Elder Kolton William Willden

Friends and Family,

This week was a blur. We had a lot of ups and downs, but that is what the mission is all about. Elder Lamm and I had a really good Thanksgiving. We started it off by going to the Rhykus' house. They are members and they invited us to like a Thanksgiving lunch. Sister Rhykus is from Vietnam so it was pretty cool to hang out with their family. Brother Rhykus liked having us there because he can't speak Vietnamese and that is what Sister Rhykus' family speaks. We got to have these things called shrimp balls. Haha they were super weird, but they tasted alright. It is blended up shrimp and then it has fried bread around it. I liked them, but I don't love them. After the Rhykus' dinner we went over to the Parrish's. They are members, Henry Parrish is a recent convert and he is super cool. Haha. We got there and their dinner table was FULL. It was crazy. They cooked a 20 lb. turkey and a 10 lb. ham for six people. It was intimidating. I will send pics of that... After the Parrish's we went over to Brett and Alejandra's. They sent some pictures and videos home to the fam. They are super cool and the food was really good. None of the dinners were as good as Mom's though.

We have had a lot of set backs with some of our investigators, but the one that is progressing at a rapid rate is Manuel. We went to his house this week for an appointment and to our surprise he brought another one of his friends. He is so awesome. Her name was Ziona. We ended up teaching him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We talked a lot about the saving ordinance of baptism and asked him about his date on the 24th. He accepted and told us that he is very excited. I will keep you all updated on his progress. Pray for him as he gets closer and closer to this saving ordinance.

Pray for Brett. That he will feel the importance of priesthood in a home. That he will understand the seriousness of baptism and ordinances that help us come closer to our Heavenly Father. Pray that they will understand the importance of the temple. Brett needs prayers. So does Alejandra. Pray that she will have strength to stay on the path that Jesus Christ has laid before her. I love this family and want salvation for the both of them and John Luke. And her parents as well. They are great people.

Spiritual thought for the week is about Abinadi. The mission is super hard because for example in my last area I did not know if I ever touched anyone because there wasn't a lot of progress in numbers. But I have really thought about Abinadi. He preached the gospel and didn't know if he was going to touch anyone, but he insisted that he shared his message. Well... It got through and touched Alma which led to countless people joining the church. It is amazing how the Lord works.

I love the work. And love and miss everyone.

Love,

Elder Willden