December 7, 2010

Dear Family,

I wish that I had more time to write, but we are really running late and our P-day is shortened today because we are working the Christmas lights in Mesa and we haven't done our shopping or anything yet.  I'm just gonna tell you a little about my new companion and area, but first of all, Margarita was baptized this past Saturday!!  It was so awesome!!  The gospel is going to bless her life and the lives of her four little kids so much.  She will be a great member.  I sent you some pictures of me and my trainer, Elder Reid, with Margarita after her baptism.

My new area is so awesome and really big.  The branch where I'm serving seriously has the best members who actually embrace missionary work much more as a whole than the ward I was in in Mesa.  The one ward missionary that we have is a sister named Hermana Mora who has like four callings and magnifies them all.  She will go out of her way to fellowship investigators without us even asking her.  I can already see the results of her actions.

My new companion is Elder Ralphs and he is the best missionary ever.  He is super obedient, always has a huge smile on his face, is awesome at Spanish (even though this is only his third transfer), is super humble, and an amazing teacher that I can and plan on, learning a lot from.  He is seriously going to be one of the best missionaries that this mission will ever see and I am hoping I can second him in that achievement.  I'll send you a couple pictures of us.  Anyway, we are doing absolutely awesome as far as the work goes.  I think that a part of it is me being used to my old area where it was hard to get people to come to church and for members to get activated in missionary work.  This last Sunday we had nine investigators at church and set five baptismal dates, including one this Saturday and two on Christmas day, which conveniently falls on a Saturday.  I am very excited for the time that Elder Ralphs and I will be serving together and I know that I am going to learn a lot.

Before I sign off I just wanted to share a scripture that I read this week that I really liked.  It is Alma 4:15 when Alma is challenging his brethren to re-examine their spiritual lives.  My favorite part of the scripture is when he asks, "Have ye received his (Christ's) image in your countenance?".  That scripture really hit me hard because one of my goals as a missionary is be able to have the light of Christ in my countenance when people look at me or when I talk to them in the street.  I feel this would be one of the best attributes a missionary could have and it is what people will remember when they talk to those two guys in suits on the street.  To try and achieve this I have been praying for the gift of charity, which is the pure love of Christ, every day like Preach my Gospel teaches.  I have also been trying to keep all of my thoughts focused on the gospel and to not let my mind wander, which is pretty easy for me to do at times.  You really can tell when someone is a valiant, commandment-keeping member of this church just from the look on their face because you can see the light of Christ in their countenance.  I think this is a goal we should all strive for as members of this church and as children of our Heavenly Father.

Anyway it was great to write you.  I will have more time next week when I'm not in such a hurry.

Love,
Elder Kinney