Happy Thanksgiving!

My apartment is on the middle floor just to the left of the green awning.

 



Did you know I have a twin in the Boston area?

 



I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving, and that things are going well with each of you in the beginning of this holiday season. This is such a great time of year, and I'm excited to be part of the Lord's work as Christmas fast approaches! It's strange to think that I've been a missionary for almost a year - I want to be sure to give my all for this next year as I serve!

We had a nice Thanksgiving dinner with a family in the Lowell ward - they invited 2 or 3 other couples to join us as well. Quote from Elder Butters: "Tight like unto a dish...with turkey and mashed potatoes on it!" I thought that was hilarious (brother of Jared reference). =D

That morning, we volunteered at a local Presbyterian church that was making a meal for the homeless/poor people of Lowell who couldn't afford Thanksgiving this year. It was a great opportunity to help out in the community, even though it was for another faith. I'm sure that our Heavenly Father recognizes and appreciates their service and sacrifices just as much as ours.

We got our car back (and got new hubcaps for it!) this last Tuesday. What a luxury it is to have a car in the mission field. I'll never take that thing for granted ever again.

This week, the office elders came to our apartment, took the extra bed and chairs that we had, and gave us a dresser and some weights! Some other elders in our area gave us their bench-press thing...I'm not sure what to call it. I'm just so glad to have the exercise equipment in our apartment! I've been missing it. Elder Langford really got me into working out, and I'm glad that I now have the materials again to do so. Hopefully I'll get in better shape and loose some of this extra weight I've gained since being on my mission.

Danny (our ward mission leader for the Heritage Park ward) took us out to lunch at Outback Steakhouse on Saturday, and then spent the afternoon with us trying to visit some of the members of the singles' ward. No success, but we're grateful for his time, effort, support, and money (for lunch)! He's a great guy and a fantastic ward mission leader. As I mentioned last week, we're focusing more on the Heritage Park ward now, and I'm excited for the potential there. I gave a talk in sacrament meeting yesterday, which went well, and I think it helped. We're going to be talking to more of the members and going to the activities, including the upcoming ward variety show, designed to be more fun-based than talent-based...needless to say, I'll be performing something to make people laugh! No worries Mom, I'll be sure that Elder Butters records it. =]

Not a whole lot to say this week. It's tough to battle discouragement when you're struggling in the work, but I love being a missionary no matter what's happening. We're working hard, getting along well, and having a blast. This past week has been tough, trying to find new people to teach, but the Lord is blessing us and opening doors for us in unexpected places. I'm thrilled to be here and I'm looking forward to the many miracles I have yet to see.

With love,
Elder Justin DeLong

The Legend of the First English-Speaking Elder to Serve in the Lowell Ward

Elder Butters, my new companion

The "greenie" cake

Okay, the title is a little more "epic sounding" than this email actually is, BUT things are going really well with my "greenie" here in Lowell. His name is Elder Dallin Butters, from Bountiful, UT - he's 6'5" (a whole half a foot taller than me!) and he's a really great guy. Easy-going, chill, hard working, and happy. We're getting along really well, and I'm excited to have him as my "son!" Aside from my deeply personal prayers, I don't think I've ever prayed so earnestly in my life as I have preparing for my new missionary to get here. I want to give my all and be the best companion and trainer I can be for him, while learning all that he has to offer and teach me as well. I so badly want him to be successful, almost as if he really is my own son. Training is a really special experience, and I'm grateful for the call to do so.

I baked a cake for Elder Butters the night before he got here, and dyed the batter green! I frosted it with choclate frosting, and surprised him after we had lunch on his first day. When he cut into it and got his piece out (the first piece, of course), he freaked out that it was green. Get it? He's a "greenie"...haha! I thought I was being terribly clever. It's crazy how I've only been with him for a few days and I already love the guy as a brother. I guess that sort of thing happens when you're serving the Lord and laboring with someone to serve other people. Powerful friendships are forged in the mission field, and I've made many friends with other missionaries here so far.

It's been a bit of an odd start to Elder Butters' mission, since we had to take the car down to the auto body shop that the mission uses in Natick (about an hour's drive or so from here). There's a dent from an unknown source in the front right side of the car (remember the story from about 3 weeks ago?), which is now getting fixed. It didn't impair the functioning of the car, but I guess the Church likes to keep its vehicles in good condition since they're constantly selling the "old" ones (I think the oldest car in the mission is either a 2009 or a 2010 model) and purchasing new ones. Despite not having a car, we've been working hard and having a good time. I took Elder Butters out tracting on Saturday afternoon - he did a pretty great job! We got a couple of potential investigators, including someone who let us in to start teaching him right then and there, so that was cool.

