Elder Jepsen - Mission Entry 37 - Grateful to you all!

WOW! Did I get a lot of mail... oh, yes I did! I feel so appreciated. Christmas calendars, chocolate, chocolate Christmas calendars, a box of wonderful cards and letters from my Sunday School Class. I loved it all and I will be reading it over and over through Christmas and what a Christmas! From beginning to end I smiled, cried and laughed out loud. It brings a great big smile to my face through the day, when I think back to some of the stuff I have received. You guys are all so great. I am beginning to see the mailman so often that I have wondered if we might not as well teach him the gospel as a sign of gratitude for all the good stuff he has been bringing my way. Thank you so much, I laughed so hard when I saw the dry roasted onions and remoulade.They are a prized possession of mine and I can now easily find the remaining items to prepare myself a truly Danish experience, building myself a hot-dog with all the Danish fixings. What a trunk-out, I have to admit that I now realize how much I miss that little country that I call Home.

We're working hard to get some of our investigators to more fully understand the importance and significance of the message. Still, missionary work is not just walking from one success to another. People make their choices based on a variety of reasons and they don't always consult God prayerfully before making a choice. We just had a depressing call this morning from a fellow we've been teaching, saying that after looking over the Book of Mormon he and his wife decided to stay where they were... it's hard to describe the deep pain one feels at such a time. It not only hurts, but stays with you while wondering what you could have done different to give them a better chance. My heart goes out to these people as I know for myself what the gospel has to offer and they just turned it down before even really tasting it. Elder Marsh had a good talk with him trying to save the situation, but to no avail. It's a sad, but far to common part of life as a missionary.

Things have been going slow. We haven't been able to meet with some of the people we really want to be teaching, as it seems they're just too busy living their regular lives to think of God. It is as if many peoples spiritual health becomes an optional afterthought, for when it is convenient! Imagine when the big things in life come our way, turning everything upside down while leaving us confused and scared, if God was to consider us and our problems an optional afterthought, saving our deepest concerns for some time when it is convenient? Well, days have been turning into weeks and we just never seem to meet with them. I've decided to apply some serious kneeling to the problem and see what the Lord has to say about it. He'll probably tell me to listen to Him more often, instead of running around without a head like a decapitated chicken, to trust in His arm rather than my feet. That's just so typical. I should have listened sooner and better, He's just always right! I have to wonder how long it's going to take me to learn how to get it right?

The weather is getting colder, but then again, so far I don't really care much. The Lord is continually blessing me, that the weather seems surprisingly mild. Most of the time I'm walking around with just my suitcoat if it gets to around zero, but other than that it's just my shirt with my sleeves rolled up. Maybe I'm thick skinned or maybe it's just that I am thick. That would explain a lot more than just my resistance to cold.

Last sunday Elder Fonua and I had the opportunity to speak again in sacrament meeting. I spoke on ''the Standard of Truth", on how important truth is to our church, the source of truth, etc. I think it turned out really well and people seemed to like it. Elder Fonua spoke on adversity, basing his talk on Joseph B. Wirthlin's talk, "Come what may , and love it" and he did a great job.

Love you all, thank you again!

Elder Lee