#26 - ET phone home...

Dear Dad,   

great job with those rejections! haha id say im about 40 for 60 on my rejection rate haha. but about 50% on new investigator/first contact ratio! that is really good! we have 11 new gators with 21 first contact lessons. killing it!

no dog bites or near misses this week for us haha. it sure is humbling for me to wear a bike helmet tho haha. i remember in martinsville a few months back while i was in a trio we tract into a lady who lived in her pastors house. we taught her a few times and i remember that last lesson we had with her we taught restoration and emphasized priesthood authority. hahahhaha tbh it was one of the worst lessons i have ever taught! but it gives us a good laugh now looking back.:)) she couldn't understand the whole apostasy and need for a restoration. she didn't understand why it was needed to be baptized by authority. we tried to explain why but she didn't get it so we finally told her that her pastor has no authority. anyone can go online and pay $15 dollars and take a little class and be called a minister! hahaha she didn't like that. she didn't want us coming back haha. made us laugh so hard tho!

those are the best memories when we would go on an adventure! you guys will have a blast! send me plenty of vids and pics!!

Dear Mom,

greenwood isn't so green right now haha its winter! hey send me some bread:)

I cant wait for Annie to get her blessing! they are so powerful! We have a senior comp in my ward. they are the Cox's. He is a patriarch and gave a talk on them a few weeks back! He told us that p blessings are living scriptures in our lives. they are a road map! Just like the scriptures as we read them new things will stick out to us that didn't before. that part of my blessing is so powerful. every time i read it i cant help but study that part. 1. remember to pray 2. remember to stay on the Lord's territory 3. avoid temptation and then I will be sustained and supported!  



Dear family and friends,

Great week! We have had some good laughs all week! We were at one of the less actives in the ward for a lesson on Wednesday night teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and in particularly the second step, repentance! Not sure how but she managed to get on the topic of aliens. Apparently there are many other creatures on other planets that look like ET. How does she know this!? Because she has seen them! Wow hopefully they visit me soon. 

Anyways... We have some great investigators! Cheri and her son Tom want to be baptized! They are on date for March 12th. Cheri is so funny. Whenever one of us shares a testimony she stops us and asks for everyone in the room to share a testimony! It is so important that we are teaching with the spirit! I wish they came to church yesterday! It was such a good testimony meeting! Our ward is great! We also are meeting with Alberta. She is on fire! She has read all the way to 2 Nephi 6! Next week they will come to church! We have been praying that they will.

We had a miracle the other day. While the Zone Leaders were on exchanges they accidentally tracted into our area and met a man named John. His wife is less active and he wants to take the lessons! The Lord works in mysterious ways. John has met many missionaries in the past but for some reason has never been interested until now! What a tender mercy for us. 

This week I am learning how important it is to have the spirit at all times! We must follow it. We cannot be an instrument for the Lord if we do not have it. Without the Spirit, we shall not teach! "The Holy Ghost inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It is a comforter, and a witness bearer, it brings things past to our remembrance, leads us into all truth, and shows us of things to come; we believe that no man can know that Jesus is the Christ, but by the Holy Ghost. It invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being." (Parley P Pratt). I invite you to strive for the companionship the the Holy Ghost. D&C 11:12-13

When you have the spirit:
You feel happy and calm, you feel full of light, your mind is clear, you feel generous, no one can offend you, you are forgiving and kind, you feel confident in what you do, you are glad when others succeed, you bring out the best and say the best of others, you feel like praying and reading the scriptures, you wish you could keep all the Lord's commandments.

When you do not have the spirit; or when Satan is prompting you
You feel unhappy, depressed, confused, and frustrated, you feel empty, hollow, and cold inside, you feel selfish, possessive, and self centered, you are always on the defensive, you are easily discouraged, you are envious of what others do and of what they have, you are critical or judge others, you feel unworthy, you don't want to pray or read the scriptures, and you find the commandments restrictive.

Tomorrow morning we signed up to work in the bishops storehouse! Can't wait! We have also been working at a food bank every Thursday! Service is a great way to find teaching opportunities! That is how Ammon did it!

Love you all.

Email me! james.coon@myldsmail.net