Elder Isaac Livingston

"The true sacrifice is...coming home."

2010-08-02T09:06:00.000-07:00

At this point, words simply fail me. Countless people, mostly members, have asked me what I think of it all and I really can't settle on just one word! I will say that this past weekend, I was certainly feeling overwhelmed with joy as well as spiritually drained. The baptism was spectacular!!!! I will never forget the look on Shawntae and her kids' faces as well as Jeff's once they came out of the water. We were all crowded around the font because we wanted to see them all get baptized, and the room where we held the service was basically standing room only. Afterwards, both Shawntae and Jeff bore their testimonies, which have come so far in the months that I have known them.

Shawntae expressed her nervousness at testifying in front of everyone, but testimony is better expressed in fewer words anyway. The main part of her testimony was this: "I am happy, as happy as I have ever been in my life." Is there really anything else that needs to be said?! Jeff talked about how, after the loss of his wife of only 4 years, he vowed he would never set foot in a church again and basically lost his faith altogether. He then said to those present, "You see now how far I've come." Sunday was a busy day, as there were 6 confirmations and a baby blessing, followed by a power-packed testimony meeting. I had the privilege of confirming 8 year-old Jaquell, who I also baptized, sharing my final testimony with the ward, and offering the closing prayer in sacrament meeting....yeah, I was busy! After I bore my testimony, I watched with awe as Shawntae went to the podium and bore her testimony yet again, and even more powerful than on Saturday!! I heard later that she did so again in Relief Society and that Jeff did likewise in priesthood. Naturally, with so many testimonies being shared over the course of 2 days, I was pretty much walking on "cloud nine" for most of the weekend!

I've come to recognize that anytime you have the Spirit and you recognize it, you are basically on "cloud nine" all of the time. Although still far from where I should be, the mission has taught me to a certain degree how to know when I have the Spirit with me and when I do not. It truly is, as the scriptures say, an "unspeakable gift." Shawntae and her family, Jeff, and the others I've taught who are now members of the Church, now enjoy that marvelous gift which can and will effect every day of their lives as they live worthy of it. The next step for all of them is, of course, to attend the temple for their own saving ordinances. I do hope to be present for as many of those as possible.

These next few days will find me doing a lot of packing, saying goodbye to people, packing, shipping things home, packing, and hopefully taking some time to ponder on these last 2 years that I have tried to consecrate to the Lord. Today we'll be having a big basketball tournament with a bunch of missionaries, and we have meal appointments with members lined up everyday through Wednesday, so that's a nice send-off. Please give my thanks to Aunt Terri and Uncle Shawn and their family for the very thoughtful package they sent. I know that Shawntae's kids will definitely enjoy the candy! Well, I can't really think of a better way to end this e-mail than closing with words that I used in my testimony in Church yesterday. They are from Alma 26:16, 28, 30, 31, 37.

16- Therefore, let us glory, yea, we will glory in the Lord; yea, we will rejoice, for our joy is full; yea, we will praise our God forever. Behold, who can glory too much in the Lord? Yeah, who can say too much of his great power, and of his mercy, and of his long-suffering towards the children of men? Behold, I say unto you, I cannot say the smallest part which I feel.

28- And now behold, we have come and been forth amongst them; and we have been patient in our sufferings, and we have suffered every privation; yea, we have traveled from house to house, relying upon the mercies of the world---not upon the mercies of the world alone but upon the mercies of God.

30- And we have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

31- Now behold, we can look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay, they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us.

37- Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth. Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever. Amen.

I am very excited to see all of you this Friday, but it is going to be very difficult to leave all of this behind. As Mom told me at the beginning of this adventure, the true sacrifice is not leaving on a mission, it is coming back from one. I am a witness that this is true and that this experience has wrought a mighty change within me. I am much better because of it, and you as well as everyone else that has supported me is a big reason why I am where I am. Above all, the Lord has patiently taught and tutored me, and begun molding me into the person He needs me to be within His Church. As long as I have the Spirit, everything will work out as it's supposed to. Well, I will see you on Friday!!!!

Comfort

2010-07-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

As I read your letters this morning, I felt the power of the Atonement encompass my whole being almost as if it where a large blanket. Being in a public library, I didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself, but I will admit that it was a tremendous challenge to keep my emotions in check, if only for a couple minutes. I have thought about Griff somewhat throughout these many months, with the hope that he wouldn't have to experience pain for much longer, but it still feels as though a part of me died with him. Nonetheless, as you said, the Atonement and its promised blessings of immortality and eternal life for animals is assured. Certainly there is grieving and sorrow at the death of a loved one, but at the same time there is tremendous peace and joy that results from knowing that the next life offers so much more, including a "next life" to being with! I came across a quote the other day from President Joseph Fielding Smith that illustrates the doctrine of eternal progression very well:

" Salvation does not come all at once; we are commanded to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. It will take us ages to accomplish this end, for there will be greater progress beyond the grave, and it will be there that the faithful will overcome all things, and receive all things, even the fulness of the Father's glory."

It is comforting to know that we can't achieve perfection in this life because we are mortals, but it is within our vast, divine potential. I love his use of the word "faithful" in that quote, because it is the perfect word, I think, to define what enduring to the end is. I'm sure I've shared this thought before, but I think it bears repeating: "We aren't called to be successful in all things, but to be faithful in all things." Well, lucky for Griffey, he gets a free pass into the celestial kingdom! We human beings have to do quite a bit more, but we can be where he is if we hold out until the end. Funny I'm talking about this, being so close to finishing my full-time mission!

And don't worry, I'm doing a pretty good job of fending off "trunkiness." I can take questions from people about it without problems, and I really just have to keep it from affecting my ability to do the Lord's work. I received my flight information in the mail this past week, and as you already know, I'm headed from Columbus to Dallas to SLC. Hmmm.....I wonder if I could sneak away to see the Cowboys' new stadium while I'm down there. Probably not.

Being on a mission has certainly helped me see the value in taking imporant life's decisions, whether they are Church-related or not, to the Lord. I have made many mistakes along the way, but I have tried my best to learn what the Lord wants me to learn, and He has been merciful to me and granted me knowledge from you, the scriptures, mission presidents, the Brethren, members, and even investigators that has stuck with me. Brigham Young said that revelation comes from many different sources, and I can testify to the truth of that principle. That was the main theme of our Leadership Meetings with Pres. Jensen this past Tuesday and Thursday. I truly believe that it came at the right time for me.

Elder Kirk and I are very lucky to be in Cincinnati at this time, when it seems that so many people are becoming interested in the truths of the restord gospel, and that a chosen 6 are ready to make covenants this Saturday. Yes, it is still on and everything is in place! Shawntae has said several times that she is getting tired of waiting, in a totally joking manner of course. I second that!! I'm just ready for it to get here, as I know the members are as well. There hasn't been a baptism here since November, and I'm not sure when the last time was that a family joined the Church. Family is an area where the members will continue to be a strength to the growth of the Church, and I see evidence of that in the conversion of Shawntae and her kids. Along with Jeff Even, the ward is very well prepared to shepherd them along after baptism, and I know that it is their goal to make it to the temple as well.

I am also excited to attend the temple next week, hopefully with a member or two from Wilmington. We were hoping to do it this weekend, but some things came up on both ends and we won't be able to. Darn! Well, it was worth thinking about at least! I will certainly be making a return trip to that area as well my other ones in the near future, and hopefully you will get to come as well. The next week and a half is going to be a whirlwind of events, but I am nonetheless grateful that a baptism is included in that. I really can't think of a better way to go out!! In the past couple months, I have truly seen the fulfillment of a promise made by then-Elder Eyring in a conference talk he gave back in 2002, I believe. In essence, he said that as your alloted time of service in a calling draws to a close, you will have the marvelous gift of seeing your service magnified by the Lord. IT IS TRUE!!!! May the loving arms of the Savior be around you each day and always.

Elder Ike-by his sister

2010-07-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

I miss Isaac!

But I am sooooooooooooooooo

soooooooooo

soooooooooooooooooo

glad

that he went on a mission!

He has learned and grown and

taught and been taught

and laughed and prayed

and probably cried, too

And now we get to see

what all of those verbs

did to him!

Raise your virtual hand if you're excited!

And by that I mean

Give a shout-out to my bro,

who has served diligently.

I have an inkling, though...that he won't be done when the tag comes off.

Hallelujah. :)

Death papers have been delivered

2010-07-19T15:41:00.000-07:00

The names of Shawntae's kids who will be getting baptized alongside her, they are:
Jameisha (12), Jameill (11), Jaquell (8), and Jaquesha (7) who will turn 8 in less than a week.

Anyway, everything for that special event is still on schedule, I am counting down the days with eagerness! They are absolutely consistent with their prayers, studies, and Church attendance. Shawntae was unable to attend yesterday because she came down sick, but she STILL made sure to have family scripture study! My goodness, they are living the gospel and haven't even been baptized yet, and the same can be said for Jeff Even! I know it seems repetitive, but the highlights of our weeks lately have been involving them, but how could it not when someone you've taught and prayed for is ready to make covenants with the Lord?!

I believe that there is a couple other people right behind them, most notably being Michelle Baker. She is still having her struggles and we actually haven't had any contact with her since last Thursday, but her desire to change is so strong that you can't help but assist in anyway you can. The big step we're trying to help her make is finding another place to live, and we'll be meeting with her this evening, in company with Bro. Josh Judge, a member who lives in the area and has obtained some good info as to some possible treatment places she could go to. I say it all the time, but members truly make everything better in missionary work!

We have been doing our best to survive the humidity here, which has made the days at least 10 degrees warmer than otherwise. Luckily, we carry some handkerchiefs around to mop off the constant flow of sweat from our faces and arms. My pants especially are feeling the effects, and I've concluded that dry-cleaning them at this point would basically be pointless, and I probably wouldn't be wearing them much at home anyway. Man, wait 'till you see them, as well as my shoes!! The shirts are okay, but not quite as white as Elder Kirk's are, but that's only because he's a lot newer in the field.

We had my last Zone Conference this past week with Pres. and Sis. Jensen and all 3 of the Cincinnati Zones. It was really cool, and we were introduced to some new Preach My Gospel DVD's that we are supposed to use in district meetings. The food was also very good, which makes sense because it's the Relief Society!! One thing this mission does a little different than the last one is that traditionally we would have the departing missionaries share their testimonies in Zone Conference, but in the Columbus Mission we share them at transfer meeting. And that's another thing they do differently is transfers. Members take us up to Columbus, and EVERYONE meets at the chapel located next to the temple, so it turns into this big, huge meeting which is pretty Spirit-filled from what I've heard. It's also an opportunity for members to see missionaries who are going home that have served in their areas, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.

I received a call on Saturday from Sis. Earl, the office secretary, instructing me to write out my departing testimony for inclusion in the next newsletter, as well as telling me that my departing papers will be arriving in the mail this week. As missionaries, we call them "death papers." Yeah, kind of strange but I didn't start that tradition. Elder Kirk is kind of depressed about it because once I leave, ALL 3 of his companions thus far will be home, and he was the last companion to 2 of them. The other one had one transfer left when Elder Kirk was put with me, so he's had nothing but oldies for companions. I think it's pretty funny, but he doesn't think so as much.

Well, this week I will be in Middletown all day on Tuesday and Thursday for a special leadership training with Pres. Jensen. It is named Middletown because it is exactly halfway between Cincinnati and Dayton, so thus it is a good place for the missionary leadership in Cincinnati and Dayton to meet at. It should be pretty interesting to see what comes out of those meetings, I'm looking forward to it. Well, I think I've about covered all of the news this time around. I'm happy and relieved to know that I've been officially accepted at BYU-I, although something tells me that Kenz is a little more excited than I am....at least right now. There are many important decisions ahead that I will need to make, but with the Lord's help I will be just fine. However, NOW is not the time or place to be making them. I think I can wait just a couple more weeks for that. I'm probably going to spend some time today going through my suitcases and getting books and other heavy, bulky things set aside to be packaged and shipped. Man, I really don't like packing anymore, but then again, I've only had to do it 4 times as a missionary. There are plenty of elders who've been in like 10 or more areas, and so they more than likely hate it much more than me. Guess that ends my complaining session about THAT topic! Hope all is well in good ol' AF and elsewhere. Thank you for your thoughtfulness on behalf of my investigators and others, I know that they definitely will appreciate it! Have another great week!

Have I done any good in the world today?

2010-07-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

What a great week this was!! We reached almost all of our goals, and overall had 25 lessons for the week! We have been given several new standards to reach as a mission, and they include achieving at least 5 member present lessons per week, which we did and it made a HUGE difference! Shawntae Stone and her kids are on track for July 31st, and we committed Jeff Even to be baptized that same day, and he announced it to the priesthood brethren in Church yesterday! Part of me couldn't have said a week ago that they were sure bets for baptism on that day, but after the great lessons we had with members helping, I have a lot more confidence. Both of them have been unfazed by the adversary's tempations to smoke, and certainly he will keep working on them, but I think they will pass the test! That means 6 baptisms scheduled to take place on July 31st, so could you ask for a better way to close out your mission?!

There are few things better than being able to see people progress on their own, and I know I've said that in a letter before, but it is so true! When the Spirit touches people and they recognize it, they are so motivated to make changes that you can't help but be as excited as they are! The ward is definitely gearing up for that, and the program is starting to take shape. I was asked by Jaquell, Shawntae's 8 year old son, to perform his baptism, so that will make the experience that much sweeter. As if it couldn't get any better, I was contacted by Pres. and Sis. Kennedy from Wilmington who are trying to arrange a branch temple trip to Columbus so they can see me before I come home! There are still a few things needing to be worked out, mainly a solid date, but I'm sure I will be able to work something out with Pres. Jensen. I think he would understand, don't you? Luckily, I'll be seeing him tomorrow at Zone Conference and will be able to ask him in person.

Well, I suppose that Shawntae and Jeff are the big highlights from the week, but really all of the lessons we had were very high quality. I've had plenty of practice with painting as well, as we have been painting Shelley Capell's home one room at a time. It's fun to see the different colors she wanted us to use and also the reaction her kids have when it's done. I think I told you about Shelley, but in case I didn't, she's a single mom of 4 who we found in Price Hill and have teaching steadily since May. Our biggest challenge is getting them to Church, if only because Shelley is already attending one. We'll see what happens, the Lord is in charge.

Until last week, coordinating rides to Church was difficult because we always needed a big fan for Shawntae's family, and there are only two families that I know of who have them. Well, last week a new member in the ward said he can get an 18-passenger van from work that we can use each Sunday, so we're excited to start doing that. In fact, we were on our way to pick up Shawntae and Jeff yesterday in one of the bishopric's vans, and the emergency brake kept sticking so we had to turn around. Thankfully, we were able to use two cars to go get them all, and actually got them back to the Church on time! Another miracle!

Lastly, I have funny story that happened the other day. We were visiting with a less-active family, the Higgins, and they gave us both soda pop so we wouldn't get too hot and thirsty, which is tricky not to do in this sticky weather. Well, Elder Kirk doesn't drink soda at all, so of course I got to have his. However, I only finished half of it and then discarded it in the trash. Well, as we were waiting for the bus to come, a bum comes over and starts rooting around in the garbage for something to drink. Yep, you guessed it! He finds my pop and starts guzzling on it with great relief on his face! Guess he was pretty thirsty! When I saw him drinking it, I started singing "Have I Done Any Good in the World Today"? Elder Kirk and I were both laughing pretty hard. Funny stuff happens on a mission, that's for sure! Well anyway, I best be headed off. We're helping the Norwood and University Elders move a member today, but it shouldn't take more than an hour. Thankfully, they have everything boxed up already! Then we're going to play some b-ball at the Church and just take it easy the rest of the day. Well, until 6 that is, then we're right back at the Lord's work! Hope you all have a wonderful, safe, and blessed week!

Great is the Lord, and marvelous are His ways

2010-07-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's so special about the day AFTER July 4th here in Cincinnati, but we were rudely greeted yesterday by a sign at the library reading, "CLOSED MONDAY, JULY 5TH!" Oh, the nerve!! It's not the first time on my mission that the library has been closed on preparation day, but I'm pretty confident it will be the last. So anyway, I'm sitting here at a computer at the downtown library on this clear but VERY warm Tuesday morning. It's been amazing that my clothes have held up under this abuse known as humidity, but one pair of my shoes took a definite beating thanks to the roads down in Hazard. I plan on bringing them home just to show them off, then straight to the garbage. I know, I'm weird aren't I?

Since I got on the subject of clothes, I'll make a point of mentioning that Bro. Blackwelder Sr., a member of the ward, has offered to pay for my clothes to be dry cleaned before I come home, so that takes care of that expense. He came with us yesterday to visit Jeff Even and also Shawntae, two appointments that actually weren't scheduled, but resulted from others that had fallen through. We were VERY grateful, as were Jeff and Shawntae, for his testimony and input throughout the lessons. We really didn't do a whole lot of talking, which is fine since they have heard more than enough from us. Both of them are struggling with quitting smoking, but Shawntae has a firm commitment to stop by the 9th of this month so that she can be baptized with her oldest kids on the 31st. And lately, Jeff has been reading and praying more earnestly about the Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith, something that he really hadn't done in the past. This was only because he felt that God wouldn't answer his prayers since his wife died many years ago and he had prayed for the Lord to heal her, and his faith was pretty much destroyed. We have been making a concerted effort to help him build it back up, and he's been attending Church regularly for over a month and seems more and more willing to do his best. It's very interesting watching how the people you teach change the longer you are around them.

Thanks to the Lord's tender mercies, I have had the privilege of observing this many times in each area I have been in, which thankfully also has been for long periods of time. It certainly takes a great deal of patience when working with these children of God, not only the investigators but members as well. However, when impatience and frustration is trying to set in, I am reminded of the words of my patriarchal blessing regarding my mission and the specific need to love the people and patient with them. What a promise, and my how the Lord has rewarded me for it! There is, of course, still room for improvement, but I've learned very quickly in the mission field that God will reward us for being FAITHFUL in all things, and not necessarily SUCCESSFUL. I love the promise in Preach My Gospel that says our success as missionaries is measured by our commitment level, and that is definitely true not just for full-time missionaries, but also member-missionaries and even investigators as well. It is an eternal truth that whatever we are commited to, we will be successful at. It may not be immediately, but it will come as we remain faithful and press forward.

We had a wonderful meeting with Pres. and Sis. Jensen this past Wednesday, and among the many things I learned from them, perhaps the most exciting was learning that I will in fact get to spend my last day in the mission field, August 5th, at the Columbus Ohio Temple!! There will be 18 missionaries in my group going home a month from now, and it's so many that Pres. Jensen had to contact the temple president and reserve temple clothes for our particular group. After our session, we will visit with Pres. and Sis. Jensen in the matron's room, during which time we are free to discuss any gospel topics for as long as we would like!! I am incredibly excited for this opportunity, as it is something I have been missing out on for the past two years. My interview with Pres. Jensen was likewise memorable, and it was very evident that he has the gift of discernment. I think I'll wait to share with you what he told me for when I get back. It was amazing, espeically considering we had never met before! He designs ties for a living, so I'm wondering if it's a tradition to give departing missionaries a tie, 'cause that would be sweet!

My last Zone Conference will be held a week from today, at which time I suspect I will have to share my testimony with all three Cincinnati zones. In regards to shipping things home, most likely I will be sending books since they are usually the heaviest thing we carry around. I may even send all my letters home as well in order to clear some extra space in my suitcases. And any food I have left (don't worry, it's still good) will be eaten by myself and Elder Kirk and probably Shawntae's kids since there are 7 of them! I will be giving my bike to the mission since it is almost in virtually mint condition, owing to the fact that I've been spoiled with car areas the entire time.....until now, that is; but we use the bus ALL the time, so my bike will certainly be a welcome gift to whatever missionary gets it.

Well, other than all that, there isn't much new to report on. We are concentrating our efforts right now on having more members come teach with us as well as teaching them, and especially in getting rides to Church better coordinated on a weekly basis. Some have already responded to our requests, and things this week are already looking better than they did last week by far! Members truly make all the difference in the world, and it's one of my hopes to live up to what Pres. Robbins told me one time: "If you keep the same spirit at home that you have enjoyed here, then you will be a better member-missionary than you were a full-time missionary." That remains to be seen, but boy am I excited to see that fulfilled.

Oh, and before I forget, there was one last thing I wanted to ask. Could you make sure and invite(if you already haven't) Pres. and Sis. Robbins to my homecoming talk, as well as Coach Meacham, Larry and Denise, and anyone else you can think of. Perhaps you've already invited them all, but I thought this would be as good a time as any to bring it up. Also if you could invite the following former companions of mine: Nathan Hall, Luke Allred, Chad Durling, Jared Lundquist, Zach Janiec, Ryan Remington, and Fred Bittner. A few of them don't live in Utah, but they could be there or at BYU-I for school. I imagine you could find all of them on Facebook, but if you would like I can get you their addresses next week. It's up to you, but if you could do that it would be really great. Well, I think that's about all I've got to say for this week!

Sounds like you had an enjoyable Fourth of July (or 3rd), as did we. It was nice to reflect on the reasons why we celebrate this holiday, and we owe it all to the hand of the Lord. Without it, we wouldn't enjoy the fulness of the gospel, since such a land of liberty was needed for the Lord to restore His Church in its fulness. What a wonderful thing to know that the Lord sees the big picture and that we, as we seek for it righteously, can know what it is too. Have a great week!

Hot, humid and happy

2010-06-28T13:59:00.000-07:00

I had a great last interview with Pres. Robbins, who said that he was pleased with my efforts, which is something I know every missionary yearns to hear from their mission president. He also admonished me to keep the habit of daily scripture study intact, which was cool considering Dad spoke about that this weekend. He told me that even if it's only for a few minutes a day, starting the morning off with scripture study sets the tone for the remainder of the week. Boy, how true that is! I lament that I only have an hour of personal study each day, and I keep kicking myself for not being better about it when I was back home. Oh well, can't look back anymore. Just forward!

Pres. and Sis. Robbins had wonderful departing words of counsel for us, including a particularly memorable training from President about the Book of Revelation! I'll have to share with you what he taught us once I'm home, because there probably isn't room in this e-mail for it all! It was amazing how all of his resources were from the scriptures as well as the teachings of modern prophets. Very cool overall! This Wednesday, we will be meeting with Pres. and Sis. Jensen, which I am very much looking forward to.

We received a letter from him and his wife the other day, and they did indeed mention temple attendance as something that is part of the mission. We are allowed to go once a quarter, with the only exception being that we have to go with members. We're also able to attend if anyone that we taught is going to be endowed and/or sealed. Too bad all my converts thus far are either too young or haven't reached their year mark yet. Well, I think I'd come back anyway when they do. That will definitely be a blessing if I get to go at least once before I return home. There's NOTHING on this earth to compare with the temple!

In other news from the week, we are teaching some great new people! One is the Williams family, consisting of the mom, Denitra, and her four kids. She really enjoys having us over, mainly because she wants her kids to know the right way in life, since all of them are in their teens. We have been focusing mainly on the plan of salvation, as they have peppered us with very good, very deep questions that we are attempting to answer one at at time. They have a pretty good grip on the plan of salvation so far, and we'll probably start into the Restoration this week. Another new person we are teaching is a guy named Michael Baldrick, who is a headquarter referral that requested missionaries to come and visit. He's actually been taught before, but then the elders got double-transferred and he WAS NOT happy about it at all. Well, he got in touch with us and we had a great lesson with him the other night. He asks the right questions and is definitely searching for direction in life, so naturally he creates a very good environment for the Spirit to bear witness to him. As pertaining to our other investigators, we have been teaching a great younger lady by the name of Shelley Capell. She has four very energetic kids, including a set of twins, and we have had great lessons with her almost every time. We've been doing service for her as well by painting various rooms in her house, which is always a great way to build trust and confidence, and we even assembled a giant fish tank for her one time! Her main concern is not allowing herself to become complacent with spiritual things, and she told us in the last lesson that she would like to fast. We invited her to fast and testimony meeting next Sunday, and she accepted!

We spent 6 HOURS on Friday helping Jeff Even and his uncle move to their new apartment, which was thankfully just around the corner from his old one. It was only us and Bro. Johnson from the ward who were able to help, but we got it taken care of despite the brutal humidity. The new apartment is much nicer and in a quieter spot, complete with a magnificent view of Downtown Cincinnati. We're working to help Jeff and his uncle, who also happens to be named Jeff, to work on quitting smoking and putting aside that money they spend on cigarettes for more important things. Neither of them work due to injuries and health problems, so naturally their financial situation is pretty tight. Well, nothing that the restored gospel can't fix! The same day we helped Jeff move, we received a call from Pres. Robbins asking us to visit Cincinnati Children's Hospital to give a blessing to a 6 year old girl who was very sick. She broke her foot earlier in the week, and it became very badly infected. The infection has been building an immunity to the antibodies they have been giving her, and so she was highly contagious and sedated when we went in. We had to put on robes, gloves, and masks to give the blessing, but the power of the priesthood enveloped the room as the Lord spoke words of comfort through me to her and her family. It was quite the experience, as has every blessing I have participated in on my mission. It was also a reminder to me to remain worthy to exercise that priesthood which I hold, for the authority of the priesthood is very different from the power of the priesthood (see D&C 121:34-37).

We continue to work with Shawntae and her family as well as Michelle, both of whom have their struggles but they also happen to have testimonies of the gospel. The key is going to be helping ward members remain involved in their progress, and we have asked the elders quorum and Relief Society to assign fellowshippers to regularly check up on them when we aren't around, as per instructions given in Preach My Gospel.

All in all, it was a very spiritual week despite not meeting all of our goals, which tells me that the Lord will still bless us when we are worthy and striving to be faithful, regardless of whether or not we meet all of our goals. I have definitely had weeks where we taught maybe 10 lessons but I felt like we had still accomplished alot, and in contrast I've had weeks where we taught more than 20 lessons but I still feel a definite void. All I can say is that the Lord's ways are definitely not our ways, which gives us all the more reason to trust Him, especially for that which we cannot comprehend.

I hope everything at home is going well, which is what it sounds like from your letters. You're getting 95 degree weather, huh? That's like death over here, because you have the humidity factor thrown in. Luckily, I keep a pretty consistent supply of Gatorade on hand each week, so that helps get me through it. Hope you have an enjoyable 4th of July holiday, even though it's on Sunday this year! Argh, don't you hate when that happens? Oh well, just do it the day before, right? Well, that's all I've got for this week. Take care and remember the Lord's hand in all things!

We have a date!

2010-06-21T14:57:00.000-07:00

We have been informed by Isaac's mission office that he will be returning home on August 6th - woohoo!

We had stake conference yesterday, and all the speakers, two of whom were Pres. and Sis. Robbins, gave excellent talks! We are trying to help Jeff Even, one of our progressing investigators who was at stake conference, to find more meaning in his reading of the Book of Mormon. He has already gone through it once, but it was mostly just say that he'd read it. This time, we're encouraging him to write down things he learns and impressions that come to him so that he won't think of it as boring. Personally, I would never pick up a book that I didn't think could teach me a thing or two. Other than that, he is actually doing pretty well. He and his uncle, who also happens to be named Jeff, are moving this Friday; we are going to be helping out, as well as the Norwood elders and some ward members. Both Jeff and his uncle have some health problems and injuries that will prevent them from being able to do much more than supervise, so they very much appreciated our willingness to volunteer. There are few things, if any, that break down barriers and open hearts to the gospel quite like selfless service to God's children, regardless of their religious background.

In other news, we set a new baptismal date with Shawntae and her kids this past week, scheduled for July 31st. Our plan is to review all of the lessons with them so that it will be firmly planted in their minds by the time the 31st rolls around, and that way they are much more likely to be retained once they are baptized. As a whole, they have actually retained quite a bit of what missionaries have taught them, but we felt a refresher course would be appropriate. Michelle has been clean for the past several days, and we had a very spiritual lesson with her yesterday, accompanied by Bro. Eberhardt, who is originally from this area but currently lives in Utah. He is a drug rehab counselor by profession, so it was a perfect opportunity to have him come with us to meet with Michelle. He likewise accompanied us to Shawntae's and Jeff's, both of whom are struggling with smoking. It sure is nice when members can connect with investigators that way!

We are still struggling to get the Preach My Gospel class started, mostly due to the fact that we haven't had Church the past two weeks, and therefore haven't had the opportunity to talk about it with ward leaders as much. Of course, phone calls are always a safe alternative. I'm confident that it will be successful as soon as we are able to get it going. One activity we've been participating in for the past several weeks has been playing basketball on Wednesday nights with members and non-members. You can imagine I was pretty thrilled when I found out that they were going to start doing it! We have several investigators who are teenage boys, so that will be a good opportunity to introduce them to the Church in a non-formal setting that they feel more comfortable in.

This Wednesday will be my last interview with Pres. Robbins. Since his time going home is very close to mine, I'm going to treat it sort of like an exit interview. You know, asking for advice and stuff like that. It's going to be weird not having him around, but I already know that Pres. Jensen is the right leader for us, even though I've never met him. He has scheduled zone conferences for the three Cincinnati zones at the beginning of July, and is planning on interviewing each of the missionaries the same day. Yeah, that's a lot! Pres. Robbins said, "He's an animal!" I'm excited to meet him and get to know him for the month that I'll still be around.

