July 15, 2013

Mom,

It's okay. I'm sure that next year will be a lot better.

That's super cool to hear about the Bishop wanting teachers. I'll take that Mission-Prep class for sure!!! That would be awesome. I think that I'm forever going to enjoy teaching. I don't think that I want it to be my profession, but as far as teaching in Church, I'll always love it. I do the same thing! When I'm preparing a lesson for something, I'll learn new things. That's one of my favorite parts about preparing for a lesson.

It's in the 90's here constantly. Actually, I was pretty glad to find out that it's in the 90's. That means that it probably won't get much hotter. We're coming up on the hottest part of the year. I think that in about a month it should start cooling down. Yay! It's just so humid here. That is what I really don't like about it. I hate the humidity. Last week was kind of nice because some light storms came in and it rained. We just carry an umbrella with us and we don't get too wet. Most people do have air conditioners. Some people don't and visits with them are hard. It's kind of hard to have a really good focused lesson when it's super hot.

I was super excited to get emails from them! Thanks!

I think that I've heard of those series before. I don't know if I've heard of them on my mission or if it was before my mission. I do have it written down on my books to read.

This last Friday, we had a zone conference. President Jeppson told us that he was praying hard to know what he should teach us about during this zone conference. He said that it came very clear to him that he needs to train us on the Great Apostasy and the Restoration. He showed us many scriptures in the New Testament that explain clearly of the coming Apostasy in that time. It was really cool that way President Jeppson likened it to our day. Many of the books in the New Testament are letters written by the Apostle Paul to members of the Church in a certain part of the world in that area. President Jeppson said that when Paul wrote the epistle to the Galatians, he was writing to the Galatia 1st ward. When he wrote the epistle to the Ephesians, he was writing the the Ephesian 1st ward. When he wrote the epistles to the Thessalonians, he was writing to the Thessaloniki 1st ward. It was a pretty cool analogy. I didn't bring my notes with me, but I could share with you many of the scriptures that clearly depict that an Apostasy was eminent. I've never really asked anybody not of our faith what they think about those particular scriptures. I should. He also spoke more on the Restoration. He said that in his opinion, there are three major things that were restored through Joseph Smith that he thinks are three of the most important things: 1) That God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate individuals, 2) That they both have physical bodies of flesh and blood, and 3) That the Church of Jesus Christ was not on the earth at that time. He also shared with us a quote from Joseph Smith. When Joseph Smith went to talk to the President of the United States, the President asked Joseph Smith what the biggest difference was between Mormons and the rest of the Christian world. Joseph Smith's response was, "We have the Holy Ghost." I liked that quote!

So it was a pretty hot week. We're trying to set as many appointments as possible so we're not outside so much in the heat. It's kind of hard at times because during the early hours of the day between 12 and 3, there aren't very many people that can see us. But, it's okay. We just have to find those people that can see us.

Q of the W:

1.  Do you have hard times understanding Spanish still, or are you an expert now?

I do sometimes. I think that it's because of all the different accents. I'm still not very used to all these accents. There are still some words that I don't know sometimes. Also, sometimes I still don't know exactly how to express myself. I guess learning a language is a lifelong battle. I think it would help if I were constantly emerged in Spanish too. Especially on P-Days, I don't use Spanish too much.

2.  I was reading Sister Jeppsons blog and she talked about two missionaries getting into a car accident.  Did you know them?

I do know one of them. He was an English missionary that came out to New Jersey the same time I did. They're doing a lot better though!

3.  There is an 'on-line chat with a missionary thing' online.  Have you done this or have your heard about this?

I think I have heard of it. I've never looked into it though. I don't know anything about it.

Love you mom!  

-Justin