March 20, 2017

This week has been awesome! We had exchanges and zone conference and everything... It was just so busy. But we worked hard and it was so fun and the time flew by! Fun fact of this week. I started and finished my week with the same companion! :)

We are teaching a woman named Lynn and her friend Mitchell and his 16 year old son named Timmy. They are the most wonderful people that I have ever met! I have so much love for them I can't even describe! We go and share lessons and we all feel the Spirit so strong and we each learn so much. It is truly the way missionary work is supposed to be! They are progressing towards baptism and they have such a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. It really is the key to everything, through that we can learn the truthfulness of the entire gospel.

So the best thing of this week happened on Sunday. I was having a somewhat stressful time right after church and then we started to visit people and find new families to teach and I noticed that right as we started to find and knock doors I just had so much joy come into me! I just know that the Spirit is in the Lord's work and it is such a good life! The funniest thing is that just like 2 weeks ago I was struggling with feeling love for the area and the work and all that... Well the cure for me was the same advice that President Hinkley's father told him... "Forget yourself and go to work." Very wise words.

Man life is great! I keep getting told that I'm very optimistic and I can kinda see that. Life is so great and it is even better when you look at the good so why not!? :)

Much love from Cincinnati!

Elder Mark Howland