Well, things here in Cincy are still going really great, and the Lord seems to be magnifying my efforts as my service draws to a close. What a gift it has been!! I appreciate, as always, the prayers you offer in my behalf as well as the words of encouragement. Well, I am sitting at our library writing this to you while a HUGE thunderstorm is raging outside. And nope, I didn't think to bring an umbrella with me. Just goes to show you can't predict the weather here! It ought to be a fun walk back to the apartment if it doesn't let up soon. Have a great week and try to stay dry, unlike myself! :)

Apostolic Inspiration

2010-06-16T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I mentioned this last week, but we had a special stake meeting yesterday at which Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Twelve presided over and spoke! Not only that, but we found out at our zone conference a few days before that he would also be holding a meeting with just the missionaries from the three stakes in Cincinnati! I always thought it would be neat to have an apostle visit the mission, but I NEVER thought that it would happen while I was still here! Shows how much I know, right? So therefore I am, predictably, still on a spiritual high from yesterday. What an incredible and rare experience it was to be taught in TWO meetings by an apostle of the Lord! Thoughts and impressions were just flowing into my mind during his messages, and so of course I wrote them all down as fast as I could. I had a feeling almost like electricity when I shook his hand, and it was also neat knowing that he is originally from the same area where we now live. Neat side note, huh? At the beginning of his meeting with us, he said that he couldn't leave Ohio without stopping to see us, and at the end he said that he didn't want to leave. The love which he and the other leaders of the Church have for us was so evident and deeply touched me. No tears though, I bet you were waiting for me to say that next! He also said that he would personally pass along our love and prayers for Pres. Monson, and jokingly remarked that he would try and send Pres. Monson next time instead. :) Just having an apostle was all right with me! I recognized in his remarks some elements from the other talks he has given since he was called to the Twelve, and the Spirit impressed upon my mind that he, along with the other Brethren, are teaching us to return to a focus on the basic principles of the gospel. Not only are they the basics, but they also are the greatest and most important. I likewise enjoyed the remarks given by Elder Cook, a member of the 6th Quorum of the Seventy; and Elder Mazzagardi, a newly called member to the 2nd Quorum. I could definitely tell that the Spirit was with them in their messages as well. What a difference the Holy Ghost makes! As I have gone throughout my mission, there have been many times where I have sensed when the Spirit was working through me and when he was not. That is definitely a gift from Heavenly Father, and one I hope to continue feeling in the remaining weeks I have as well as upon my return home.

Zone Conference was also a definite highlight, but bittersweet knowing it was the last one Pres. Robbins would preside at. However, it's good knowing that he won't be too far away back home. Well, despite losing roughly two days of proselyting because of the events I have described above, I thought our week still went reasonably well. We had a few appointments that didn't hold up, but that is to be expected. I don't really get discouraged about canceled appointments or dropped investigators anymore, because my conclusion is always the same: People have their agency, and that makes all the difference in the world. As long as we faithfully do all that we can, the Lord will consecrate our efforts for our gain....whether in the short term or long term. Lately, our investigator who has been making the most progress has been Jeff Even. Ever since missionaries started teaching him, his biggest stumbling block has been regaining his faith, which he feels was lost after his wife died from a sickness he asked God to take away. It has, naturally, been very difficult for him to cope with for all of these years; lately, however, he has been much more positive and has been asking great questions. He has also attended Church for the past two weeks, and came to the special stake meeting yesterday and seemed to enjoy it. Our next stop is helping him receive a witness of the truth, and so of course that will require him to exercise a great deal more faith than he has had previously.

Michelle has been doing well for the most part, but she continues to struggle mightily with her drug addiction, which will keep her from getting baptized probably until she gets professional help. She has agreed to meet with the bishop once we can get it set up, and I'm confident that it will help her a lot. Shawntae Stone told us a few days ago that she wants to start teaching her boyfriend, Jameill Sr. so that he can get baptized as well. It was great to hear that she still has that desire, which I think has increased since Jameill Sr. got into a halfway house. The kids and her are getting back into the habit of regular prayer and study, and we have promised them that if they do it as a family every night for a week, that we will make them a cheesecake! I don't know if it will get passed me, though!

We have several other people we are teaching who have been making good progress from time to time, but the biggest thing is going to be getting them to attend Church. It makes such a big difference and sets the tone for the rest of the week. Well, that's about the easiest way I can think of to sum up this past week. Looking forward to another joyous week in the service of the Lord! I'll be sending those forms back in a few minutes once I finish with the other e-mails. So you got my travel itinerary already!? I guess I'll be getting it one of these days, but boy is that weird to think this is my last transfer, and a longer one than usual because of the consolidation. Oh well, that just means more time to work with Elder Kirk to give our best efforts to the Lord's cause here in Cincinnati! Hope you all have another great week!

Catching up

2010-06-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Well, we're a little behind in these parts, so here's a two-week catch-up post. Enjoy!

From 06.07.10

This may be a funny and strange way to start off an e-mail, but Elder Kirk had a weird dream the other night that he was emergency transferred to help Pres. Robbins pack!!! Yeah I know!! What in the world was going on in his head? Anyway, thought I'd start off with a light moment. :) Well, this week was quite a whirlwind of adventures, to say the least. This past preparation day, I was sitting in the library waiting for Elder Kirk to be done e-mailing (I had already finished) when I got a call from Sister Earl in the mission office. She said that Pres. Robbins needed a head count of the missionaries scheduled to go home in August, and which ones would like to still go home in August or wait until September, due to the fact that the transfers between the current mission and the new one don't match up. Well, as you know I had just unloaded on you all about everything that was going through my mind as I weighed the decision about college....and here was Sister Earl, calling to get my "final answer," so to speak! Well, I told her August because I've prayed and pondered about it and it still feels right. So anyway, that was only the beginning of what turned out to be a very interesting week. We went to the Cincinnati Art Museum on Tuesday, which has over 60,000 pieces of work from over 6,000 years of world history. For a historian like myself, it was definitely neat to see. Plus, it was all free! You can't beat that, especially when you're on a "missionary budget." We also had a bit of a scare this week as we temporarily lost our cell phone.....downtown, and on the bus! You put those three together into an equation, and it would seem more than likely that the cell phone would be long gone. However, I've learned that praying for specific things more often than not brings specific answers. I was pretty sure that asking the Lord to recover our cell phone fell under the category of that, "which is right," (3 Ne. 18:20) so I felt comfortable asking Him to: 1) Have an honest person find it on the bus and turn it in; 2) Deliver it into our hands; and 3) That it wouldn't be damaged in any way. Well, that is EXACTLY what happened! We went downtown on Friday morning to the lost and found, and they said the lost items wouldn't be brought in until 11:30-12, so we went to follow up with a few people. When we got back, they said the cell phone was not there. Well, we were disappointed but understood that everything would work out, whether or not we got the cell phone back. After an appointment near our apartment, we went back to see if the assistants or Elder Fox, the mission finance secretary, might've been by to help find the phone. Well, they beat us to it!! They went to the lost and found while we were following up with people and it was there!! We were very grateful and told the Lord so. Yes, even for something that seems trivial like a lost cell phone, the Lord truly does answer our prayers. Sunday was also a good day, as we were able to teach 6 lessons, and one of which is a great new investigator named Denitra whom we helped carry a heavy load to her apartment a few weeks back. We've also been able to start having regular coordination each Thursday with Bro. Martin because his job is on summer hours now, so he's free in the evenings. We talked with him about starting a Preach My Gospel class for the members, and he loved the idea. He set up a meeting with the bishop on Sunday morning, and we told him the same things we mentioned to Bro. Martin, and he gave us his full support. We also told the leadership in PEC later that morning, and then announced it again in priesthood. We intend to start this Wednesday evening, and we are very excited!! The reasons for the class are, quite simply, to build member trust and enthusiasm and to increase their confidence and skills to effectively share the gospel. Lucky for us, Preach My Gospel gives us the "how-to" of missionary work. I will keep you posted on how it goes as the weeks go along. It will be great!!!! During the third hour yesterday, we were asked to talk to the young men about Preach My Gospel and were able to teach an impromptu lesson on the Restoration. We invited them to attend our class as well whenever they feel welcome, so it would almost be like missionary prep for them!! As you know, I was blessed before my mission to have plenty of things to help me prepare to effectively serve full-time, and now I feel that I have a responsibility to do something similar for others. In other news, Shawntae and her family our doing very well lately. They have gotten back into a habit of daily, family scripture study and prayer, and we are going to start talking about baptism again soon since Jameill Sr. is now in a halfway house and can attend something like a baptism. Michelle Baker was sick with a cold all week and was unable to attend Church, but as of this writing she has been clean for 5 days now. We had a great visit with her yesterday, accompanied by Bro. and Sis. Milburn, and Michelle feels determined to be ready for baptism by the 26th. We encouraged her to simply leave her apartment and go somewhere else whenever she gets a temptation, much like Joseph in Egypt in his encounter with Potiphar's wife. She even bought ribs and a bunch of other summer picnic staples with the intent to feed us sometime this week, and I'm really looking forward to THAT! Another one of our progressing investigators is Shelley Capell, a neighbor of Steve Stanley( our less-active recent convert) in Price Hill. We've had several really good lessons with her, and we were able to help her start painting her room on Saturday, although we could've gotten a lot more done if it weren't for her crazy kids! Nonetheless, we previously had given her a reading assignment of Alma 32: 26-43 (big surprise!), and not only did she read it, but she took about a page of notes!!!! I love it when they take notes! They were really good ones to, and we invited her to "experiment" upon Moroni's promise concerning the Book of Mormon, and she accepted without hesitation. Those are just a few highlights, but all in all, we have a pretty solid teaching pool going right now. I'm pretty confident that with the addition of the Preach My Gospel class, that teaching pool is only going to get bigger as the members start to really share the gospel with friends and family. In the words of Pres. Hinckley, we have "barely scratched the surface" here in Cincinnati. I'm grateful for the privilege of being able to labor in this fruitful part of the Lord's vineyard. I pray that the Lord will make me capable of caring for it as He would. I look forward also this coming Wednesday to Zone Conference, the last one in the Ohio Cincinnati Mission! It's gonna be good!! All three Cincinnati Zones will be there, plus my next mission president, Pres. Jensen. Sounds like you all had really good time at the family reunion in Yellowstone. That is definitely a place I'm gonna have to visit sometime! You've been getting some 90 degree days, huh? Well, I think I would prefer it over Ohio because we have the ridiculous humidity thrown in!! We've had couple of good thunderstorms so far, but haven't been under any tornado warnings yet. They are sure to come sometime though, and for some reason Elder Kirk is excited about seeing one! Too bad we aren't allowed to go anywhere when we've got a tornado warning. So besides the "bi-polar weather," as I like to call it, everything else is going great! I look forward also to receving that package, hopefully this week. Thanks as always for your continued faith and prayers! God Bless!

And from two weeks ago:

There are a lot of things going through my mind right now, and I have spent much of the past week pondering and praying about what the Lord's will is for me. Obviously, transfers brought a great deal of anticipation and anxiety (especially from Elder Kirk) but in the end we both received confirmation that Cincinnati was where we are supposed to be, and I'm thankful that the Lord let us know that. The other big thing that has occupied my mind has been what to do about school when I get back. I keep getting the feeling that I'm supposed to go to BYU-I starting in the fall, but because the transfer cycles between Cincinnati and Columbus don't match up, I wouldn't make it home in time for that semester. I know I'm not the only one praying about this, you obviously have done so a great deal as well. Perhaps even Pres. Robbins has too since I told him about all this last week. At this point, there's still a lot I don't know, and I feel that the Lord understands that I would like more than 2 weeks to spend with family and friends before I head off to school. So maybe that is one reason why I am currently serving where I am, but those are just thoughts that keep coming to me. I hope all of this makes sense so far. I'm going to keep thinking about it, and if my feelings don't change, then I may have to go home a couple weeks early to have more time to get ready for school and other things.....or maybe not, because I don't know what Pres. Jensen, the Columbus mission president, has planned for all these "old" missionaries that he will be getting next month. I'm sure Pres. Robbins will give us plenty of information about it as it gets closer, so I'm going to try and not have any major anxiety attacks! As for the work here, things have been moving very smoothly the past couple of weeks. They have been very balanced, which is something we really focused on as a district last transfer, especially after the fireside. I'm excited to continue serving in this district, they are a great group who have their hearts and minds in the right place. Yesterday, we had a very successful ward Memorial Day picnic, with many of our investigators and even some less-actives attending. All of them voiced to me that they had a very enjoyable time and were able to mingle with members and even one another. That was neat to see and brought a smile to my face! Elder Kirk and I dominated the water balloon toss, thanks to watching Mom and Dad win it every year at the Livingston family reunion. That of course was followed by a huge water fight and I was completely soaked, thanks in large part to Shawntae's many kids! It felt pretty good actually, since this last week and probably this week will be very warm. The ward wants to put a greater focus on such activities, and we are wholeheartedly in favor of that because it allows people to see a different side of us and certainly opens doors to teach the gospel. We are also going to try and start a Preach My Gospel class for members next week, and we already have come up with many ideas for helping the members catch the vision. Now we just need to get things arranged with the attendees! :) We had a major breakthrough last week with Shawntae, namely her "husband" Jameill Sr. is now in a halfway house and is allowed to attend Church services every week! The only problem is he doesn't get let out until 11, which is when sacrament meeting starts in the Cincinnati Ward! So this past Sunday, I went with our ward mission leader, Bro. Martin, and picked up all of our investigators in the bishop's 15 passenger van. It was quite an adventure driving pretty much around Cincinnati, and we made it back before sacrament meeting was over. Then we had to run everybody back when it was all over, and on the way back to the Church, we could hear something dragging under the van so we stopped to check it out. A homeless guy nearby saw us and came over to ask what the problem was. He took a bungie cord and rigged the loose part back to the bottom of the car in just a few minutes! I can assure you that Bro. Martin and I would probably still be there now if it hadn't been for his help. Too bad neither of us had any money to give him, because he pretty much saved the day. Besides, it was the end of the month so I didn't have any money to give him anyway! :) So anyway, Jameill Sr. also came to the picnic yesterday and had an enjoyable time, and right now we're just working on building up his trust. Shawntae is definitely helping him understand what we're all about, so we're hoping to have a chance to sit down and begin teaching him, and with any luck as well as the Lord's will, we'll baptize the whole family! As for Michelle Baker, she came to Church again this week and had a very spiritual experience during sacrament meeting. I truly believe that she is losing the desire to use drugs, and if she stays clean for 3 more weeks then she will get baptized as scheduled! It's a really exciting time to be here right now, and I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to continue building on the foundation we have laid thus far. I am particularly excited that we are focusing on Christlike attributes this transfer, which is my absolute favorite!!!! I know it's what we need, and I plan to involve the Lord in planning and preparing for each district meeting, since it's His work and we're trying to become like Him. He, therefore, is the best one to ask about developing His attributes! On Monday we went to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, which was INCREDIBLE!!!! There was so much to see and do, I only lament that we ran out of time or I'd probably still be there! I took well over a hundred pictures, so it was certainly worth the 10 bucks I paid to get in. Well, this letter has been kind of scatterbrained but really informative. I look forward to another great transfer, and the exciting things that will be happening over the next several weeks. I hope you enjoy the reunion up in Yellowstone, and that everything else in life is as it should be. Speaking of Elder Christofferson, he is conducting a special stake meeting the week before stake conference, so there is the slight possibility that he could tour our mission as well. THAT would be cool!!! May the Lord continue to bless and sustain you each day as He has me! Have another great week!

Fireside Follow-up

2010-05-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday!

There's plenty to do and see here in Cincinnati, and I actually got a call a week and a half ago from Ryan Starks (recent convert from Wilmington) who had found out that I was in Cincinnati now. He said that he and Kim, his girlfriend/fiance who is also a member now, wanted to come down on a future P-day to spend the day with me! I'm guessing that will take place next week, so I'm pretty excited to see the sights with them here as well!

One of the places we will visit is the Reds Hall of Fame (big surprise), as well as a few other attractions.

This past week was BUSY!!!! We were able to contact 10 of the 26 referrals that we received from the fireside, and as of right now NONE of them have turned down a return appointment. Several of them were very excited when we came to their door, and we are looking forward to contacting the rest of them throughout this week. They are very well spread out in our area, so we know that we can go to any suburb and have plenty of work to do. We are also focusing on having more lessons with members present and also teaching the members a lot more.

This past week was difficult because we spent a great deal of time working on the referrals, but if anything we should get the members involved in that. We can only do so much by ourselves. With all that we have to do right now, it's very important that we maintain balance or else we will have less success. The members have been very gracious to us and have definitely helped us tremendously, but there is more work to be done. Interestingly enough, most of our PEC meeting yesterday was spent listening to the various leaders talk about how they struggle to friendship people outside of Church meetings. They used to have some get-togethers apparently, but it only involved the same 10 families.

Elder Kirk and I have been talking about this very thing lately and how to use activities as a means for finding new investigators. In my experience, it works!!!! So we're pretty excited for the Memorial Day picnic because that is a PERFECT opportunity for people to see that we are actually normal, even though we missionaries continue to be the oddballs no matter what the setting. :) Regardless, this is something we are going to pursue and we know that the Lord will bless us as we strive to make it a successful missionary-minded activity. Well, this letter is shorter than most but I think I summed up everything that I wanted to.

Thank you for continually increasing my spirituality through these letters as well as from your prayers. Have a great week, and keep counting your blessings!

Very happy boy

2010-05-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Gladys Knight fireside was absolutely spectacular!! I have no doubt that everyone present was able to feel the Spirit, although there were probably some who did not recognize it but who will probably ask us when we come by. Speaking of which, the zone leaders told me that there were a lot of request cards for Cincinnati, so I'm WAY excited to get out and start teaching those people. It was great to see the members bring friends as well, and it was also nice to see people I've known from other areas. We plan to be very careful about how we manage all these referrals, making sure to stay balanced and plan ahead. This is a gift from the Lord, and I am hoping that we will be able to carry it out effectively and see some people join the Church as a result.

I'm also looking forward to using the new "We Believe...." cards that Pres. Robbins has put together with the help of the Church Proselyting Department. We are the only mission in the world that is using them, so it's pretty cool. I've looked them over (Elder Kirk has a stack) and they look really good, so I hope to have some good experiences to share over the remaining months I have in the mission field. It was also a joy to speak with you!!!! It's obvious to me that you are all doing extremely well and are being prospered mightily by the Lord.

It's crazy to think I'll be SEEING you in 3 months, not just talking to you. We were able to find some great new people to teach this past week, two of which came from a member referral, and the other was someone who we talked to on the bus. Since we spend a great deal of time traveling on the bus, we've made it a goal to utilize that precious time by speaking with other passengers. We've talked to some really good people who were interested in what we had to say.

One thing I've really learned on the mission that I have tried to remember always is that there are MANY honorable means to find, not just the usual tracting or street contacting, which can get old really fast. We have a great opportunity to find through Church activities this coming Memorial Day, which is when our ward will be having their annual Memorial Day picnic. This provides us as well as the members with a perfect opportunity of inviting friends and neighbors to something that is non-threatening and gives them a chance to see us from a different angle. As Pres. Hinckley once said, "Activity is the genius of this Church." I believe that wholeheartedly! Many members have their fears when it comes to doing missionary work, but one thing I know is that they are incredible when it comes to planning and carrying out activities.

We have three weeks to prepare for it by inviting investigators to attend, and we will also focus on encouraging the members to invite people they know as well. So to sum it all up, the Lord is presenting us with great opportunities to really expand our teaching pool and therefore our effectiveness also. It's going to be great, I'm looking forward to having a lot more to do! Thank you again for sharing your experiences with me, it helps me try to be more grateful to the Lord for all that He has done. Have another great week!

Gladys Knight takes Cincinnati!

2010-05-03T10:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I am very excited for this coming week for two main reasons: First of course, is the Gladys Knight fireside on Thursday. We gave out about 40 or so tickets to members yesterday, and more importantly, they each have people they are bringing!! And we still have a lot of extra tickets that we are going to try and give out during this week. I am very confident that this fireside is going to bring a harvest within Cincinnati, whether in the short term or long term. We also gave a few tickets to a less active member that lives really close to us named Chris, and he is planning on bringing his non-member brother and a sister, I believe. He has transportation as well, and both Shawntae and Michelle are also planning to attend and have rides set up. So therefore, we were called by the assistants a few days ago and asked to help set up before the fireside. I understand that a ride will be arranged for us, so hopefully we'll know within the next day or two. I don't mind coming to help set up, because I love serving! All of the people we've invited have rides and people to sit with, so that is also really good.

The member work here is going pretty well, we have several families in the ward who have ACTIVE (very important word) family mission plans, and we follow up with them pretty regularly. I liked know that following up needs to be a priority, and that if we don't then we're just wasting the members' time as well as the Lord's. I was disappointed when I got here to see that there were only THREE family mission plans in the area book, and they were all at least 2 years old! On top of that, the previous missionaries had actually done a few family mission plans but did not record them, so of course that doesn't help me any. To make a long story short, we're doing it the right way now! Preach My Gospel tells us to start with the bishop, and that is what we have done; and other members are noticing that the bishop and his family are bringing someone to Church and now they really want to as well. In fact, our follow up is so frequent that the members already know what we are there for and can't wait to tell us the progress they are making with their friends.

Before I forget, we went by the Brooks family yesterday so I could thank them for their kind remarks to you, and Bro. Brooks gave me a hug that he said was from Mom, and a reminder from Dad to brush my teeth. :) Well, I'm happy to report that I am keeping that. Hopefully, Bro. Brooks will not ask me that in the future, but it would probably be just a joke if he did. So anyway, when you factor in the effective member work with the upcoming fireside here in Cincinnnati, there is a lot to be excited about!!!! I LOVE IT!!!!

The second big thing I'm looking forward to this week is talking with all of you, amazingly for the last time as a full-time missionary! I bore my testimony in Church yesterday and shared my witness of the power and influence of our family on me, and on the cleansing and sustaining power of temple covenants, and also on how much the Lord has blessed you because I'm out on a mission. It is very humbling to me because I really don't think I'm doing a whole lot, it is pretty much all because of the Lord and His tender mercies. Speaking of the temple, it's a blessing that I am going to take better advantage of once I am back home.....but before that, I'll need a valid temple recommend! I'll probably get a new one from Pres. Robbins the week of interviews. Anyway, at any rate I am very grateful for you in helping me become who I am now. The work is a lot more enjoyable when you are constantly reflecting on how much you and your loved ones have, and I believe that people do take notice of that and it does open doors to gospel conversations.

Well, it is definitely starting to get warmer again, and I've been trying to prepare Elder Kirk for it because he has only experienced an Idaho summer, which is a lot like Utah. BRING ON THE 100% HUMIDITY, I'M NOT AFRAID!!! I might get thirsty, but I'm not too worried as long as I have Gatorade handy. I can't wait to hear from you all, although it's hard to believe that it's been 5 months already since I last spoke with you! Man how time just flies by! I hope that you have another great week, and you'll have to let me know if you speak with other members to have them remind me of my dental hygiene. :) I love you all, thank you for being there for me!

Still growing and learning

2010-04-26T14:02:00.000-07:00

I continue to be intimidated by the mantle that has been placed upon me, meaning that of a district leader. However, I'm not about to shrink from my responsibilities nor slacken my pace. As with any assignment in the Church, those whom the Lord calls are also qualified. This has given me comfort as I've reflected on it over the past week, and I recognize that such a call brings tremendous responsibility to do my absolute best so that the work in Cincinnati can reach its full potential. Not that this is the first time I've been asked to give my best effort. :) I like something that President George Albert Smith said that Pres. Monson has often quoted:

"It is your duty first of all to learn what the Lord wants and then by the power and strength of His holy Priesthood to magnify your calling in the presence of your fellows in such a way that the people will be glad to follow you."

I believe this is true not only of the missionaries in the district, but also of the Cincinnati Ward, our investigators, and really ALL the people in this area. The most powerful message we can send is the in the way we live. Our district also encompasses the elders serving in Norwood, who have been on their missions for 7 and 3 months, respectively. My companion has been out for about 4 months, so I feel like a really old man!

However, it is a great opportunity to train and motivate younger missionaries, and I kind of feel like an MTC teacher. That'd be cool if I got a chance to do that, but first I'd have to get in to BYU. That's a while off yet, but it would be a cool experience. I've had a few companions who also served as district leaders, and I've discovered in just a week that they were right about two things: You spend a lot of time on the phone, and you have more paperwork to do as well! Not a whole lot of paperwork, but more than before. Oh well, doesn't bother me too much.

We are seeing great progress particularly from Michelle Baker. She has been drug-free for a week now, came to Church yesterday (despite the adversary's attacks), and set her own baptismal date for June 26th, which is the day after her birthday. Likewise, Shawntae has been fighting the temptation to smoke as well as dealing with some health issues, but she and her family came to Church yesterday and she was glad that they did. She had to watch a few of her nieces and nephews over the weekend and was very tired when we talked to her on Saturday night. However, she was able to get up early and get everyone ready for Church on time. It's an exciting thing for me to watch people we teach make important decisions on their own, and thus discover the promised blessings. We are also pushing ahead with our transfer emphasis on finding through the members, and a few of our families are actively working to invite people to be taught.

One of them is Bishop Tensmeyer and his family. Their son, Bob has a "girlfriend" who will graduate this year and who spends a lot of time at the Tensmeyer's home. Well, last Sunday we set up an appointment with the bishop's family to talk about their family mission plan, since effective member-missionary work starts with the bishop. We went over and were introduced to Bob's friend, whose name is Mel. I hope I got the spelling right, and it could be a nickname too. Anyway, we watched as Sis. Tensmeyer perfectly invited Mel to take the lessons from us before she would leave for Penn State later that year. WE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE TO ROLE-PLAY WITH THEM, THEY JUST DID IT!!! Man, faith sure goes a long way!! So we returned the following night on FHE and taught the first lesson, and we are going back tonight for the second. Once again, it's an exciting thing as well to see the members put their trust in the Lord and invite people to hear the restored gospel.....especially when we as missionaries hadn't even talked to them about it yet! So, all in all things are going real well right now!

I was very surprised to read about your phone call from Bro. Brooks from the ward here. They are a really cool family and willing to help us with whatever it is we need. We told them likewise! He served his mission in Salt Lake City several years ago and they were allowed to get on LDS.org, and he had compiled a huge list of talks that he loaned to me to look through. I came up with a list of talks that I'd like him to make copies of for me, and he was more than happy to do so. I've read like every Ensign in our apartment repeatedly, and so it was good to get something new for a change. :) We also came in contact with a less-active named Chris a few weeks ago that waved at us from his back porch while we were walking past. We went over and found out that he was a member, and he wants to come to the fireside next week and is planning on bringing his non-member brother! I can't tell you how excited I am for the fireside next week and the harvest that I am sure is going to result! Wow, I'm using a lot of exclamation points in this letter!

I'm grateful to hear of the many spiritual experiences you are having, it is a definite highlight in the week and a good way opportunity to see the Lord answering my prayers in your behalf.

I hope and pray that you may continue to see evidence of the Lord's tender mercies each and every day, and that you will be a light to those around you! Have a great week!

New Companion, New Calling

2010-04-20T07:53:00.000-07:00

I'm healthy, happy, and still trying to move the work forward in Cincinnati! I am now serving with Elder Kirk from Shelley, ID who has been out for 4 1/2 months now. He previously served right across the river in Northern Kentucky and is excited to be in Cincy now. I'm grateful to be serving with him, and I can tell he is a good missionary, anxious to get out there and serve the Lord's children. We are on the verge of accomplishing a lot of really good things here, but it will take faith from us, the people we teach, and also the ward members. With that last thought in mind, I was pleased to see that the focus for district meetings this transfer is on working with members to find people to teach.

I definitely feel that the member work could be improved drastically here, and we have already started coordinating to teach the Book of Mormon class together with the Norwood elders. I was extremely surprised and humbled this Sunday by the call to be a district leader. Such an assignment brings plenty of responsibility and especially accountability to the Lord, Pres. Robbins, and the zone leaders. I know the Lord will make me capable of doing His will and helping this district become one in unity and purpose, but only if I'm striving to do that for myself. Zone Conference last week was absolutely incredible, the mission leaders did a fantastic job of getting that put together. I felt the Spirit strongly during all those testimonies that were shared, and it didn't hurt that we had some good food as well.

Since the whole mission was there, we were doing a lot of group pictures of past districts and missionaries we came out with. For me, that meant like 17 other elders for a picture! A bunch of missionaries were taking lots of pictures of us, and most of them were asking if we were a zone or something. They were pretty shocked when they found we all came to the mission at the same time!! It's just crazy to think that I'll be home in 4 1/2 months, but don't worry.....I won't become "trunky," in the sense that I won't become lazy and slothful in the work. As for the part about thinking of you guys, that's an everyday thing. :) Heck, if I didn't think about you, you could call President Robbins and tell him to keep me here past my departure date!

My heart is full as I read about all the many tender mercies of the Lord towards you; it really is incredible how much the Lord cares for the families of His missionaries. Among the many lessons I've learned in the mission field, the one that has come to mind frequently during the last week is that of agency. It is a grand, eternal principle which has given me a lot of comfort, especially when people we're teaching have made a choice contrary to that of the Lord's commandments. Well, being the "quote-hunter" that I am, I came across a great one from Elder Oaks:

"Some of our most important plans cannot be brought to pass without the agency and actions of others. A missionary cannot baptize five persons this month without the agency and action of five other persons. A missionary can plan and work and do all within his or her power, but the desired result will depend upon the additional agency and action of others. Consequently, a missionary's goals ought to be based upon the missionary's personal agency and action, not upon the agency or action of others."

That statement pretty much sums up all my feelings right now, and one that helps me to press forward inspite of other people's choices, especially because my happiness does not and should not depend upon the decisions of other people. Not to say that I will become indifferent to these children of Heavenly Father, but rather that I will feel sorrow when they choose not to repent, as it states within Preach My Gospel. Some of our investigators have definite potential to be baptized within the next transfer or two, and if that is the Lord's will, I sure hope I'm around to see it happen. Also, I think that we are allowed to attend the Gladys Knight fireside next month, as long as we have investigators going. That's something I'm really looking forward to, so hopefully we are able to go. We have a few investigators who are committed to going, and we're going to try and invite anyone we can throughout this week. Onward, ever onward! Send my congrats to "Elder" Wilbur and his family on his mission call! New Jersey, huh? That'll be cool! Thank you for faith, support, and prayers for me. I feel it everyday! Have a great week!

Sun-up in Cincinnati

2010-04-12T08:47:00.000-07:00

Good morning from downtown Cincinnati! We're at the library down here today because we are going to see the sights in and around Cincinnati! I'm pretty excited, and I will take plenty of pictures too. Glad you enjoyed the ones I sent last week! We've been downtown a couple times when people were headed to a Reds game, and boy was it tempting for me to follow them and maybe try and sneak in. Thankfully I didn't, but I'm still hopeful that I can go to a game before the mission is over. There are people who stand around holding signs that say, "I need tickets," and I think it would be funny if I held one of those and took a picture with a really forlorn look on my face!

