Mom how is being home again? It sounds like you really don't get much time there now days. Cammie I can't believe how far along you are. That is crazy! The baby will be here in no time. Julie keep up the missionary work. It sounds like you guys are doing awesome with that. You will be blessed for it. Karen and Alvin are you guys graduating soon? Or what is the deal with that? I am sure you have already told me but there is just so much to remember. Joanie is Jaxson taller than you yet? Also happy birthday to Zachary Scott Low this week! Zach I can't believe you are already 7. I still remember when we came down to Utah just after you were born. You lived in a very tiny place.
Well this week was definitely one of a kind. And that is not all good news. Some good news though is that Elder Bejarano speaks a lot better English than I thought. Last week I hadn't really talked to him because I was staying with another Elder who was also training. We had to wait an extra day to pick up the missionaries we are training. Elder Bejarano is from Peru but he has been living in Australia for 3 years I think. So his English is good. He has been on his mission for about 8 months I think. Elder Jackson is my trainee. He is 18 years old and he is from West Valley Utah. This is where the bad news comes in. Elder Jackson has extreme anxiety. Apparently he has been fighting it ever since he went into the MTC. Elder Bejarano and I have both tried talking to him and baring our testimonies, our mission president has talked to him, and he has also talked to a very good doctor. Nothing seems to help him though. He is pretty set on going home. So from the sounds of it, I think he will be heading home sometime this week. I feel bad for him. So it will just be Elder Bejarano and I.
As far as the work goes though, we are making some progress. I am very excited about this transfer. We have taken over the other area as well so we have been meeting some new people there. One of the investigators we picked up is Candice. She is a 25 year old lady with 3 kids. Her husband is less-active, and she has gone through several missionaries already. She has so many questions. She is a great lady though! She really just wants to do what is right. I think that is why she feels like she has to have all the facts. We had a great talk with her about faith and the Spirit last night. In the end, we set a baptismal date for her on April 26th. I truly believe that she will be ready for that day. As she continues to put her trust in the Lord, her faith will continue to grow. Like it tells us in Ether 12:6, "we receive no witness until after the trial of our faith." I am excited for her. Tara was also able to come to church this Sunday. She is somehow able to get an hour off work to come to Sacrament meeting. Our next step with her will be getting her to the full 3 hours. We have re-set a baptismal date for her though on April 12th. Noel was also at church, and we are hoping to re-set a baptismal date for him as well. We have some great investigators that are really trying to do what is right. I love it! Lately we are really trying to work on their personal conversion and their faith. We are expecting miracles this transfer.
Seeing my companion Elder Jackson going through his experience has made me think a lot. I heard part of a great talk from Elder Jeffery R. Holland recently. It was about missionary work. He talked about why missionary work isn't easy. In his own words he said "I believe missionary work is not easy because Salvation is not a cheap experience." He went on to talk about how much Christ had to suffer. If it was never easy for Him, why would it be easy for us? I am sure most missionaries have probably shed a tear or two at some point on their mission because they feel overwhelmed. Myself included. But we only feel the tiniest bit of what Christ went through. We can never fully understand what He did for us. Elder Holland went on to talk about how the atonement can carry us. Christ knows us very personally. He knows what we have gone through and He knows what we are going through. His enabling power can help us through our tough times. Elder Holland said something like "If the missionaries can come to trust and appreciate the atonement, it will carry them possibly even more importantly than it can carry their investigators." I think we can apply this to everything in life. Life is not easy. It wasn't meant to be. But we have a Savior who can lift us when we fall and strengthen us in our darkest hour. How grateful I am for that. I know that with His help we can all gain Eternal Life. It won't be easy, but it will be worth it. I love you all and pray for you every day. Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Low
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