Ixmiquilpan- August 24

Dear Mom,

How are you?? I'm doing great! Things are great here! I continue getting along really well with my companion Elder Condorí. He is really obedient and together we help each other out a lot! This week we fasted together, we promised the Lord that we would be diligent in looking for new investigators and fasted that he would lead us to his chosen and prepared sons and daughters. We are very excited to keep working hard and diligent. we didn't go to the fitness activity last week so Im not so sure what they did, hehe.

Well, today I was listening to a talk that you have probably heard before, but I just absolutely loved it! its Flooding the Earth with the Book of Mormon. It gave me a whole new desire to keep reading the Book of Mormon! I want you to read/listen/watch again!! 

I read that article that you sent me, and I thought a lot about it! I have actually been thinking about it a lot! most missionaries are being obedient/disobedient for all the wrong reasons, haha. In a talk that Elder Holland gave in the MTC titled Feed my Sheep, he talk a lot about how when the church released Preach My Gospel, the whole purpose was to change the missionary before changing the investigators. He talks about how the missionary work nowadays is completely centered on following the spirit. I know that if we can learn to always follow the spirit and be exactly obedient because we want to have a change, we will change. But we have to be willing to give all over to the Lord, we need to strongly trust in his atonement! I want to change so much, Everyday we have that opportunity to leave all our sins behind. If we don't try progress in this life, we will never get anywhere, spiritually speaking of course!

I love the Lord and love his work, because I know that he is working on me everyday so that one day I may be like him!! 

Love you tons Mom!! have a great week!!

Elder Paynter