Thank you for your heartfelt and informative e-mails this morning!! It sounds like a lot is going on in everyone's lives, both spiritually and temporally speaking. I suppose that the same could be said for here, although there isn't much in the way of temporal things. That is crazy that Jordan gets home in 12 days and that Donovan is about to get his mission call. I'd laugh if he got called to Norway like Cameron and Jordan did. Heck, I'd probably fall over if he was sent here!!!! Not a high chance of that, but it's got as good of a chance as all the other missions.

Pres. Robbins sent us all some notes from a talk by Pres. Benson about member-missionary work, and so of course I took the time to write them down in my planner. They now join the billions of other notes I have on the subject of member-missionary work! Speaking of which, we were successful in reaching the goal I set of 3 FMP set-up/follow-ups per week. They all went extremely well, and one of the families was able to successfully follow-up on their friends' reading of the Book of Mormon, and received a positive response! I don't know what it is, but I just get really excited when I see people applying the things we teach and then seeing it work out, whether they are members or investigators. This past week was probably our most productive of the transfer so far, as we taught 23 lessons (high quality too) and found 4 new investigators. The Lord has also blessed us with several referrals to visit, so we certainly aren't lacking in things to do right now.

We set a new baptismal date with Shawntae for May 15th (significant date, isn't it?) to give her something to work towards. She had digressed a bit after her original date fell through, so we felt we needed to do that so she has extra motivation. Michelle Baker has good and bad days, meaning the days she uses crack cocaine and the days she doesn't. She really wants to overcome this and is supposed to start treatment on the 15th. We gave her a flier for the fireside in May, and she posted it on the bulletin board in her apartment complex and wrote her phone number on it in case anyone else is interested. Non-member missionary work, now THAT'S what I'm talking about!

Oh yes, I suppose I'd better expound on what I said about a fireside in May. Well, on May 6th, the Saints Unified Voices choir, under the direction of Gladys Knight, will be at our stake center to give two evening "performances" for anyone within the tri-stake area and whoever else wants to show up. It isn't a concert, but they are asking us to refer to it as a fireside instead. We will be able to go to that as long as we have investigators there, and we know of at least 5 people that have already committed to it! I'm rather excited for it! This choir has performed in other places in the States and the result has been a whole lot of referrals for the missionaries. That's what I like to hear!! Man, first the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert last June, and now this!

All in all, things are moving along rather smoothly here in Cincinnati. We'll see how this week plays out. We're having our Zone Conference tomorrow rather than next transfer, and this time the WHOLE mission will be there! That is going to be really good, I just know it! Aren't they all? I really love this area!! I know I say it every week because it's true!!! I believe we are on the verge of seeing a lot more success, if we will only do those things we've been asked to do. I look forward to seeing what other valuable pieces of knowledge that the Lord is waiting to give to us, and I hope that He is doing likewise for each of you. Have another great week!

" If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence the most distinguishing feature of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer? My answer would be divine authority by direct revelation."- Pres. David O. McKay

200 lbs. of happy

2010-03-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

We had another fantastic Zone Conference this past Wednesday. The instruction we were given focused on working with members(my favorite!) and helping them invite their friends to hear about the restored gospel. Lucky for us, this is a very missionary-minded ward! In addition to the excellent trainings given, we also were informed that on the last Tuesday before transfers, we're going to have one big Zone Conference with the entire mission!! I'm really looking forward to that! It also occurred to me when I got here that I have now officially served in all 4 zones within this mission. Interesting, isn't it? And I've been in a different zone every time I've gotten transferred, which thankfully hasn't been that often. :)

I've been studying the Old Testament lately, and I mentioned that to Pres. Robbins at Zone Conference and he sent me selected chapters to make it more interesting. It should also make my study more effective because obviously there are things in those selected chapters that need to be found and then applied. We are safe and sound in our nice, new apartment. The assistants, the office elders, and the Cincy zone leaders helped us move on Friday, and we were able to get it done much faster as a result.

This past week was all right in terms of teaching. We only had 13 lessons, but they were good ones! However, we need to reach 20 every week because that is the mission standard and we aren't about to lower the bar here in Cincinnati. We have more than enough potentials as well as referrals that need worked on. In fact, I'm training on contacting and teaching referrals in district meeting tomorrow, and it's a very important subject. In other good news, Shawntae and her 10 year old son, Jameill will be getting baptized this coming Saturday at 5 P.M. Initially, it was also going to include her daughter Jameisha (age 12) and another son named Jaquell (age 8). However, Jameisha wants to be baptized on her own, so that should be within the next couple of weeks. As for Jaquell, Shawntae wants to give him a little more time to get a grasp on the gospel. He's close, but we'll teach him more for a few extra weeks. No big deal. Better to be ready than rushed, right?

Along with Shawntae's family, we were able to finally get Michelle to Church yesterday! It was her first time there since she last investigated the Church over 30 years ago, and she certainly seemed to enjoy it. Currently, she's working on overcoming a drug addiction, but at our last follow-up, she'd been clean for about a week! Any progress is good progress, no matter how long it takes. Our goals for this week will be to turn our potentials and referrals into new investigators, reach 20 lessons, and work on Family Mission Plans....and of course, make final preparations for Shawntae and Jameill's baptism. It's pretty neat to come into an area and have progressing investigators! I know I haven't had much to do with it, but I know if I put my best foot forward that I can eventually make a difference to the people here. We have plenty of support from the members, and the people in general are pretty nice; AND they recognize us as Mormons rather than Jehovah's Witnesses. That's an important difference to distinguish, isn't it?

Well, the work goes on in Cincinnati! I hope to send some pictures home next week, and don't worry I haven't gotten fat or anything. :) I did weigh myself a few weeks ago and I came in at an even 200 pounds. So I guess I've gained SOME weight since I've been out, but I'm nowhere even close to the Pillsbury Doughboy. Anyway, hope everyone is healthy and happy back home. It's now officially Spring!! That was a long, miserable winter out here. However, no matter what's it like outside, we're gonna be out in it! Hope you all have another great week!!!!

New world, new wonderful

2010-03-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, lots of questions for me to answer! In terms of our area, we cover all of downtown as well as the west side including Price Hill, and the suburbs as far north as Kenwood just outside of Norwood, which has missionaries there. So basically, it's a pretty good sized area to cover! And without the busses, we'd be doomed, especially considering they took our car away just before I got here because the Norwood Spanish elders needed it because one of them was injured. I don't mind the busses, though, and in fact one of our goals this week is to talk to at least one person whenever we get on the bus. That can be challenging, but it's a fun challenge.

Things here in Cincy are moving along great! Just working on getting my feet wet, which has proved true not only in the sense of learning the area, but also literally so with all the rain the past few days. It hasn't slowed the work down though! As I said last week, we have a quadruple baptism planned for March 27th; a 31 year old black woman named Shawntae along with her 3 oldest kids. She has 7 kids in all, and none of them are older than 11! They have a lot of support from the ward members, which is great to see! I've only been here for a week, but I already like this ward a lot! I've even met a few people who are related to other members that I've known in past areas, so that's been cool talking with them. They were surprised yesterday when I told them that I have always been a diehard Reds fan, probably because I live out West! :) It would be the coolest thing if I got to go to a Reds game before I went home. Our ward mission leader, Bro. Martin, whose family lives up in Wilmington, pretty much works for the Reds, and he said he would work on getting me to a game that falls on Monday, for obvious reasons.

This has been a fun area to learn about, the history of the Church here is very rich and the members here are proud of that fact. They do a great job of getting us involved in things, and so the least we can do is return the favor. Obviously, they are our best means for successful missionary work and we need to take advantage. By the way, it's the only ward that we cover, but it takes in the same amount of area that we work in. A lot of the members work for Proctor and Gamble or the Reds or Kroger (the local grocery place, they are everywhere) or some other company, and so of course they have lots of money but they are still very humble. Well, this ought to be an eventful week, with Zone Conference on Wednesday and moving into a new place on Friday! Sheesh, we'll have like half the mission there to help us move! Only a slight exaggeration, we'll really have 7; but hey, many hands make light work, right?

It's in a good location near several stores and what-not, plus no bus stop is more than 5 minutes away which is nice. We live in a nice place right now, but it takes 10 minutes to get to a bus stop, so this will save us time and energy. I think I answered all the questions, but I'm sure there are more to come. :) Sounds like ward conference was spiritual. Pres. Cooper and Bis. Hoopes are both great men, wish I had been there to listen to them. Well, by the next ward conference, I should be! And good luck on your upcoming talk, I'm confident you will say what the Lord wants said. Hope everyone in the family is doing well!! I'm grateful to have this privilege of serving in such a promising area (again) where the Church is doing really well! Thank you for your continued love, support, and prayers in my behalf! Have another great week!

Transferred!

2010-03-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

Well, I finally made it to a library so I can e-mail you all! Here's the OTHER good news: I'M IN CINCINNATI!!!!!!!! Mom's prediction was right, and my long ago prediction made at the age of 6 has ALSO been fulfilled!! My new companion is Elder Loveland from Cambridge, ID. He's been out for around a year, so it's good to be with someone who has some experience under their belt. Whew! That's about the only word I can think of to sum up transfers! From what Elder Loveland has told me, there is a lot going on here, which ought to be expected since it's a big town with tons of people who need the gospel. We also pretty much have to rely on the bus to get around here, but I think it will be fun. Before I forget, we are moving into a new apartment sometime next week, so it would probably be better to send any mail to the mission address until I can get you the new one. We have a family here (well, 4 of them that is) who are scheduled for baptism on March 26th, I believe. You can imagine I was pretty stoked to find THAT out! I also have heard that our zone leaders are going to try and get tickets to the Reds Opening Day game, which falls on preparation day!!!! YEAH, I THINK IT'S AN UNDERSTATEMENT TO SAY I'M REALLY STOKED TO BE IN CINCINNATI!! I'm also confident that Elder Rush and his new companion will be able to continue what was done in Hazard, and my prayers are with them. The people there are great, and I know the Lord blessed us abundantly because we had faith in His promises. It is quite a contrast, though, going from a mountainous country town to the population center of this mission. Obviously, with an area this size and this kind of population, it will take some getting used to.

Wow, so many new things and plenty of new experiences that are sure to come! I know that as we exercise faith and believe that there are prepared individuals and families out there ready to be baptized and go through the temple, the Lord will grant it unto us. Faith is the key! I'm not really experiencing a culture shock going from Hazard to Cincinnati, but I will say that it is definitely a different world. I'm looking forward to seeking the Lord's will as to what He would have us accomplish this transfer, and am also excited for General Conference!! It doesn't hurt that we get to take our suit jackets off next month either. :)

Well, I'm not sure what I else there is to add at this point, except that our new apartment has a blacktop basketball court out back, so you know where I'll be during exercises and downtime!! Yeah, that's kind of a random thing to close a letter with, but you know how I am. :) I hope that Ellie is feeling better and that Cal isn't tormenting her too much. Regardless, I love 'em! And I think it's a great idea for Kenz to go to Mexico!! Kudos to that one! I hope Dad is having luck with his new job, and that Mom is continuing to sell her merchandise successfully! Your stories, faith, and testimonies are awe-inspiring every time I read them! Thank you for praying for and supporting me every minute of every day. I can feel that strength coming to me!! Hope you all have another wonderful and spiritual week!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

Donkey Kong vs. Missionaries

2010-03-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

Let's see, how can I best start this e-mail? Well, I'll just say that I'm grateful we elders always pray for the Lord's protection before leaving our apartment, as well as you and many other people. Yesterday it was even more appreciated. Too bad that those prayers of safety DIDN'T include our car. Yep, you've guessed it! Yet another car wreck, I guess it's my curse on the mission. We were headed to Church, and our building is located at the top of a hill. We were about 1/3 of the way up when the road starts to bend slightly, traveling about 20 MPH, when a solid patch of ice which was practically invisible sent our car drifting hard to the left....and off the side of the mountain. Luckily, there were trees. LOTS of trees. And a fairly good sized one finally stopped the front of our car about 15 feet down from the ledge where the road was. Also, the airbags didn't deploy, there was no broken glass, neither of us were thrown through the windshield, and the car didn't catch on fire and explode. In fact, we made it out of that wreck without so much as a scratch. All I can say again is thanks for your prayers! The front of our car looks like Donkey Kong took his giant hammer and smashed it. Funny, the darn car still runs!! I have mixed emotions about the whole ordeal, trying to maintain a positive attitude while at the same time realizing that the loss of our car really hampers the work in Hazard. So, you can imagine how well I slept last night. I believe this is the 5th accident that I have been involved in on my mission; most of them small, but a couple, including this one, quite scary. In both of those cases, the hand of the Lord has reached down and delivered us. Unfortunately, that didn't include our vehicle this time. I guess all that I can say is that apparently driving 20 MPH up a hill in wet and supposedly icy conditions isn't slow enough. Lesson learned! I'll be glad to get back to the other side of the mission where the roads are actually normal. :)

All those "hazards" (no pun intended) aside, the work IN Hazard is actually going quite well. I say this primarily because we have 2 new investigators who were introduced to us by members! And, as is the case with just about any member referral, they are both solid. One is William Baker, whom I alluded to a few weeks ago. We had a lesson yesterday in his car with Sis. Causey (his fellowshipper) and Pres. Phillips. The reason we were in his car was because it was cold outside, and we didn't want to drive up the hill to our Church building. This lesson took place right after our accident at the bottom of the hill. Well, I guess the Lord had set that one up, didn't He? Anyway, the Spirit was there as we all bore testimony of the Book of Mormon, which he's been reading regularly, and of the Restoration through the Prophet Joseph. I'm thankful that the Lord was able to calm my anxiety enough to be able to teach and testify without a weak or stuttering voice, since such an ordeal like we had would certainly be grounds for extreme nervousness. Our other new investigator is Debbie Combs, a good friend and neighbor of Sis. Wilma Creech, a recent convert. Debbie's mother passed away a couple months ago and she was seeking answers as well as peace. Coincidentally, her mother had been in the Hazard Nursing Home as a roommate to Sis. Billie Phillips, an older member who we visit often. In fact, we gave her mother a blessing just a few days before she died. So, I guess now it's come full circle and we have another appointment with her this week. We were able to answer her questions using the Book of Mormon, and she said at the end of the lesson that she felt more peaceful than she ever has since her mother died.

So, Liz is getting married!? That's really weird when your friends start tying the knot, so to speak. Makes me feel rather old from time to time, but I know I'm not old at all. Glad to hear that Cal is really enjoying Cub Scouts, those were good ol' days that I really miss. Boy, that'll be weird knowing Ellie will be in Kindergarten! Wasn't Caleb just there!? WOW!! So many new things happening, but I have no regrets about being out here to serve the Lord. It's clear that He has wrought mighty changes within all of us in the time I've been away, and pray that it may continue for the better. It has been both a blessing and a learning experience to serve here in Hazard; I have been lucky to teach and get to know some really great people. I look forward to my next assignment with anticipation, as I'm pretty sure this is my last week here. Nonetheless, I still plan on making this week as Spirit-filled as any other. Hope your week holds similar experiences!

Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston
P.S. Pray that we get a new car SOON! This area is kinda large..... :)

Good things going on

2010-02-22T11:24:00.000-08:00

Well, the work goes on in Hazard! With the current investigators we have, I've noticed that with one exception, all of them are currently working on quitting smoking. This has, of course, given us plenty of opportunities to improve our teaching of the Word of Wisdom. In fact, we make it a point of bringing it up every lesson and likening that particular challenge to whatever it is we might be teaching. For example, we're going to talk to Dustin tonight about the need for diligence, considering he is struggling with being completely smoke-free. Hope that example makes sense. :) Anyway, all of them have made rapid strides since we first started teaching them, and I've noticed that they smoke a lot less during those weeks that they come to Church. Hmmmm.......coincidence? Of course not! If you believe in God, you don't believe in coincidence. Speaking of Dustin, he texted us last night and informed us that he finally got a new job at France's Diner in Hazard. We've eaten there a couple times and they have pretty decent food. You can imagine we'll be visiting there a little more frequently now that Dustin will be working there. He's been praying for a job and is also waiting for his tax returns, so this is to me a definite blessing from the Lord!

We had an experience just today that shows how we must be examples of God always, even when we're wearing shorts and t-shirts. This morning when we went to the Hazard Pavilion to exercise, we met a young woman named Missie Toler, who was working at the front desk as a sub for the regular attendant, who was sick. She indicated that she's seen us come in several times and asked us what it was we did. We explained that we were missionaries from the Church and had come from Utah and Arizona, respectively, to volunteer two years of our lives to helping people come unto Christ. Well, we didn't say that exact sentence, but all those elements were involved. She then mentioned that she was currently trying to quit smoking (surprise!) and had been drug-free for about 18 months. Better yet, she told us she was interested in what we shared and gave us her address and phone number. This was yet another testament to me of what we covenanted when we were baptized. Namely, to stand as witnesses of God at ALL times and in ALL things and in ALL places. That's a pretty high percentage in my book. When we do our best to honor our end of that covenant, the Lord can then bless us, but we must fulfill our pledge first. We're trying to remember that counsel wherever we might be, and we have many promising people who have potential to be new investigators.

Our recent converts are, for the most part, doing pretty well also. We've arranged with Bro. Flinchum, our new mission leader, to meet Wednesdays at 1 P.M. at his work to coordinate our efforts. Plus, he said there would be food involved. Don't think I'm gonna turn THAT opportunity down! I've said it before, but he is going to be a real help to the member work here. A few of the members are already taking their own initiative and sharing the gospel with friends. There's just a different kind of excitement when members share the gospel, and it's something I hope to emulate upon my return home. For now, I will help them kindle that flame of testimony they have to a degree that they can feel confident in sharing this glorious message with others. They can cross boundaries that we as full-time missionaries can't, and it's something we need to try and take advantage of. Lessons just go better when you have another voice alongside you, and I know our investigators notice that. Thank you for your words concerning the need to discipline myself, it sure is helpful. Satan's influences are indeed all around us, and he is desperate for us to do anything that will cause the Holy Ghost, our "sword" in this mortal battle, to be withdrawn. I've noticed that although we are marked by Satan and others as missionaries, the same standards for moral discipline, like Elder Christofferson talked about, exist both before AND after the mission.

I recently found a small wallet-sized version of the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet and read through it. The counsel that is in there is applicable to all of God's children, but of course most of them choose not to live those standards. However, as Pres. Monson indicated back in the priesthood session of April '08 conference that we attended, if we stand alone in our morals and values, then so be it. I like something also that President J. Reuben Clark Jr. said many years ago, obviously before my time but no less applicable today:

" There is sometimes a cry among our young people for a loosening of our standards. They tell us that our standards are too high, and the Church must abate them. My brothers and sisters, my young people, the Church cannot change the laws of God. They stand immutable."

This statement is also a testimony to me that God will still be God even if we stop believing in Him, and that the Church will still be true even if choose to stop regularly participating in it. It is one thing to know that the Church is true, and it's another thing to be true to the Church. The stripling warriors in the book of Alma were of course a perfect example of this. They had testimonies of the gospel, but they also were, as the record says, "....true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted." (Alma 53:20) There's that phrase again: AT ALL TIMES. That's a very powerful statement to make, and I am still working on living it. Thankfully, the Christlike attributes section of Preach My Gospel has given me greater perspective on how to do that better, as well counsel I have received from you and many others that have had a positive influence on my life. My goal is to help those investigators and recent converts work on becoming like the Savior, for if we are trying to do that, all the other doctrines and principles of the gospel will fall into place. People will be motivated to continue to change because they HAVE been changed by the Savior. As Pres. Benson said, very simply, "When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed." THIS is the key to successfully taking the gospel to all nations, kindreds, tongues,and people, and I hope and pray that the Lord will consecrate our efforts to become more like Him, and in the process, make us better able to tell the world about Him and His Church. I hope you all have another wonderful week!

Things are great and getting better!

2010-02-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

This is a strange way to start a letter, but I'll just set the stage by saying that all 7 of our investigators that we are actively teaching could easily ALL be progressing! Right now, it seems they are taking it in turns. :) The most consistent one is of course Dustin Cornett, who is doing fantastic despite having trouble making it to Church every week because he is so exhausted at times. He tries hard, and that's all I could ask of him. So, combining regular teaching of our 7 recent converts as well and you have quite a lot of opportunities to teach the gospel every week! A tremendous blessing from the Lord! That's about the easiest way to sum things up in Hazard as they now stand. The scariest thing is that we could actually have even more success. 20 lessons a week has become commonplace, so I don't think 30 is a long shot. That takes a lot of work, but it can be done. Also, our efforts to coordinate successful member-missionary work received a boost yesterday as well. Bro. Dirk Flinchum--- mostly inactive for 45 years until about 2 years ago---was called to be our new branch mission leader! His wife is a recent convert from last August and they are a GREAT family, plus they make some darn good food. I can describe Bro. Flinchum with 2 D-words: Diligence and Dedication. Those are exactly the kind of things that the branch here needs, and with our help I know he will do a great job.

Our newest investigator is 24 year old Larry Creech, the son of an inactive member that approached us a couple weeks ago when we were finishing our grocery shopping and indicated that her son wanted to meet with us. He is a very gung-ho (too much really) individual and ready to learn and come to Church. He came yesterday and went around and personally greeted everyone in attendance. You don't see that every day from an investigator, that's for sure. All I can say is that the Lord isn't just giving us people to teach, but they are also prepared which is huge. I hope to see more of that kind in the week to come! We're still struggling to get our Book of Mormon class going, but not because there aren't interested people. We just need to START! We would've started last week but we were on exchanges with Martin. This week should be interesting because the branch has an activity at the same time that we planned to have our class, but we're going to give it a go anyway. Wish us luck!

I'm looking forward to another round of interviews with Pres. Robbins this week, they are always good. Zone Conference last Thursday was great too, and he tried to tell us everything he knew about the mission being dissolved. He said he doesn't know a whole lot at this point, but I'm sure he will as it gets closer. He said it will be published in the Church News on Feb. 13 (I think) so you can see it there.

Hard to believe this transfer is already half over, what's going on!? There's much that has been accomplished since I arrived here, which is indeed a blessing from the Lord. Most people might be tired from being busy most of the time, and of course we're pretty drained at the end of each day....but as a missionary, being busy is great! Hopefully it continues for the rest of my mission. Sounds like all is well on the homefront and that you had an enjoyable trip up to Boise. I'm guessing there's a lot of snow there as well as in Utah. Most of the snow here has melted, but a lot of people still freak out when the temperature drops below 32 degrees. Oh well, I guess that just makes the roads a lot more clear for us. Blessing in disguise!

Well, my study journal is stuffed full of interesting insights that I've been wanting to share more often, so I'm going to try and share at least one every week until I get home. Hopefully, I don't end up repeating myself. This week I have two, and the first one is about the need for charity, particularly in missionary work. Its influence, radiated by the missionary, helps to create within the investigator a desire to learn and softens his heart to the truth. Charity can fill the missionary with an unquenchable desire to serve his fellowmen. Without it, as difficulties arise and proselyting seems unfruitful, he may lose interest and slacken his pace. But with Christlike love for others, the missionary will persevere through adversity because he becomes a caring and dutiful messenger of Christ. A Christlike love for others can purify a missionary's motives and consecrate his labor and true desire to share the gospel. It is my hope and prayer that we will all strive for greater charity in our lives, because the scriptures call it the greatest of all. As Elder Holland once said, "Christ is the only one who has mastered it, while the rest of us are still trying." Real charity, or the pure love Christ, was manifest in His atoning sacrifice for mankind. None of us will ever do anything quite like that, but we can at least commit ourselves to the happiness and well-being of others. The other thought I have to share is below, mostly because it's much longer. It's rather amusing actually, so I hope you all enjoy it. No, I didn't come up with this in case you're wondering.

What exactly is a missionary? A missionary comes in two varieties: Elders and sisters. A missionary comes in assorted sizes, weights and colors----green being the most common among the new ones. They are found everywhere, hurrying, climbing, knocking, walking, and getting thrown out. Converts love them, young girls worship them, the law tolerates them, dogs hate them, most people ignore them, and Heaven protects them. A missionary has the appetite of a horse, the enthusiasm of a firecracker, the patience of Job, the persistence of a salesman, and the courage of a lion tamer. A missionary likes letters from home, invitations to Sunday dinner, conferences, checks, and visits from the Mission President. A missionary isn't much for tracting in blizzards (or any other weather for the matter), ladies who slam doors, hats, suits and dull ties, apartment houses, transfers to hot areas, shaking hands at arm's length with opposite gender, alarm clocks, and "Dear John" letters. A missionary can get homesick, discouraged, and temporarily lose faith in the whole human race. Yet nobody else can knock so boldly with such a shaky hand. Nobody is so early to rise or so tired at 10:30 p.m. And nobody else can get such a thrill at the end of a discouraging day from the words, "Come right in----I've been waiting for you." A missionary is truth with a pocket full of pamphlets, and faith with 69 cents in its pocket. "Hey, Dad, where is that check?" Yes, they are all this, but a strange lump will rise in its throat the day it receives its letter of release, and on arrival home it homecoming speech will probably contain the phrase it once considered trite. "The time I spent in the mission field ws the happiest time of my life."

Pretty good, huh? Well, that's about all I've got to say this week. Hope everyone has a great week filled with memorable experiences! Love you all, and Happy Valentine's Day in case I forget to say it next week. :)

Which mission am I in?

2010-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

This morning, we received a huge announcement from Pres. Robbins. I will include it below:

"Last Wednesday, 27th of January, I received a brief phone call from Elder Jay E. Jensen, of the Presidency of the Seventy informing me that…

On 1July 2010, the Ohio, Cincinnati Mission will be dissolved. The three Cincinnati Zones will be incorporated into the Ohio, Columbus Mission and the Huntington Zone will be incorporated into the West Virginia, Charleston Mission.

Please remember that you are under call to be a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You were assigned to labor in the Ohio, Cincinnati Mission.

Your calling remains the same, it is only your assignment that will change.

It is okay to tell your families. However please do not call other missionaries to discuss or to speculate. We will do our best to answer your questions at our upcoming Zone Conference. Only, we don't know very much about it at this point either.

These changes will be published in the Church News."

If you can believe it, I anticipated that the mission would soon be dissolved, but I had no idea it would happen THIS soon. Elder Kirk Reimschussel, one of my friends from Quiznos who is serving in Tampa, FL told me several months ago that the Church was cutting back on all missionaries in the Eastern U.S. by quite a bit. I, of course, noticed this within the mission as the months went along. As I said, I couldn't have anticipated it would come this quickly. Well, I'll only be here for about a month after the change happens anyway, and hopefully in Wilmington, which is about an hour from Columbus. Maybe they'll be nice and let my departing group go through the temple up there. :) Oh well, SO many things are out my control, but thankfully not the work as it now stands in Hazard.

This was another week where Church was called off because of yet another snowstorm. We were safe throughout, by the way. No power outages! We did our best to make Sunday productive, and so like the last time Church was called off, we took the sacrament to other members with the permission of the local leaders, of course. We shoveled the sidewalk at the Church and then did the same for the Flinchum's, who had us for a real good dinner last night! A less important side note to the shoveling though....:)

Another big plus was setting a baptismal date of March 6th with Wilma Bowman and her 10 year old daughter Jessica! They are diligent learners and a lot of fun to teach, which has made for some very good lessons. The next step will be getting them a ride to Church. We have enough solid potentials to basically double our teaching pool, if you can believe it with all the lessons we've been teaching lately! We have some great opportunities before us, and I just hope we are prepared and worthy of them! Only time will tell!

Sounds like all is going well back home for everybody! I did get an e-mail from Joey informing me about his blog, and I'm sure he appreciated all the posts from various family members. I wanted to thank you as well for the things you said, they brought a smile to my face. Wow, another temple in Utah to be built! And this one in Payson, which is where Elder Lundquist is from. He was my first companion in Wilmington and probably my favorite thus far on my mission. I'm sure he's more excited than I am!

Let's see, what else could I talk about? Oh yes, developing and exercising Christlike attributes. I've given a lot of thought to it over the past week concerning what I might share. In none of them am I even close to approaching where I ought to be, but the Lord has certainly made me recognize the need for them and has made me a more capable servant in His hands. I view the Christlike attributes chapter of Preach My Gospel as the one that holds the entire book together. The other things are very important, of course; but without a Christlike disposition when doing those things, it is basically meaningless. I suppose the best way I can sum up my feelings at this point is that I understand how important it is to accept the Lord's will and His timing and then do whatever He directs. In other words, see Mosiah 3:19. :) As I've worked to become a more complete disciple of the Savior, my recognicition of Him and His goodness to me and to the people I'm privileged to serve has also increased. I could probably say that this experience as a missionary has taught me the importance of maintaining a focus on the welfare and happiness of other people. I think Pres. Monson summed it up best when he said:

"To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty---the fulfillment of which brings true joy."

I know that it is in becoming someone, not simply doing somethings, that Christ will change our natures to reflect His own. I will share further insights in the weeks to come, although it seems I do that anyway. I pray that you may do all things cheerfully and with the assurance that everything will work out like it's supposed to. Have a great week, and God Bless!

Working hard in...

2010-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
First order of business: I'm still in Hazard!

Second order of business: You can start e-mailing me next week at this new address-

isaac.livingston@myldsmail.net

Third order of business: Well, the usual weekly report! Well, I'm glad to still be in Hazard! And despite all the success we had last transfer, we plan to aim higher during the next 6 weeks. One of our primary focuses will be on finding more investigators, something that was a little bit difficult last transfer. Teaching, however, was not: 142 lessons in all! WOW!! We plan to accomplish our goals in 3 areas: Book of Mormon Class, Black Gold Referrals, and Working with Stake and Ward Leaders (Preach My Gospel, ch. 13). We've identified specific actions for each goal and plan on seeing them carried out successfully.

