7.25.11

I want you to know that I love your emails and I look forward to hearing from you every week. Knowing how you are doing and how the family is really brightens my day and my week and gives me a bit more energy to do what I need to do to serve the Lord. I'm excited to get some pictures and I hope that you will have some for me this coming week. I need some more recent pictures of the family to share with people :) You might not believe it but you are all known even down here in Guatemala.

This past week was a pretty good week and we were blessed with another great turnout in church. On Saturday night we were thinking about all the people that we could go by and bring to church and we sat there thinking and only a few people came to mind. We thought that it was going to be a rough turn out, but we knew we had to give it a shot so we got up on Sunday morning and went out to bring people to church. The lady that we had a baptismal date with wasn't home and so she didnt make it to church and she won't be able to get baptized this week but today we are going to talk with her and help her refocus on the goal that she has set to be baptized. I know that she will get baptized, but it will take a bit more effort on our part and a bit more faith in the Lord. With that having happened, my companion and I were a bit upset but we had done all we could. We got to church and had about 3 investigators there waiting before we started and that didn't help our "let down" but we didn't lose faith. We knew the Lord would lift our spirits and one by one the investigators showed up. 12 investigators showed up and 2 families were included in those 12. I know that the Lord is always aware of us and our needs and desires and as we put our faith in Him, He will answer our prayers.

I have to be honest I am a little jealous of the vacation you guys took but I guess it always happens like that to missionaries. We as missionaries live a great life. We don't have too much to really worry about and we are in the service of the Lord. It can't get any better :) and while we are doing this great work, the girlfriend writes the Dear John and the family goes on vacations that they never have done before. What a life :) I love you guys so much!

I had a feeling that when you mentioned the "home repair class" in the letter last week that dad was going to be the one giving that class. I have to be honest, I am grateful for all of the things that dad taught me and believe it or not I have put some of those things to use, one of those things being repairing a toilet and doing some electrical work. I love you dad for showing me how to be a self sufficient person. At the same time I wish I didn't know some of the things I' know because it is so hard to watch someone do a job here and not do it well. I always remember the phrase you said dad "when a task is once begun never leave it till its done. whether big or small do it well or not at all" and it reminds me of your work ethic. I feel that I have picked up some of that work ethic and I am doing my best to show that to those who surround me because the majority of people work to get the job done, but not to do it well. It may be fault of education and I know that I need to help others to be better by my example. Thank you for showing me how to be a hard, effective worker.

I love you all and I know that you all will be blessed as you serve the Lord.

Alma 17:11

Elder Turner