Oh Joy and the 10 Swolmandments

Photo- me and my companion, Elder Parry. People tell us we look alike...

On Monday, March 7, 2016 12:55 PM, Dustin Thelander <dustin.thelander@myldsmail.net> wrote:

This week was a pretty awesome one. Elder Parry and I got to work, and we saw a lot of success. Our District meeting on Tuesday went great. We talked a lot about our "Open Your Mouth" challenge. Some of us had great success, while others have room for improvement. The simple fact is that if you open your mouth to share the gospel, people will listen. We have a great message to share, and someone down along the line has been prepared by the Lord to receive that message. Tuesday, we also met with Girmaldo. He is doing well, but his work does not allow him to make it to church as of now. It is too bad because he has a testimony of the gospel, and he loves the church very much. We did a good bit of walking this day as well, and as we walked Elder Parry and I thought up the "10 swolmandments". They go along the lines of the 10 commandments, but pertain to the world of working out. For example, thou shalt not covet thy neighbors gainz, his weight set, his supplements, and his fit wife. We are just too creative.

Wednesday was great- we had a great lesson with Kai. We taught him the Plan of Salvation. This was a big test because to this point we have done very simple lessons with him. He did very well, and he retained a lot of the information. We used some visual aids sent out to me by a great seminary teacher, Sister Patton. Then in the evening, we had the chance to teach Jim. He is a less-active member of the church who is committed to come back into activity. He was committed by the bishop to take the missionary lessons, and we took that on. He is such a sweet old man, and we look forward to teaching him each week. Thursday was interesting. We tracted a bit with Japhet, and previously he had run into a lady named Joy. This sweet old woman is like 85 and has Alzheimer's, so the fantastic lesson we had there she probably won't remember. The poor old lady repeated about 10 times that gettin old ain't for sissies. Then that night, we taught Brother Kaplan. He is less active as well, and the bishop also committed him to the lessons. He has just seemed to have lost his faith. He needs a good friend, and he needs to put the work in himself to get going again.

On Friday, we finally got to meet with Chris. He is only 18 come to find out, and he is down here to work a bit before starting school up in Utah. He is not a member, and he really likes the missionaries. His biggest problem is making it out to 9am church. The boy likes to sleep. He had given us a firm promise the last 3 weeks that he would be to church. Now it is time for us to be bold with him. No more playing around, but for real he is a good person. This night as well we had the most glorious meal with Chea. She cooked up some wonderful steaks and a massive salmon. Oh man- did I eat my fill. She is so great to us, and she takes her last temple prep class tomorrow. So, after that, she just needs her interviews, and she is good to go. It is so amazing to see where she is now as compared to where she was just 6 short months ago. She is amazing, and she is being very blessed for her great efforts. Yesterday at church we heard some great testimonies from the congregation, and then had a great dinner with a member family. Sunday is my favorite day of the week- to be able to renew my promises with God each Sunday through the Sacrament is such a special experience. By Upland standards, this week was one for the books. Looking over past records, there hasn't been a week here in a very long time that has seen as many teaching opportunities as this one has for us. That in itself is a miracle. That being said, it also felt like there is room for improvement and that it's time to teach even more. So by working hard, I know that this great week can just sling shot us into even more success.

Scripture of the week comes from the book of Moroni in the Book of Mormon chapter 7, 16th verse, "For behold, the spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God."

I love you all. Have a great week!!!

Elder Thelander