Dear
family,
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| Tracting |
I will keep Grandma
and Grandpa in my prayers! I'm glad that you are able to work through
difficulties. That is the greatest exercise of our faith. Since being on my
mission, I've learned that the Lord expects us to exercise the kind of faith
where you have hope for good things to happen even if everything seems to be
going wrong. It was a lesson I learned in Kent. I had a struggle working
effectively and diligently because I saw no results from my efforts. I thought,
"What difference is it going to make?" I had to learn how to rely on
the Lord and trust His timing. I now realize that my efforts may contribute to
growth in that area in the future. It's hard when you can't see the end, but
you have to have hope for the future. That kind of faith never fails.
This week was great. I
have learned that the Lake Holm ward is very versatile. The socioeconomics vary
widely. There are neighborhoods with million dollar mansions, and there are
backwoods manufactured homes that are falling apart. I will include some pictures
to show you. It's really interesting. The former mission financial clerk lives
in a million dollar mansion. The development is called Washington National and
it is situated on a golf course.
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| Baptism |
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| Hiking on P-day |
We had a baptism!
Sister “L M” was baptized this Saturday. I had the opportunity to confirm
her on Sunday. It was wonderful. Her two young boys kept throwing paper
and garbage into the font. We had to keep them contained during the service.
They are wild. The oldest is 4 and the youngest is 2. As you know, in
missionary service, people drop in and out. “B” and “D” are no longer
interested. They told us they really weren't looking to join the Mormon Church.
But we found some new people. We had a lesson with the wife of a Baptist
preacher. Her name is “S”. I was on exchange, so I wasn't there. Elder Jiao
told me she (understandably) has doubts about the reality of the apostasy. I
think that will be the biggest hurdle to overcome. We actually tracted into
her. She lives in one of the farthest reaches of our area. It takes about 20
minutes to drive there from our apartment.
Auburn is definitely
one of the most interesting places I've been to. There are lots of people, at
least in the downtown area. There is an Indian Reservation here. I've seen some
Native people walking around. Their tribe is called Muckleshoot. When I went on
exchange, I actually drove past all the casinos and the tribal high
school.
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| More tracting |
I went on exchanges
with my district leader. He and his companion work in the Marshallese branch.
What a fun language. Their favorite word to say is Emman (yehmon). It means
"good, or OK, or yeah" Their culture is so laid back. Their favorite
past times are to eat, sleep, and play basketball or baseball. In fact, on
Labor day, there was a tournament at the park for Marshallese basketball and
baseball. Marshallese people from all over the Northwest came. There were so
many Marshallese people. They come from the Marshall Islands, which is close to
Micronesia. They are all very willing and ready to learn about the gospel. The
coolest thing is that they are such a close-knit community that it's easy to
get referrals. The biggest challenge for many of them is that they live with
boyfriends/girlfriends even though they haven't divorced their spouse. I think
they get married in the Islands, and then they move to America and live with
someone else. Paying for the divorce is a challenge for many. They of course
have very humble circumstances. They also switch children a lot. They'll take
their friends' or cousin's children and keep their own children with friends in
the Marshall Islands while they move to America. Their idea of family is very
different than ours. It was really interesting to learn about their culture.
Well, I hope you have
a really good week.
Love,
Elder Herbert