Dear Family,
This week has flown by quicker than any of the others have and it's spinning my head like crazy. I looked at Starsi Jones yesterday night and said something that I should have realized sooner: "Ya know, this mission is going to be amazing." The reason that I said that was because at the RC yesterday (which is our scheduled time) I had an amazing experience. I only had two interactions in the entire hour and a half that I was there, but they were both amazing.
The first that I want to tell you about was a man who called in and said he wanted to have one of our free books. I looked at the computer screen and saw that he was talking about the Book of Mormon. He seemed to be in a hurry so I took his information as he pushed it onto me, but something strange was in his voice. It seemed that he wanted to know more, and there was a sincerety to it. So I took all of his information, but I wished that there was more that I could do. I knew of course, that I couldn't because of the situation he was in. He really was in a hurry and he even told me that a few times. So, I took it and had his book sent. I know that this book is going to change his life, just like the millions of other people who have read it with a humble heart trying to know the truth of God.
Then the other interaction was a man who chatted in. I don't remember his name, but I remember calling him Brother Bond. He was very friendly I was very willing to try and help him along. He asked me how he could get in contact with some missionaries in his area, so I was imediately stirred with curiosity as to why he wanted to meet with them. I asked about and found out that he was an inactive member and hadn't been to church in about eight years. He had gotten mixed up in alcohol and tobacco and had been an addict (to what, I don't know). He told me about how he wanted to clean up his life, how he wanted to come back to church, how he wanted to have a spouse that wouldn't cheat on him. The biggest one that hit me was that he said he wanted to come back to church and feel the same way he did when he was growing up. It seemed to me that he wanted to be happy, and I know that the only way that he could be happy is through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. By the end of the conversation I could just sense the gratitude that this man had for me and for what I was doing for him. I just wished that there was more that I could do. I felt so helpless in this entire thing, but I also knew that what I did, no matter how insignificant it seemed to me, was going to change his life. At the end he thanked me for my kindness and the way that I helped him, but I knew that it was not me who was helping him, it was the Lord who told him that he needed to come onto mormon.org and talk to someone about how he could come back to the happiness he once knew.
I know that the Lord is always in our lives but the problem is, we are sometimes walking throught the dark and we cannot see Him there. We just have to reach out our hand and grasp His. I know that the simple leap of faith this man made was stretching his hand and trying to find the Lord's. I know that the missionaries will be able to help him find the Lord and the happiness that he once knew. I know that he will be blessed.
I'm sorry that I am writing a small letter this week, but I am very limited on time today. All of you are in my prayers and I thank you all for your support.
I love you all very much,
Starsi Monk
PS- I thank my ward very much for what they have done about my mission fund. However, now I am endebted to all of them. The Lord has a funny way of blessing you and then once you repay Him for those blessings, He blesses you even more for repaying Him. I feel that He's done this so now I am over my head in debt to my family and to my ward! Oh no! I know that these are blessings from our loving Heavenly Father and I thank Him for them. I also thank our ward members very much. I know that this will be a blessing to me and to my family.