I feel this area can do even better than last year, when the branch was blessed with 7 convert baptisms. I can see at least 4 people we're teaching that should definitely get baptized: Dustin Cornett, Emily Cornett, and Wilma and Jessica Bowman. We have great recent converts as well, and we were able to take Joey Couch to a couple appointments last week! He's totally up to going with us every week as long as we give him enough of a heads-up, so we plan on taking full advantage of THAT blessing! He has most of his braille materials, and my goodness there is a lot of them! His Preach My Gospel alone is 3 volumes!

This coming Sunday, we are teaching the combined lesson about none other than a Family Mission Plan. Good thing we have that form President Robbins gave us which tells us what an FMP is and how to develop one! It also helps that this was something I did a lot of with the ward members while I was a ward missionary, and you know how passionate I am about member-missionary work! So, it sounds like you all have been very busy lately, but at the same time things seem to be going well for everyone. That's good that Kenz could be headed back to Quiznos for work, good ol' Larry and Denise. Well, this should be another great transfer! The Lord has really blessed us so far, and I know He will continue to do so if we trust Him and follow Him! Have a great week!

Happy New Year from Hazard

2010-01-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

I was excited to hear about Caleb's baptism, and it sounded like there was a good turnout from family! I'm guessing he and Ellie got the letters I sent to them last week. I have to start this letter with a rather funny moment that happened just this morning. We headed to the library to e-mail, but when we got there the parking lot was completely empty. A sign out front answered my confusion: LIBRARY CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF HEAT. I must confess that I have never heard of a place being closed for that reason, but then again, I'm in Kentucky. And down here, they panic at the smallest amount of snow! So instead, we're sitting at the technical college using their computers.

Anyway, another week filled with plenty of teaching---24 lessons. That was the good news. The bad was that none of our investigators made it to Church yesterday. Our two most promising ones, Emily Cornett and Dustin Cornett (no relation yet that we know of) fully intended on being there, but couldn't make it out of their driveways due to ice and snow. Emily was scheduled to be baptized this coming Saturday, but she just started nursing school which has thrown her schedule into disarray. She fully intends to be baptized, but said it would have to wait until at least the end of this month, possibly the beginning of February. The Lord knows best! Our last lesson with her ended on a spiritual high, as she worked up the courage to say her first vocal prayer in a long time. It was very simple, and she immediately started crying afterwards because the Spirit once again bore witness. She said she never doubted that this was the true Church! Dustin is a never-ending learner, and he now has his own quad to further enhance that! We had "The Encyclopedia of Mormonism" in the Church library and loaned it to him to read through. You should've seen the look on his face when we handed him all 4 volumes! Priceless! As for the rest of our investigators and not coming to Church, I'm not sure what happened. It's real disappointing when you teach and commit them to act, and then they do nothing. Oh well, agency is a great gift and it needs to be honored.

On a better note, I'm going right ahead with my goal to improve the work with the branch leaders, and we have 4 consecutive days scheduled this week for members to go with us to appointments! Thanks to the Lord, we have several recent converts AND investigators that we are able to teach pretty frequently. The Lord has also given us a couple of promising new investigators, one of which was previously taught by missionaries in Louisiana. She approached us the other day while we were heading to an appointment, and asked us to start teaching her and her Spanish-speaking husband. Good thing Elder Rush took Spanish in high school! I believe this experience was the Lord's answer to our constant prayers of having the elect led to us. In fact, we specifically fasted for those specific things to take place, and lo and behold the Lord plopped one right in our lap! As long as we're out among the people, He can continue to do things like that! It was also cool to hear about another person I taught in Wilmington getting baptized, Randy Wisecup. It's always exciting to find out things like that, and all the credit goes to Heavenly Father of course! Well, another busy week awaits! I love you all and am deepy grateful for the strength and depth of your testimonies. It has definitely strengthened my own! Have a great week!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

Still cookin' in Kentucky!

2009-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

Glad to hear that you received my pictures and Christmas card. I have to apologize to John and Felicia, Shawn and Emily, and the Browning's for somehow omitting their cards!! I was quite frustrated when I found that out, but perhaps you'd be able to make copies and send to them. I guess it pays to write down addresses in a place you can find them, doesn't it? But anyway, I really enjoyed reading your blog that you posted! My goodness, talk about a series of unfortunate events! As you also stated, though, gratitude be to God for such wonderful people who took care of you. In the end, it sounds like it was a good experience!

Well, I'm thankful for the chance to serve in Hazard for at least another transfer. There is much good happening here, and we should see continued success with the Lord's help. This past week was a good end to a very busy transfer! We taught 21 lessons altogether! The Lord is also blessing us richly with some great new investigators! One of them, by the name of Emily Cornett, has actually been coming to Church for about 5 months. She is the granddaughter of the Pigman's, an older couple in the branch who are very active. The Pigman's had informed us about her several weeks ago, but also indicated that when she was ready to be taught, they would let us know. Well, this past Sunday proved to be that very day! Even better, she set her own baptismal date of January 9th, which will mark 6 months since she started coming to Church. We will start teaching her at the Pigman's home this Thursday.

As for Dustin Cornett (no relation to Emily that we know of....yet), he continues to become more and more a part of the Church! Incidentally, he also ran into my mission blog on the Internet! It was interesting to hear HIM tell ME about MY experiences that he's read about! I wonder if he's posted anything...... Anyway, Dustin's wife, Amy, has started sitting in on the lessons too. She's very quiet, but will comment and ask questions when she feels prompted. I'm not too worried about her, in large part because Dustin is a whiz when it comes to Church knowledge and has a firm conviction of its truthfulness. Sheesh, all he needs now is a calling!!

We have several people we're teaching right now, but the only hurdle keeping them from progressing is Church attendance. However, with the Lord's help as well as regular member participation, miracles can and will continue to occur here in Hazard. Our recent converts, seven in all, are also doing very well and being made to feel welcome within the Church. Joey Couch's testimony is very strong, even in these early stages!

At Church on Sunday, I was privileged to give a talk on Christmas traditions, and I shared some experiences from you and Dad that really seemed to help those listening to feel the Spirit, for which I was grateful. THEN I was asked to teach priesthood, and everything seemed to go well, which was good considering I was given only one day to prepare! Time and time again, I have been awed at how the Lord will use the unlikely to accomplish the impossible. This is His work, and NOTHING can stop it from sweeping the whole earth!

What a great time of the year to feel of the true Spirit of the season, which is centered around the Savior and His birth. I look forward with earnestness to see what gifts the Lord has for us to give to those prepared individuals and families who are seeking. I'm grateful for all the blessings that God continues to give you, as well as numerous opportunities to grow. Be assured that he is doing the same for me down here! Have a wonderful, spiritual week!

My Heart is Full & Rejoicing

2009-12-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

Flashback to 2003

Dear Mom,
My heart is full and rejoicing! A spiritual weekend was capped off by the First Presidency Christmas Devotional, which was once again powerful and went right to the center! It doesn't seem to matter what the setting is: The Lord's anointed never fail to get their message acrossed, due in large part to their ability to teach by the Spirit. Teaching by that power has resulted in Joey Couch being able to get baptized on Saturday. A few inches of snow made the day particularly symbolic, but it didn't prevent some members from coming and showing their support. It was, as I think I mentioned before, the first time I have ever baptized someone. I was both excited and nervous, but everything went perfectly! I will get the memory card sent as soon as I can, since you haven't had new photos in a few months. Anyway, back to the baptism. Afterwards, Joey shared a great testimony, talking about how a friend of his whom he knew in college contacted him out of the blue, and from their conversations he learned that she had recently joined the Church in Oakland, CA. This occurred, he said, while he was praying about the truthfulness of this Church, and that this experience just furthered his assurance that it was what the Lord wanted him to do. A very similar thing has happened with Dustin Cornett, who, although he can't be baptized until July, has nonetheless also been heavily influenced by a member of the Church, which he says has only strengthened HIS testimony of the gospel. He's what you could call a "dry Mormon," basically a member without baptism! Dustin also was able to hear Pres. Monson speak for the first time last night, which was really looking forward to and really enjoyed the devotional overall. Joey and Dustin will be tremendous assets both to the Hazard Branch and to the Church in general. In fact, Dustin especially likes to get on internet forums and set the record straight about the Church, since there is a lot of misunderstanding and just plain nonsense out there. It's pretty crazy to hear him talk about it with us, but he has no fear telling people the truth. They are both outstanding young men who have helped me appreciate my own membership in this Church even more! I liked the idea you mentioned about sharing something with some people I've met out in the field. I will come up with a short list and send it to you with the memory card. In fact, I'll try to get that done today if I can. As for Bernard Taylor back in Hamilton, the last thing I heard was that he had gone back to Georgia where he's from. I'm REALLY hoping he got in contact with the Church and was able to get baptized. He was SO incredibly solid! I left Hamilton soon after his baptism was postponed, but I found out that he came to Church every week until he moved back to Georgia. I would love to get in contact with him somehow, but as you said, that is beyond my power. It's great to hear that everyone is doing well and is happy. I couldn't ask for anything else! Well, it's hard to believe that we're on the last week of the transfer, but we are certain the Lord will give us more success as we keep doing what we're supposed to. Look forward to hearing from you again next Tuesday, no matter where I might be. I kinda hope I stay around here for at least another transfer....but, we'll leave that up to Him. Love you all, have a great week!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

1st BAPTISM, Sports & The Gospel

2009-11-30T11:27:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
Wow! What a list of things to be grateful for! I really liked the BYU one as well! I may be cut off from technology, but I knew full well when the big rivalry game was. However, it didn't distract from the work, which is going tremendously! THERE IS MUCH TO BE THANKFUL FOR!! We enjoyed a great Thanksgiving at the Lee's, a family in Paintsville that joined the Church last year. I met them in Wilmington, and they've wanted me down in Kentucky ever since then. We played basketball all afternoon with their son Levi and a few of his non-member friends. It was totally awesome! It felt good to get back out on the court, considering our meetinghouse doesn't have a cultural hall. There's another thing to be thankful for: A weight room to exercise in every morning, otherwise I'd be a bowling ball! Anyway, the Lee's fed us a great dinner (turkey by the way), and on Saturday the Flinchum's had us over for THEIR Thanksgiving dinner and we stuffed ourselves again! As I put that holiday behind me and prepare for Christmas, I plan on making the most of it, especially since it's my last one in the field. I enjoyed the card you sent as well as the pictures. It's incredible to see how much EVERYONE has grown since I've been away! What a crazy week this was, with another one about to begin! We taught 18 lessons this week, which is incredible considering we had only 5 going into Friday! All I can say is that God is all about miracles. This will be an especially promising week because Joey Couch is getting baptized this coming Saturday....and by me! He asked that I would do it, for which I feel honored and somewhat nervous at the same time. I've never baptized anyone before, but I guess the only tricks are to say all the words right and get them all the way under the first time. That notwithstanding, it's great to see people you teach take that big step and join the Church! Another thing I'm thankful for is all the counsel and advice you've given me over the years that is paying off today. It has been a great aid to me throughout my mission, combined with Preach My Gospel and the scriptures. It makes me think of an interesting analogy. As you know, I love sports, and because I love sports I absolutely HATE to lose. Just hate it. However, as I look at the reasons I lost those games, I discovered something that was infinitely worse than losing itself...and that is that my team COULD'VE won but we made stupid mistakes, we didn't try our best, or we weren't PREPARED. Life, including missionary work, has a lot of parallels with sports.... well at least for me anyway. You aren't going to succeed 100% of the time, because you'd never learn and therefore never progress. I like this phrase: "We aren't called to be successful in all things, but to be faithful in all things." In other words, what do you have to lose when you try your best? Nothing! Yeah, we didn't quite reach 20 lessons this week, but we sure tried hard. At the same time, there may have been a few opportunities to have additional lessons that the Spirit may have prompted us on but that we chose to ignore, and that's no fun to have that feeling. I hope your following along with this, I can get really scatter-brained sometimes. :) Being involved in sports virtually all my life has taught me some timeless principles that have carried over into the mission field, and as a result, I am better able to cope with challenges that come up. Another blessing in disguise was being low on miles for basically the last 2 weeks. Evidently this was the Lord telling us we needed to be on our feet a lot more, and because we listened to His counsel we had 45 contacts this week that resulted in 4 new investigators! We've given out quite a few "Joy to the World" cards and will continue to do so! How can you "Talk With Everyone" when you're driving past them all?! I haven't figured out a way to do that yet. We've determined that whenever we will be staying in the Hazard area, in order to save miles and talk to everyone, we'll work on foot. This ought to bring about even more success, and should cause us to pay less and less attention to the fact that our feet might be sore. I'm thankful to be serving a mission, it's something that has been nothing short of rewarding....and yes, I'm talking about hard times as well as good. More to come this week as we look to bring souls unto Christ! Have a great week!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

BBQ Squirrel and U.S. Mail

2009-11-23T08:31:00.001-08:00

Dear Family,
First off, this is an announcement that Pres. Robbins sent to us this morning concerning mail delivery and things like that. You'll probably want to pass this along to anyone that you can:

New Post Office Mail policy

Due to new and reinforced postal rules and to a new expensive service that they are promoting (Premium Forwarding Service), the Post Office will no longer forward the mail that is sent to the Mission Office for free. In order for you to receive your mail (letters and packages), your family and friends need to send your mail to you directly to your apartment during the first four weeks of the transfer.

Send mail and packages between these 4 week periods:

November 3 – December 1, 2009

December 15, 2009 – January 12, 2010

January 26 – February 23, 2010

March 9 – April 6, 2010

April 20 – May 18, 2010

June 1 – June 21, 2010

July 13 – August 10, 2010

August 24 – September 21, 2010

October 5 – November 2, 2010

November 16 – December 14, 2010

All mail that is delivered to the Mission Office will be distributed at the following Zone Conference. Please note, that by the time your mail is brought to the Mission Office by the missionaries in the apartment you just left, it could be two or more Zone Conferences before your mail can catch up to you.

So yeah, pretty annoying but nothing we can do. Anyway, now on to the good stuff! Had a pretty good week all around, although we didn't meet our lesson goal, but we were fairly consistent each day. Yesterday was the Hazard Branch Conference, which was really good! Pres. Newill, the stake president (by the way, the stake is headquartered in Huntington, WV) is a deeply spiritual and straightforward individual who is very committed to his calling. He indicated that Hazard is one of the better units in the stake, and he impressed upon everyone the need to rise even higher and be completely faithful to their responsibilities. I can agree that effective home and visiting teaching especially will make or break the future of this area. We have also been asked to place a renewed emphasis on developing and implementing family mission plans. This will no doubt raise member awareness as to their missionary responsibilities. WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE! In fact, we're specifically counseled not to even try and do it by ourselves.

Being on a mission has taught me how important it is to always be a missionary, and I intend to help with the work even after I've returned home! As you know, I've thought a ton about member missionary work and how to make it more successful in the areas that I serve. I liked the question that you posed as to why the Lord asks us to do missionary work. Two statements came into my mind, one from Pres. Kimball and the other from Preach My Gospel. Pres. Kimball basically stated that if the Lord wanted to, He could easily convince mankind of His power and His wisdom in a split second. However, he added, this is not the Lord's interest. He wants us to become converted to His gospel FOREVER. In Preach My Gospel on page 161, it says this about the importance of members:

" The starting point for building strong relationships with members is the bishop. Offer to help and serve in any righteous way that he asks. Regularly ask yourself, 'Am I a blessing or a burden to the bishop?' Develop a 'How can I help?' attitude. If you will look for opportunities to LOVE, SERVE, AND TEACH, the bishop and ward members will be more likely to trust you with their family members and friends."

The basic message behind both of those statements is to become converted and help others to do likewise. This can best be accomplished by ministering and teaching one another the doctrines of salvation that lead to exaltation. As Moses 1: 39 says, "For behold, this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." What a privilege it is for us to participate in that divine commission! And yet, it's such a small role we play, but a very significant one. We are here on earth to learn how to get back "there." Elder Ballard has said that true and lasting conversion is the key to accelerating the work of the Church. Therefore, it's up to us to set our lives in order, submit ourselves to God's will, and then go and do what He has asked. From the scriptures, it is evident that sharing the gospel is a commandment, and so it must be a necessary step towards exaltation. Anyway, I don't want to get into another rant, but that's what is on my mind in regards to that subject.

I'm looking forward to another Thanksgiving, which will hopefully include a spiritual as well as a physical feast! A member family in Paintsville that I met in Wilmington(they came to see Elder Remington, who started teaching them) has invited us over for Thanksgiving, which will also include a good deal of basketball playing!! Our church building doesn't have a gymnasium, so you can imagine I'm pretty excited! I'm guessing they will have turkey, although there are quite a few possums lying around this area.....but I wouldn't dare even TOUCH that! I've had barbequed squirrel, and that was enough for me.

Joey Couch should be having his interview at the beginning of next week in preparation for his baptism on the 5th. We're going to go over the agenda and some other procedures with him this evening. He really enjoyed Branch Conference yesterday, and chatted with Pres. Newill for a few minutes even. Joey has basically fellowshipped himself into the branch, and combined with great overall fellowshipping from branch members, he's basically a member without baptism. Much of the same for Dustin Cornett, although he didn't show up to Church yesterday for some reason and wasn't home when we stopped by that evening. I'm not too concerned (yet), but it does make you wonder a little bit. Well, not much else to say this week! Things are going pretty well here, and we're just going to try and stretch a little bit more than the previous weeks. Sounds like winter has finally arrived up there, but no snow in sight for this region. I don't know if we'll get any, but there's still a chance! Hope all else is going well on the homefront! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!! Love you all tons!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

Happy

2009-11-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday! How is everyone doing? A spiritually full weekend! It started of course with Zone Conference, which was great! Pres. Robbins talked mostly about temples and covenants, and explained what the ancient portable tabernacle symbolized. It was really cool, especially for a history buff like myself. Pres. Robbins also gave each companionship a copy of Pres. Hinckley's famed missionary talk, "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep," which made me very excited! I've talked with him about it quite a bit over the past several months, and he is looking for ways to help us improve in member-missionary work because it is still obviously a problem. It has opened my eyes about how important member-missionary work is, and strengthened my resolve to be involved in it when I get back. We go out with Pres. Phillips, our branch president each Tuesday, and this time we're going to talk first about missionary work within the branch and how to create more effective Family Mission Plans. I'm looking forward to that! In addition, both of his counselors in the branch presidency should also be going with us to appointments this week. Indeed, effective member-missionary work starts with leadership!

Anyway, so then we had a great Stake Conference yesterday.Pres. and Sis. Robbins both spoke and did great. Pres. Phillips also gave some remarks, so I got to hear from several people I'm well-acquainted with. As for our investigators, Dustin can't get baptized until July because he is on probation for a felony. He was disappointed that he couldn't get baptized next month, but his attitude was full of faith and optimism. Apart from probation, his only real stumbling block continues to be smoking, but he is making an honest effort to overcome it. When he found out the news, his response was something along the lines of, "It's going to be fine. I've been looking for the truth for years, and I'm done searching. I know the Church is what it claims to be, and I WILL join it when I'm off probation." As a missionary, having done all that you could, there honestly isn't a better response you could ask for! We finished teaching him all the lessons last night, and now our focus will be geared toward developing a regular scripture study habit, particularly the Book of Mormon. He knows quite a bit about the Church from the website, but we're helping him to focus more time on this....at least to do it first.

Joey on the other hand is on track for baptism on the 5th of December. Much like Dustin, there isn't really anything that he doesn't understand AND apply, so it makes our teaching almost effortless because he prays for the Spirit to help him understand, and the Spirit helps us teach accordingly. He has fellowshipped himself into the branch, everyone gets along with him and he can carry a conversation as good as anyone. Well, that is basically what's happening in Hazard right now. We're also working with our recent converts and helping them fulfill their responsibilities in the branch. Bro. Flinchum, whose wife was baptized in August, received the Melchizedek Priesthood at stake conference yesterday. He was inactive for 45 years until about a year and a half ago when he decided to turn his life around. He's a referee for basketball and loves sports alot, so he and I get along. He has definitely come a long way.

This kind of thing always reminds me that missionary work is not for non-members only. I've seen a few instances of that during my mission in helping less-actives come back, recent converts to get their feet wet, or in helping active members fulfill their missionary responsibilities. There is no end to the rewards, but the timing is always the Lord's! Well, that's the latest on things down here. We still have a lot of referrals left to contact, but we're working on narrowing it down one piece at a time.

Well anyway, I hope all is going well on the homefront! Any significant snowfall yet? Doesn't look like we'll get any here anytime soon, but you never know with the weather. Love you all, have a great, great week!

Seeing the fruit of His labors

2009-11-03T14:16:00.000-08:00

JUST REMEMBERING THE BOY and REJOICING IN THE MAN

NOV 3 ,2009

Dear Family,
Leave it to me to e-mail this late in the day! Once again, I got to make the long trek all the way up to Portsmouth, OH for transfers. This time, Elder Bittner was transferred after serving here for 7 1/2 months, and I was placed with my new companion: Elder Rush from Gilbert, AZ. He's been out for 10 1/2 months and served in two other areas before this one. I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue serving here in Hazard, and to have Elder Rush as my new companion. It seems that he is always smiling, so I'm confident that will translate to good things as far as the work is concerned. I have the privilege of being the assigned driver as well, so as you can imagine, my back is somewhat sore from driving all day. Good thing we have a truck, because these Kentucky roads are not exactly for the faint of heart. As for our missionary work, we have two progressing investigators, Joey Couch and Dustin Cornett, who are very likely to be baptized this transfer....assuming they keep coming to Church, which should keep happening because they have enjoyed it. I've noticed a trend as I have gone to each of my areas, and that is that the Lord has placed extremely prepared individuals for me and my companions to teach, or at least to start teaching. I suppose that thought came to my mind because Ryan Starks and Kim Wells, whom Elder Remington and I found while serving in Wilmington, will BOTH be baptized on Nov. 23! This I found out from Elder Remington through the Lee Family(some recent converts that Elder Remington found) in Paintsville, KY this morning when we stopped there for a quick breakfast. I couldn't possibly tell you how excited I was to find that out!! I was very excited that Kim is going to get baptized too, as she was struggling for most of the time we were teaching them. I knew Ryan would be baptized eventually, but it's even more rewarding that he will be joined by Kim. IF ONLY I COULD BE THERE FOR IT!! None of this would've happened if Elder Remington and I hadn't been walking through a park one day and noticed them playing basketball, then gone over and talked to them. It is unbelievable to think what we can accomplish when we are absolutely committed to the promptings of the Spirit! I can testify that I have seen that throughout my mission with each of these people that the Lord has prepared, and I am still seeing it here in Hazard with Joey and Dustin. Pres. Hinckley summed it up best when he said, "No missionary can predict the consequences of their labors. You never really know how many lives will be affected because you opened your mouths to share the gospel." That attitude has helped me go from one area to the next, regardless of whether or not I saw anyone get baptized while I was there. This work is so true, and I'm humbled continually at how patient and long-suffering the Lord can be with me as I strive to improve and do what He wants done wherever I am assigned. I see this transfer as being very rewarding for Elder Rush and I, and we are committed to following whatever counsel is given. The weather here has been extremely nice the past few days, neither too hot nor too cold. Hard to believe we've moved into November already! Sounds like Halloween was exciting for the kids, and I'm guessing they got my letter by now. It seems everything is going well at home as well as out here, in spite of the swine flu going around. They've had to close down school in pretty much all of the Kentucky counties that are in this mission! Pres. Robbins has asked us to refrain from shaking hands for the time being, which is an often difficult rule to follow for a missionary since we shake hands all the time! Nevertheless, I have tried my best to keep from doing it. Once it starts to get a lot colder and I have to wear gloves, then it won't be a problem. Well, not sure if there's anything else to update you on at this time, and we have to get headed back to our apartment real soon because our branch president is taking us to appointments this evening. It's nice, he does it every Tuesday night, so it sets a good example for the rest of the members. I will definitely continue to have a good time doing the work, which attitude can only come when I'm obedient and following the Spirit....and it doesn't hurt to receive encouraging e-mails each week from the homefront. :) Hope everyone is doing well! May the Lord be with you always! Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

Have a "Hazardous" Halloween!

2009-10-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

These past two weeks have been very productive here in Hazard! We've taught a whole bunch and been able to contact plenty of referrals that have some potential. The biggest highlight was that we finally got an investigator to Church! Joey Couch came yesterday and had a great experience all around. It was especially nice to see the members take charge and fellowship him. If everyone did that constantly, baptisms AND retention would improve drastically. As for Joey, there doesn't seem to be anything keeping him from getting baptized as early as next month. He's a very smart and attentive guy, and the fact that he is blind isn't an issue at all. The benefits of regular study, prayer, and Church attendance cannot really be condensed into this letter! There is a huge difference between those who do those things and those who don't. I am a witness to that, and am thankful that the Lord has taken the time to help me understand and apply the gospel better. As a result, He has used me to bless His children virtually everyday!

We also had a unique experience on Saturday, as we went with some members to a Civil War Reenactment a little ways south of Hazard. Of course, we wouldn't have gone if there weren't a bunch of people there, and we took advantage by talking to whoever we could and offering them pass-along cards. It was a rather appropriate mix: Great missionary opportunity, and a big piece of history! In addition, Elder Bittner got called on to say the opening prayer before the battle began. He was dressed like an 1860's missionary with a first edition reprint of the Book of Mormon in hand. Yeah, I have a very interesting companion, to say the least.

Wow, you all had a full week from reading your letters! It's indeed crazy how fast this year has gone, for both me and you. Nevertheless, the Lord has given us the needed experiences in that time that will truly benefit us in the long run. No matter how He does it, you can't help but thank Him for being anxiously engaged in our lives. He can only do that if we let Him though, as I've learned. I like this quote from President Joseph F. Smith:

"We should carry with us the spirit of prayer throughout EVERY duty that we have to perform in life. Why should we? One of the simple reasons that appeals to my mind with great force is that man is so utterly dependent upon God! How helpless we are without Him; how little can we do without His merciful providence in our behalf!"

I have learned during my mission the need to make my prayers very specific, and therefore they are more from the heart and also greatly acknowledge my dependence on the Lord. Transfers are at the end of this week, so I look forward to seeing what happens and what the Lord's will is for me.
Well anyway, thank you for continuing to motivate and encourage me in my efforts. The things you share set the tone for the rest of the week, and it helps tremendously! I love you all and wish the best for each of you for another week! God Bless!

Funny stuff

2009-10-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Be sure and check out the city and street names that Isaac sent our way - very funny!

Shotguns in the "Hollar"

2009-10-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

Well, things are moving along fairly smooth here in the land of Hazard. We still have a ton of referrals to contact, and some are so far out there that we can't do it without members. Ideally, we shouldn't be trying to do the work without members anyway, but it's difficult when the closest ones are a good 20 minutes away. I know that as we have faith and make a real effort, the work will accelerate as never before. Truly, we are the only ones that keep the gospel from sweeping quicker over the earth. The Lord is in charge, but if we aren't doing our best, we will miss out on some choice blessings.

Our branch president, President Phillips, is a very knowledgeable guy and understands what missionary work is about. He served a mission and thankfully is endeavoring to keep that same spirit today. He comes with us every Tuesday night and always takes us to dinner as well. I'm not gonna complain about that one! I was also introduced yesterday to a new fast Sunday tradition: Potlucks! They have one every fast Sunday, and there is usually a great deal of food to be eaten. Not as much food or people as usual yesterday, but plenty to eat for those of us who were fortunate to be there! On another positive note, the branch ordered a ton of copies of Preach My Gospel to give to members who don't have them! As you may be aware, I have been striving to help members study and apply the teachings in this book, for it promises that unity will come between members and the missionaries. Also, I have to respect members' time because they have lives to live too, so pushing them to do missionary work doesn't help at all. Only by loving, serving, and teaching them can success come.

Currently, we don't have any investigators who are progressing, but there are several that are extremely close. The only thing stopping them is Church attendance, and as I said earlier, some are so far out there that it has been a challenge trying to see our investigators regularly. We basically pick an area or two each day to contact and follow up with these referrals, and we've actually had a pretty good deal of success in teaching them and getting a return appointment. The people out here are very gracious and will usually invite us in....once they figure out who we are. I say that because apparently this is the time of the year in this part of Kentucky for "certain people" to harvest their drugs that they grow back in the "hollars." That's a slang term for a narrow, windy road, and they are EVERYWHERE! Anyway, some of the people have been surprised that we found their address and a few have asked if we were from the government, the reason being that, well, they obviously were growing illegal drugs or something along that line. One guy said he was about to get his shotgun until we told him who we were and why we were there. Yep, that's Kentucky!! All those circumstances aside, the people are pretty open-minded and interested in hearing what we have to say. They may not all understand it or even believe it, but the thing I've understood more on my mission is that the Spirit knows no boundaries....anyone and everyone can be influenced by that power. If we create an environment where the Spirit can be present, boy do the lessons go a whole lot better!

Let's see, the weather here is slightly more consistent than Ohio, but not by much. It rains a whole lot more, and floods are apparently frequent in this part of the state. The weather is still decent, but it's slowly starting to turn colder....which I'm not looking forward to. I'm doing fine with warm clothing and garments also, I even inherited a scarf from Elder Janiec when he went home! The leaves are starting to change color, and it's more evident in some places than in others. I'll have to take pictures so you can see it. It appears that fall is trying to skip past Utah from what you were saying. I miss those drives up the canyon during this time of year, it was always very nice. Then again, pretty much this whole area is nothing but canyons, so I guess it's all right. Let's see, what else could I say about this area? Oh yes, we live right next to the rec center in Hazard, so we get to go there every morning to work out in the weight room! I was pretty excited to discover that, and so I'm enjoying sweating again! I am doing my best to keep both feet planted in this area as well. It isn't easy when you were in your last area for 9 months, but your continued counsel and encouragement has helped me the past few weeks. Thank you for your letter, and thanks to Kenz for hers as well.

