CONFERENCES!

Hello my amazing family!   I am so glad to hear that Andrew and Bethy got the casts off and can now tear it up on the court and on the field!  It was a really good, busy week for us and we were able to see lots of miracles and prep for lots of trainings!  

To start off, we were able to have a fantastic exchange with the Elders in Miskolc. I was able to go back with good ol' Elder Ure and the exchange went really well. One of the things that I admire so much about Elder Ure is his ability to listen and to apply what people say to the gospel. I was amazed at how well he can get along with those people that we meet and at how well he is able to testify of the gospel to people. He is very calm and collected when he speaks with people and he really does a great job at teaching “that portion that shall be meted unto every man” (like the scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants says).  As I come to look at my mission more and more, I am so grateful that I was able to have him as a trainer and then later to serve with him as Zone Leader.  I know that the call was inspired of God and am so grateful for the things that he helped me learn.  He is a stud!

We were able to meet with our investigator from Ukraine 3 times this past week. All of the teachings went really well and his faith is growing at a very fast rate. We spoke about the Plan of Salvation a lot and about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is reading so much from the Book of Mormon and one night he planned to read only a few verses but he told us he could not put it down for like an hour and a half or so. He says he will be baptized, he just wants to keep learning more and more and wants to make sure this is the path that God wants him to take. He went to church in Pest this last week (because it is in English) and he absolutely loved it (I got permission to attend with him and it was super weird hearing some church in English). In one of our lessons this past week, I had one of the coolest experiences of my mission when he was talking about the feelings that he has when we meet with him in his home. He told us that when we are speaking with him, we can answer all of his questions in a way that amazes him. He says that when we are in his presence and when we are talking to him, he feels this clean energy coming from us and he told us that he has not seen that in other people in the world. He told us that he wants to be able to have the cleanliness and the spirit that we have and that he can tell that we are truly happy and clean (even in the way we think). He is just so amazed that a 19 and 20 year old boy is able to have the spiritual maturity that we have. The whole time when he was saying this, I knew that the reason he felt this way was not because Elder Fitzgerald and myself were clever or extraordinary or anything like that, but because the spirit was with us and he was feeling that. It is so amazing the way the spirit can truly carry us in a lesson especially when we don't even know what to say or even how to say it. I am just so grateful that I have the constant companionship of a great companion, Elder Fitzgerald, and the constant companionship of another great companion, the Holy Ghost. It truly sets us apart from the ordinary people of the world and the humble seekers of truth can truly be touched by its influence. It is a gift that I want to be with me at all times and at all places because without it I am nothing (like it says in Helaman 4:13 and 24-26) but with it I can do all things the Lord would have me do. It is so vital in the work.

We were also able to meet with another investigator his past week a couple of times and both of those teachings went well. He is also doing well and we were able to have a special fast for him yesterday in order for him to have the strength and the support to be able to quit smoking. His faith is very strong and he wants to change. He was not able to come to church this past week because the transistor on his car stopped working so hopefully he can get that taken care of and can come next week. We also were able to meet with a sister investigator this past week as she was able to return from her vacation from the Balaton (the big lake in Hungary). She feels rested and refreshed and is ready to continue to learn about the gospel. We spoke about the Atonement and the effect that it can have on our lives and it went pretty well. She told us that she would be coming to church, however, was not able to come because she slept in. We also met with our another investigator a couple of times this past week and he is also doing really well. He was able to come to sacrament meeting and from what I heard (I was in Pest) he really liked it. He struggles with keeping commitments to read, however, he committed himself to read a little bit every day and we are anxious to see if he does so.

We were able to have our missionary leadership council this past week where Elder Fitzgerald and myself were able to give a training to the missionary leaders around the country.  We were able to talk about a talk given by Elder Ballard at the mission president's seminar about what it means to be a true leader in the gospel compared to what the world views as a powerful leader.  We were able to discuss how the Lord looks on the inward heart and how we develop that inward integrity by being examples of the believers at all times and at all places (especially when nobody is watching because that is true character right there).  Then today and for the next four days, we have the chance to present a training to the entire mission on a talk given by Elder Holland on the divine companionship of the Holy Ghost and how it is essential to have in the work (without it the Lord forbids us to teach).  He said that the Holy Ghost cannot be like an old sweater that we take out of the closet when we are going to go and teach a lesson and that we take off when it is done, rather it needs to stay with us at all times a in order to build that true character (I compared it to football and how there are some kids that want to only receive the Friday Night Lights glory but they don't want to put in the work during the summer or throughout the week.  When they want to suit up and play on Friday night it just does not work, they will get wrecked and so will we in this work if we do not have the spirit).  It went well I thought!

I love this work and you all so much and hope you all have a wonderful week!

Elder Gentry