Week 55 ~

Hi all~  I had to miss church yesterday to catch up on some law school stuff.  I tried to explain this in my letter to Kevin, you can now all enjoy the lecture I got about missing church!!!  Please pray for me, I obviously need help!!  LOL Charlene

Hi mother, it really looks to me like you guys are having fun, I have honestly not had any good old american tacos in so long. Tacos here are generally made from porl with cilantro and onion, and the tortillas can fit in the palm of one hand, so I really miss the good old flour tortillas. I cannot believe that Jen Mcleod is pregnant, that still is really odd to me. When I come home mom, I really want to meet see Kristy and Jason, I feel like I get to have so little contact with that side of the family, and the only contact I have ever had with them has been positive, although it is super weird to think that David is getting to the point where he could be a colonel, which freaks me out a little. It looks to me like you guys are honestly having a great time by the campfire there with the missionaries and young womens. So I really hope that you are getting to enjoy yourself.

Mom in regards to the Sunday thing, you have your own free agency on what you choose to do and not do, and I will love you always, regardless of what you choose. That being said, the natural consequence of breaking commandments is that we have things more difficult. The sacrament is vital to remove our sins, we cannot go without it, when we go there, with a repentant heart, it gets rid of ours sins. While that may not sound particularly urgent, think about how you would feel mom if you chose to rob a bank. I would imagine fairly bad. While you are not robbing banks, every time we commit a sin, it has the same effect on us, although in varying degrees depending on the gravity of the sin. That being said, of the course of our week, we accumulate quite a bit of weight on our shoulders from these little sins. It makes us more stressed, irritable, and gives satan more power to influence us. This interferes with our ability to feel the holy ghost. The holy ghost is what inspires our mind, everyone has its influence to some degree, without it, it is impossible to learn. Mom, the natural consequences to skipping the sacrament will always give us more stress, and make it harder to study. I love you, and so will always encourage you to not skip the sacrament, but at the same time, just like you could not stop me from running face first into a wall on Halloween (and skipping sacrament meeting is about the spiritual equivalent to doing so) when I was a kid, I cannot stop you from doing things that hurt you.

As far as being a leader in the mission, its pretty nice, I mean it gives me really the opportunity to work and serve some of the other missionaries. Its difficult because I am responsible for their actions, but something I have realized is my capacity to influence those around me. Through good and proper leadership, I can get the desired results. Something ive realized is that there are no bad students only bad teachers. If we teach others in the way that they need, they always follow. ITs honestly really taught me how to be a leader when I get home. Changes will be in 5 weeks. I hope that they send me off as a zone leader this next change because Elder Christofferson is coming to the mission, and I would honestly like to go to the special zone leader only reunion. Anyways, other than that, all goes good, I will have to tell you later about this new investigator we found, but lets just say he was really cool to talk to, and I hope his whole family gets baptized.

I love you very very much mom. Take care, happy anniversary (ill be here for number 25)

Kevin