So, Bro. Heaton finally got released, did he? I was thinking he'd serve in that calling forever! I just might write him as well! Bro. Rogers will do an excellent job in that calling. Both of them have had a great influence on me and were definitely influential in helping me prepare for a mission. There are so many people that I could thank in that regard, and I make it a point of doing so each night in prayer. I would not be where I am today without family, friends, and leaders to point me in the right direction. Only now have I understood how important their examples were to me. It will stick with me for the rest of my life, I can promise that. There are many ways that we can "consecrate [our] performance" to God, and through selfless service and sacrifice we can accomplish wonders. I can testify to that, being a missionary and all. I hope that this week holds many such blessings for each of you, and that the things we learned from General Conference will not be forgotten anytime soon! Love you all, and God Bless!

The blessing of The Book of Mormon

2009-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

WHAT AN INCREDIBLE GENERAL CONFERENCE!!!! It seems that it Conference can only get better each time, but of course that's true since the Church is still growing....and always will be! I would give anything to sit at the feet of the Lord's anointed and be instructed like that EVERY day! Then again, that's why I like listening to and reading their words so much, because I never seem to run out of things to apply. I was especially excited on the talks that were given regarding the Spirit and in particular, personal revelation. This is something I've been studying quite frequently this past week. The Spirit confirmed to me during those talks that this was something I needed to focus on. I suppose all of us have had experiences when the Spirit prompted us and we didn't follow it immediately! The Spirit is absolutely necessary to be able to do this work, and I don't want to EVER get to the point of not being able to follow a prompting. As always, each of the talks given had something for me, and therefore I have many things to work on. Elder Holland's testimony of the Book of Mormon was exceptionally powerful, wasn't it?! You could've heard somebody breathe in the Conference Center, it was dead silent. It caused me to reflect on how much I've used the Book of Mormon thus far and what I need to do differently. Preach My Gospel states it best: "The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is the most powerful resource in conversion. Use it in EVERY aspect of your work." I haven't forgotten the challenge that was issued by Bro. Farmer, but to be honest I haven't followed through on it yet. Praying about it should help solve it, don't ya think?

Anyway, back to my "speech" about the Book of Mormon. The fact that people reject it is perhaps due to two things: First, we as missionaries aren't clearly explaining it's purpose and what the person must do to know it is true. And second, we as missionaries aren't giving them something to read, ponder, and pray about after each meeting. There are, of course, other outside influences that cause people to set the Book of Mormon aside as something not of worth, but in essence we have a divine mandate to bear testimony of the truthfulness of that book! And if people don't accept it, well, Elder Holland made that pretty clear. :) Truly, those men are prophets, seers, and revelators! I know that this is true and am thankful each day that God has blessed me with that knowledge. There are many people in this area that are seeking that, but they don't know where to find it. Luckily, we are here to bring it to them, or God can also bring these people to us.

I have to say, Mom, I'm slightly jealous about all the time you've been able to spend at the temple lately. I wish I'd taken better advantage of having one so close when I was still home. You don't appreciate something that great until you don't have it anymore....well, at least for a little while. It was also exciting to hear about the new temples announced by Pres. Monson. Hard to believe that ANOTHER temple will be built in Utah. If anything, it shows that the Church continues to grow there. It's kind of comical to me about the all the fun members will poke at Utah, but who wouldn't want to have a couple million members and countless temples in their state? Regardless of where you live and how many people are members, the Church is still true no matter what. I pray that we may never take for granted our membership in the Lord's Church, and with that knowledge may we be an example and share it with others. I can scarcely believe how quickly this year has passed by, I almost want it to slow down. My mission may be slowly winding down, but I plan to lengthen my stride and enlarge my vision.

Neat to hear how successful the garden was this year, quite the harvest! I kind of caught the garden bug in Wilmington seeing the members plant their own stuff. I may try planting something when I get home. Mom and Dad, hope your anniversary was a good one! Hope the kids are all still enjoying school and life in general. The days are so short, I hope we continue to make the most of them. May heaven's blessings continue to attend you all! Have another great week!

It's not where you serve, but how

2009-09-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you what, this whole e-mail thing is a headache! We're at a technical college now, they just happened to have public access to the Internet, so hence I am able to e-mail still. This won't be that long, considering my milk is still in the car. :)

Well, I'm getting adjusted to this new area. I have to say right off that Hazard isn't what other missionaries have said it is. I'd hear other missionaries say that Hazard was the one place that they didn't want to serve in, and I'm not sure why they'd say that. Yeah it's different, I'm not going to lie about that, but people here need the gospel just as much as the next person. I do remember when I was set apart that I would be sent to humble and unlearned people. And by unlearned I think that means in the ways of the gospel, and that is evident here since the Church is reasonably small. Thought I'd clarify that, in case you thought I was judging the people here as being dumb or something. I definitely saw a fulfillment of the humility part in Wilmington, but that's no reason to believe it couldn't be the same here. In Alma 32, we learn that Alma changed his focus from one group of people to the other, in large part due to the fact that their afflictions had humbled them, and therefore they were prepared to hear the word from God's prophet. The missionary efforts here have been pretty successful the past few months, and with the vast swarm of referrals the Lord has blessed us with, Elder Bittner and myself plan to continue moving the work forward!

I can sense that there are many people here that are just waiting for us to find them and teach them the restored gospel. The only trick will be if we can track them down on the seemingly endless and hidden array of Kentucky roads. :) It makes driving an adventure, let me tell ya! The other day it rained non-stop, and it was just pouring down the mountains turning little creeks into raging rivers! It was pretty close to flooding the roads in a few spots. Didn't stop us from teaching though, we got a lot done this past week. We still have something like 200 referrals to contact, but with the Lord's help we'll get it done! Hope all is well with the family, wherever they may be, and the ward as well. Thank you for your continued love and encouragement during this new phase in my life, I couldn't be more happy!! Have a great week!

The Hazards of Missionary Work

2009-09-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hazard: Approx. 5,000; Perry County: Approx. 29,390

Hazard is located in the heart of the Appalachian Coalfields in Eastern Ky. It is found at the crossroads of Highways 15 and 80 and the Hal Rogers Parkway (formerly the Daniel Boone Parkway).

The City of Hazard was founded in 1884 on land deeded to the town trustees by Elijah Combs and his wife, Sarah. Hazard is the seat of Perry County, founded in 1820, the 68th county to be formed in Kentucky. Both the county and the city were named to honor Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero from the War of 1812.

Dear Family,

You are probably worried sick as to where in the world I am, since it usually doesn't take this long for me to e-mail you. The answer to that is I am no longer in Wilmington. After 9 months there, the Lord has sent me to the most southern area of the mission: Hazard, Kentucky. Yep, from the all the way north to all the way south, in one day too! As such, we spent pretty much all of yesterday driving, and on top of that the library here is switching locations and won't be open until October 15th or somewhere around there. Currently, I'm sitting at a members' computer writing this. We're still trying to figure out what we're going to do about e-mail until the library opens, and if we don't find anything we'll have to resort to the old days before technology and write snail mail instead. Not that it's a bad thing, even though it would take longer for you to find out how things are going. But I remember Mom saying she likes hand-written letters better, so perhaps this will be a good thing. Obviously, I don't know the area yet, and I really doubt I will ever know it near as well as I did Wilmington. The reason being is that there are roads EVERYWHERE....literally! What would seem like just a narrow dirt road turns out to be filled with houses that somehow are still standing on the side of the mountain. That's pretty much how it is all over the place, and we cover like 5 or 6 counties or something like that. I don't know exactly, my head is still spinning trying to get used to things. Once you find this place on the map, you will discover just how far removed from everything it is! On a brighter side, we will be plenty busy this transfer as there are a lot of investigators and an unrealistic amount of referrals. The number of referrals is seriously in the neighborhood of 250 at least! This came about because of a festival held here last transfer in which the missionaries set up a booth. They encouraged people to sign their names on a list to have a free Church DVD or Book of Mormon delivered to them. Hence the huge list of referrals! Pres. Robbins already told me I won't be here near as long as Wilmington(no surprise), but I'll probably be around these parts for 3 months at least, 4 1/2 at the longest. Here's my new address:

409 Cedar Street Apt. B

Hazard, KY 41701

Oh, and my new companion is Elder Bittner from Centerville, UT. He has 3 months left on his mission, so it's very likely that I could be his last companion, which would make 3 altogether! He has a very interesting personality which will definitely take some getting used to. He's a pretty creative person and doesn't have any problems talking to anyone, so I'm planning on learning from him just as I have any other companion.

I suppose my current trial is how quickly I will adjust from Wilmington to Hazard. :) Congrats to Dad and Mom on your talks/garage sale managing/yard work/making dinner by yourself! Woah, that was a mouthful to say! I'll have to measure myself to see just how tall I am so Caleb's inquiries will finally be answered. Sounds like from Mom's pleadings that he has been asking about that a lot. How's Ellie doing with preschool? I'm sure she's enjoying it still. Well, I'm not sure if there is anything else to report at this time. I managed to get all my stuff packed pretty snug in my suitcases and backpack, but if I was going home I'd definitely be paying extra for them 'cause they were heavy! I'm continually amazed at how the Lord has blessed you with basically everything you need and then some! I can't think of any better knowledge to have than to know that my family and friends are safe and happy! This area will be a unique experience for me, but I'm looking forward to the things the Lord would have me do in the short time I will be here. Hope all goes well for you this week, and hopefully I'll be able to communicate via e-mail next week as well. If not, keep an eye on the mailbox! God Bless!

Some highs, some lows - it's all good!

2009-09-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

My goodness, what a week this was! We taught a grand total of 22 lessons, the most I have ever had in one week! I felt great about it for a couple reasons: First, was that the Brethren have asked us to reach this on a weekly basis; and second, the quality of our lessons was very high for virtually every one. The downside to the week, though, is that Judy and Shawn will not be getting baptized this coming Saturday. This has been tearing at me ever since we had to break the news to them. The reason is that Shawn is struggling with the Word of Wisdom and will need more time to begin living it fully. Judy is definitely prepared, but naturally she would like to wait for Shawn to be ready so they can be baptized together. It's amazing how you can have everything else in place to have a spiritual experience for all who attend, and yet those who the baptism is for are one problem away from being worthy to make that covenant. I have had this happen more than once on my mission, where it comes down to pretty much a week before the baptism and it has to be postponed. I admit, it would be easy to get down and discouraged and feel like it's your fault, but I know that this is God's work, and He is ALWAYS in charge. I feel as did Alma when he faced a very difficult situation with a group of people(the Zoramites) who had strayed from the right way; and yet, he sought the ability from God to bring them to a knowledge of the truth:

"O Lord, my heart is exceedingly sorrowful; wilt thou comfort my soul in Christ. O Lord, wilt thou grant unto me that I may have strength, that I may suffer with patience these afflictions which shall come upon me, because of the iniquity of this people." (Alma 31:31)

Missions are extremely challenging, and as I've gone through the months I've recognized that the sorrow I've felt has not been for me, but for the people around me. I want more than anything for them to know and understand the truth....but THEY have to want it for themselves. In fact, I'd say the only negative about having a car is driving past countless numbers of people and realizing they need the gospel as much as the next person! This current challenge with Judy and Shawn is just another one of the Lord's tests to see if I will continue to persevere and help prepare them for the time when they can make those covenants, and more importantly, understand the significance of them. In times like these, all I can really say is, "Onward, ever onward!"

First off, Christina Coleman's baptism went great! This was the first time she had ever been underwater, and I could tell she was a little nervous. Everything went perfect, we got her all the way under the first time. It was especially great to have Bro. Coleman worthy to perform the baptism. When I first got here, he was struggling with the Word of Wisdom and only coming to Church every now and then. However, with the help of Pres. Anderson (first counselor in the stake presidency and a member of the Wilmington Branch) and our efforts to reach out and serve, he has done a virtual 180. He's even accompanied us to a few appointments and taught and testified very well. THAT'S what missions are really all about: Seeing people make significant changes in their lives, which brings greater happiness. You don't have to be an investigator to change. All of us need to become who the Savior wants us to become, and it's a lifelong process but one that is definitely worth it.

Now the second item, which I believe was about my companions. Elder Remington heads back to Montana in just over a week, and he's excited but also sad to be leaving. He's really looking forward to jumping back on his racing bike, which his brother has been working on since he left. Anything with wheels, Elder Remington is on it! Elder Parker is way into trucks, and he has a great sense of humor that is much needed in missionary work. He isn't afraid of trying anything, and I suppose that could be both good and bad depending on what results. :) Nonetheless, I've really enjoyed serving with these two and can hardly believe that another transfer is almost over. Once again, I have no idea if I'll be leaving or not. The odds are good considering I've been here 9 months, but if the Lord still needs me here, I will be more than happy to stay.

Well, the work in Wilmington continues to go ahead despite the constant challenges we're up against. But, just like Mom pointed out a couple weeks ago: NOTHING WORTH HAVING IS FREE! I am thankful for your constant prayers and letters you send, it is probably the greatest thing I could ask for right now. I know without a doubt that I am NEVER alone in this work, so there is no reason to become discouraged. Things will work out, they always do.

Anyway, have another great week, and I'll look forward to e-mailing you again next Tuesday, wherever I am!

Learning to listen

2009-08-31T09:26:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much for your wonderful letters last week, I very much enjoyed reading them!

I think I have gotten taller since I left, but I'm not complaining about that. Heck, from looking at the picture of you at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, it looks like I'm not the only one! Man, Cal and Ellie are BIG!! They are making me feel old, even though I'll only be 21 this Saturday. Seems strange to think I've reached that age....and scary! Oh well, nothing I can do about it. Sounds like you had a good trip to Oregon (again!), but I'm wondering how much time it's going to take you all to recover from your "vacation month." Doesn't sound like things are slowing down, though, with school getting underway and various other things. And I'm looking forward to getting some much anticipated mail this week as well; I'll have to make sure Elder Remington and Elder Parker don't open them in any way! Our mail slot is in the door, so we know when it's come because we hear the mailman open and shut it. Last week, we were all sitting at the table planning for the next week when we heard him drop mail in. We pretty much tackled each other trying to get down the stairs to the door to see who the mail was for. This happened the day you sent your letters, which was the only piece of mail that day, so the other two were pretty upset. :) That's just one example of how valuable it is to hear from loved ones, so I want to thank you and everyone else that has taken time out to write me thus far.

Zone Conference was great last week! We really enjoyed having Elder Packer come and speak to us. I felt the Spirit as I listened to everyone that spoke. Pres. Robbins taught us what it really means to listen. I've seen how much it's helped in the short time since he presented it to us. All too often we've been guilty of having investigators present problems or challenges right to our faces, but we're so self-absorbed in what we planned on teaching that we pass it off as nothing....big mistake! I went back and studied about adjusting our teaching to meet needs as well as listening, both of which are in chapter 10 of Preach My Gospel. Those two teaching skills play a huge role in the amount of success we experience, so I'm committed to following them to the letter. The words of the Brethren in Preach My Gospel, combined with the words of ancient prophets in the scriptures, couldn't make the gospel any easier to understand! They don't beat around the bush, so why should we? If we'd just follow the Spirit every day, we'd be SO much more successful in our assigned areas.

Stake Conference was great as well, Pres. Robbins shared a wonderful testimony. I'm sure that Judy and Shawn, our progressing investigators, were able to feel the Spirit as he did so, as well as during all the other talks that were given. They came to the adult session the previous night as well, and afterwards informed us that they are 100% positive that September 19th is the day they are going to get baptized!! I know this is due to the fact that they have been doing everything we've asked of them and are therefore feeling the Spirit more and more. Judy has even payed fast offerings a couple of times!! The members are beginning to take them under their wings more as well, which takes quite a bit of stress off of us. Members ARE the key to success, I can testify of that for hours!

Pres. Robbins is thinking of sending every missionary given a copy of Pres. Hinckley's talk, "Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep." It is absolutely incredible!! I've studied it a lot and shared many things with him, so thank you for sending it to me. I believe that TRUE conversion to the gospel is the key to accelerating the work, something Elder Packer stressed a lot in his remarks. I'll close with a great quote from Pres. Kimball about this same subject:

"Our role as missionaries is not primarily to convince people of the truthfulness of the gospel. If the Lord were primarily interested in convincing people of the divine nature of this work, He could, and perhaps would, demonstrate His powers in such a way that large numbers of people could know the truth in a relatively brief period of time. He could speak if He chose, and all the people on earth could hear in their own language. Or He could emblazon His words in the sky, where all could read or see them. But if those persons thus convinced did not really change their lives for the better, repent of their sins, and turn to Him in righteousness, they would be worse off than before and would be more insensitive to the whisperings of the Holy Spirit. No, the Lord is not primarily interested in having His children only convinced of His work. He would like them to be converted to the gospel. Truly converted persons change their old sinful ways and turn to a new life in Christ; there is truly a 'converting' or a changing in their lives."

Kind of a lengthy quote, but it perfectly illustrates the need for each of us, member and missionary alike, to live and teach the first principles and ordinances of the gospel to everyone, and show personal examples of how much it blesses us. Doing so will not only aid in THEIR conversion process, but for ours as well. I think I've said enough, so I'll quit for this week. May God continue to bless you with the things you stand in need of is my prayer!

What Else has Elder Livingston Been Doing??

2009-08-19T17:36:00.000-07:00

In honor of ONE YEAR in the mission field (Yes, you read correctly, today is the 1 year anniversary for Isaac entering the MTC.) we thought it was time you saw what else Elder Livingston is up to. Although these do not represent his day-to-day work as a missionary, they are very typical of what missionaries do. Or so I've been told. Here is a synopsis in pictures:

EATING RIGHT- Or perhaps well is a better word.

Shopping

Receiving Packages

Service Projects

Making New Friends

Getting Plenty of Exercise

Continuing to Fight the Dark Side

Avoiding Loud Music

Growing!!!

Performing on Stage

Staying in Tandem with his Companion

Knocking on Every Door

Getting His Hair Done

2009-08-17T09:22:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoyed the time spent up in Idaho with extended family. I'm sure it was exciting to see Britney come home, but I still can't believe that her mission is actually finished! Heck, I'm the only one serving from the family right now! Oh well, no pressure at all. :)

The Lord continues to bless me in Wilmington! What a great ending to a week that started out really slow! Sunday was an especially good day, which is always true because we get to attend Church and feel the Spirit even more. And when your investigators show up, it doesn't get much better than that! We had 5 there yesterday!! Jim and Mary along with their son, Randy; and Judy and Shawn Weatherford. They have been coming for a few weeks now and are very interested in the Church! Jim and Mary are being fellowshipped by the Fear's, who have been bringing them to Church even before we met them, so of course that's a bonus! We helped them move into a new home this past week, which greatly increased the level of trust. That is absolutely essential to successful missionary work, building a bond of trust with members and investigators. Pres. McKay said once," To be trusted is better than to be loved."

Having the privilege of spending this much time in one area, I have seen the trust people have for us as time has gone on. It is indeed a tremendous advantage when working with members to build their confidence and courage to share the gospel with others. As for Judy and Shawn, they are receiving the message very well! We're looking at September 19th as a possible baptismal date, and they don't seem to have any problems that we know of. We had planned on teaching them the Plan of Salvation last time, but after listening to some minor concerns Shawn had, we felt impressed to watch the Restoration with them. The Spirit was there and we were able to resolve Shawn's problem, and they came to Church again and enjoyed it. The members have done a great job making our investigators feel welcome, we don't even have to tell them to go and say hello. They just do it! This is something I want more than anything for the members to grasp, and that is doing missionary work without our help. I know that members are the best source for finding new investigators, and as we help them integrate the principles found in Preach My Gospel, GREAT things will happen! Miracles continue to occur here in unforseen ways, and I'm confident the Lord will keep blessing us so long as we put our trust and strength in Him, and in Him alone!

To think I will hit the one year mark this Thursday is just nuts, but it's only going to make me work harder because they say the second year is even faster!

Nothing I have is as valuable as you all, and what a tremendous thing to know that we belong to the only true church of Jesus Christ on the face of the earth! I pray that we can continue to share that testimony with a world that desperately needs it right now. I know that God lives and that He has given us living prophets and apostles to teach us and help us become more Christlike. I know Christ's Atonement is the only way by which we can become clean and qualify ourselves to live in His presence forever! I hope my prayers are with each of you daily! Have another excellent week!

Transferred to...

2009-08-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am grateful beyond measure to still be serving in Wilmington. Many people, mostly missionaries, assumed that I'd had enough of this area and was WANTING to be transferred. However, the Lord's will mandates that I stay here. What a privilege it is, I really am enjoying this area and am seeing God's promises fulfilled. I'm not in any hurry to leave!! For the first few months I was here, we struggled to see people attend Church even one time! Now, we have some solid investigators who are coming on a weekly basis, thanks in large part to the loving friendships provided by members. I can testify of the speed with which investigators can progress when they feel welcome and wanted. I know that our willingness to serve others unselfishly is a representation of our desire to do the will of the Lord. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. once said, "In the service of the Lord, it is not where you serve but how." To me, the spirit of service does not come by assignment, but rather as a feeling that accompanies a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I want with all my heart to serve the Lord continually by serving His children any chance I get. I know this will open doors for us to teach the gospel and invite others to come unto Christ and be forgiven of their sins.

This week in our area could be called "Plan of Salvation Week," since we are teaching it on at least 3 separate occasions to our progressing investigators. I know that our purpose is to invite others to come unto Christ, but we can't do that unless we cleanse ourselves, or in other words, repent. So perhaps the overarching purpose of all our missionary efforts is to warn people of the consequences of sin, and of the blessed gift called repentance. And we can't repent unless we have faith in the one who can forgive us, even the Lord Jesus Christ! Those are the first two fundamental principles of the gospel for a reason. To quote Pres. Packer, "Repentance is the escape clause in it all. Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. Had agency come to man without the Atonement, it would have been a fatal gift." As we prepare to teach these great eternal truths this week, I feel especially grateful for the knowledge and understanding I've gained about the Plan of Salvation and of the remarkable power of the Atonement. I know that if we rely on the Spirit to help us teach and testify, our investigators will see the need to repent now, and thus they will continue to progress towards eternal life....for that is the ultimate goal, not just baptism. I appreciate this opportunity to serve a mission, I can scarcely believe that it is halfway finished! There are many things I'd like to see happen before I go home(obviously), and if it's what the Lord wants, then I know it can be done.

I am glad to hear that your trip to Oregon was enjoyable and that you are all safe and sound. I send my prayers for Grandma McClellan as well. That is hard to believe that Caleb is already in second grade and that Ellie will be in preschool! They are going to be giants when I get home! And how in the world can Britney already be done with her mission? My goodness time flies by! This is going to be another great transfer, I can just feel it! It will also be Elder Remington's last one, so there's a good chance I could STILL be here next transfer! That's several weeks from now, though, so I'm not going to think about it. I pray for blessings to continue flowing in from on high. Seems like every week I get the privilege of feeling the Spirit as I read your letters. God loves us SO much!! Have a great week!

Faith is work

2009-07-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know if another week can go by without being informed of a new addition to the family! Congrats to Leslie and Eric! It's gonna be exciting to see all these new faces, and also see how much everyone else has grown! I always remember to thank the Lord each day for the many ways that everyone back home is growing, especially spiritually. Hard to believe that Kenz is done with another semester of college! She's definitely a lot more diligent about learning another language than I was! I just find it remarkable how quickly missionaries at the MTC are able to learn another language.

I'm sure it's no different anywhere else, as long as you have the faith and the desire to accomplish it. The work in Wilmington continues to move forward, and great are the blessings we have received thus far. I don't know where I'd be without faith! It's not a stretch to say that every good thing is based on faith! Everything! This is a topic that is brought up every day, particularly in missionary life. The Lord's thoughts and ways are not like ours; the key is to trust Him enough to know He will always open a way for us to do His work, but on His timetable. That's an attitude I have tried hard to develop lately, and it has definitely shoved doubt and discouragement aside. Those two D's are tactics of Satan designed to make us think only of ourselves, which will absolutely kill missionary efforts if we allow it to fester. I have received assurance multiple times in the last few weeks that God answers the prayer of faith, but only after we do our part. The teachings I've learned from Alma 32-34 will help tremendously in the days and weeks to come! The scriptures are so rich with eternal truths, I'm just getting started!

Another aspect of faith I've understood more lately is that faith isn't really valid until it has been tested, as Dad pointed out today. In regards to our investigators, we are finding and teaching many who are receptive to the gospel and have no hesitation to ask any questions that are on their minds. This, I believe, is a way to know that investigators have real intent because they aren't shy about asking questions or bringing up any concerns they have. They really want to know the right way, and we have the sacred obligation of making sure they understand our message...but also that they don't MISunderstand. I am once again excited to see what lies in store for this week, and I will continue to put my faith and trust in the Lord to see His purposes fulfilled in their season. Missions aren't about seeing people get baptized, although that is important. The greatest successes in the Lord's work is seeing people develop and then exercise faith in Jesus Christ unto repentance. In short, it's seeing people change, even if they don't join the Church. That can be especially difficult to understand why they would do that, even if they've received a spiritual witness that the Church is true. People have their agency, and we need to always respect it. If I can know at the end of each day that I taught so clearly that people couldn't possibly misunderstand, then I know I've done the best I could. From Alma 32: 41 (surprise), I learned more about what exactly enduring to the end means: "But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life." From this verse, I came to the conclusion that enduring to the end involves exercising our faith, and being diligent, patient, and optimistic. When we do this, then our faith becomes firmly rooted, or in other words, our TESTIMONY becomes anchored deep within the gospel soil. All of us that have joined the Church, even some who haven't, have gained a testimony that it's true. The rest of our lives are then spent weeding out our brains of doubts and fears and continually GROWING our testimonies.

I know I've covered a lot and hope that this makes sense to all who read it. I guess to sum it all up, true conversion is something that takes all of our lives to try and accomplish, but the Savior has promised us this from the scriptures: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." (Matthew 24:13) I pray with all my heart that each of us will seek to become converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and one of the best ways to do this is by living it and then sharing it with others. Every day I ask the Lord to give you missionary opportunities, and I hope that your prayers on occasion ask for the same thing. May this week bring continued happiness and success for each of you! Have faith, things will always work out the way they're supposed to!

Hot, humid and happy

2009-07-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Zone Conference was a lot of fun, I really liked being with missionaries and just relaxing. Then again, I spent the whole time running around and sweating like crazy, so I was anything but relaxed when it was over. It was fun to see Pres. Robbins playing basketball with other missionaries, he wore them out! He said we'd have to play one-on-one sometime, although I don't know when we'd get the chance!

We had a great experience of answered prayer this past week, due entirely to the fact that we put our faith and trust in the Lord. We had failed to get any appointments with our investigators, so we faced a day that was extremely wide open. We were in desparate need of getting at least one member present lesson, but we didn't have any appointments. As we were planning, a member called us and said he was off work the next day and wanted to come teaching with us. That was the Lord doing His part. Now we needed to exercise our faith, which we did. We decided to stop by each of our investigators with him in a 90 minute period, and hopefully get a lesson or two out of it. One by one, we went to each of our investigators and found them home! In fact, each of them were outside almost as if they were waiting for us! The last ones we stopped by, Ryan and Kim, invited us in. We had found them at the park the week before playing basketball, so of course we went over to talk to them. They had many questions for us, and they accepted a Book of Mormon and a Restoration pamphlet. The day we stopped by with the member was our first real chance to get a lesson with them. We spent the whole lesson answering Ryan's questions from 3 Nephi 11 and the pamphlet, both of which he had read thoroughly. The pamphlet had questions written all over it, and he had written his questions from the chapter on a notepad. He told us that he stayed up one night until 4 in the morning reading what we'd assigned! When we initially gave them the materials, I asked them to pay attention to their thoughts and feelings as they read, and then afterwards to get on their knees and pray to confirm those feelings with the Lord. Ryan told us that the same question came across his mind when he read and then when he prayed: "Could this really be true?" They, along with Kim's brother Britt, are seriously investigating now. In fact, Ryan and Britt came to Church yesterday!!

I firmly believe that this all started with the faithful prayer of two missionaries seeking the Lord' s guidance, all the while trusting in His purposes. I don't think it was a concidence that we found them playing basketball, and not simply knocking on their door. We had a similar experience by doing service at the Taylor's these past couple weeks. They have a construction company remodeling part of their house, and they were surprised to find a couple 20 year olds who wanted to help for free. To make a long story short, the company owners (father and son) both have copies of the Book of Mormon now. Elder Remington and I have discovered that our best contacts have come through means other than tracting. President Robbins asked us to use our talents, and I'm finally realizing that you can do that and still keep the rules. You can talk about the gospel no matter what you're doing, as long as you create the right environment.

This promises to be a great week, and I am excited to see what can happen as we continue to have faith. We truly worship a God of miracles, but faith has to precede the miracle. Throughout the course of my mission, I have changed from someone who was frustrated at talking to so many uninterested people, to being someone who understands that they are not prepared yet. I am grateful to be a part of this mission, and to be serving in such a neat area at this time for as long as I have. I hope that my efforts will have at least laid a foundation that future generations of missionaries can build on.

I really enjoyed what Mom wrote about, boy do letters strengthen me! I imagine the basement is much more comfortable during these months, but just be glad you don't have to face Ohio humidity. It's crazy, even at 6:30 AM!! I loved your reading experiences from the Book of Mormon, there is so much we can apply from it. I am getting ready to start studying Alma 32-34 this week, really looking forward to it. A big thanks to Kent, Carol, and Co. for their letter last week. I don't know if that house can fit anymore kids! I think that's everything for this week, so I will leave my blessing and prayers on each of you as I always do. Keep the spiritual experiences coming!

I am only one

2009-07-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the 4th of July was a little bit on the wet side, but there were fireworks nonetheless. Too bad we couldn't see them because we had be in by 9 PM, but we heard them pretty easily. It's always humbling to think of how much was sacrificed by those early colonizers so that we might have freedom. Such an environment was necessary for the Lord to restore His Church to the earth, so there's no doubt the Founding Fathers were inspired of God. We talk to so many people each day that lament how the country is headed in the wrong direction and in my mind I'm thinking, "Our message can solve those problems." I then do my best to present the restored gospel in a positive way, which will leave no doubt in their mind of the peace and happiness that it offers. Far too many, however, are not yet ready for it.