The work is always progressing, even if it's at a slower rate than other areas. One of our investigators' father passed away about a month ago, and she had the funeral and post-service luncheon this weekend. She had the funeral at her current church, and the luncheon at our church building, so we helped set up and clean up for that. Another one of our investigators committed to baptism - Elder Butters extended the invitation, of course, and did a much better job in the lesson than he gives himself credit for. In reality, we as the missionaries are merely the conduits for the teaching of the doctrine, but the real learning and testifying comes through the Spirit. It's such a privilege to be serving the Lord as instruments in His hands to bring to pass His will for this area.

All of that being said, I'm now the only Cambodian Elder here - translation of sacrament meeting each week falls to me, and only me. It's been a great opportunity for my language skills to grow, though, and it's actually getting to be kind of fun!

I had this feeling yesterday that we should be focusing more on the Heritage Park Ward (the singles' ward that we cover in addition to the Lowell Ward). I'm not sure how exactly we'd go about finding investigators specifically for the HP ward, but we're going to give it our best shot. The only thing that immediately occurs to my mind is to go and visit each member of the ward, but they live all over the stake, some as far as 2 hours from here, and we simply don't have the miles to accomplish that. Despite potential difficulties in this work, we're going to press forward, because I feel the Spirit urging us to do so. We have a fantastic ward mission leader who was just called a couple weeks ago, and he's been doing a fantastic job in his calling already. We're working closely with him to come up with ways to help build and strengthen the ward.

Soon, I'll be hitting the mark of one full year of missionary service. It's hard to believe that I've been a missionary for that long already; it seems like it's gone by so quickly. Knowing that, I'm sure my second year will pass all too quickly as well, which breaks my heart to think about. It also makes me want to get off of this computer and get out there and work even harder. I pray that the Lord will bless us as we seek those whom He has prepared to receive His gospel, and that we may be able to fulfill our purpose here in this area.

With much love,
Elder Justin DeLong

Elder DeLong is excited to announce the birth of his second-born son!

Quick background/explanation of missionary slang:

When a missionary first arrives in the field, their first companion is their trainer. This is a calling from the Lord to teach and train this new missionary. That trainer is the new missionary's "father" or "mother" and in turn, the new missionary is the "son" or "daughter" of the trainer. This also applies for the trainer of your trainer being your "grandparent" or the new missionary that someone you trained is now training as a "grandchild." Follow me here? Okay.

All of that being said, I got a call from Pres. Packard Sunday morning. He said, "Elder DeLong, the Lord wants you to train." I'm training these next two transfers! I'm beyond excited for this. Of course, this is a sacred and serious responsibility, and I'm a little nervous, but I'm more excited than anything else. He (and the other new missionaries) arrived yesterday here in the field, and I get to meet him tomorrow. I can't adequately express my joy and anticipation. I knew I'd be getting a new companion, since Elder Ang leaves tomorrow, but I wasn't expecting the call to train. I'm humbled, and thrilled at the same time. Training Elder Langford was such an awesome experience, and I'm looking forward to doing it again! For those of you who are curious, he'll be an English-speaking Elder - no more Cambodians in our mission, remember? And on that note, I'll be translating sacrament meeting all on my own from now on...well, the Lord qualifies those He calls, right?

The first snow of the winter came last week, in the evening on the 7th. It was just a light "flurry" of snow then, but we woke up in the morning with a good half-inch or so on the ground. Not much, but still snow nonetheless! We had to scrape the snow off of our car, and all that. It was pretty cool! Ask me how I feel about the snow in a couple months, and my answer will probably be different. The weather this past monday, the 12th was PERFECT - upper 60s, light breeze...and then it rained yesterday. New England weather is all over the place. Cool thing from yesterday though - there was a full-arch rainbow in the sky during part of the afternoon. That was the first time I've ever seen one!

