7 December 2015

Hey everyone!!! It's been a pretty good week and i ju st want to say HOLY COW I"VE BEEN GONE FOR OVER A YEAR!!!!!!! SO the work has been tredging along. Again, all of our investigators cancelled our appointments :/ but that doesn't mean i didn't have some good experiences still!! :) We met with the 3 less-active kids last week. All 3 were there, and it was a pretty good lesson :) we talked again about working on things spiritual, but primarily about acting on faith and doing things to build your faith. We talked about reading the book of mormon and how important it is. We told them at the end of the lesson that by the time we come back next time, we want them to have read and thought about something in the book of mormon, and we're going to talk about it with them. The oldest son didn't seem too overly enthusiastic, but they all accepted. We're seriously trying to work really hard with these kids. Like for reals, we teach them so much and go through so much to try and get them to ACT, but they're so absorbed in video games and just doing nothing that they aren't willing to progress, and it SUCKS :/ however, if anything, we're planting a seed that when they get older, they'll look back and think about everything and they'll start to have a change of heart because they know how much we love them and want the best for them and how much their father does for them to help them be happy and do what they want.. All in time, RIGHT?? haha Ok...... So i totally forgot my journal and this week flew by SO fast, and i can't seem to recall anything else really.. How lame eh??? haha but if time flies, that means i' having a good time right? ;) but back to the whole year thing.... HOLY COW!!! I just wanna bare a little testimony real quick :) like seriously, literally, a year ago today, i was in the MTC thinking that this point seemed forever away.. but now, it's actually here, and where has the time gone??? i had the chance to bare my testimony in a zone conference recently and i spoke about how i've been out for a year.. It's weird and sometimes depressing that some missionaries will be out for 2, 3 months and have a baptism, and i've been out for now over a year and haven't had a single one... and you know what? I'm not overly defeated! Like i can say that the mission has changed my life in more ways than i can count. I have developed more Christlike attributes and come closer to my savior more than EVER before. I used to REFUSE to say the mission is sometimes for the missionary more than anyone else, and i would NOT accept that to be true for me. I remember having almost a loathing feeling when i would think about that.. But now, looking back, and seeing the changes that have happened, and the growth i have experienced, i can say that to this point, the mission has been more for me than anyone else... Yes, i have helped a lot of people along the way, but where i see the biggest change in maturity and spirituality is in me. I am no longer the person i was before. i have changed for the better in almost every aspect of my life. i look at people differently, i think differently, i have different struggles, i worry less about the minor things, i learn to cope better with certain situations.. I've grown just so much, and i'm proud to say that this mission has been for me the whole time. Others will be blessed along the way, but i now have a FIRM testimony of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His role in my life and the life of others. To have the opportunity to share that message with others brings me such happiness, and i thank my Father in Heaven every day for this life changing opportunity. I also thank each and every one of you for the influence you've had in my life. Some have helped me see the things i should do and shouldn't do, some have had a bigger role than others, but everyone who will read this message, i can assure that YOU have helped me in some positive way, and i thank YOU for what you have done :) I stinkin love you guys, and will probably give most of you a hug by this time next year...... WOW!!!! Can't believe i've been gone that long already.. I love you guys!! Have a great week and talk to you laterz! Love, Elder Levi Windham