that he would be calling him very soon for the interview! We told him that he might get transferred so he has to get a move on! :) He told us that one of the biggest reasons he wants to get baptized is for his daughter... We have been really focusing on the family as mission in general and with him especially, so i guess that it is working.....? So we are very excited about him!
Renate Hecht:
We also had a lesson with a very former (investigated the church like 5-15 years ago, former investigator... Her name is Renate Hecht, she is from Austria (think Sound of Music- especially because part of it was literally filmed in her backyard...). She lives with a less active member of the ward so we had met her before but we had never had a formal/good lesson with her. We talked a lot about how prepared she is because she has been seeking for truth her whole life. She is a very big logical thinker/questions everything (on a side note, as a result of her ex husband being a brilliant computer scientist she owned the first computer in a residential home and as another result of that she has met none other than Steve Jobs on many an occasion- as well as Bill Gates, many genius mathematicians and other famous people, but that is neither here nor there...) I really related well with her and I hope to be able to help her gain a strong testimony of the church. The only hiccup we see is that she wants to take things kind of slow (no surprise there, she lives in the Pacific Palisades (town right next to Malibu, its a lot like Winnetka etc...)) so everyone we work with wants to do that. Also she comes from a very long line of very devout Catholics and so she doesn't want to cause any pain or strife in her family. She is very nice and we are really excited for her. I am so glad for the Book of Mormon, it really does the work for us almost- we told her that praying about that book is the most important thing she can do in her life on her search for truth. We also told her/taught her about the importance of the Priesthood Authority being restored through the prophet Joseph Smith. Normal missionary stuff but I thought I would say how simply helpful those two truths are....
Other Less-Actives:
We are working with two less actives who have very severe bi polar disorder. I have learned a lot from these experiences. This area def takes a lot of creativity. One of them (Mike Clark) came to church a few weeks ago. The other guy (Geary Carr) is the father of 3 kids, one of them, Conrad, is really nice (well they are a really nice family, just like everyone in the ward...) he is surfer sponsored by Quicksilver and others. He is going to BYU Hawaii and then on a mission... The surfing world is very funny, I kind of like it. He is in Australia right now surfing with next door neighbor Pam Anderson while she is there for dancing with the stars... or some show like that.. I really love the Carr family...
We are still working with Susan Swenson (cactai lady who just shattered her leg) We are helping her to meet some of the ward, one lady has been very helpful with her recovery and inviting her back to church...
The ward has been doing a 40 day fast for missionary work and the work really is picking up! Another less active man who has severe back problems came to church this past week for the first time in about 2 years... We don't have much success on paper, but I'm learning a thing or two about how I define success...
Michael Whittle:
I am so excited for you and Peter!
One of the biggest lessons I have learned is to not over complicate things and the beauty in simplicity. I would have to say though that with everything there is a balance. I would also say that it is more important to have clarity over simplicity. Elder Bednar talked about how powerful the BoM was, in part because it was so clear (I would not say the Book of Mormon is simple though...) Nonetheless it has been a very powerful lesson that I have learned but it seems like he is so ready, that he already learned that lesson and that he has changed so much! He will be a wonderful missionary!
I am reading the Old Testament in English before my year mark... It will be the last scriptures I read in English. I love it and it is very interesting/funny...
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Love!
