NO MORE SUIT COATS!!!

Dear Family

        I am happy to inform you that I am awesome! I have had a fantastic week because I am fantastic, and not because other people were lame and not at home or cancelling appointments. So I am working on being happy again, because it is hard to be down. So I will try to be more optimistic but it is good. I have learned some good lessons from being a little downtrodden these past weeks.

        So last Monday we ran off to California Street from the email, so I didn't quite finish that but sorry. So I talked with some elders and worked on a letter and stuff. We then went ice skating in Fremont with Elder Maradiaga and Elder Anderson. We played tag, because it was just us six and it was amusing. I got pretty good and I can turn like a boss, but I am not quite Olympic but I am getting there. I was the second best skater, but I was the one who was better at getting back up and being a man with my falls. Well one of the times, sadly the sort of last, Elder Anderson grabbed me by my hips so he didn't knock me over, but I slipped and fell and he ran over part of one of my fingers. Well, thankfully, it was not extremely bad. It is hardly noticeable now, and it is all good. It was just annoying that the place had no Neosporin because it was technically medicine, and they can't give that. I was like, "I got my finger half run over by an ice skate. I am bleeding, I know my body. Just give it to me." They were like, "Sorry don't have it." Then I was like, "Now you tell me. Just give me a Band-Aid." We then went had dinner and Family Home Evening with the Spangler's. So that was fun because the other Elders drove, and it was way out there. We had breakfast for dinner, so we ate tons of pancakes and eggs and simply had fun.

       Tuesday we got down to business and tried to work, even though people were not there. We did get a lesson with our people of the dress shop. It was amusing because they were like, "It is impossible to got to church, we have to work." One lady was adamant that God understood and forgave her, and said God knows I can't go to church. She was just hysterical, to put it simply. We asked her if she has faith and she said "If God gives me money I will go to church" (Family only So I am half tempted to ask God to put money on her doorstep with a note If you Love me Keep my commandments but I don't think he would give it to me and I know it isn't his style). The owner of the store then said to the other woman, "do you have faith, because I know if I closed the store that God would bless us both, but I just really don't want to. I don't have a desire and or see the point." WOW! So we moved on and taught a less active. He really wants to come back, he is just a lazy 21 year old. His heart is in the right place, he just turned off his brain and is cruising along making money.

         Wednesday we had district meeting super duper far away. Luckily we had saved up some miles for that excursion, though that wasn't the plan of where to use them it is just how it turned out. We learned about our spiritual gifts, so it was nice. We talked about Beware of Pride. So ya it was really good and really insightful. I felt like the instructor was a bit of a hypocrite, but he did say I am prideful too, and I looked at my companion and was like with my eyes you think but he did a really good job on teaching us and saying what keeps us from using our talents is our pride. So that was a cool insight I liked and then we went and had lunch at Chipotle. I am in love because you can get so much food for pretty cheep, so delicious. Then we went and picked up dinner from a member and stopped by the mission office to drop off some receipts. Then we finally got back to our area. Things didn't got so well on Wednesday, but we did teach a man English and he accepted the invitation to hear the discussions, or las charlas. So it was awesome!!!

          Thursday we had a lesson with the nephew of a member, and it so totally rocked! We could still do better, but we had a lesson. He got it, so now we will teach him again. He will get baptized, be saved in the kingdom of God, and ya it will be awesome, because everything is awesome when you're a part of a team. Our next appointment canceled at the door, so we were going to go to another house and as we called them the wife, who is less active along with the rest of the family, she was like "I am not sure if this LDS thing is good for us. Things don't add up in the BoM and it isn't right."  I started asking some questions and, guess what, her real problem had nothing to do with the doctrines of the church. They were simply social pressures and what must be wrong, my religion because it is what everyone tells me I am doing wrong so it must be wrong. I am working on mentally a talk or discourse and I invite you all to ponder this one idea: until people stop their sins no man can say the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is not true because it is!

          Friday we had a fantastic morning brunching with the district, then weekly planning and going to lessons, and a member dinner. I didn't do as much as I wanted to, but it was all totally worth it.

         Saturday was about the same. We had a good member dinner and the sister missionaries are back in the Spanish ward, so it will be fun. We tried to get some good lessons in and we did, but we still didn't quite the best numbers but it was all good.

         Sunday we had a cool experience with the changing of the bishopric. Now it is Obispo (Bishop) Diaz, and it is going to be awesome for this next one or two transfers. 

Love the AWESOME Elder Logan J. Draper