O si yo

O si yo Elder Williams, (Cherokee greeting)

I hope you will have a peaceful Thanksgiving holiday. Who will you be spending it with? I'll send you a turkey leg in the mail in case you didn't get a dinner invite.
 

The girls did an excellent job on their play. It was very well done and they had a lot of fun performing in it. I love the arts and am glad they are taking the opportunity to immerse themselves into the world of theater. It is a creative endeavor. I read a quote that I just love regarding Shakespeare which said, "You don't read Shakespeare....He reads you."
 

I thought that was so profound and true, because when I read his works I think of the virtuous and vile characters and their actions. It makes me wonder...who am I behaving like? Cordelia? Claudius? Kent? Ophelia? When dad and I went to Hamlet this fall, I just wept at the agony of a tortured soul. I don't know why, but Hamlet is a soul mentor to me. He struggled and wanted to know what was really true, right, and good. There are so many facades that people wear and it was his aim to find truth. I also love Cordelia in Lear. She is a Christ like figure and ultimately died an innocent victim of treachery. I could go on and on, but I'm sure you have had enough of Shakespeare today.
 

Yesterday, we attended a fireside presented by the Stake Presidency. It was concerning chastity and moral cleanliness. We live in a polluted world where evil is seen as good and good is stupid. You know, it's the same plague that has always been on earth....the plague of moral corruption. When a person allows sin into his life, drop by drop like a bit of black ink in water, his view gets clouded and ultimately vision is lost. When trying to decipher what is true or false, a person who has the black clouds of sin engulfing his soul has no ability to see truth. That is how a despicable character like Iago (Othello) is created...bit by bit and drop by drop of the black ink of sin blotting out the light of Christ... Thankfully through the grace of Jesus, he can clear the waters of sin through repentance and we see clearly once again.
 

I'm sure you are short on time and this is getting to be a long email. I'm sorry. I just love you and am grateful for the work you are doing. I wish you happiness and joy when you celebrate Thanksgiving. Remember our pilgrim forebears who sacrificed so much in order to have freedom.

 

 

Cherokee Traveler's Greeting (Cherokees of California)

I will draw thorns from your feet.
We will walk the White Path of Life together.
Like a brother of my own blood,
I will love you.
I will wipe tears from your eyes.
When you are sad,
I will put your aching heart to rest.
 

With love,

Mom

 

 

 

O si yo Mom,

I will have a good Thanksgiving. We will be spending dinner with a Native American family, the Maulsons. They are really good people. The ward loves us here. We are taken care of.

Don't be worried about time for me to read your emails. I love hearing from you. I say that I don't have much time in regards to write back. Since I've been in McKinleyville I haven't been so crunched for time on P-Day.

I love it here. We have a baptism this Saturday and next Saturday. The man we are baptizing this week is named Ben. He is in his fifties and has a really sweet personality. He gets nervous around crowds, so church has been tough for him, but he has a strong testimony. The baptism next week is for Erik, who I've told you a bit about. It would be really wonderful if everyone could pray for them.

I'm really glad that Raina and Aubree did well in their play. I'd love some pictures. Dad told me that Brandt is excelling at basketball too.

I love Shakespeare. I've related to a few people out here because of the things you've taught me about the plays. It has been really wonderful how the Lord has been able to use me to spread the gospel. I think about the Sons of Helamen and how their moms prepared them. Thank you for preparing me.

I've been breaking through into a new level of missionary work. I've worked hard out here, but now I'm getting better at working with the Spirit. It's really so much more effective. It's also so much simpler. I love how plain the Gospel is. I also have hope in improvement in myself, too. One day I came to the realization that 1 Nephi 3:7 doesn't only apply to commandments like attending church and paying tithing but also to patterns of thought. It is a commandment to be cheerful, for example, and the Lord will provide a way.

I love you. Thank you for your love.

Love,

Elder Williams

Hey son,

Sorry this is late. I hope I sent you everything you needed. Let me know if you have other needs, would it be better if I just put some extra money in your bank account? That way you can just go to the store on your own.

Nathan Costa says hi. He always asks about you when I see you.

The musical is finally over. The girls did really well and enjoyed it. Brandt didn't have as good a week in basketball. In his game Saturday he got into foul trouble early and made some turnovers and after that he wasn't there mentally. Sad lipping on the court like you may have seen last year. He's young, but it will be the mental side of it that will hold him back from his potential.

Tracting takes the right kind of mindset. Or in otherwords be prepared for rejection, but once in a while you might find someone. I am excited to hear you have a couple of baptisms set up. We will be praying that they happen.

I had our lot surveyed last week and found that we have about 6 more feet on the south side but about 4 less feet on the front. This means our new garage on the front can only be about 20 ft deep instead of the 25+ feet we had before. That bites but there's nothing I can do because the city requires a 30 ft set back from the property line in the front.

We had ward conference yesterday, I spoke during a combined priesthood meeting. Earlier in the week I went on ministering visits with Pres Ware. He is a great guy and has the spirit with him. We visited a few families that are semi active. It reminded me of what it's like in the mission field and I thought of you.

Hope you are well,

Love Dad

 

Hey Dad,

Thank you for the package. I appreciate you getting that stuff for me.

Life has been sweet here in McKinleyville. We have a couple of
baptisms lined up, one for a guy named Ben and another for a kid named
Erik.

I used to be scared of tracting, but now it is kind of fun. Yesterday
we met a guy who is a recovering crack addict and Navy Seal who is in
the witness protection program. God has us talk to the strangest
people.

I went on an exchange with the elders in the neighboring town called
Arcata. It has a small university called Humboldt State, and there are
so many crazy libs. It was really fun. We talked some very strange
people. Lots and lots of homeless people live up here. McKinleyville
doesn't get too many of them compared to the other cities in the zone,

Tell Brandt that he should write me an email. I miss hearing from him.

Love you,

Elder Williams