18 months!!!

Hey everyone,


So, last week was a pretty eventful week...but then as a missionary EVERY DAY IS EVENTFUL.

Elder Argyle and I began to go through the entire ward list, which is about 19 pages long, and visit all of the names that we felt impressed to go see this transfer. It's a pretty big list, but it's pretty cool to see some of these people. There have been many diferent responses to us being on their doorstep, and for the most part they have been pretty warm and receptive to missionaries. We've actually have set up three separate opportunites to serve these families, so we are praying these opportunities will open doors for teaching.

We also had zone conference this week, and it was great! I had the opportunity to conduct the meeting...and I'll be honest, I as kinda nervous. But, I got over that quickly and just had a positive attitude about it. It was weird. I have spoken several times in sacrament meeting and at various other meetings, but I can usually do that with not much problem at all. I think it was because Pres. Merkley was there. A lot of really great things were spoken about in regards to us, as missionaries, preparing ourselves to help our investigators make and keep commitments. We also spoke about how our investigators can receive revelation as they attend church, and so we had a workshop on that. Then, Elder Argyle and I instructed on how as missionaries, we are to teach people, and not lessons. So, we went into how we can ask effective questions and then listen with love so we can help them gain faith in Jesus Christ and repent of those things that need to be changed in their lives.

This week, I am also coming up on my 18th month mark...and it's kinda freaky! I feel so old in the mission. At transfers, I looked at all the missionaries that were around me, and i thought "you have been out so much longer than they have", and then it hit me how old I was in the mission. I wonder if that's how it'll feel when I reach the age of 60 or 70 or 80....

Anyways, to celebrate, the missionaries in our apartment are going to buy uncooked miniature drummettes, some buffalo hot sauce, and we are going to grill some hot wings that night! I am so stoked for that!

Now that I have said all of that, it is time for something I learned out of the Book of Mormon. President Merkley invited all of the missionaries in zone conference to read the Book of Mormon, and highlight all the names of Christ in one color, the words he speaks in another color, His attributes in one color, and the doctrines and principles taught in another. As I was reading, every time something good happens, whether it be they got out of Jerusalem, or Nephi and his brothers returning with the brass plates, or when Nephi and his brothers return with Ishmael and his household, Lehi and his family always offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. I thought to myself, "that is so humble of him to always give thanks unto God, and to sacrifice something". In our own lives, we now offer a "broken heart and a contrite spirit", but what does that mean. Well, I think of a broken heart as something like "godly sorrow", an so when we go to Lord, we go to Him in humility with something to be mended because broken implies that something is not correctly situated or complete. Contrite is a feeling of remorse or penitence for something, so it implies a similar thing than the first statement "a broken heart", but it speaks about our spirit. So both our hearts and spirits are in a state where we are feeling like our ways are not His ways, so we give those things the natrual man is endowed with to the Lord, thus offering a sacrifce to Him.

I love all of you, and I pray for you often

Elder Brad Fellows