July 22, 2013

Hi family,

Well it sounds like some crazy things are happening back home. And I am glad some people are having fun at echo. I love echo lake. Some of my best memories are there, and I am sure many of you would agree. There is nothing like spending time with family. Jason it sounds like you had an awesome time at scouts camp. I always loved those camps. And I am glad to hear you didn't get crushed by a horse. That could have been bad. What was your calling again? I am really sorry to hear about all of these crazy accidents. That is sad to hear about Josh Burton. That would be tough so close to the end of the mission. But it sounds like he is doing a lot better then expected. I hope everything goes well with him. And Tami Courts daughter as well. Life can be hard sometimes. But the Lord gives us trials to make us stronger. Just like it says in 2 Nephi 26:24, "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world." I think we can all apply that to ourselves as well. I have often found on my mission that we go through certain trials in our life so that we can reach out and help others. Sometimes we go through trials just to test our faith and strengthen us. We may not understand why we are having these challenges, but we just have to trust in the Lord. If we do that, He will strengthen us. He won't give us any trial that we can't handle. And if we handle those trials well, we can have what I like to call never ending happiness.


Time to answer some questions. I did get a new bike. My district leader I was telling you about, Elder Fry, had an old bike that he hasn't used for awhile. And he is driving a car now anyway. So we fixed that up a bit and that is what I am riding. It is working just fine. And my hand is a lot better. It is pretty much healed up. My knee is coming along as well. I didn't rip my pants though, just like I told you. Mom we do run into a lot of Mexican Spanish speaking families. There are a ton around here! But there are Spanish speaking Sisters in our area, so we just refer these people to them. Karen we do not get Pioneer Day off. But we do get to walk in another parade! I'm not sure where it is at though. It might be in like Spanish Fork or something. I guess I will find out. Mom we do get fed a lot. We always cook breakfast and lunch for ourselves, but we get dinner from members 5 times a week. It is really nice. And sometimes they send us home with leftovers as well. So we are being fed great! I have actually just started recently taking my vitamins, and I think they are really helping. I have found that I am not as tired when I take them. And no I have not used my Wells Fargo card yet. They give us plenty of money to spend. Mom don't worry, we cleaned our double wide trailer. We had inspections the other week, and they lady was so happy with us. She said it was the cleanest she has ever seen it. She said she would bring us cookies next time, and we even got a letter from the mission office saying congratulations on having "an extremely clean apartment." It was pretty funny. Well I hope I didn't miss any questions. If I did, ask me again and I will try to answer next week.


As far as the work goes, this week was pretty good. We found two new kids to teach. Dylan Smith is 8 and Nicholas Bingham is 12. Dylan's family is active, but it is a weird situation. The ex-wife won't let him be baptized until he takes the missionary lessons. With Nicholas, his Mom is less-active and his Dad is not a member. He goes to church with his grandparents and he loves it. He has even been going with the Deacons to collect fast offerings and see how things work. He is a great kid. I am excited to teach him. I am really hoping we can get the father to sit in on the lessons as well. His Mom has already been doing that. We also got a couple of the families we are teaching to come to church. I was telling you about Brock and Cammie and their kids last week, and this week they came to church with us. They love the Gospel Principles class. It is very simple for them. Hopefully church will become a weekly activity for them. I am not sure if I have to you about Amy Simmons, but she has come to church 3 weeks in a row now. She has had a rough life, but it seems like she is really starting to turn things around. I love seeing people accept the Gospel, it really does change lives.


I love hearing from everybody and how you are all doing. It is such a blessing to have a family that cares about me. I love you all so much. We have so many blessings in our lives. We just have to stop and see what God has given us. This week I have really seen the blessing of the scriptures in my life. I came across a good scripture in 2 Timothy 3:16. It tells us that all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And it is so true. Prophets wrote the scriptures, and Prophets speak the words of God. So when we read the scriptures, it is just like God is talking to us. It is amazing the answers that we can receive by studying the scriptures. I have had many prayers answered in those couple of hours in the morning that we get to study. I love that time. This Gospel is so true. God loves each one of us and knows us individually. He just wants what is best for us, even if what is best for us is hard. As long as we put Him first in our lives, and then do our very best, He will strengthen us and help us be where we need to be. I know that to be true. I love being a missionary! I hope you all have a great week. I love you all so much.


Love,

Elder Low