On Friday, we drove down to Madison, CT for a mission devotional (which I was asked to sing at by Pres. Packard!) and dinner. We took a mission picture, and the devotional itself was powerful. We don't ever get to have the entire mission in one place, even for transfer meetings, and so this was a special experience. It was such an awesome feeling of unity to have all of us together. We found out that over the next few months, our mission will be growing by 44 sisters and 20 elders! That's HUGE! Not only that, but our first 19-year-old sister and our first 18-year-old elder are on their way in the next couple of transfers. It's an exciting time to be part of the work of the Lord! After the devotional, the sisters all left to surrounding members' homes for the night, and all the elders slept in the Madison chapel. We had an awesome scripture study session with Pres. Packard - it was such a powerful feeling to know that each of us there held the Melchizedek Priesthood of God, and that we were all there for the same purpose and cause in a brotherhood as missionaries. Aside from all of that, it was really great to see all of the friends I've made in this mission, all together in one place. As for the real purpose of us ALL being in Connecticut, the next day, we all took part in service and clean-up efforts to help out with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy! We worked in the New Haven area, and my group was in Milton, next to the beach. We helped with moving things, taking out damaged insulation, and even a little demolition! It was a long, but fun day, and a really great opportunity to help those in need. It was an unforgettable weekend.

I've been thinking a lot about who I used to be before my mission, who I was at the beginning of my mission, who I am now, and who I am becoming. It's amazing to see the changes that have taken place and are currently taking place within me. Looking back on myself, I was so prideful, selfish, impatient, etc. Of course, I'm still battling these things, but I've come so far in the strength of my Savior. I'm eternally grateful for His guidance and His empowering grace that is helping me to transform into the man that He wants me to be. I'm happier than ever before. I love this work, and I love being part of it! I can't wait for this next transfer. Who knows how the Lord will bless us? =]

Love,

Elder Justin DeLong

Winter has set in!

Fall in New England

It hasn't snowed yet, but it's definitely getting colder. Saturday night we were filling up the gas in the car, and it was the first time I felt that "bone-chilling" cold. Sunday was chilly too, and this morning has been the coldest, I think. The line at the Starbucks next to the library here is pretty long...almost out the door!

Well, things here in Lowell are fine and dandy, I guess. Working hard, trying to get things up and moving in this area. Not too much of interest to report. We had our quarterly interviews with Pres. Packard this last Friday, which went really well. I love that man and I'm so grateful to have him as my mission president. He's already been a guiding force for me in my life and has helped me through some tough spots.

I went to the dentist this morning! It's been almost a year, and I decided I wanted a cleaning since it's been so long. Since missionary insurance doesn't cover any of that, I had to get everything figured out myself - it wasn't that difficult, and my family's insurance was able to cover all of it. The hygienist said my teeth are "gorgeous" and the dentist said my bite is "perfect." They even both suggested that I get my teeth looked at again by an orthodontist, because I may not need retainers anymore. I don't know, we'll see. Maybe I'll get them checked out when I go home. The hygienist was very impressed with how clean my teeth are, and I'm continuing my now 20-year streak of no cavities. =D

We updated and cleaned out ALL of the records in our apartment on Saturday. It took a while, but I'm glad we did it. Everything is more organized, and the effort was definitely worth it.

I've begun to notice that my journal entries are getting longer, more detailed, and more spiritual. I've been told by several people back home that my letters are different, that my writing style is shifting, and they can note my spiritual growth. I went through a month or two ago and read my journals since the start of my mission, and I've noticed some changes. I'm extremely grateful for my Savior and His grace that enables me to change to become the man He wants me to be.

Yesterday was a pretty special day for me, I'd say. It was the first time where I had actually been looking forward to fasting, for starters. I always do it in faith and with a willing heart, but this time something was different. I'm reminded of D&C 59:14, where fasting and rejoicing are placed together as synonyms. While we were in ward council early in the morning, I realized that a true love for these people and a concern for their welfare has been developing in my heart. I though I would never love an area as much as I loved Revere, but Lowell is really beginning to grow on me. Once I decided to let these people in, so to speak, a real desire to serve them came naturally. I'm determined to do all I can for both the Lowell ward and the Heritage Park ward in my time here. In the Lowell ward, translating during sacrament meeting came more easily for me than it has been. There's a Cambodian Sunday school class that we attend, and at the end we had a mini testimony meeting - I got up and bore my testimony, and I was surprised at how fluently I spoke. It was almost effortless, minus 2 or 3 times when I had to pause to think of the right word. I'm so thankful for the gift of tongues and the help that my Heavenly Father has given me as I have learned this incredible language. In companionship study yesterday, we were reading 3 Nephi 11, and I had a really powerful spiritual experience. As Elder Ang read the verse that depicts Christ descending from heaven, I was slammed with a witness from the Spirit that testified to me of the truthfulness of those words. The Savior truly did minister among the Nephites. And of course, as such things are with me, I couldn't help but cry. It was so unexpected and powerful. I'm eternally grateful for the Book of Mormon and more so for my Savior, Jesus Christ. I'll never forget the feelings I had yesterday.

