I'm blessed to have a mother like you who has taught me the gospel and given me the opportunity to be able to put it in practice. The mission is changing me. I am still your son and I still have natural desires and we all do, but the atonement has taken effect in my life and I have come to realize that I need to work even harder each and every day because there are people here in Santiago and in Guatemala that need me to knock their door and they need me to contact them in the street and they need me to serve them in any way possible so that their eyes will be opened to the gospel. The atonement of Christ is so real and I have felt it in my life. I feel like sometimes when we don't really know what the atonement is rather we just know what it's about, we don't strive enough to bless the lives of others with the restored gospel. I feel like in the past few days I had an awaking to that fact and that I needed to work harder to use the atonement and bless others rather than just try to pay the Lord back.

My companion and I are getting along great and as the days go by we get to know each other better and we grow to our teaching styles and the like. I think that may be one of the most difficult things about getting a new companion, being able to teach in a way that we both work off of each other. As we strive to be obedient the Lord blesses us and we are able to mesh together and become a great companionship. One great thing about getting a new companion is that you can take a look at yourself and see where and what you need to do better. A lot of times we have comapnions so that they can point out the things in us that we need to change and refine so that we can become what Christ expects of us.

This week, Wednesday and Thursday, I had a meeting in the Capital with President Brough and due to the fact that my area is so far away we had to leave on Tuesday and we didn't get back until Friday morning. That really hurt us this week in our area because we didn't get to work for three full days. I was pretty bummed about that, but the meeting was a great meeting and it really helped me to re-evaluate and see where I am and and the things that I need to do better. Lately I have been a little shy and I haven't been opening my mouth as much as I should be, but in this meeting President told us that if we are not opening our mouth and contacting people in the street or knocking doors then we aren't worthy of the Kingdom of God. As strong as that may seem and as much as we may justify why we don't talk to people about the gospel, it's true that we must open our mouths and share the gospel or Christ will take away the blessing He has given us (D&C 60:2-3). I'm grateful to know that the Lord loves me enough to chasten me and to get me back in line. I have never tried harder in my mission to share the gospel than I am now and even though the people can barely understand what I am saying I am trying with all I have to share the truth. It hurts when people say no because you just want them to accept the truth so bad. It's frustrating when you try to speak to someone in their native tongue and they look you in the eyes and tell you they don't understand you. It drives me. I want it so bad and there's nothing that will stop me. I feel bad sometimes because my companion struggles to walk at the same speed but there is no time to waste. This is it.

I'm sorry to hear about Zack and the way sectionals turned out, but all you can do is get back on your feet and keep going at it. I love you Zack, keep your head up and work harder. Next season will be much better if you want it to be.

Love,
Elder Turner