Well, this was a rough week as teaching goes, only 7 lessons taught. I think a big part of the problem was that we didn't take advantage of every opportunity to teach. I wish that the seeds previous missionaries had planted were ready to grow and harvest, but obviously it isn't the Lord's will. I have to keep telling myself that I'm not in charge, I'm just called to be a servant in the Lord's name. This has not been easy by any stretch, but not a day goes by that I don't learn something, and for that I am grateful. We did have several great experiences that came from giving selfless service to others, something I felt we weren't doing enough of the past couple months. Most of the service was rendered to members, which is a "piece of cake" way to earn their trust and confidence. We all have tasks that only we can perform, and all the Lord asks is that we give everything we've got and then wait. This was illustrated very well by President Monson in the most recent issue of the Ensign:

"Remember that you are entitled to our Father's blessings in this work. He did not call you to your privileged post to walk alone, without guidance, trusting to luck. On the contrary, He knows your skill, He realizes your devotion, and He will convert your supposed inadequacies to recognized strengths............I encourage you to reach out to those you serve and to love them. When you really love those you serve, they will not find themselves in that dreaded "Never, Never Land"---never the object of concern, never the recipient of needed aid. It may not be your privilege to open gates of cities or doors of palaces, but true happiness and lasting joy will come to you and to each one you serve as you take a hand and reach a heart."

Preach My Gospel teaches us that the ultimate measure of success is not in achieving goals alone, but in the service you render and the progress that others make. For me, this has been a great source of comfort lately. I realize that many people have in some way been positively affected by the message I've been called to share, even if they don't get baptized. With that mindset, I am confident that we can move the work here to another level, and our focus will be on helping the members join that cause. We have nothing to be afraid of! This is the truth, and those who choose to listen to us will never regret it. Lastly, here is a short poem that I keep in my journal to help me maintain a positive outlook when times are tough. It's called "I Am Only One":

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But I still can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do

I am grateful for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to serve the Lord in His vineyard for two years. If this Church is anything, it is service; for without charity we are nothing. It's time for the work to go where it has never gone before, and I intend to spend my remaining days in Cincinnati and elsewhere in life seeing that fulfilled. The elect will not only hear the voice of the Savior, they will follow it. People that choose not to listen are not yet the elect, so therefore WE CANNOT BE DISCOURAGED! It's wonderful to hear of the Lord's infinite blessings being poured out upon each of you, and humbling also to realize that some of them are coming simply because I chose to serve a mission. I am not deserving of all that the Lord continues to give me, but I simply plan to continue doing my best. As Steve Prefontaine, the famous Oregon track athlete once said, "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." The Lord has assured me repeatedly that those I love and pray for are likewise doing everything they can to give all to God. I will most definitely study those chapters in Alma that Dad suggested. Coincidentally, this is where I'm at in my personal study of the Book of Mormon, so the timing is definitely right. And congrats to Mike and Ashley on the newest addition to their family! The pictures are good! Sheesh, cousins are popping out of the ground like the corn fields out here!

This promises to be a great week, plus we've got our Sports Zone Conference on Tuesday and that will be awesome!! Amazingly, we have appointments w/members every day this week! We will help them develop FMP's with meaningful goals so they can boldly and lovingly invite others to Christ. In addition to that, our branch president has asked us to find out which members don't have Preach My Gospel, and then to help them learn to study it regularly! I know this will strengthen their understanding and testimonies of the gospel to the point where THEY will be finding and we can focus on teaching.

Great things are ahead in Wilmington, I'll keep you posted! God bless!

Some things change, some things stay the same

2009-06-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

I send my love and greetings to you....once again from Wilmington! If I'm here much longer, they may have to change the name to "Livingston". Nonetheless, I was very excited when I found out that I'd still be here, and there must be something here that the Lord wants me to do. My new companion is Elder Remington from Kallispell, MT. I think that's how you spell it. He was actually my district leader for my first 4 1/2 months in Wilmington, so I'm very excited to learn from him and spend this time serving together. And he bought a GPS today, so we'll never get lost or have a problem with miles!

I'm very much looking forward to this transfer and seeing what we can accomplish here. Elder Remington has an enthusiastic spirit so I think we'll do real well together. I loved how Mom mentioned the Christlike attribute of patience, which coincidentally I studied yesterday morning. The part that stuck out to me was when it said that we have to wait for the Lord's promises to be fulfilled. The great thing is that He ALWAYS keeps His end of the bargain, but it's conditional on whether or not we keep ours. And, considering all that He desires to bless us with, why would you want it any other way? I'm pretty excited for the next Zone Conference, because it will be our annual sports conference which pretty much means we play sports all day. Boy, would it be nice to have those all of the time. We're actually brainstorming new ideas to find people to teach, because I've basically tracted all of Wilmington since I've been here. We're going to draw up some kind of flyer inviting people to a scripture study class, a fireside, or something along those lines. We also are going to spend a lot more time walking around so we can talk to more people; I don't know about you, but it's hard to talk to people when you're in a moving car. I've definitely gained a lot more confidence in talking to everyone as my mission has continued, which is something I am very grateful for.

Glad to hear things are going well for all, and a big congrats to Kent and Carol on ANOTHER boy! Sheesh, there's going to be a lot more cousins trying to tackle me once I get back. I will try and find time to write Cal and Ellie today, it's been somewhat hectic because of transfers but I won't let that stop me.

Oh, I almost forgot! Anthony Ingersoll really enjoyed the Tabernacle Choir concert, I'm pretty sure he felt the Spirit on more than one occasion. Right now we're focusing on getting him to Church each week, especially on helping him to act on the promptings he receives. He reads and prays everyday, so the only holdup is in recognizing the Spirit, but with the Lord's help we will get through it.

And thanks to Kenz for those letters she sent, I really enjoyed reading them....even if one of them was from March! :) I am definitely not the only one that has grown since I left, it is absolutely remarkable to see what the Lord has blessed us with and still has in store for us. His Arm is most definitely sufficient for all, but it's up to each of us to "lay hold upon every good thing" and then we will become what God wants us to become. Thank for your love, prayers, and concern for me during this time of much spiritual growth. Couldn't have asked for a better family or friends. Have faith, the Lord is with us! God bless!

The Parable of the Sower

2009-06-15T14:23:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,
I have learned a great deal about adversity and hard times these past few weeks as I have struggled to see the fruits of my labors. The counsel you each have imparted to me has brought me great inner strength and peace. I know the Lord is pleased with the work I'm doing because He is blessing you in every way, as evidenced by your weekly letters!! Nothing could bring me greater happiness and motivation to know that those I love are happy. It's very difficult, as Dad said, to see someone you care about choose not to make those decisions that will bring them lasting happiness....but you have to move forward with an inner conviction that it's the Lord's will. All I can really do is trust in Him and do what He has asked through His prophets, apostles, parents, and leaders. I was studying my notes from Bro. Watson's Zone Conference training this morning, and one thing I'd written was that everything in chapter's 10 and 11 of PMG must be done in every lesson. So I've started going through each point in detail and outlining the criteria for each lesson. This will definitely give us a better idea of how to help investigators understand just how important the gospel really is. It's not simply about seeing people baptized, but rather our vision for each person should gaze to the temple, where sacred ordinances help us qualify for the celestial kingdom. We struggled this past week to find the elect, but once again the problem rests with ourselves. We haven't been inviting everyone we teach and contact to be baptized, so of course we're not seeing baptisms yet! My goodness, the scriptures and PMG are so clear and obvious!! The apostles and prophets don't beat around the bush, so why should we? If people aren't ready to take the next step, then we can't keep going over and prodding them until they do. We can, however, pray that they WILL keep commitments and see the eternal importance of our message. My goal starting today is to state our purpose clearly to everyone we come in contact with. This will no doubt help us to recognize, by the Spirit, those who are ready and waiting for our message. I know this is the Lord's work, and it is to be done His way and on His timetable. I really enjoyed the Banana Split Festival last Saturday, it was a lot of fun. They had us taking people's orders, so we were in the perfect place to allow people to talk with us and see us with our name tags. There's a lot we all can do as members to improve the image of the Church, and it begins by giving people a good first impression. I'd say we did pretty well at that, hopefully it gets people interested in talking with us in the future. I'm excited to be able to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert this Thursday, and we have a few investigators who will be going as well! I just know this is going to open doors for the work in Cincinnati! It is unfathomable to think that nearly a year has passed since I began my mission, and it's likely that the second year will be even faster! I guess I ought to make the most of it, it's gonna be gone in the blink of an eye. I do still need Shawn and Emily's address, and also say thank you to Kent and Carol for their letter last week. It's fun to know that I will get mail from them at the beginning of each month. It's even crazier how many cousins are joining the family, holy cow! Also, say hi to the Madsen's for me! I was thinking about them this past week, so hopefully I can find some time to write a letter congratulating Kaleb on his Eagle. And it sounds like we finally have a backyard as well, after all that mowing and shoveling and weeding. I'll be excited to see what it looks like and to help out once I get back. The branch has a pretty good garden sprouting up behind the Church, we've been helping them work on it. I suppose you could liken it to the Parable of the Sower, in that some plants will grow faster than others, and some won't even grow at all. In order for it to blossom, it takes steady, consistent effort. Now from a missionary perspective, the seeds are people, we're the ones tending it, and God decides how fast each one grows. The goal is to nurture each person with the help of members so that their testimonies become firmly entrenched in the gospel, then sit back and patiently watch the Lord mold them into the person He wants them to become. Hopefully that makes sense to everyone, but I thought it was a fitting example for the way things are right now. Well, Dad already shared that scripture from 1 Corinthians, so he beat me to it. :) I pray that the Lord will continue to pour out His choicest blessings upon you, and that He will also give you opportunities to teach others the eternal truths we all cherish.
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

Work is good medicine

2009-06-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

Work is good medicine. I'd say I discovered that once again this past week, and the Lord immediately raised me above what I was capable of reaching alone. The miracle of the Atonement is that we don't have to walk alone, because truly the Savior is the only one who ever did. I have been seeking to turn my life over to God, and He has responded by shaping me for the better. In fact, He may even be physically shaping me right now, my lower back kind of hurts at the moment. :) I decided to start reading through those talks Dad sent me again, and I have learned so much about how the Lord's will is the ONLY will.

This past week, we finally were able to teach 20 lessons, a goal that was established by the First Presidency and the Twelve for us to accomplish each week. It required a great deal of faithful prayer combined with unwavering diligence and hard work....ALL led by the Spirit and nothing else. The fact is that you can want something more than anything in the world, but if it isn't the will of the Lord then it's not important. I give all the credit for the success we've experienced to God, and I know He has a lot more in store for us. This next week is already looking real busy, and I'm excited to wear myself out by serving others. That's an easy way to drive out the selfish stuff, just getting out there and focusing on other people. I'm excited that we get to help out at the Banana Split Festival this week, and we're hoping Pres. Robbins can come as well. If there's two things that missionaries can aim for on their missions, then I'd say it would be developing charity and a love for the people. To me, those two are inseparable.

I'm also excited that we are allowed to go to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert next Thursday the 18th in Cincinnati! Luckily, we have an investigator who is going and so all we need to do is find a member to go with us. I view these two upcoming events as excellent opportunities to share the gospel, and I can't wait to see the miracles take place. I know this is the Lord's work, and there is nothing I'd rather be doing right now than this.

I felt compelled to share my testimony in sacrament meeting yesterday, and the words I spoke could not have been crafted simply by my mind. That is the miracle of the Holy Ghost, and members of the Church have the RIGHT to constant companionship. The power that is in the scriptures as well as the words of modern prophets provide us with a never-ending wealth of knowledge to guide our everyday decisions. As I have sought to study, ponder, and apply their teachings, I have noticed that I've become bolder at teaching and testifying of the gospel truths....especially to those who just want to get their point across. No matter how receptive these people are, NO ONE can refute a pure, sincere testimony.

The Lord has infinite mercy, in fact I can picture Him on the edge of His "seat", anxious to help us face life. I have no desire to complain, for there really isn't much to complain about. The works, designs, and purposes of God will go forever forward without ceasing. I pray that the Lord will continue to rain His blessings down from the heavens onto you, and I hope I may become what the Lord wants me to become. Have a wonderful and blessed week! THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!

Pray for me

2009-06-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

I am nothing. The teachings that were given at Zone Conference opened my eyes big time, and caused me to realize that ANY decision made that is contrary to the Spirit is also contrary to the plan and will of God. I admit I am guilty of this way too much, and my prayers have already become more humble and more of a conversation with God, because that's what it's supposed to be. And yet, in many ways I still feel that I am not contributing to this work the way I know I am capable of doing. I'm humbling myself as much as possible and seeking to lose myself in the Lord's service. It's just hard when you know you can do more and do better but don't know how to tell others that. Nonetheless, I am grateful to be serving God by serving others. Wilmington needs it more than ever, and after Zone Conference I have a much better idea of how to follow the Spirit no matter what. Missionary work can't be done without it, but I forget that way too much and it's no wonder why we're not baptizing or teaching 20 lessons a week. Ironically, it's because we pray for opportunities to serve and teach, then they come to us and we ignore them! Satan is hard at work, and it's sad to see how strong of an influence he can have on each of us....but only because we let him! It's no use getting discouraged about, just another of Satan's tactics as he seeks to distract me from true happiness. I really liked those scriptures you shared in D&C 11, they describe this past week in a big way.

Right now, I really need everyone's prayers. This is a trying time, not just for those in this area but also for myself. Luckily, fast Sunday is next week and it couldn't come at a better time. I was reading through some old letters the other day, and came across something Mom said back in April, I believe: Satan wants us to forget, while Jesus wants us to remember. Lately I have forgotten that the Lord issued this call to serve through His prophet, that he sent me to this area, and only He knows the good that I can do here. Everyone has tasks and assignments that only they can perform, and I think I've been trying to hard to be like other missionaries. It won't happen, because I'm not them and they aren't me! The strength that comes from mighty prayer and diligent scripture study have been tremendous sources of peace and consolation during those difficult days.

I am grateful to know that the Lord is richly blessing you. Hard to believe that the school year is over, I'm sure the kids are excited for summer! I hope you enjoyed my letter, my hand definitely got a workout! We had quite the storm the other night, there was actually a tornado warning. Sirens were going off constantly, there was some crazy thunder and lightning too. The sky was pitch black as well. We happened to be outside at around 8:30 PM talking to someone when some guys started yelling to look at the sky. So we did, and there was some circulating clouds right above our heads. There were reports of several funnel clouds that touched down in various places, but luckily not on our apartment. The Lord is so merciful to us, and especially when we acknowledge His hand in all things. I pray that He will continue to watch over you and guide you each day, and that your prayers will be answered as you exercise faith. This is something I am also working on, and I just know that the Lord will prepare a way for all His commandments to be accomplished. Have a wonderful week, I love you all!

Missionary golf

2009-05-26T10:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day, mostly spent with members, investigators, and recent converts and less-actives. Our branch had their annual Memorial Day picnic, and it was a lot of fun! We had been helping the members prepare for it over the past couple of months, and there was lots of people I didn't recognize there. I was happy to see that most of the people we invited showed up and had a wonderful experience. One of our investigators who came, Anthony Ingersoll, seemed to REALLY enjoy it and was spending a lot of time socializing with members. We've been teaching him for over a month, and he's had lots of questions that we've done our best to try and answer. Somehow he obtained a Triple Combination, and has been reading in the Book of Mormon and using the cross-references to the Bible, to make sure it agrees. We explained to him that in order to receive a witness that it's true, he would need to follow the pattern as outlined in Moroni 10. Well, going back to yesterday, he called us last night to confirm our appointment with him this evening. He told us that he has seriously been considering being baptized, which was totally unexpected....not that I'm a pessimist or anything. Anyway, we plan on focusing on baptism and confirmation tonight, while also stressing the importance of coming to Church. There's still some things he needs to do, but it's not everyday that someone just tells you that they've been SERIOUSLY considering being baptized, so we're excited to say the least.

It is such a privilege to still be serving here in Wilmington! Despite difficult economic times all around, opportunities to teach the gospel have only gotten better. If you are working your absolute hardest each day, the numbers will not mean anything. There is no such thing as a "dead area," just missionaries who lack faith and optimism to get the job done effectively. Truly, attitude has an enormous impact on how successful you will be throughout your life. As Pres. Robbins has said a lot recently, "Do the work with a smile!" I am naturally optimistic, as you have pointed out before, and that combined with my growing love for the people has helped tremendously in developing trust and friendship....and our teaching has kicked up another notch as well.

We focused on teaching lessons to investigators with members and in earning member trust, as a result our indicators improved dramatically! I can just feel that this transfer has some exciting possibilities that are on the doorstep! We have Zone Conference this Friday, Pres. Robbins is going to be focusing on "Finding by the Spirit" and "Teaching by the Spirit." I'm looking forward to it big time, I always enjoy Zone Conference and spending time with other missionaries!

We played some golf last week, and they let us borrow their clubs. Well, I can't golf worth a darn, and somehow I shattered the driver in half! Luckily, the Martin's didn't mind at all, in fact they THANKED me for breaking it, said it was old and useless anyway. I seriously doubt I'm going to golf again anytime soon, I think I'll just stick with mini golf.

Well, this is promising to be another successful week, we could have a couple people committed to specific baptismal dates by the time it's all said and done! As always, I appreciate your prayers in my behalf, as well as for the people in our area. Much good continues to result as we are reaching out and serving people, and many blessings are still to come! Can't wait to hear from you again. You are ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS in my prayers!

The first line says it all...

2009-05-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

I LOVE WILMINGTON! What a privilege it is to still be serving in this one-of-a-kind area! We have set our goals high, and are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve them. I really want to see some people get baptized, but the trick is not to become complacent when they are progressing towards that point. Elder Janiec is on his last 6 weeks as a full-time missionary, so we definitely are going to be "raising the bar" so to speak. I have really been studying the Book of Mormon a lot more in depth, and section 5 of PMG has a page where it lists all the chapters that contain the doctrines we teach in the lessons. It says we are supposed to teach these to investigators, so we don't even have to wonder where to look for good scriptural examples....it's all right there!

Preach My Gospel is unbelievable! Two of the families in the branch, the Taylor's and the Fear's both have families lined up for us to teach once the school year is over, and we are really looking forward to that! Our hard work with the members is beginning to yield fruit, and no way are we going to complacent about member work. We also got a referral for someone that we gave a pass-along card to, which is incredible considering we didn't think she was that interested when we first talked to her. Well, lesson learned, I guess. Or, as Pres. Packer put it," That just goes to show that you can't tell by looking at a frog how high he's going to jump."

Here's a crazy story that happened this past week. We tracted into this fellow in Blanchester named James Patton, who invited us in and allowed us to share the first lesson with him. On our second visit, we focused primarily on the need for a prophet and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon. He had lots of questions that ranged over parts of different lessons, and we answered them as best we could. I had a feeling that we should leave him with a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, but I didn't know if he understood the importance of the Restoration yet. He then shared with us a dream he had when he was in his 20's (now he is 60). In the dream, he died and saw his spirit leave his body. He said that he wasn't in heaven, but nor was he in hell. He found himself in this huge hotel where everybody had a room for themselves. The interesting thing was that he saw all kinds of people there, those who had lived good lives and those who had lived evil lives. He said that he was waiting, along with everyone else, to be taken to a better place, but that he felt there was something very important he still had to learn before he could leave. Elder Janiec and I were absolutely stunned. I then explained about the spirit world to him, and he pondered it for a long time. We decided to leave him a pamphlet, and he closed the meeting with a wonderful prayer in which he stated that he couldn't find fault with anything we taught, and that he wanted to learn more. It was a pretty remarkable lesson, the kind that you never forget. So yeah, it's amazing the kind of experiences you can have when you look for opportunities to teach. That's what we are called to do, is to be teachers. If we aren't doing that, we might as well just go home.

I forgot to tell you this on Mother's Day, but Jay Leno came to Wilmington and did a couple free shows in an effort to boost people's morale in lieu of the DHL crisis! Of course we didn't get to go, but I think in it's own way that it will help us facilitate conversations with people because they will be in a better mood. And we all know how pathetic it is trying to talk to grumpy people. This transfer has a couple fun things coming up as well. Next Monday will be the branch's annual Memorial Day picnic, and the members and us have been inviting people to come to that. In other words, it's a great missionary opportunity. We'll be doing some grilling as well, so it will definitely be some good practice for my future cooking skills....pray that I don't burn everything! Then, from June 10-13 is Wilmington's Annual Banana Split Festival. This is considered the birthplace of the banana split, so you can imagine how many people from out-of-state will probably be here! Hooray, even more people to talk to about the gospel. I feel like I know half the people around here, so it will be nice to see some fresh faces. Yes, we do get to go to that, in fact we're helping out in making the banana splits. The Fear's are among those that are in charge of the whole thing, so they always enlist the help of the missionaries. President Robbins will most likely be coming to that as well, so it should be cool to spend some time around him.

And lastly, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is coming to Cincinnati on June 18th, and we are looking for people that are interested in going. We have an investigator who really likes them and sounds real excited about going, so we'll probably be giving a ticket to him. And yes, the concert presents yet another opportunity to share the gospel with people. To sum it all up, things are looking really good for the work here, but it will be up to us to make sure we follow through on our commitments and goals. Thank you for your wonderful letters today, it is amazing to see how much the Lord is blessing you each day despite the difficult circumstances all around us. Thank goodness we have the fulness of the gospel, and that a prophet leads us today. I pray for your continued safety and well-being, and it is evident more and more that the Lord is granting my earnest petitions.

A special thanks to the Landrum's for their letter today, nice to see they are doing well. Hard to believe that Britney is almost done with her mission, seems like she just left! Wow! That's missionary time for ya.

Hope you all have a great week, I love and miss all of you!

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful blessing it is to know that your family is happy and doing great! It has been that way since I came to Cincinnati, and it's an even greater privilege to hear your voices every now and then. The Lord continues to richly bless me, and much more importantly each of you. I was so overjoyed to talk with you all, and I'm sure you were equally excited for that opportunity. Congratulations to Mom on her talk, I just KNEW she would do well! Ah Mother's Day, where everything just works out like a charm! It would be nice if everyday could be like that, but we wouldn't learn too much.

One of the best things about being a missionary is knowing that there are literally millions of people around the world praying for you on a daily basis, including the First Presidency and the Twelve. This has been one of the great comforts for me, and it definitely drives the loneliness and discouragement away. As I told you yesterday, the homesickness has completely vanished. Of course, I miss everyone and think about you everyday, but that knowledge that you're doing well has actually been a strength rather than a hinderance to the work. Funny how that happens, huh!?

I still can't fathom that I've been on a mission for basically 9 months now, it's crazy! I am really beginning to feel like the Lord is shaping me into the missionary He wants me to be, and because I trust Him a lot more now, we are being blessed with many people to teach....especially families! This is the last week of the transfer, and we want it to be the best week we've had so far. We are very close to achieving the goals we set at the beginning of last month, and are excited to see the Lord bring them to full fruition. Our biggest challenge right now continues to be investigators at church(we had 2 committed who didn't show)and progressing investigators. Our boldness in extending commitments has gotten better, but there is still much we can improve on. I know that the biggest key to helping investigators progress will be in how well they are fellowshipped. The member involvement continues to increase, and we especially need great fellowshippers at this time. I have no doubt whatsoever that the Lord will provide for us, but first we have to do everything we can.

President Robbins has instructed us to start using a lesson format from Elder Jensen, and it will definitely improve the quality of our lessons. President also had to counsel us this week concerning anti-Mormon literature, as it is apparent that some missionaries have been reading it. I am extremely glad not to count myself in that group, but it is still very sad to see that some will rely on garbage for their opinions or beliefs. However, it will not tear down my testimony at all!! Miracles are happening in Wilmington, and nothing can stop the Lord from fulfilling His "works and designs" for this area. How grateful I am to be in this area at this time! And thanks for the excerpts from Elder Perry's talk, those will definitely be helpful. Thank you also for continuing to do all you can to make everyday worthwhile for me! Your efforts have definitely not been in vain. Hope you all have an excellent week, may the Lord be with you always!!

On the verge...

2009-05-04T08:52:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe that I will be talking to you on the phone again this coming Sunday! Seems like Christmas just happened, and yet, here we are moving through May!

All right, now to get down to the nitty gritty. One of the greatest spiritual witnesses I've seen time and time again since I've been here is knowing that my family is being blessed and well taken care of. With that priceless piece of knowledge, I am able to go through the day without any concern or fear as to how you all are doing, I just know deep down that the Lord has you in His care.

Now I'd like to see the Lord help our investigators get to Church! This is an area we are really struggling with right now, it is probably the one thing that separates most of our investigators from being baptized. Yeah, they are THAT prepared and interested in learning about and accepting the message of the gospel. I just really hope we can get them to see how important it is to come to Church each week, it is absolutely essential. However, we have nonetheless seen great blessings from God in having many opportunities to teach, and this is a result of planning and praying with faith. Planning with faith works!! This past week, we decided during our nightly planning that we would plan our indicators based on what we wanted, and not merely what the following day presented....hopefully that makes sense. In short, we planned by faith and not by sight. :) The result was that we taught 15 lessons, the most I've taught in Wilmington during a week, and found 9 new investigators! Pretty much all of them are families, and this is what we've been praying for this transfer! All of them seem really interested, and are looking to find a solid foundation to build their families around. Boy does patience pay off as well!

All this time I've spent in Wilmington, I've felt that this area is on the verge of really opening up. I haven't seen it quite yet, but am starting to see how important it is to be patient with the Lord and His timetable. The focus this week will be on a LOT more member presents, more progressing investigators, and more investigators at sacrament meeting. Currently, we are way behind on our goals we set for those indicators, so they will be the big focus these last 2 weeks. We've realized that the biggest thing that's keeping us from achieving our goals is, predictably, ourselves! I'm just so grateful that the Lord is willing to bless us continually in spite of all the weaknesses we possess.

Stake Conference was great, I really enjoyed all of the talks that were given! We had a special satellite broadcast from Salt Lake, and the speakers were President Beck (the new RS president), Elder Jensen, Elder Perry, and finally Pres. Monson. It's really interesting, though, to see someone in your ward as one of the speakers. They all did very well, I felt the confirming witness of the Spirit that what they spoke on was what we all needed to hear. I am grateful for the knowledge we have that God still speaks through His chosen servants in these last days. That knowledge needs to be declared to everyone whenever an opportunity presents itself. One of the things I tell people about the Book of Mormon to help them understand it's value is this: "The Bible is proof that God spoke. The Book of Mormon is proof that He speaks."

I have discovered the scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon, in a way that I never have previously. It is such a priceless, powerful gift that God has given us! And as Pres. Benson has said, we need to "flood the earth with the Book of Mormon." It is my prayer that each of us would set a goal to give away a copy once a month, maybe even once a WEEK if you feel that confident. As a missionary, I don't really have a choice. We've got tons of copies, and they serve no purpose sitting on the shelf. In fact, there's one right next to me now, with the hope of presenting it to someone during the day.

In my mind's eye, no other family or group of friends comes close to the ones I've got. May our Heavenly Father strengthen and help you, especially when you need His presence the most. As we've been told a lot these days, God will NEVER leave His children alone, but we must do all we can to come unto Him....and He has promised to do the rest. God bless you all!

The work goes on

2009-04-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe the month is almost over!! What the heck is going on?! I've been gone 8 months and so much wonderful things are happening, especially there at home. It is amazing to see the Lord raining blessings down upon you, and it helps me feel that I'm at least doing something right.

As I indicated last week, Bro. Tracy Watson, director of the Prosleyting Department, came to our Zone Conference on Thursday. What a treat it was to have him instruct us!! On a quick side note, I believe that the new gospel art book would be a fantastic tool for missionaries. I looked through it a couple weeks ago and was pretty fascinated with what I saw. I thought to myself, "This is almost like Preach My Gospel, only it's in pictures!" Bro. Watson wanted our feedback on it, and I gave my whole-hearted endorsement for it. So, back to the work. Bro. Watson really opened my eyes to see that EVERYTHING we teach should be geared towards My Purpose, as stated on Pg. 1 of Preach My Gospel. Thank you for instilling in me what my purpose as a missionary is, it's something I have to think about every day or I've forgotten the reason I came on a mission!! That's pretty much the first thing we read in PMG, and the Brethren were dead on with putting it right there. Ever since Bro. Watson's training, we have been earnestly seeking to gear all the lessons towards those objectives he outlined, and I've noticed that the people we're teaching are paying WAY more attention. Because of that, the number of new investigators has also improved gradually, and our next aim is to help the members embrace the study of Preach My Gospel the way we have. As it states in PMG, a regular study of it will foster unity between members and full-time missionaries. We have been putting a big emphasis on Family Mission Plans, and the key to those being successful will be not just setting goals w/members, but following up on them.

Yesterday was a memorable Stake Priesthood, all of the speakers did a very good job. It was almost like another Zone Conference too, I saw missionaries everywhere! I suppose the only question I have is how I can better teach people the importance of authority. The trend I've noticed throughout my mission is that when teaching the first lesson, by far the hardest thing to help people understand has been authority. When that happens, they don't fully understand the significance of the Great Apostasy nor, even more importantly, the Restoration. I feel like I've used every scripture and analogy that I know how to use, so if you know of anything I need to do more of, or do differently, I gladly welcome any advice. On a happier note, Kenny Ewing is progressing along very well! We plan to set a baptismal date with him this week, but first he needs to come to Church a few times. I feel like that's the only thing standing between him and baptism, and I know he would've come yesterday if he hadn't been sick. He's reading from the Book of Mormon and praying on his own, and he told us that he has faith that he will receive an answer, and he's beginning to! He told us that he used to feel like any answer you received from God would come immediately and in some miraculous way. However, when we taught him, we explained that God will answer every earnest prayer, but it will always be in His own time and in His own way. He is receiving answers gradually, and I am so happy knowing that we taught pure, simple doctrine and bore testimony by the Spirit. With Drake Coleman, we feel that he understands the gospel, but doesn't fully see the need for obedience, so naturally he hasn't recognized the blessings. Our goal is to show him the importance of obedience, and of course promise him blessings for doing so. He has the desire to be baptized, but it is clear to us after talking with him that Satan is working very hard to distract him. We will help him in any way that we can, and I seek an interest in your prayers on his behalf.

