Fleming Island to the "bitter end"

8.15.11
Fleming Island, FL

Dear Family~

This has been another busy week, but a good one at that. Our family is still progressing, and very well! They are reading the scriptures together morning and night and praying together morning and night also. They say the members of the ward feel like family to them. They are making miraculous changes and it is exciting to see. Another family that we had worked with since I've been in Fleming Island will be attending church this next Sunday too...they are a wonderful family and we will be happy to have them with us next week. I've already told both these families that when you come out to get me that we will be going over there to meet them!

Well...transfers are this week...but before I talk about transfers, I have a couple other things to say. Oddly enough, in Elder's Quorum this Sunday, we had the very same lesson (on Chastity)! I'll have to share the object lesson Brother Barrett shared with us--which was a perfect object lesson--but it also made me kind of laugh. But I did learn as he was teaching that the Law of Chastity in large part was given to protect families and also true love. The gospel was designed to strengthen relationships, and if the relationship is centered on anything other than love and service, and the Lord, it will fail; and it will fail miserably if it is centered against this commandment.

Our lesson in Relief Society last week went well. Elder Brimhall and I each spoke for about fifteen minutes. He spoke about the importance of understanding our identity in the family of God and I spoke on the joy of living the gospel pattern of life (i.e. prayer, scripture study, church attendance, service, etc...). We both centered our lesson on expanding our personal spheres of influence and getting to know more people and to share the gospel more frequently. The Relief Society sisters were very participative, so the lesson seemed to be good. I had fun with it. :)

Okay, back to the transfer board...Elder Austin B. Robbs and Elder Cole Brimhall will continue in Fleming Island. I will out to the "bitter end" here in Fleming Island, as Bishop Budge said in our P.E.C. meeting yesterday. I'm glad to stay here! It is going to be my longest area, my toughest area, but the area that I've learned and grown the most. I'm happy to serve here to the "bitter end".

I've got to get going, but I love each of you and wish you a wonderful and happy week! And I'll talk to you next week! I like Dad's quote on his email to me:

"There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results." -Ken Blanchard