August 19

Happy Summer Elder Williams,

We had a really nice Sacrament meeting today. Justin Phelps is home from his mission and two of the new Elders serving in our area spoke. From one of the talks was a great comment: "Hard isn't bad...hard is hard. We can do hard things."

 

I thought that was really great advice. Nobody likes to go through hard things, but it is the pathway to growth and development. But I also think God is generous and good and we can also learn by living in the light. I believe that as we are seeking truth, we can become more like Christ---we can become who we were meant to be. We all have tropisms during different times of our life and whether its growth from underground that we can't see, or putting out tedrils like a vine seeking something to hold onto, they are both necessary and important to sustaining our soul.

 

Well, I"m off to BYU for five days. I'm going to education week and am hoping that it's really good. There are so many choices that it's almost overwhelming. I'm nervous, intimidated, and a bit scared because it's such a big campus, but hopefully I'll be able to navigate my way around. There are more students that attend school there than in the whole county of Sevier.

 

I hope that you are doing well. Let me know how things are with your companion. I will edit anything that I need to before putting it on the blog.

I love you and send you my best.

Mom

 

Dear Mom,

I can't believe Justin is back. Good for him.

I know going through hard things is good. I'm grateful for the way you helped me prepare to go through hard things. I know I'm grateful for my challenges. Most of the time it is in hindsight, but I am grateful.

I hope you have a great time at BYU. Let me know all of the things you learn.

 

We had an investigator come to church yesterday. It was so awesome. I met this lady last Tuesday. Her name is Darla, and she is in her 40s and has a couple of kids. Missionaries have been visiting her off and on for years. When we knocked on her door, she was in a really low place. She was depressed and was thinking about calling a suicide hotline. We listened to her express her feelings about the hardships she was facing. When the Spirit prompted us, we told her our purpose as persona representatives of Jesus Christ. We told her we were sent to teach her about how she can access the Atonement in her life, and that the Gospel would help her with all of her challenges and concerns. The Spirit touched her heart and the light of hope shone through her eyes. She accepted our invitation to come to church, and in a lesson on Saturday she accepted a baptismal date of September 21st.

I love you Mom. Thank you for all of your kindness and love.

 

Love,

 

Elder Williams

 

Hi Talon,

From the sounds of your last email it appears that you are facing some challenges. Honesty, I'm surprised it took this long for you to have to deal with such a situation because I well know what can happen. So here's my fatherly advice. Always remember your purpose, serve the best you can and be positive even when it seems impossible. Serve your companion in some way daily. Counsel with your president when you can. Counsel with the Lord all day every day. I know you will make the best of things.

I put $200 in your account last week. Do you need me to make your Visa payment out of your acct since you don't have a debit card or do you access your acct online? Just let me know what you need me to do. Do you need more $ for a suit or anything. Just let me know and you will get what you need.

It was nice to get a few pictures last week. You look fit and have inspired me to do better. I have started walking in the early mornings and I want to start running again. I am very out of shape right now. I need to get riding my bike again also.

The kids are gearing up to start school on Wednesday. The girls seem excited but Brandt sees it as a net negative for him. He would be happy to just go to the gym all day and play b-ball. He had his first tackle football game on Saturday. His team lost to Millard 8-0. He caught 4 passes and ran the ball 4 times I think. He plays outside linebacker on defense and Millard didn't run hardly any plays his direction so he didn't get into much action on the defensive side. He's also a punt and kick off returner. He keeps saying he doesn't think he'll play next year because it interferes with his basketball training program he's doing. He is unbelievably dedicated to becoming a better basketball player. I've never seen anything like it with someone as young as he is.

Mom is up at BYU for the week so I am playing Mr. Mom but not really, they don't need me around.

Grandma Shirley is in surgery this morning. Her cancer grew back and they are removing 1/3 of the upper part of her colon. She will be under for 3-4 hours and then be in the hospital for 4 days. Keep her in your prayers. I am afraid that her recovery will be difficult.

Be well son,

Love Dad