Well, I can't express how grateful I am for this gospel and the peace and joy that it brings every day! I am remembering to always share it with a smile too. :) I got Mom's letter last week, and I hope she and the kids get home safely and that they had a wonderful time in "The Green State." I know that because we have the fulness of the gospel, we will be together forever and no wordly power can take that from us, and that makes us great! The temple is an unbelievable source of power and safety, we truly are never lost when we can see the temple. I pray that this week will continue to yield blessings for each of you, I have full confidence that it will!! God Bless!

Easter in the mission field

2009-04-15T09:03:00.000-07:00

What a memorable week this was, and for many reasons! Chief among them all was commemorating the last week of the Savior's life, culminating in His glorious Resurrection. Couldn't have asked for better Easter weather either, it was spectacular! A lot better than it looks right now, that's for sure.

Anyway, it was a great and unique opportunity to bear testimony that He lives to everyone we talked to. I felt the Spirit and I know some people we spoke with did as well. Here's a quick experience from yesterday about bearing testimony of the Living Christ. Elder Janiec and I were tracting at the end of the day, and had talked to many people who were very kind and filled with the true spirit of Easter. At the LAST door we knocked (funny how often stuff like that happens), we met a gentleman who didn't waste anytime telling us that he was a "born again" Christian who was already saved. He then quoted some scriptures from the King James Bible about salvation, and then he told us that his church believes in the doctrine of election, or in other words those whom Christ has already chosen to be saved. He asked us if we knew that Jesus Christ was our Lord and Savior, and if we believed that everyone will be saved. Elder Janiec responded with a great statement of the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, and how we believe God loves all of His children and does want them all to be saved, but that not everyone will be. The gentleman's forceful response was if we believed that everyone would see Christ at the great and last judgment. He didn't think that sinners who refused to repent and accept Christ would get to see Him at all. At this moment, the Spirit prompted me: "Speak now, but be humble." I bore solemn, pure testimony that Jesus Christ lives and that He loves us, but that we all have a personal responsibility to accept Him AND live His gospel. I closed with saying that I know that everyone will have an opportunity to see Him at the final judgment, but those that don't repent will not be able to witness His majesty and glory forever if they refuse to come unto Him. This changed the whole conversation, and he softened up quite a bit and told us he appreciated what we did as missionaries and wished us the best of luck. This was yet another witness to me of the power of bearing pure, simple testimony. Nothing but doctrine. That was just one experience, there were many this week as we bore testimony of the Savior to everyone.

We were also able to teach 12 lessons this week, the most we've taught since I've been in Wilmington. Out of that also came 2 new investigators, both of which had great questions and seem well prepared to accept our message. We found plenty of solid potential investigators as well, so things have taken a definite upswing here. I'm not satisfied yet, I know there is still a lot of good that can be accomplished. The member work is starting to pick up more, and we have several Family Mission Plans already set up for this week, which is great! We now have the benefit of two outstanding RM's to assist us, Eric Taylor and Brynn Martin. They both shared their testimonies in Church yesterday, and they seem excited to continue doing so while working with us. We also got to hear from Troy Maki, who is leaving for the MTC this weekend. He won't have much farther to go after that, considering he's been called to serve in the Utah Provo Mission speaking Spanish. It's amazing to see what missions can do, I know I will never regret accepting the call to serve our King!!

Looking forward to another Zone Conference this week, sounds like it will be fantastic. Brother Tracy Watson, director of the Prosleyting Department for the Church will be coming. According to President Robbins, he helped put together Preach My Gospel, so it should be very interesting to see what he has in store for us.

Glad to hear you all had a wonderful Easter, best of luck to Kenz as she heads back to school. Wow, Dad is going to have the house all to himself! Although, I doubt he'll do what I usually would when I'm home alone; you know, stuff like junk food, TV, video games. The mission has changed my perspective, it's been very interesting to see what matters the most. I can't believe how much time I wasted in those past years, it's something I don't like to think about now.

Also, please thank the Heaton's for the wonderful Easter card, it meant a lot. I forgot to mention this last week, although I'm sure you noticed from the pictures, but the cookies are fantastic!! Well done Mom and Ellie! Well, I think I've covered everything for the week. Miracles are happening here and also back home, I've seen it in your lives and the lives of those around you. I couldn't ask for anything more than for those I love to be happy and to know that God loves them no matter what. May the spirit of Easter continue to fill us with warmth EVERYDAY, for without the Savior's miraculous gift, we'd have no reason to be here. May God bless you all and help you to share His gospel with His children, the world needs it so badly!!

Still going strong in Wilmington

2009-04-07T13:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Tuesday from Wilmington!

Elder Lundquist is on his way to West Virginia, while I'm still here with my new companion, Elder Janiec from Highland, UT. He knows a lot of people from AF that I do, so that's pretty cool to have a companion who knows something about your hometown.

Well, first off I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving in Wilmington. I know that Elder Janiec and I can and will accomplish much good in furthering the Lord's work here. Winter just can't get enough of us, can it? We had great weather a few days ago but it has cooled off considerably since then, as I'm sure you've noticed.

Conference was absolutely amazing, I loved every single talk! There is nothing in all the world quite like General Conference. What a blessing it is to know that we have prophets and apostles, and that they will not lead us astray! I also sustain Elder Andersen in his new calling, I know that he will do very well. Every talk had something(s) in it for me, and I have a renewed commitment and enthusiasm to not only share the gospel, but to live it! It was also great to celebrate the 179th anniversary of the Church yesterday. It seems like so long ago, but it really hasn't been....and yet, look at how much it has grown and continues to grow. We also have the unique opportunity at this time of the year to be talking with people whose thoughts are, for most of them, turned to the Savior and His last week of mortality. I know that as we center our thoughts and actions on Jesus Christ, great things will happen.

I am so grateful for the Duty to God program, as well as Scouting. They prepare you for so many things, definitely a mission as well. I have seen how it has done that and will be forever grateful to you and friends, as well as leaders who helped shape me into who I have become. In fact, you are still shaping me, so I am eternally grateful for everything that has been done in my behalf.

Jumping back to Conference, I really liked Elder Perry's talk about member missionary work. I think it could serve as a standard here in helping the members to do just that. Their willingness and desire to share the gospel has definitely improved since I've been here, and I know it will continue to do so as we work in harmony. I pray for each of you to have similar experiences, so you can feel the joy that comes with bearing testimony of the restored gospel. I can still hardly believe that I have been out as long as I have, I'm at the point now where I wish I could have a chance to make up for those opportunities I missed. Oh well, I hope that future missionaries and members will be more bold than I was.

Also, I will FINALLY be sending home the latest pictures today, hope you all enjoy them as much as I did taking them! I ask for the blessings and love of the Lord to continue to shine on each of you, lighting a path that leads to true happiness. This Church is true, the Book of Mormon is the word of God, and most importantly, Jesus is the Christ and He LIVES!! So until next week, God be with you!!!!

Double the fun!

2009-03-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

We've neglected to post the last couple of emails from Elder Livingston, so here is our humble attempt to make good...

From March 23rd, 2009 -

Dear Family,
It is wonderful to hear that you are happy and having spiritual experiences, and it has led to similar things for myself. The weather has taken a turn for the better here as spring is finally beginning to make everything greener, which has boosted spirits a lot. It makes it a lot easier to talk to people as well, especially when they are already outside. Had a couple cool things happen this past week: On Saturday we helped the Taylor's(members)haul some big logs out of a field, definitely a good workout. We've helped Bro.Taylor in the past with chopping wood and taking it to people in need, so I always love it when he calls us and asks us to come help him. Gets rid of a lot of stress, which is definitely normal for missionaries. Also, we were in this apartment complex getting a return appointment with an investigator, when these people we didn't know called us over to play basketball with them. Call it my-first-street-ball-

experience-on-a-mission, it was a lot of fun. Kind of awkward in a suit coat though, can't wait 'till we get to take those off! Only two more weeks! Lastly, the priesthood brethren have been needing someone to play the piano in opening exercises, because our past a cappella experiences have been, well.....like a funeral march. I volunteered my services, and I don't think I've ever seen priesthood holders so excited to sing. So, thanks Mom for telling me to fine-tune my piano skills before I left, it's payed off several times.

And yes, I am jealous that you get to attend General Conference coming up, I'd give anything to go again. Oh well, I'm sure I will feel the Spirit anyway even if I'm not there in person, or even just in Utah. We're planning on teaching a lot about prophets in these next couple of weeks, and hopefully we can a decent amount of non-members, especially investigators, to attend a session or two. We've already committed all three of our investigators to go, so that should be a great experience for them. I'd have to say that Sunday and Monday are probably my favorite days of the week, at least since I've been on a mission. The reason for that is because so much tends to happen on those other days, and never exactly as you planned it, that it just drains me by the end of the week. It can be disheartening at times, but thank goodness for Church on Sunday's! These two days give me a chance to refuel, recharge, reflect, and in the case of sacrament meeting, renew those sacred covenants. I always get super-excited to go and teach after feeling the spirit at Church, as well as reading my e-mails from you and others. Too often I feel that missionaries do not take advantage of church meetings as an opportunity to not only become better acquainted with members, but more importantly, to set up appointments to go to their homes and teach the lessons from Preach My Gospel. Doing this will help the members see the need for them to share the gospel as well, and when you leave bold and direct commitments, they are far more likely to follow through on them. We can't forget to follow-up regularly either. Elder Ballard said once that when you sit down with members and help them set goals, commit them to a specific date whereby they will find someone for us, the missionaries, to teach.

A quote from President Monson at last summer's Mission President's Seminar caught my attention. He said, "There is just no substitute for a member-oriented proselyting program. Tracting will not substitute for it. Golden questions will not substitute for it. A member-oriented program is the key to success." In my callings as a ward missionary, it was, as you know, my responsibility to go into members' homes, teach them the lessons from Preach My Gospel, and help them set goals for them to find someone for missionaries to teach. Obviously, missionaries out in Utah have such large areas to cover that they are not able to help members create Family Mission Plans on a regular basis, so that responsibility was delegated to me and the other ward missionaries. Now, being out here in Ohio, and particularly in Wilmington where the Church is much smaller, I have quickly learned that the responsibility for teaching and committing members falls directly to full-time missionaries. This is a lot that's been on my mind, as you can see, but I just keep feeling that this area is about to really flourish; but I've come to the conclusion that it cannot be done without full member participation. I think I've mentioned recently of our branch's new plan for us to work with members to help achieve our goal of 20 lessons per week, and yesterday at church I spoke with several members who are very excited to start doing this. I am praying that this will turn out the way it's been designed to, and if anyone has suggestions for me I will gladly be open to them.

I have seen great blessings as I have returned to more simple explanations of Church doctrine, as I once did with those wonderful boys in Primary.

Well, I think I've emptied out my brain of everything I wanted to say, but I would like to quickly express appreciation to the Sam and Kim Kienow Family, the Kent and Carol Livingston Family, and also Grandpa Ray for their heartfelt letters which have made me so grateful to know of the support that I am receiving! I pray that the Lord will continue to bless each of you and watch over you, and also that opportunities to share the gospel may be granted to you. Oh, and Happy Spring Fever!!

From March 16th, 2009 -

Dear Family,

First off, I wanted to express my thanks to you for those little reminders you give me each week, it really does help. As I look back on the years before my mission, I lament at the wasted time and on my often grumbling attitude when it came to being reminded about something or being told to do something. Being on a mission and also having the unique opportunity to focus on the Savior each day has wrought some changes in my life, as you so accurately pointed out. The 2 hours I am given to study each day is so little that I wish it could be longer, but I've committed myself to making the most of it. Well anyway, I am glad to hear that spring is beginning to show itself out there, it's taking a bit longer than I would've liked in Wilmington. It IS supposed to be really nice for most of this week, so I'm anxious to see how many people will be outside for us to talk to. Much less awkward than going door-to-door and not knowing what to expect.

We didn't teach as many lessons this past week as we had planned for, but I feel comforted knowing we tried our hardest. I still feel that we are falling short of our potential as it relates to member missionary work, but I think the members are starting to see what we're asking of them. We'll be meeting with several different families this week, and we plan on setting some goals and extending some commitments. I've found out with any kind of goal or commitment that the stronger it is, the more likely the person will keep it and follow through on it. We are continuing to see results as we teach simple and clear doctrine, but the tough part is when we prepare a whole lesson plan and the appointment falls through. It definitely is frustrating at times, but we still do everything we can to use those doctrinal statements no matter where we might be.

Yesterday at Drake Coleman's home, we decided to go back to the beginning and teach about Joseph Smith and read from the pamphlet containing his testimony. We asked some very straightforward questions and received the answers we sought, and it was good because lately we've been concerned that Drake hasn't really been applying what he learns. He has a desire to be baptized and wants to continue learning, but he was in need of some extra motivation. We simply told him that everything we've taught him hinges on whether or not Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus Christ....everything! We committed him to read the pamphlet that evening, then go into a quiet, secluded place and pray earnestly for an answer. We plan to follow up with him on it, and we're anxiously awaiting the response he will give. On another bonus, we are also starting to teach Drake's new foster brother, Jason, who sat in on the lesson and told us he wanted to read the Book of Mormon and learn more about the Church. He's had a pretty rough life up to this point, so we are definitely looking forward to helping him make changes. Other than that, the work goes on.

A couple of funny experiences from this past week: First, We taught Kenny Ewing on Saturday, one of our new investigators from last week, and we asked him if he had prayed about the Book of Mormon. He told us that he had and that God told him to get new glasses so he can read it better, because his eyesight isn't very good! We all thought it was pretty funny, but I don't see anything wrong with THAT answer. The second one just happened this morning. Last night, Elder Lundquist made some chicken with biscuits, potatoes and gravy for both of us. We didn't have much time to eat it before bed, and this morning we discovered to our half-shock and half-laughter that Elder Lundquist left the oven on at 400 DEGREES!! I'd say we're pretty lucky but at the same time it's one of those things you have to laugh at. Definitely NOT going to do that again though! So anyway, things are going great out here, it's hard to believe this is the fourth week of the transfer already, and we plan on making the most of it! Hope you all have a wonderful week, and that the weather cooperates! :)

Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

The Miracle(s) of Missionary Work

2009-03-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dearest Family and Friends,
The Book of Mormon is the word of God! Seems like an odd way to start off a letter, but I see it more and more each day as I continue to learn the difference between "study" and "read." The Lord truly does prepare His children to accept it, and I am setting a goal for myself to be able to hand out at least one Book of Mormon per day to someone. We have so many in our apartment, and they don't belong there! It can be somewhat daunting trying to make suggestions to the senior companion, but I've mustered the courage and explained to each of them the need to get the Book of Mormon into peoples' hands, and not just simply tell them we'll bring one back some other day. We are bound to forget because we're so busy, so I always make sure I have some copies in my backpack and another in my coat pocket.

We had another great Zone Conference this past week, President Robbins focused on teaching simple and clear doctrine using the scriptures and Preach My Gospel. That divinely-inspired guide continues to amaze me, I can never get enough out of it! As I've followed the counsel of President Robbins, I've noticed more and more that Preach My Gospel doesn't talk about anything that we don't already know....in other words, it doesn't teach deep doctrine such as where in the world Kolob is located. Every time I pick it up, I think to myself, "This book was put together by prophets and apostles under the spirit of revelation, so it's almost like scripture!"

We too are stressing increased member involvement here, I think I told you last week about the plan we've come up with to do that. We have appointments in 4 or 5 members' homes this week, so it's a tremendous opportunity to help them set goals for referring their friends to us, and also a chance to show them that Preach My Gospel is not just for full-time missionaries. It tells each of us how to do missionary work, so members need not fear! From reading your letters, it sounds like the Lord is answering my prayers that you would have opportunities to share the gospel and bear testimony of it! And the continued increase in temple-building is evidence that the Lord is working to establish His Church throughout the world, even in Utah!

I do miss the daily drive past the Mt. Timpanogos Temple, but I have resolved in my heart that I will take greater advantage of it when I return. I would love to see a temple announced out here in Cincinnati, that would be a huge blessing to the members. They talk so frequently about how much the temple means to them, even though the nearest one is up in Columbus. As you may have heard, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (the OTHER M.T.C.) will be performing in Cincinnati in mid-June, we are looking to get tickets for people here. They came out here back in the summer of '07 and it went extremely well, the missionaries experienced great success as a result of that. So, as you can imagine, I am very much looking forward to seeing what it can produce this time around!

Exciting to hear that the Draper Temple open house was a good experience, and that Dee enjoyed it as well. That's interesting that she was baptized at age 8, I never could've guessed that. Best of luck to her as she takes the discussions at our home!

This week ended on a high note, we had a couple things happen that hadn't taken place in a while. First, we found ourselves a new investigator! His name is Kenny Ewing, an older African-American who lives out in Sabina. He let us right in when we started talking on his porch, and boy do I get excited when somebody lets us right in. My enthusiasm level goes WAY up, because you know how it can be when you're going door-to-door. You just want to start teaching as soon as you get inside, but I was able to bridle that for a little bit. We sat down and got acquainted with him, found out that he goes to the A.M.E. church out in Washington Court House. He asked us a question that set things up perfectly for the first lesson: "I've always wondered about this, but have never gotten an answer I was satisfied with. Where did all of these churches come from, and how did they get started?" I was thrilled, because what member of the Church wouldn't want to hear a question like that? We proceeded to teach a powerful first lesson, filled with simple, doctrinal statements and soul-searching questions. At the end of the lesson he told us that people from other churches have come by in hopes of getting him to join their denomination, but they've never been able to peak his interest. He then looked right at us and said that he was truly interested in learning more about our message, and he was especially excited to start reading from the Book of Mormon. We have a return appointment with him this weekend, and our goal is to commit him to come to Church this upcoming Sunday. So that was the first great thing that happened, and the second was that we received a member referral! I love those! It was for an apartment complex run by the members' sister, and it's literally full of potential investigators. We'll be having a discussion there tonight, so to me anyway the setting will feel almost like the one Brigham Young was in when he felt the Spirit after someone bore a pure, simple testimony. "A Man without Eloquence," was what the video was called, I remember Dad showing that during a family night once. President Robbins showed it to us again at Zone Conference. So anyway, I am hoping the opportunity to testify presents itself tonight, and I will not shy away when it comes.

Other than that, the work continues to move on despite the hardships experienced by thousands here. In time, I believe that the Lord will pour out His spirit upon the people and they will come to a knowledge of the truth. Thank you as always for the unending support each of you provide in my behalf, I can feel the strength of your prayers. It revitalizes my desire to teach the gospel to others, as I once did when I taught Primary. In addition, a momentous upswing in the weather has helped us be able to talk to more people, this past Saturday it was 75 degrees! I definitely see that the Lord is putting my faith to the test, as He has done on many other occasions. The key is to not lose hope and exercise my faith, for God will always open the way. Have a great week, may the Lord be with you each day and give you opportunities to bear testimony

6 Months Today and Still Loving Every Minute

2009-02-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
.... Well, here it is already the last week of the transfer. As usual, we plan to take everything good from previous weeks and mold it together into our best week thus far. To me, it's really amazing how quickly time flies by on a mission, especially when you're putting your whole heart and soul into the Lord's work. These past 6 months have been filled with many great and uplifting experiences, and very few bad ones thankfully. This past Saturday, we had a really good day planned out, and one by one all of our appointments fell through. Rather than sit and bemoan our bad luck, we prayed to the Lord to ask us what we should do, and He responded. We were blessed with 3 previously non-scheduled appointments that night, which really took us into the Sabbath on a high note. We also were asked to teach priesthood, and the lesson was "Beware the Bitter Fruits of Apostasy", chapter 27 in the Joseph Smith manual. That can be a somewhat touchy, even depressing subject to teach, especially as a missionary. It went really well, though, the priesthood brethren made a lot of insightful comments that fit perfectly with what we had planned to teach. Also, President Robbins announced this past week that missionaries are now allowed to baptize! Can't remember if I mentioned that before, but anyway, I was pretty excited to hear about that because I've always wanted to baptize someone into the Church! I hope the opportunity presents itself sometime, but the only catch is that we can't tell investigators we can baptize them, they have to just straight up ask us....hope that makes sense. Well, the weather has gradually gotten better, spring definitely can't come anytime sooner. It's been a rough winter, but the work of the Lord moves onward regardless. We'll be putting in our best efforts this week, as I mentioned earlier, and I have no doubt that the Lord will answer your prayers in my behalf, He always has. I hope everyone is doing great and that you had a great (not mushy! blech!) Valentine's Day. Sheesh, some holidays as missionaries are just weird! Somebody dropped off a couple valentines and a box of chocolates outside our door, so we were pretty excited at first. Then we turned the envelope over and read "Happy Valentine's Day Jennifer!" Well, neither of us have that first name, although Elder Lundquist's first name starts with a "J" but he declined the offer. Turned out it belonged to the person next door, it was kind of awkward to see missionaries handing out valentines. Anyway, we've got to get headed back to Wilmington, but I hope to hear from some of you throughout the week. May the Lord forever comfort and sustain you, and lead you to those who need the gospel most! Talk to you next Tuesday(and this time it really will be Tuesday)!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

By Small and Simple Things...

2009-02-12T21:02:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

Well, I'd have to say this was our most productive week since I've been in Wilmington. We have been working hard towards getting 20 lessons a week and were able to get 10, which is good for an area where we serve in a branch. We are, however, still optimistic that we can get 20 lessons and I am hoping this week is it. Our branch president (who is still branch mission leader) and our assistant branch mission leader are working with us to announce a plan to the members here that will help us achieve that goal of getting 20 lessons. I feel like we are on the verge of achieving a lot of success here, so we'll have to see how things play out.

Elder Lundquist and I are the right companions for each other, and at the right time. Our personalities are similar in a lot of ways, we rarely disagree about what to do during the day, and we NEVER keep information from the other person. I feel that this companionship is the best one I've been in since my first transfer because we are working hard and having fun at the same time, so things never get dull and we don't often find ourselves lacking something to do.

We were privileged on Saturday night to go over to the hospital, which is across the street from our apartment, and administer a priesthood blessing to a member from St. Louis. He is terminally ill and has been given approximately a year to live, so it was a very humbling and spiritual experience. He then told us that his stepfather is not a member and has been asking lots of questions about the Church, so at his request we gave him one of everything that we had. Hopefully his stepfather will use all those materials and begin an investigation of the Church. It's always a tremendous opportunity when I get to exercise my priesthood for the benefit of others, it makes me really excited to tell people the blessings that can be theirs if they are but willing to learn about the Church.

Elder Lundquist and I also spoke in sacrament meeting yesterday, and that was a neat experience. I spoke about temples and missionary work (two of my favorite subjects!) and how they relate to one another. I hope that some of what I said was left on the members and that their desire to share the gospel will increase dramatically. We have several appointments with members this week in which we will share lessons from PMG and set up Family Mission Plans. I'm excited to see what this area can accomplish when we unite with the members to spread the gospel message all over Clinton County. Well, that's the state of things in Wilmington right now, I feel great about this week and what the Lord has in store for us. So anyway, I hope you all have another great week, and may God be with you always!

When life hands you lemons...

2009-02-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

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!

Elder Livingston & Companions

2009-01-28T19:43:00.000-08:00

The power of pure testimony

2009-01-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

Dear family,

Last week went pretty well, we were able to teach some solid lessons and are continuing to help Tommy progress. He should be ready for his baptism on the 26th (one month away!) of February, and so our focus is on making sure he reads from the Book of Mormon daily. Well, Elder Lundquist and I had the privilege of blessing the sacrament yesterday, always a very special and sacred experience. It was another sign to me of how different it is going from ward to branch, but also something that I will embrace because I really believe we are on the verge of great things in Wilmington. The branch has 3 full-time missionaries serving right now, and a fourth just got his call to the Utah Provo Mission, speaking Spanish.

Despite frigid temperatures, and another big storm is on it's way here, the work continues to move forward uninterrupted! Perhaps you've had a glimpse of what my area is like, and I'll just say that it is huge! We cover ALL of Clinton County, which has several small little towns which we are currently "thrashing" one at a time, you might say. A large portion of the people we talk to are very nice to us, but it's still hard when they tell you that they belong to a church that they are happy with. Pretty much all we can do at that point is bear our testimony and invite them to order a copy of the Book of Mormon. As it says right in Preach My Gospel, "The Book of Mormon, combined with the Spirit, is your most powerful resource in conversion." Clearly, bearing testimony of the gospel and of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is the best way we can open people's hearts to our message.

We had an experience with that just the other day when we were tracting a little trailer park. We started talking to this guy named Howard who went to a Pentecostal church in one of the small towns (New Vienna, I think) and said he was happy there. I started bearing testimony of the Book of Mormon and how it's intent is not to take away from our faith in Jesus Christ or the Bible, but rather to give them more knowledge and more faith in Him....really to give us more EVERYTHING! Well, good things of course. I then asked him if he felt that it would something worth studying, and his whole mood changed and he said he'd be happy to read it. We presented him with a copy and made a return appointment for this coming Saturday. It was simple, I just shared my testimony....but that was enough for him to open his heart and change his mind. We have several potential investigators, all of whom we have given a Book of Mormon and set return visits with. I'm earnestly hoping and praying that they will become new investigators and start on the road that leads to eternal life.

I could think of nothing better for Kenz than presenting a Book of Mormon with her testimony written inside to her friend. It's clear that she likes a lot of things about the Church and is curious to know more, and if she reads and prays about the Book of Mormon then I know that she'll act on whatever prompting she receives. In reading Kenz's e-mail it's great to see that she is planning on doing just that, and I'll be praying that she receives a witness that it's true. Also, our goal with the members is to set up Family Mission Plans and invite them to prayerfully set a date that they can find somebody by for us to come teach. We feel that a good way to increase members' excitement to do missionary work, and also to decrease fear is to give them copies of the Book of Mormon to give away with their testimonies written inside; AND making sure that EVERY members' home has a Preach My Gospel manual, so I was excited to read that information from Elder Neuenschwander, I think it will help.

We have to remember that the cover of that book also says above Preach My Gospel that it's a guide to missionary service. Not just full-time missionary service, but ANY missionary service. If members aren't sure how to do missionary work, the first step is to get a copy of Preach My Gospel and STUDY it, not just read it. I'm thankful that you introduced it to me early on, and that my understanding of how important it is has not wavered.

Dubtown

2009-01-13T11:23:00.000-08:00

This just in! Elder Livingston has been transferred to Wilmington, Ohio, population 12,000 (12,001 if you count the new missionary!) Here's a link to some info about his new area. More to come.

Why it's called work

2009-01-05T13:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

This was a good week, but a tough one. It almost kills me to be writing this, but Bernard did not get baptized this past Saturday. We knew that he had a felony on his record, which was from several years ago but still required that he be interviewed by President Robbins. It was discovered that he is still on probation for some unpaid fines, and will not be eligible for baptism until April. I was almost as crushed by the news as Bernard, but I was determined not to let it hold me back.

President Robbins went out of his way to take Bernard to the government building in downtown Hamilton to get some paperwork so that he can find some kind of job (he's been unemployed since August), and then took him out to lunch and then back home. Bernard was going through a really hard time, his relationship with his fiance was almost finished and of course he isn't working right now. We went by to see him after President Robbins had dropped him off, and he was feeling 100 times better and that he wanted to patch things up with his fiance. He told us that his only family right now is the Church, and he will do whatever it takes to stay on track for baptism. He even told me that he's been thinking hard about moving out to Utah instead of going down to Florida. That would be cool if that happens! So he is still doing well despite the setback, and we continue to see him on a daily basis.

I've mentioned previously that Joey Riddle's baptism was scheduled for this Saturday, but he told us a couple days ago that he doesn't quite feel ready yet. He is a very quiet kid, but a great kid nonetheless. That's hard, though, because we aren't sure what his needs are and we want to find out so we can proceed with his baptism. He doesn't know the other two elders very well, so the Ruiz family (his fellowshippers, and he is dating one of their daughters) has asked me to sit down with him one-on-one and get to know him and find out what he needs help with. I have been praying for guidance and inspiration to know what I can do to best help Joey; the Ruiz's believe that he will only open up to me, so it's a pretty big test for me but I am up to it.

I am confident you already pray for me and for my investigators, but maybe pray today and tomorrow for me and for him since we're seeing him at the Ruiz home tomorrow night. It was really hard to come so close to my first couple of baptisms, only to see them fall through for the time being. I was feeling pretty low when we went to Church, but the fast and testimony meeting brought much needed strength and resolve to push forward no matter what. Our investigators are still doing very well, they are all on track to be baptized before too long, we will be reviewing the first 3 lessons with most of them this week.

You are perhaps aware that one of my favorite set of verses in the scriptures is D&C 121:7-9 when the Prophet Joseph is pleading to the Lord to deliver the Saints from their trials and persecutions, and the Lord responds with words of comfort and peace. I read through that again during sacrament meeting on Sunday and it helped me tremendously. Once again, that knowledge that so many people are praying on my behalf sets me on fire with enthusiasm for this work!

Today should be a really good P-day, we are having a big basketball game at the Church, almost all of the zone is coming down so that should be cool!

Thanks a million for your love, support, prayers, guidance, and everything else that you so willingly give me while I serve the Lord here in Hamilton. This is the last week of the transfer, so hopefully I will be able to talk with you again on Tuesday, but as always, I have no way of knowing where I will be a week from now.

