Happy New Year!

Another year is dawning,
Dear Father let it be,
In working or in waiting,
Another year with thee.
Another year of progress,
Another year of praise,
Another year of proving
Thy presence all the days.
Another year of mercies,
Of faithfulness and grace,
Another year of gladness,
The glory of thy face.
Another year of leaning
Upon thy loving breast,
Another year of trusting,
Of quiet, happy rest.
Another year of service,
Of witness for thy love,
Another year of training
For holier work above.
Another year is dawning,
Dear Father, let it be,
On earth, or else in heaven,
Another year for thee.

    - Frances R. Havergal.

 

It is official - I am coming home THIS YEAR! I  can't believe it - it is so crazy to think about.  People here are making me more trunky than I am even making myself.  The work here is starting to pick up. I think that the last elders here might have been sleeping (I am not sure.) The Lord has a work for me to do and that is to start getting converts to this church.  Man, it breaks my heart when we put so much effort into the week and then the outcome at church is bad.   But this week was good.  We had an awesome new family at church on Sunday and also 9 investigators.  Quite a change from the previous week of 2 investigators. It's funny to sit and see that most of the congregation is investigators. The people that we find are really the people who are going to be the leaders of the church here in the very near future.

 

This week kind of was a drag and also very fast.  It is funny how that works.   When you look back, it is fast but then when you are in it, it is slow. So this week the interesting thing was some pastors we taught. Man. they think they are so so smart but in reality they are so dumb. There is this one church here that is called Fresh Hope.  It is pretty dominate here.  Anyway, I happened to run into the leaders  (unfortunately, the sad part is my cap kind of popped) and I just started to rock him with doctrine. Which totally did not help because he didn't understand.   I can testify to you that when you just listen to the spirit, that is when you can truly teach. Toward the end, when I finally started to cool down,  I started to say the things that I needed to say. And when I did that, he was touched. I know that he will never leave his church but at least I know now that he knows what he is doing is wrong.

 

I really don't have much to say for this week except things are going great. I have been really working hard to get the district turned around and to have us all be working hard to become more Christ-like.  That is my new personal theme.   I just love to work on them.  It makes me feel good when I work on them. This week I have been working on undoing about 2 years of missionary laziness.   Every missionary that comes here says "eh, I don't need to clean.  I am leaving here".   So that means it gets really really dirty.  I cannot believe they have been living in such filth.  It makes me sick to think about.  Luckily, now it is clean!  I was scrubbing the shower and he says "I think you scrubbing the paint off"  and I said, "NO it is not brown paint it is WHITE!!!"  He says "oh -  thanks!  Good job" and then leaves!  If you want it done then just do it!  My future wife is lucky that I have become quite the clean freak. I don't like being dirty and I am also getting good at living with nothing.

 

Nothing much else has really been going on here, just lots of rebuilding and training, same old same old. Not much to talk about. I have learned that I love to study and I love to pray, but the coolest thing I think I have learned is that I can be close to God but I can still be Kevin.   I know I have changed a lot but I am still Kev and that's the best part. I am trying to show missionaries that you have to have fun.  That you have to be happy.  If you are not happy then you won't be a good teacher. People don't care about how much you know until they know how much you care. Sometimes the best lesson you can teach someone is not one that you will pray and talk doctrine but one that you go and laugh and get to know each other. When they know who you are, then they will open up. Thank you everyone for the support. Thank you for the Christmas. I wish I could write and thank each of you individually but postage is rare and mail is slow.  I can't wait to meet those of you that are supporting me that I have not even met.  Thank you. Much love to you all.

 

Love, Elder Kev

SLFM

 

PS  Tell bang train "what up - long time no talk".  Also J Dawg Ence mafia and Caden man I miss and love you guys and need I forget Hintze -man, that guy, he is going to be bigger than me haha but I will whip him still!