When life hands you lemons...

Dear Family (and friends, and whoever else may read this),

Well I'll just say right off the bat that I got in ANOTHER car wreck yesterday! Thankfully, there really isn't any bad news that resulted this time. Allow me to explain: We were rear-ended by a guy who we found out was named Mel. He was driving a truck (nothing happened to it) and he looked up and couldn't see because the sun was so bright, so he tried to swerve and miss us but too late. The car is still drivable thankfully, and Mel was way nice and sorry for hitting us. We ended up having a really good conversation with him, and he asked questions and said things that every missionary-minded member is anxious to hear. I proceeded to present him with a copy of the Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet with our names and number written on it. He said he would definitely read it and sounded like he would call us back when he wanted us to come and teach!!!! So in the end, it was no coincidence that he was the one who hit us. If you believe in God, you don't believe in coincidence.

That was probably the highlight of this week, other than the fact that we are continuing to teach Tommy everything. He's still on track for the 26th, we're just nailing down the last few commandments and then we will review the lessons and get ready for the big day. It's a double-dose for him since he also turns 18 on that day, so we're making sure everyone in the branch knows about it. He is also playing on a church ball team in the Cherry Grove ward that is down at the stake center in Montgomery. We went with him on Saturday to watch him play and also to fellowship him with other members in the stake. It went really well, Tommy had a great experience which I think increased his testimony in a way. All I know is that I was WAY tempted to wear basketball clothes underneath my suit but I didn't. You know how I am once I walk into a gym, I just start looking for a basketball. Thankfully, I restrained myself but today Elder Lundquist and I are going to the church building to play, so that should be fun.

A big congratulations to Tyler for that special day, I will have to write him a letter today and tell him how proud I am of him. Well, Wilmington continues to press on despite the crisis with DHL. Wilmington was on 60 Minutes two Sundays ago, and I guess Elder Lundquist was on for about 5 seconds while we were at a shelter where we help serve food to homeless and jobless people! In my interview with President Robbins, we talked about how the current state of things in Wilmington is an opportunity to share the gospel with those who are questioning a lot of things right now.

Also, we dealt with what supposedly was the worst winter storm in Ohio in 100 years this past week, and I will definitely not forget the ice that made our car look like a popsicle! I took pictures of just how thick it really is, you'll be in for a treat when you see those! The real treat, of course, remains in teaching the gospel to those who are prepared, and we have a good handful of potential investigators we plan on teaching throughout this week. President Robbins has also asked us to find short, doctrinal statements for each principle from Preach My Gospel, and I am undertaking that with enthusiasm. I noticed in flipping through it that I had already highlighted several such statements, but had not really payed a lot of attention to what I highlighted. I'm definitely not doing that now after what President Robbins asked of us.

Also, that was very exciting to hear about the new member missionary plan that will be implemented soon, I can't wait until we get to start using it!!!! We have been brainstorming several ideas on how to get the members enthused about missionary work, so I'm excited for the future, to say the least!

May the Lord continue to watch over and strengthen you all, and pray sincerely and earnestly that he will help you seek out ways to share the gospel with others of our Heavenly Father's children. Have a fantastic week, and remember that I am always praying for you!