So Much To Talk About

Hey Everyone!

This week was full of so much greatness, so lets just jump right in. I don’t usually go through my week day by day, but today I just might have to!

On Tuesday, we got to participate in a classic southern tradition. Out here, on New Years Day everyone eats a meal of Ham, Cornbread, Black Eyed
Peas, and Cabbage to symbolize a year of health, wealth, and success. It was all really good too!

Wednesday we had a District Council and it was so much fun because the Zone Leaders and the Assistants to the President joined in. We all had a big lunch together as well, since a member so kindly gave us a Krispy Kreme gift card for Christmas. That evening we had our Book of Mormon Class as usual, and our deaf friend Roger came! He had a good time and said that he would definitely be at church on Sunday.

On Thursday morning I learned of yet another way that I’ve changed on my mission. We had a lesson with a nice lady and we were going to read through some of the Book of Mormon with her, but she just couldn’t focus with her noisy dogs and her phone kept on ringing. While those things seemed to distract her, I didn’t feel like I was distracted at all. Despite all of the noise and movement going on, none of those things were able to separate me from the spirit. Thinking back, this skill has been developing throughout my mission, but I failed to realize it until now, and I could not be more grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me so greatly.

Friday was full of lots of driving and visits. We talked with a lot of people and worked a lot with members that day. We had lunch at a place called Hot Potato that specializes in gourmet fries which was… different, but good.

Saturday was amazing. Back in the summer time my companion and I helped a member and her boyfriend pack up their moving truck as they were moving out of the county into the neighboring town. This Saturday I got to assist those missionaries over there as we baptized that boyfriend, Chris. It was amazing to hear his story of how he came to know the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was a long road for him, as it is for many people, but the journey is worth every effort.

At church on Sunday we were happy to see Roger come and he seemed to really enjoy church again. He met some more of our members that are fluent in ASL and they hit it off, which is really good! Our friend Dethorn came too, and we’re super excited for him because you can see the effect that the Gospel has had on him thus far. In the evening he joined us and our Ward Mission Leader at a Fireside that our Mission President put on and it was incredible! It was like they were speaking right to him!

This week has been one of the most incredibly busy and rewarding weeks in all my mission. I love being able to see the change and excitement in people as they come to know the truth of the Gospel. It’s why I’m out here!

I love y’all and hope you are able to start this new year off right!

Until next week,
Elder Klingler

Pictures:
1. This was taken just before Chris took the step to be baptized on Saturday.
2. The Plan of Salvation is all about Love! We did this for a family after we had dinner with them.
3. My companion got bored while I was emailing haha