Monday, November 4, 2013

THE BOSTON RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!

It's pretty legit to be serving here when something like that happens. Granted, it wasn't as big down here in Connecticut since we're farther away from Boston, but still. I was pretty excited to hear they won! 

Can I just say how much I have come to love this ward? I was sitting in sacrament meeting yesterday and was just overwhelmed by a love for these people and a desire to help them come closer to Christ. It was a wonderful testimony meeting besides that; I took the opportunity to bear my own testimony from the stand, since it will be my last time as a full-time missionary to do so in a fast and testimony meeting. 

We've been getting more and more splits happening with the brethren in the ward, and we're really starting to help a lot of the less-active members here, which is exciting! We also had a couple of unplanned service projects pop up: we raked leaves for an elderly sister in the ward, and the other happened right at our apartment. Our landlady had a couple of trees taken down a week or so ago, and the older gentleman who lives next door came over to split the logs that were piled up. This was in the middle of the day, right as we were finishing studies...we noticed him out the window, and decided to change into "service clothes" (jeans and a T-shirt) and help him out. He really appreciated our help, and it was a great experience for us as well. It's awesome to see how the Lord leads and guides us each day in the things we do in His service. 

We did an exchange with the Southington Elders this week (the other companionship in our district). I went and served in their area with Elder Butters and Elders Gibson and Seaich served in our area. It was fun to be able to serve with Elder Butters again - it's the first time I've had any one-on-one time with him since I trained him in Lowell. 

In case any of you are wondering, no, we didn't do anything on Halloween! We were asked to be in our apartments by 6:00 PM to be safe that night. A friend of mine and his companion had to leave their apartment on Tuesday, and didn't get back until yesterday. They're serving in Salem, MA...'nuff said. 

This week, I did my MTC teaching evaluation video for my application to teach there. It was fun to do, but not so fun to try and figure out how to get a recorded cassette tape into a digital format...Brother Carlson to the rescue! He's our ward's technical and computer wizard. Huge thanks to him for his help! In my defense, I had planned on just using my digital camera, but the microphone was just not picking us up from the distance it was at in order to get all of us in the frame. 

We had the privilege of attending our ward's Young Women in Excellence program last night. The Young Women presidency asked me to sing for it, and I was happy to do so. I sang "Face to Face" by Kenneth Cope - sorry Mom, I forgot to record it for you. The thought honestly crossed my mind, and I had my camera ready to go and everything...but then I realized that I forgot to give it to Elder Gibson to press "record"...oops. At any rate, that went well, and the program as a whole was wonderful. FOUR girls had earned their Personal Progress award, which is really cool. It was incredible to hear them bear their testimonies - I certainly didn't have that kind of a testimony at their age. I've been very impressed with the strength of the Church's youth here in New England, but especially the youth in this area. 

This week, as we were teaching an investigator, I bore my testimony to him of the blessings of the gospel and of how the Atonement of Jesus Christ has changed me. He stopped for a moment and said, "You know, I can see it in you two." He went on to say how we were such kind, bright, and positive people...but what he didn't realize is that he was feeling the Spirit. Those words stuck with me: "I can see it in you two." I know that missionary work doesn't have to be handing out copies of the Book of Mormon or inviting your friends to be taught by the missionaries - it starts with the faith in your heart and the light in your eyes, because those around you can truly see it! As you be an example to others and let your light shine, so to speak, you will be taking part in the work of the Lord. May He bless you and guide you as you do so! 

With love, 
Elder DeLong

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