I remain comforted and at peace that I will be wherever the Lord wants me to, and that makes missionary work a lot easier and a lot more rewarding. Hope you all have a fantastic week!! May God bless you everyday!!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

A Burning in the Bosom (and the oven)

2008-12-22T21:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
Well, this week has finally arrived!! I've been waiting so long, and now I will get to talk with you this Thursday!! The bishop is having us over for breakfast, they are planning on making a TON of food for us! Which is very important of course, but not quite as important as talking to your family. I believe that we will be making our calls from there, so you will hear from me sometime between 8 and 11:30-ish, I'm guessing. Oh, and that's Utah time by the way, in case you were wondering. Thanks a ton for the package you sent last week, I really loved everything that was in there. Thanks for those pictures and drawings too, and I don't mind having older photos....as long as I have photos that's all right with me! Those Ensigns are great to have as well, I'm guessing those are for investigators. Speaking of which, we have 3 who are scheduled to be baptized at the beginning of next month. Bernard Taylor and his fiance(they are living apart) Bridget will be baptized on January 3rd. Joey Riddle is scheduled to be baptized the following Saturday, so we are working hard to make sure they are completely ready when that day comes. Oh by the way, I'm in a 3-some here in Hamilton now. Elder Smith, who covered the east side of Hamilton with Elder Durling, was emergency transferred to a new area. So now Elder Durling is with us, and we now cover ALL of Hamilton, so that means more people to teach and more people to visit!! Elder Durling has been in Hamilton as long as I have, so we get along REALLY well! We've had plenty of laughs since he joined us on Friday, which you can imagine I'm very pleased with. President Robbins gave us some ideas for sharing the Christmas spirit with others, and we've given a couple of them a try. One was caroling, which we've done a little bit of and hopefully we will do more this week. The other one we experimented with was baking cookies for investigators and member families. All I can say is that the cookies didn't taste very good, because we burnt them all! You can't give those to people, so we have burnt cookies all over the apartment! Ah, the life of a missionary! It was kind of weird to see my name in the monthly newsletter, but was also cool at the same time! They need to update Elder Wilbur's information, I'm pretty sure he isn't in the MTC right now. Well, did Cal have a good 7th birthday? Of course I wanted to be there, but I'm sure he had a fun time anyway! I wish there was something that I could've sent to him, but I did send him and Ellie some candy and fruit snacks a few weeks ago. Oh and speaking of fruit snacks, Uncle Kent and Aunt Carol sent me a box of Treetops along with some drawings from the kids. THAT was pretty cool and funny at the same time to get that. A big thanks to them for it! Also, give my love and appreciation to the following for their letters, cards, or packages: The Rowley's, The Brownings, The Johnson's, The Farriers, The Heaton's, The Pulsipher's, and The Simpson's. I hope I didn't leave anyone out, but thank EVERYONE fot their love, support, and prayers on my behalf. It is, as always, very wonderful and satisfying to know that so many people are right there for me all the time. It's also great to have that knowledge that the Prophet and the Twelve, and really anyone at the temple is praying for me. Most importantly, it is the greatest blessing to know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers and that He and His Beloved Son are ALWAYS there for us, and that if we but look to them for anything, the Holy Ghost will show us the way to go. I wish a very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you this season, and also to remember why we celebrate at this time of year. May the knowledge of the Savior's birth burn within us ALWAYS, that we may never forget the author of our salvation! May God Bless You All!!!!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

What it's all about...

2008-12-19T08:37:00.000-08:00

"and mine angels round about you"

2008-12-15T10:13:00.000-08:00

We are grateful for the Lord's ability to protect His servants, as you'll read below:

Dear Family,

Talk about an absolutely crazy week!! At least things are still going well out here, but man was there a lot of stuff that went on. Zone Conference was on Tuesday, and it was really good! The best part was when Sis. Robbins called each of us up individually and handed us these big, thick envelopes. I honestly had no idea what was in there, but I opened it up and WALLAH!! There was a bunch of mail from you!! I was so excited to read those, it made my day! I enjoyed the thoughts, feelings, and stories you had to share which I will always remember. So that was an overall good day, because Wednesday brought with it a very scary ordeal.

I don't know if the mission office told you or not, but I was involved in a car accident on Wednesday night. I was on an exchange in Hamilton with Elder Scholes, who serves up in Oxford on the Miami University campus, and we were returning to our apartment for some dinner when it happened. I wasn't driving or anything, but it still shook both of us up a little bit. Thankfully, no one in either car was hurt, but Elder Scholes was at fault because he made a left-hand turn in a lane where you can't do it. The road system out here is WAY different than what both of us are used to (he's from Idaho), but it didn't make any difference of course. The left side of our car was pretty much totaled, but luckily the car that hit us didn't fully smash into the driver's side door, it was only damaged to the point where you couldn't open it. Like I said, no one was hurt at all, and I'm so thankful that the Lord continues to watch over us....even when we're in a car accident.

So that was pretty crazy, but on the plus side we got a new investigator that day so it wasn't all bad. In fact, we have 3 new investigators now in addition to the 4 that we are currently teaching. It isn't all shiny and golden though, as we have decided to push Joey Riddle's baptism back to January 10th. He was going to get baptized this Saturday, but we have too much to teach him and too little time, plus his schedule is pretty crazy. We will be meeting with him this Thursday, and quite possibly his grandparents as well. Joey's family is Catholic, but his grandparents are not very happy with what the Catholic Church is doing, so they've decided to take the discussions from us. So that was pretty cool to find out, and I'm sure Joey will be a big help to us since we've been teaching him for over a month now. In other exciting news, Bernard Taylor is scheduled to be baptized on January 3rd, and he is definitely ready for that. If I could, I'd have him get baptized THIS week, because he's been taught almost everything and is very prepared to make these changes. We are going to review all of the stuff with him, though, and make sure he understands it all. We are reading out of the Book of Mormon with him from the beginning, and he is fascinated by the fact that Lehi and Nephi saw the Savior 600 or so years before He was born! I thought it was good timing in sharing that story with him, since this is the season of the year where we celebrate the birth of Christ. We're having FHE with him and a member family tonight, I think Bernard is really excited for that! So to sum it all up, this was yet another very productive week for our area.

Looks like winter has hit both of us, but then again, all the snow we got last week is gone! It does get pretty cold, though, especially at night!

Also thank everyone that sent those letters, I'll try and respond to them as soon as I can. Especially thank Uncle Michael for those CD's, I absolutely love them!! Your thoughts and prayers on my behalf have made every moment so much better, and I hope mine have for you as well. I am confident it will continue. Hope this week is a good one for all of you, and it's my prayer that each of us will find ways to share the one-of-a-kind message of the Savior's birth with anyone we see.....'cause you never know who the Lord will prepare! Best wishes to you all!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

The fruits of work

2008-12-08T08:50:00.000-08:00

Isaac was blessed to stay in Hamilton for at least another transfer (meaning until the middle of January.) Here is the latest from him:

Dear Family,

Sounds like you had a very good reunion, and of course I wish I could've been there. That's all right, though, because we are all being blessed as Britney and I are on the Lord's errand. So, winter has officially hit Ohio!! We got a decent amount of snow, and the overnight temperatures combined with some freezing rain make for driving on a virtual ice rink! All's well so far, no accidents to report. I know that the Lord is watching over and guiding us in His work. This was a fairly good week, not as good as we've had but you can't have 10+ lessons every week!

Elder Ficklin and I are putting our ideas together to bring about more success in this area. 4 of our investigators are progressing, and we have a very good possibility of seeing 3 of them get baptized later this month (if all goes well)! We also could have 4 new investigators AT LEAST this week, so it's shaping up to be another good one! We were also able to attend the Ward Christmas Party on Saturday night, and that was a lot of fun, especially when 2 of your investigators are there! We had a great fast and testimony meeting the next day, and a lot of things are really starting to fall into place. By that I mean that we are getting more appointments with members, less-actives and investigators are coming to Church, and we're able to speak with a lot of people and get to know them better.

I've got a great story to tell about one of our investigators, Jodi Goins. Her son Wayne is a member who we work with quite regularly, and he is working on eventually going on a mission. He was in the military for a couple of years, during which time he joined the Church, received the Melchizedek Priesthood, and also got his patriarchal blessing. However, he became less-active shortly after that and lost his way in life, so to speak. We first met him at October conference, which was when he told us all of that stuff. At the end of last month, he invited us to start teaching his mom the lessons, which of course we consented to do right away. We left her with a Restoration pamphlet and DVD, both of which she just loved! She told us during the first lesson that she just always knew there was something more than the Bible. At the end, she turned to Wayne and told him to baptize her! She's been doing well since then, and we plan on teaching her the second half of lesson 2 today as well as the Word of Wisdom. The coolest part, however, is this. She works full-time as the baker at Wal-Mart and is unable to get Sunday's off. Wouldn't you know it, there I am standing in the foyer greeting people, and in walks Jodi! She told us that she called in "sick" for the sole purpose that she could attend Church! Now if that's not someone who's prepared, then I don't know what else it could be! I absolutely marvel at the way Heavenly Father prepares people to accept the gospel, and it's really fun to see the different ways the He does it.

A fitting conclusion to the week was the First Presidency Christmas Devotional last night, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I love and sustain them, the Twelve, and all the General Authorities who work hard to build up the Kingdom of God on the earth. So like I said earlier, this is promising to be another good week, starting with Preparation Day today of course. A member is going to have us try SQUIRREL later today, that should be rather interesting.

Tomorrow is Zone Conference, which is probably my favorite because of all the missionaries I get to see, as well as President Robbins. Well, I don't know if there's anything else to add, so I guess I'll be signing off for another week! May God's choicest blessings be given to all of you!!

A mighty change of heart

2008-11-17T08:42:00.000-08:00

We think this is from our son, but a new and even better version!

Dearest Family,

It is currently about 35 degrees and lightly snowing! I can imagine you have snow out there by now, but I hope that the worst of it doesn't get out here. Oh well, I can't control that. I really haven't been paying attention to the weather out here, because we've taught so many lessons lately that I'm so warm inside that I don't even feel the cold. Here's just a brief recap, and believe me, it will have to be brief because there's so much I could talk about.

Current # of Investigators: 10 (Linda, Joey, Bernard, LaNashia, Anthony, Debbie, Eddie, Jeff, Aaron, and Glen.)

Progressing Investigators: 5 (Linda, Joey, Bernard, LaNashia, and Debbie.)

Investigators w/Baptismal Dates: 2 (Joey and Debbie)

Lessons Taught Just This Week: 11

So, as you can no doubt see, the Lord is abundantly pouring out blessings upon this area. I am continuing to pray for direction and am exercising my faith daily, and these are the results. We have also had some success with retaining less-actives, and a couple of them have now been given callings within the ward. We have a solid list of members that we are looking to keep bringing with us to appointments, and it's been a great asset thus far. I plan on continuing to work harder and see even more people accept our message and have a desire to learn more. We've also been planning our lessons using almost nothing but scriptures, especially from the Book of Mormon. The results have been unbelievable and our schedule is such that we have lessons we are teaching pretty much every day. So that's basically a "brief" summary of what's going on out here in Hamilton these days.

I've been somewhat surprised at how many people have been willing to listen to us, and I'm confident that it will only continue so long as I exercise my faith in the Lord. Yeah, I really cannot believe that it is nearly December, my how the time just flies by! We are planning on spending Thanksgiving at a less-active's home who apparently is quite famous for feeding missionaries, especially during the holiday's. I'm really looking forward to that. We have already booked a place for Christmas as well (assuming I'm still in Hamilton) at the bishop's home!

Heck, a lot of people around here have already put their Christmas decorations out, and Main Street is lined with wreaths on all the street lights! Poor Thanksgiving, it seems to be the forgotten holiday to a lot of people, but I know that we have A LOT to be thankful for.

I have my monthly interview with Pres. Robbins tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to discussing our investigators with him and seeing in what ways I can improve. I wanted to thank you again for that little study guide that you gave me, it has really helped me have good, effective personal studies daily. I am also teaching about scripture study during District Meeting tomorrow, and I have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to talk about. Wish me luck!

Also, I have accepted the challenge from Mom to give away a Book of Mormon before Thanksgiving, so I'll let you know when that happens. As always, I can't say enough about how much I love and miss each of you and how often I pray on everyone's behalf every single day. I know that the Lord is pouring out blessings upon you as well, and as we approach Christmas, what a wonderful opportunity it will be to let people know who the center of our lives is. May you continue to stay strong in the Church and thank Him for all things, and I will strive to do the same!

Love Always,

Elder Isaac Livingston

The Conversion Process

2008-11-11T07:11:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,
….some FANTASTIC news!! We have 3 people who have committed to baptism, and a good chance of at least 1 more this week!!!! It will be a little while before they are actually baptized, but all we have to do is set a date with each one and we're all set. The first one is an 18-year-old kid named Joey Riddle. He's a real nice guy, but he's really quiet so you have to ask him a lot of questions. He is being fellowshipped by a family in our ward whom he spends a lot of time with. We're going to sit down just with him this week and see how prepared he is. The second one is Bernard Taylor, 29, who the other Hamilton elders saw walking on the sidewalk while they were out and about. It has been nothing short of a miracle. He lives in our area, and we were able to teach him 3 days in a row this past week. From our first appointment with him, he made it clear that he has been trying to do what's right in life and find answers to questions that have been bothering him for a while. We cannot believe how prepared he is to make these changes in his life, and you can hear the sincerity in his voice. He actually cried during our first lesson, and expressed to us that this is exactly what he's been looking for. He had no idea that God had a plan just for him, and is very impressed by the Book of Mormon. We left him a DVD copy of "The Restoration" and he watched it as soon as we left. He told us that he was really surprised that Joseph Smith had the same questions as he does. We didn't even have to extend a baptismal commitment to him, as he asked us straight up what he needs to do in order to get baptized. He also told us that he really needs to find a job so that he can pay the rent for his place and also get his divorce papers finalized. He has another girl that he plans to marry but has to wait until those papers go through. Oh yes, and that's not all. He spotted the picture of the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on my binder and asked what it was all about. I told him, and he got real excited and said that was where he wanted to marry his wife!!!! I've been pretty much flying high this past week, and he had a lot to with that. Make sure you pray for him as well to find a job, and also to receive a spiritual confirmation that this Church is true. He believes that it is, but has yet to pray specifically for that witness. I know he will get it because he is so humble and willing to change. So, the third person that wants to be baptized is an 11-year-old named LaNashia (not sure about the spelling) who lives with her grandma who is a member that we visit every week. We had no idea that she hadn't been baptized yet, since she comes to Church on a regular basis. Anyway, she told us this was something that she wanted, so we're going to teach her the lessons twice a week starting tomorrow, and hopefully set a date around the beginning of December. We were also thrilled to see one of our investigators at Church yesterday for the first time. Her name is Linda Neff, and she is a very smart lady and really willing to learn. She is kind of shy, so we had to earn her trust at first, but everything is just dandy now. She was actually investigating the Church years ago, but her family convinced her to stop taking the lessons for a while. I had been here about 3 weeks when we received a call from Sis. Hobbs (a member of our ward who helps us out a lot and is fellowshipping Linda) that Linda had consented to take the lessons again. She just finished reading the Book of Mormon on her own, and as I mentioned, she was at Church yesterday for the first time. She partook of the sacrament and was reverently pondering its significance. We informed Bishop Hazelton prior to sacrament meeting that she would be there, and so when he announced the sacrament hymn and all that other stuff, he explained why we partook of the bread and water and it's significance. I know that Linda understood it, and so our plan this week is to commit her to baptism and prepare her for it around the beginning of December as well. So to sum it all up, I have been thanking the Lord every night for the success we've been having and also praying on behalf of each of our investigators. I am glad that you are willing to pray for them also; I would really love if you would do that! I really don't like asking for too much, and I know I already mentioned pictures from you guys last week.... but if there is anyone in the ward (well, both the Manila 2nd and SC 2nd) who would like to send some as well, I would love it! I've been looking for something to deck out my wall with, and I am sure that pictures would be the ideal choice. I love and pray for each of you everyday and throughout the day, and I just know everything will be great until I return. May God continue to bless each of you!!
Love,
Elder Isaac Livingston

Learning what matters

2008-11-05T06:03:00.000-08:00

Dear Family,

We are very close to having a baptism, and we are planning on extending a commitment this week to an 18 year old we are teaching. He says that everything we've shared with him makes perfect sense, and he is very good friends with a family in the ward who is fellowshipping him. We also have another investigator that just finished reading the Book of Mormon on her own, and we have an appointment with her next week, in which we are planning on committing her to baptism as well. Other than that, we have a handful of potential investigators that we have received through headquarters and, more importantly, from the members. Their desire to do missionary work has increased a lot, and they are putting together a calendar so that priesthood holders can go out with us to our appointments. They're also creating a dinner calendar, which should be very nice because frozen dinners get tiring after a while. Guess I was just spoiled eating prepared food most of the time back home.

So the weather for this week is supposed to be really nice, like what it's been for you all back in Utah. Then on Saturday, it's expected to drop into the 40's, and I seriously doubt it will get much higher than that for a while.

Oh, and could you please tell Cal and Ellie to quit growing so fast, sheesh!! I might just grow a beard watching them sprout like that!

Zone Conference last week was very good, and Pres. Robbins spent some time with Elder Bednar and none other than Elder Jensen! We didn't get to see them, though, but I was still excited to tell President that Elder Jensen was in our ward back home. Well, this week promises to be yet another good one. Then again, I don't think there is such a thing as a bad week in a mission, as long as you have the right attitude and bear your burdens with cheerfulness. President gave a good training about that at ZC, and I remembered that scripture you sent me in Alma 7:11-12. I wanted you to know that it has really helped me tremendously, and has kept me from feeling discouragement and doubt, and especially homesickness. Don't get me wrong, I think about you all everyday, and it has been a source of strength and motivation rather than a time for me to feel sorry for myself.

Hope that this week is filled with happy and memorable experiences for both of us, and I'm looking forward to announcing that I will have a baptism in next week's e-mail!!!!!

Mission Pictures

2008-11-02T21:18:00.000-08:00

Transfer Day

2008-10-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,

All I have to say is that the weekend of transfers is not very fun. This has been a very long and tiring day, and I am only now getting around to e-mailing you. Just for future information, the end of this transfer will be on December 3rd, so that should save us a lot of unnecessary confusion. First off, some news. Elder Hall was transferred today, I have no idea where. My new companion is Elder Allred from Canada. He has not been out much longer than I have, only a month or so I think. They brought him all the way from the other side of the mission, in Huntington. For that reason, I was stuck at a meetinghouse for 8 HOURS waiting for him to show up. It was truly terrible, but at least I was able to get some sleep, seeing as I have been up since 4 AM. We've been rushing around trying to get things done, so we aren't really acquainted at all yet.

As for the work, I don't remember if I told you in my letter, but we have two new investigators that we are now teaching. We have an appointment with them on Thursday. Their names are Preston and Linda Johnson, and they seem very well prepared to receive the messages of the gospel. Also, on a less-important note (but still important to me) they are VERY big Reds fans, so we talked about that for a couple of minutes last time when we met them! We have plenty of potential investigators that we are scheduled to see throughout the week, so I'm really hoping we can eventually teach and baptize all of them. Nice to hear that the weather out there has been nice, as it is getting considerably colder out here. It's kind of weird because there hasn't been any clouds lately, but it keeps getting COLDER! Well, eventually I'll be able to break in that nice, new coat.

My spiritual moment today came while I was waiting for Elder Allred to get here. Myself and the other elders that were also waiting watched 2 Church films: Special Witnesses of Christ and How Rare A Possession. Those are two of my favorites, and it really reinvigorated me because I was so tired and I was the only elder from my district still at the chapel. The testimonies of Pres. Hinckley and the other apostles, plus that of Parley P. Pratt and Vincenzo really made me feel stronger. I once again realized that my testimony is my most effective tool in bringing people to a knowledge of the truth, so I really do need to be in tune to the promptings of the Spirit. I am very hopeful that in this next month I can have the opportunity of seeing someone I taught enter the waters of baptism. I don't think anything could compare with it; except that is receiving letters from you back home.

I know that the Lord continues to love and care for you as He has for me, and that is only going to continue and get better. So until next week, I love you all and pray for you all!!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

The Power of the Word

2008-10-13T17:49:00.000-07:00

The power of the word from BIG BROTHERS... We are feeling blessed by the letters home- they strengthen each of our testimonies greatly. Cal has had a harder time than the rest of us adjusting to the absence of his best buddy. It is therefore such a blessing to read him Isaac's letters home.It helps strengthen his fragile little testimony as he hears the joy his big brother has in the work of the Lord.
Oct 13, 2008-I had my first interview with Pres. Robbins this past week, and that went really well. He's encouraging all of us to use the Book of Mormon more when we teach, so I'm glad that I started reading it once again. Amazingly, we have the potential to teach up to 10 INVESTIGATORS throughout this week....that will only happen if we remember to call all of them and set up appointments. I am hopeful that I can eventually see them all get baptized, but it will take a lot of work. The talks at general conference definitely help to strengthen my resolve and motivation to do missionary work, but I have to believe that we can experience success. In other words, success is not just going to fall into my lap, because as James 2:17-18 says, "Faith without works is dead."

The latest from Hamilton

2008-10-02T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest news from Ohio:

Dear Fam,
I got your letter yesterday!! In fact, I got three!!! One from you, one from Adam, and one from Larry. I really enjoyed them all, especially yours! WOW, six pages!! That was a lot of fun to read. So as you can see, my p-day is on Mondays. Last time I e-mailed on a Tuesday was because of the hurricane that knocked out the power, as you know. The only other times that I will ever be writing on Tuesdays will be on transfer days, and that only happens once a month. We do our
e-mailing at the local library which is only about 10 minutes from my apartment. We usually do it first thing on Monday but we went bowling and then shopping today, so we did it last.

Oh yes, and I have some information that I'm sure will be beneficial to you and a lot of other people. I FINALLY got my new address for the apartment in Hamilton that I'm staying at. It is:
194 Westbrook Dr. Apt #15 Hamilton, OH 45013 This should make mail travel a bit faster, so it won't have to pass through the mission office first. That delays it by a day or two, so we can get information to each other quicker now.

Now for the really good stuff. We are currently preparing lessons for 6 potential investigators, with possibilities for more people throughout this week. Also, the bishop announced a Ward Mission Plan yesterday which was sustained by the congregation. Already the ward is beginning to respond, and have commmited to finding people for us to teach and coming with us when we see them. Also, we have several dinner appointments scheduled during this week. So anyway, I really do believe that this area is ready to open up, so I hope I'm around long enough to see someone I teach get baptized.

Congrats to Kenz on her new calling as ward pianist, I know she'll do great at that! And you were right Mom, my rusty piano skills have already been put to use....but not in any church meetings, thankfully. I hope that never happens, but we'll see.

I am very much looking forward to general conference this week, I think it's always at the perfect time. I am still operating on Utah time somewhat, so it's going to be weird to get out of Priesthood Session at 10 PM!!! Oh well, I'll survive. Something that I've noticed since I've been out here is that even though we plan our days out, it is a lot like the MTC in that we just go from one thing to the next. So therefore, I'm not paying any attention to the time, which means that I'm still busily engaged in the work. It's nice to come back at the end of the day knowing that our plans were carried out....well, not always in the order we would've liked, but at least I'm learning how to make adjustments. There isn't a day that doesn't start or end without prayer, and that sets the tone for everything else.

I am very happy to hear that the Lord is blessing you while I am away, because I pray specifically for that each and every day. Say hello to everyone for me, and let them know that I would love letters whenever they have the time! I love and miss all of you 24/7, but I know that everything will be all right. And before you know it, you'll see me walking down that escalator at the airport just like Uncle John did. Oh, and wish him a happy birthday for me!! I'll write you at some point this week, so until then....I LOVE YOU!!!!

Love,

Elder Isaac Livingston

The first day

2008-09-26T09:57:00.000-07:00

Here's a letter from President Robbins, Isaac's mission president, along with a picture of Elder Livingston and his trainer, Elder Hall.

Welcome to Hamilton, Ohio...

2008-09-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yeah! We know where our "missing" child is. Hamilton, Ohio...30 minutes north of Cincinnati.Today (Tuesday) is Elder Livingston's P-day, so he sent along an email giving us an update. Below are excerpts:

Currently I am located in a small Ohio town called Hamilton, about 30 minutes north of Cincinnati. We are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Ike that caused severe enough winds that our power was out until today. Church only consisted of sacrament meeting for that reason, and so I bore my testimony from a pulpit with no microphone, but I said everything I wanted to say. That is the only ward that we oversee. My companion is Elder Hall from Kansas. He's our district leader, but I'm the one who has to get him out of bed on time so he can exercise because he hates it. We're in an area where elders have not been for some time, so the work is moving slowly but it'll pick up eventually. We're in a car mission so we don't have to deal with biking yet. Yikes, my computer time is running out. I'll go into more details in a letter that I'll write today. Thanks for all the food, it really has helped! I love and miss you big time, but I know the Lord will bless me for what I am doing! Talk to you soon!!

Love,

Elder Livingston

His mother is breathing much easier now...I'll post some more info about Hamilton soon. I know it has a part in Church history, just need to find out what.

ASSIGNMENT DAY

2008-09-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

Somewhere around "here" is where our missionary is today.....

Yesterday morning I received a wonderful good morning from my favorite missionary. He was standing at the pay phone in the Salt Lake international airport for exactly 40 minutes and 15 seconds ( my phone keeps time). We talked about everything and hardly anything since there was so much that needed saying and no way to put it into words. When it was finally time for him to board we exchanged our "I love yous" and he promised to call again, on Christmas. It was wonderful to hear his voice and feel the magnified spirit so present there. He was ready to fly, in so many ways. Later on yesterday I got a second surprise in the form of a call from the Ohio Cincinnati mission office. Sister Stevens was simply calling to let me know that he was safely there, had eaten and would be taken care of. Pretty much everything a mother wants to know. Today is the day he will have interviewed with President Robbins and then given his assignment. 15 missionaries arrived yesterday and so I would imagine this process will have taken a good part of the day. Perhaps before the night is over we will receive a brief e-mail from a tired Elder serving somewhere in Kentucky, or West Virginia, Indiana or Ohio. We look forward to knowing as much as he can tell. We will keep you posted- when the anticipated letter arrives.

Preparation Day

2008-08-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hey Mom and Dad,
As you can see, I have my own e-mail account now!! So you
can give this to anyone who wants it, and they can send
me e-mails directly to this account.However, I have to
send their replies to you first and then you can forward
them to the appropriate person. I learned this from Aaron,
who has an e-mail account as well.I'm sure you got my
most recent letter,but I figured I would e-mail you today,
considering it's P-DAY!!!!I can't believe I've already been
here for a week.I come back to the dorm at the end of
every day completely exhausted!I love it!!!! My teachers are
so awesome!Their names are Brother Weaver, who served
in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Mission,and our other
teacher is Brother R.That's what we call him because his
last name is REALLY hard to pronounce. It's Laotian,
which is what he teaches here in addition to our class.
He went to the California San Jose Mission.Oh, and we
just got a THIRD teacher,Brother Bradshaw,who's been back
only 7 months. He went to the South Africa Johannesburg Mission,
and he knew an elder there who went to AF High and
is friends with me!
Ah yes, I just remembered something cool!
My companion, Elder Ewald's dad served in the Arizona
Tempe Mission from '81 to '83,so Dad just missed him!
Well,the days just seem to be flying by, but I want
this one to last because we're going to the temple,
and I'm VERY excited!New missionaries are coming in
today, and it just makes it hard to believe that I
was one of them a week ago! I've learned a ton and
there is more to come, hopefully.
Our devotional speaker last night was Elder
Steven E.Snow and he gave a great talk on recognizing
the Spirit.That was especially nice for me,because
I had told Brother R.in our interview that I wanted
to get better at recognizing the promptings of the
Spirit more often, so Elder Snow's talk was an answer
to prayer for me. Well, say hi to everyone for me and
tell Branson thanks for those Snickerdoodles from
Quiznos. I wonder how he got those.....
So long for now,I've gotta finish my laundry!
Don't worry Mom, I have JUST whites running
in the wash, in case you were curious.
                                    
Love,
                                         
Elder Isaac Livingston

"God will always help those who help themselves...."

This just in...

2008-08-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

A little video from the big day...

(listen for his mother's anxious sigh about :35 seconds in...)

The Best Letter Yet...

2008-08-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

What constitutes the best letter from your missionary? Here are a few clues: 1. You haven't had any contact for a minimum of 24 hours, but more likely days and days. 2. Hearing that he or she is still alive and well (as is verified by having received a letter in the first place) 3. Getting all of the details of his new life, such as mission companions, daily schedules and the like
4. Hearing that he is happy doing the Lord's work and knows he is where he is supposed to be 5. Having him express how much he loves and misses you. This last one had a surprising affect. I thought I would love to hear that he misses us, but it turns out now that he has said it, I hope not to hear it too often in the future. What constitutes the perfect reply? 1. Any letter, from any loved one will do just fine, but preferably a letter filled with encouragement. 2. A letter from his younger brother which begins, "Dear Isaac at the Umpty Sea." That aught to bring a smile or two. See how easy it is to send the perfect letter? If you have a moment give it a try.......

And it begins...

2008-08-20T14:58:00.001-07:00

Looks kind of happy, huh? Just moments after putting on his missionary name tag, we introduce Elder Isaac Livingston, a very happy and excited servant of the Lord. It was a wonderful day for our whole family.

When we first arrived at the MTC, we dropped him off so he could take his luggage to a staging area for new missionaries. When we next saw him near the front entrance, his first words were "this place is AWESOME! and I haven't even been inside yet!" We were then greeted by volunteers who got his information and said we had a few minutes to take pictures.

We then went to a chapel and waited for the MTC president and his wife, President and Sister Boone, to arrive. They shared some brief comments, told us that they would take care of each missionary the very best way they knew how, and then departed. We then watched a segment of the Church video "Called to Serve" (time to update it, I think. There are missionaries in that video that I taught in the MTC!) and were then told after the closing prayer it would be time to say goodbye.

As the prayer concluded, Isaac first hugged his little sister, Ellie. Tears began to flow. He hugged me and told me "I love you, dad." I struggled to respond likewise. He then hugged McKenzie, who also began to cry. Caleb was next. He has a very tender heart and it showed on his face. Finally, mom and son embraced, both crying openly. As Isaac let go and began to walk towards that door, he then gripped Ginger's hand with his and wouldn't let go. Neither of them could look at one another.

Then, as if in slow motion, he walked resolutely towards the exit, gave us an Isaac fist-pump, and was gone.

As odd as it sounds, the words of a Tom Petty song then popped into my head:

"Well some say life will beat you down
Break your heart, steal your crown
So I started out for God knows where
But I guess Ill know when I get there

I'm learning to fly around the clouds
But what goes up must come down

I'm learning to fly..."

So tough to let the bird leave the nest. But oh, what beautiful wings...