Thanks for all the Birthday Wishes!!!


Dear Famiree,

It's MUCH easier to get people to Church in Dalton. We had two come yesterday (12th) and 10 in our district! We committed one of them for the 25th of September and have plans to commit the other this week. He is only 12 years old and we want his parents to be there when we commit him. We actually tracted into his dad who wasn't really interested but wanted to teach his son about God. So, we told him a little about how God is our loving Heavenly Father, talks to us through prophets, sent His Son to die for us, and then restored His Church to the Earth by calling another prophet.... His dad liked what we taught and gave us permission to keep coming back. Now his son has been to mutual and Church and is ready to be baptized. We're pretty excited for the 25th!

We also have a crazy new zone conference this Saturday! President Griffin has arranged a Spanish training meeting. ALL of the Spanish-speaking missionaries in the entire mission are coming down to Dalton for a 5-hour role-play session with the members of our ward, President Griffin, and Elder Cornish of the Seventy. That means that I'll get to see Elder Woller (my trainer, now an assistant) and Elder Morente! And both the Elders I have trained! It's like a family reunion where we get to role-play teaching the Gospel! We'll probably get railed on by President and Elder Cornish though...as a whole the level of the Spanish-speaking missionaries in the mission is not anywhere near where it should be. That's why they organized this special "Spanish zone conference" in the first place. Oh well...I'm excited! There's a good chance that President Griffin and Elder Cornish will stay for the baptisms that evening. That would be awesome! (a little nerve-racking, but awesome...) We're pretty excited for Saturday.

The members feed us A LOT!!!! For a couple weeks we were getting fed at least twice a day. (Everyone was fighting over who got to feed Elder Rayon before he left) Now it's down to 4-5 times per week. They give us a lot of food too, so we always have leftovers or something in the apartment if we don't have a dinner appointment.

Training is going great! My new companion's a stud! He's definitely green though, haha. He's learning both the language and how to teach really quickly. He has a strong desire to be exactly obedient, to work hard, and to follow the Spirit. I can't really ask for much more! Elder Rayon and I went around picking up all the sticks and wood scattered all over the place and now Elder Kenyon and I get to light it on fire. We foresee great success this month and in the coming months.

Right now I'm reading Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon again. It's amazing how many missionary applications there are when you look for them. (I guess you don't really have to look that hard in Doctrine and Covenants...) As far as insights go...not really anything specific. It's all truth and there is no darkness in the scriptures. It's all of God. Read something kind-of interesting the other day...not really very insightful, but interesting. See 1 Nephi 21:12 and Isaiah 49:12 as well as the Bible Dictionary "Sinim, land of" I think we might see some really interesting stuff happen once China opens up to the Church.

My "favorite" investigator is a guy named Juan Carlos. He was a referral from a less-active member that we've been working with a little bit. He absolutely LOVES the Gospel. He recognizes truth and has the faith to change his life as he learns the Gospel. When we taught him the word of wisdom and the law of chastity, he cried. He could feel the guilt and shame of sin and was willing to do anything to repent. He just didn't know at the time that what he was doing was wrong. He actually reminds me a lot of King Lamoni's father. He has already been to Church a couple of times and is just waiting for an interview to resolve some special concerns before he is baptized. I always look forward to teaching him because I know he will follow the principles of the Gospel as he learns them.

Love you MORE!!!!!

Elder Raymond