3-25-13

Dear Family,

Well, I have now been in Brentwood for almost 6 months and got word last night that me and Elder Oba will be staying together for 6 more weeks! We are super excited that nothing changed for us! The big news in the District, is that they are transferring both of the Elders In the 3rd ward and bringing in two new sisters! One of them is going to be training which means each Brentwood ward is going to have a missionary who has been out less then 4 months! I am so excited to see what kind of changes this is going to bring and to see the type of spirit that is going to be brought from having these young fresh out of the MTC missionaries with us. That also means that me and Elder Oba are going to be the only Elders in the District! That is going to be so different because I will no longer have to go on exchanges. I am going to have a lot more free and open time now to focus on our area and to help these sisters make sure that they have a great mission experience. The zone leaders were laughing and saying that District meetings are going to be like teaching Relief Society! hahaha good times good times. We are trying to talk the mission into giving us a car since we can't ride in a sisters car and so we would be left on bike for Pdays and things. Plus I am going to have to keep traveling to all of my doctors appointments out in Hayward for the tests that they have called in for me to try! So we will see how all that goes.

 
President wants us to keep working with the Doctors to make sure that they have tried EVERYTHING before we except that they think its irritable bowels. I have been taking a pill that is supposed to help the cramps and all that and it hasn't done anything so I am going to be doing a few more tests to make sure that nothing has been missed or that they don't think it could be something worse. President has been so amazing with it all and have been so supportive that I couldn't ask for any better! He wants to make sure that I am not just healthy for the rest of my mission, he wants to make sure that I am healthy for the rest of my life! That is what I want too. I have been sick and have been in pain for over a year now, and I have to find something that makes it so that I can be 100% again. If nothing else, I have learned that eating healthy and being healthy and in shape is so important! I can't eat like I used to and I need to keep exercising! I have rededicated myself to a life of health and serving the Lord!

Well Jon is still struggling.. He keeps coming to church and keeps coming to activities but will just not accept the Book or Mormon or Joseph Smith. We have taught him all the lessons in preach my gospel and he accepts everything but the Book of Mormon being the word of God. He struggles with modern day prophets also. He told us the other day though, that he is going to start putting together his "Mormon Testimony" for us and see where he stands with others beliefs and see if this is really something that he thinks he could grasp or accept. So Saturday he is going to have his testimony thought up after prayer and scripture study so we are praying that he comes to realize that he really does believe in the Book or Mormon and the Prophets. We gave him a few conference talks to watch and read to help him along the way. We are hoping that he will come back with a testimony of the Gospel and of everything else.

We have been working so hard to stay focused on the work and to really help this area take off even though I have been so sick. We have been challenged and challenged every day with new obstacles and new challenges that are put in our paths. I have come very close to my Patriarchal blessing the past two weeks though through it all. It has helped me to see that unfortunately my mission is going to be everything but easy! I am going to be challenged and heart broken and at breaking point a lot of the time. But the big thing is, that the Lord is never going to let me fail! He is going to get me through it all so that I can learn the things that I am supposed to to become the person and father that I am supposed to become! I wish that I could be done with some of these trials, but if it is going to help me in the long run, then I guess that I am going to bear through it and just wait for the point where he pulls me back up, because he always does! I have never been left alone on my mission! I have felt alone a few times, but just like the foot prints in the sand story, those were the times where he was carrying me! I love the Lord so much. I would not be the man that I am today if I hadn't been put through all these trials and challenges. I can't say that I am happy for the trials or for the pain, but I can say that I am thankful for the person that I have become because of the things that I learned while being in them! The Book or Mormon truly is the word of God and our Savior Jesus Christ stands at the head of this church! Just like the conference talk from last conference ''I am Mormon, I know it, I live it, and I love it!" My prayer is that everyone in reading distance of this letter will come closer to the Savior this very special week of the Easter Season! Remember what the Savior did for you personally. He saw each and everyone of our faces as he began the Atonement. Don't let that perfect gift go to waste! Take advantage of it! I have needed it in my life, and I am sure that each one of you have too. It is a blessing to be able to repent and start fresh. I love being a missionary! I love being able to put my name tag on every day and know that only myself can hold me back from the potential that I have. I am so thankful for a loving family and friend base that keeps me moving forward and doesn't let the me get down during the hard times. Your letters and Emails are what keep me going! I know that I am terrible at writing back, but I want you all to know that every letter sent my way is loved an cherished for days and days! No letter is missed or forgotten. I'm sorry that I don't write back more often or put as much time as I'd like to, but I do really enjoy them and hope that they keep coming! Thank you for the prayers and for the thoughts in my behalf. I do feel each and every one of those! You all mean the world to me and I am so lucky to have you all in my life. Please stay close to the church and to the family. That is the one thing that we have in life and will always be there. Don't do what I did in my younger years and take advantage of that family life. Do the things that they do, and enjoy every second of it! Conference is coming up, so be thinking about the things that you would like answered or the things that you are struggling with. I promise that they all will be answered during one of the sessions! I love you all so much!

 

Love

Elder Shelley