Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Visit to Ogden

October 27, 2015

Hello family and friends! I appreciate the emails you guys have been sending me. They really serve as a tension reliever and I just laugh when I hear that my sister Jadyn has cut her hair for the second
time. What a crazy girl!

This week has been pretty awesome. Like it says in the subject line I had the opportunity to leave my mission boundaries to go to stake conference. Our stake had conference in the Ogden Tabernacle and we got permission to go! The tabernacle borders the newly refurbished Ogden Temple and that temple is HUUUGGGEEE! I have some great pictures I'll send over. The tabernacle was cool because it had a live organ and it was super loud! My kind of music... ;) Conference was great and
pretty crazy! They are making another ward so now I'll be over 11 wards. Woah.

I am adjusting fairly well to the mission life and my area. The ward mission leaders are awesome! Our bikes are still broken so we are walking in a stake about 6 sq miles big. Anyways we were walking in a neighborhood and I smelt hot dogs being cooked at 8pm and I was really
craving some. We went to one of the WMLs and apparently he was grilling burgers and hot dogs and we had an impromptu second dinner that night and I was just soooo happy!

The work is strong and there is so much potential. We have 20 investigators and we have 2 of them on date and they seem pretty solid. The stake is still a bit stubborn with how they want us to work
so all we've done is try and gain their trust and willingly follow with their counsel. It is turning into a problem because for example we taught 3 active families last night when we could have reached out
to some non members. Tonight we have a correlation meeting with the stake and I'm
conducting so maybe we can change some stuff around.

This is definitely the hardest work I have ever done. Even harder than working 12 hour shifts at Jimmy Johns and at golden spoon. Even harder than freaking trek. Nothing could have prepared me for the combined mental physical and spiritual exhaustion.

I learned a great lesson this week though. We visited Heidi again this week and she just loves it when we come over. We didn't teach a lesson because we randomly just stopped by and we didn't have our senior missionaries with us as her fellowship. But anyways she shared a lot about her trials and she has had such a tough life. I explained to her that it is through Christ that he can take away all of our pains afflictions and sins. The spirit was strong and she has a strong testimony. She just doesn't know it yet

Anyways we left that lesson just feeling happy. Pure joy. And all of the tough work throughout the week and all the stuff you go through is worth it. Just that small visit with her just made us so happy
because I can see the fruits of my labors right in front of me. The gospel is already changing her life and knowing that because you were being a true instrument of God, you were able to change someone's life for the better. The gospel is beautifully simple. The gospel is also
beautifully joyful.

Stick to your task til it sticks to you
Beginners are many, Enders are few
Honor power praise and play
Will come at last to those who stay

Stick to your task til it sticks to you
Bend at it sweat at it smile at it too
For out of the bend and the sweat and the smile
Will come life's victories after a while

I can do hard things

Elder Skabelund





Ward Mission Leader

Elder Sagmeister,  Elder Skabelund

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