Thank you all, so much, for the continued love and support. This is the best thing I've ever done, and it continues to be an experience that I will treasure forever.

Love,
Elder Justin DeLong

I survived Hurricane Sandy!!

I've been in Lowell for over half a transfer already! It's hard to believe time is going by so quickly. It also makes me a little nervous for next transfer - Elder Ang will be going home, and I'll be left on my own to handle this area. I've GOT to get to know all the members in that time! Thank goodness for the gift of modern technology, because without a GPS I'd never find my way around this place. Thoughts of next transfer are beginning to plague my mind...will the Lord, through Pres. Packard, send another Cambodian-speaking missionary here? They've all served here already, but you never know. Will I get an English-speaking companion and be alone in my Cambodian? Will I get a new missionary and be training? Will I get transferred out and they'll put two missionaries here? It's been done before; you really never know what could happen. I don't need to worry though, because the Lord truly does guide this work and every aspect therein.

My love and best wishes to my friend Shailene, who was married in the Mesa, AZ temple this last Saturday!

We got a ward mission leader in the Heritage Park ward (the singles' ward)! He's a really great guy, and he just got home from his mission (to Tempe, AZ) 2 weeks ago! I'm so excited to work with him and to get this ward up and going. This last Sunday was my first time in sacrament meeting there, and it was so empty in that chapel...I think there was maybe 20 people in attendance. I really want to strengthen this ward in my time here, and I'm praying for the Lord's guidance in how to do that, especially with Elder Ang leaving in 2 and a half weeks.

On Saturday, we (as in, the two of us with the Portuguese Elders who serve in the ward as well) had lunch with one of the newlywed couples in the Lowell ward - turns out that they're both from here, but the wife spent some time in Mesa, going to MCC-Red Mountain! The two of them want to move to Arizona, so it was cool to get to talk about my home for a while with them and Elder Maldonado (one of the Portuguese Elders, who's from Gilbert). Also on Saturday was the Lowell ward Halloween party, which went well. It was a fun time for the young ones, and we had an investigator come with his 3-year-old son! That was pretty exciting.

Earlier this week, we went on exchanges with the Elders serving in Littleton - I went to their area and served with Elder Taylor for the day. The reason I mention this is because, at our member dinner appointment, I come to find out that this family (the Parker family) lived in Mesa for 8 months, and just moved here in March! This family was not only in my home stake of Citrus Heights, but was in a neighboring ward, the Cooley Park ward. I then find out that their kids went to Highland Arts Elementary, where my mom teaches 2nd grade. Her 2nd oldest son (Ethan) knows my brother Colton, and one of her daughters (Emma) knows Treyton and was in his grade. She was in Mrs. Millet's class, and had MY MOM as her teacher for science class (they did a rotation system for some subjects). Talk about a small world!!!

And now, on to the "main event" of this week's email...Hurricane Sandy. Oooooooooohhh...it really wasn't that bad, up where we were. We got some rain, some strong winds, and that's it. No damage or anything. We didn't even lose power. On Saturday, we received notice from the mission of the impending storm. We were instructed to purchase water, non-perishable food, candles, batteries, etc., and to get some cash and fill up the gas tanks in our cars, just in case. Missionaries serving along the coast had to move further inland. I'll be honest, upon hearing word, I was pretty freaked out. I had a really beautiful experience though - I prayed for peace and a level head through this experience. The Spirit brought to mind the words "if ye are prepared, ye shall not fear." I wanted to know where that verse was, and so I found it in Doctrine and Covenants, section 38, verse 30. It starts out with, "I tell you these things because of your prayers" - in that moment, I knew that this verse was an answer to my prayers. It goes on to say, "wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms," which I took to be emotional wisdom in this case - being able to handle things well and keep a cool head. I knew in that moment that if we prepared, we wouldn't have to be afraid, and the Lord would protect us. We got the needed supplies and "bunkered down" in our apartment with the Lowell Portuguese Elders for the storm. We were confined to our apartment from Sunday evening till Tuesday morning, but we had a good time together, and the weather really wasn't that bad. Now, it's beautiful and sunny, with white, puffy clouds in the sky. All is well.

I'm healthy, happy, and loving life as a full-time servant of the Lord. Godspeed, everyone!

Love,
Elder Justin DeLong

A new investigator, a crazy lady, and a surprise baptism

Ginette and Roberto's baptism

 

Yesterday I had the immense privilege to attend the baptism of Ginnette and her son, Roberto. I am so happy for them both, and I'm grateful to have been part of their lives and their journey unto Christ. Some of you may be saying to yourselves, "Wait, Elder DeLong, wasn't that your LAST area?" Yes, yes it was. This is where it gets interesting. We were in Sunday School at church yesterday, and we receive a text from the Revere Elders:

"Are you going to be able to make it to Ginnette and Roberto's baptism?"
Us: "Absolutely. When is it?"
Revere: "12:30."
Us: "Today?!"
Revere: "Yeah."
Us: "Well, shoot. Give me a few minutes to call and get permission."

...nice. Way to wait until an hour and a half before it starts to invite me, Elder Langford. I had no idea they were getting baptized! I mean, I knew they would be, but I didn't know the day or the plans or anything. I frantically called the APs and got permission to go, we made the drive down in about an hour, and we got there just in time. We missed the majority of the singles' ward in Lowell, but that's okay. I had a very warm welcome in Revere, and I was able to witness two people I personally taught enter the waters of baptism and covenant with our Heavenly Father. It was a wonderful experience.

This last Monday was "Deep Clean P-day" - we got to spend our whole day cleaning the car and the apartment. Good times...the apartment really needed it though. I blame the last Elders who were here. Haha! But we got it looking (and smelling) great!

We've been all over the place this week...about two months ago, Elder Ang injured his hand. It's been bothering him lately, but he didn't want to get it checked out. Sis. Packard found out about it last week, and needless to say, she sent us right to a walk-in clinic. There we found out it's a hairline fracture, and we had to go to appointments this week with hand specialists and a radiologist. Driving all over the place isn't that fun, but I finally learned how to use cruise control! Credit for that should go to Elder Langford, since he showed me one time...I've just never used it until now. Open highways out here are absolutely beautiful, just for the record.

I've been thrilled to hear about a few friends and one of my cousins (all female) who have decided to serve missions since the announcement was made in the last General Conference. I am beyond excited for them, as I am for all the multitudes of new missionaries the Church is sure to receive in the coming months.

Two really good stories for you guys this week: one scary, one inspiring. Scary story first. This is honestly the most in-danger I've ever felt on my mission. The other night, we decided to go see an inactive woman who lives in what is probably the most sketchy part of Lowell. This part of town is more frightening than the worst parts of Lynn, if that says anything. REALLY ghetto. So anyway, it's like 8:30 PM, our last stop of the night. We pull up in front of the apartment building, and there's 3 or 4 people loitering out front. We park the car, but stop before getting out to double check the name and apartment number before we go inside. In that short period of time, one of those people decided we were a threat and hastily walks over to the driver side window - right by me. She yells, "WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Of course, Elder Ang cheerfully replies, "We're missionaries!" She yells, "GET OUT OF THE CAR." I carefully and slyly reached up and locked the doors, and then told her that we weren't going to get out of the car. By this point, it was apparent that she was drunk, high, mentally disturbed, or some combination of the three. She then demanded that we roll down the window, to which I said, "I can hear you just fine!" Her face then contorted in pain, and she yelled, "MY MOTHER DIED YESTERDAY." I'm not sure where that statement came from, but I figured that maybe she wanted some money or something. I told her that I didn't have anything to give her and that I was sorry I couldn't help. She said "I don't want any of that! I don't want any of that! OPEN THIS DOOR!!!" I got a really bad feeling inside, and turned to Elder Ang and said that we needed to get out of there. Then, she tried to get in the car. She yanked on the door handles and attempted to pull on the window. I was seriously freaked out. She screamed again, "MY MOTHER DIED YESTERDAY!" and I said that I was so sorry to hear that. When I still didn't open the door, she yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?!" I said, "Well, we WERE going to go visit someone in those apartments, but..." she interrupted me, pointed up the street, and screamed "GET THE *%#$@ OUT OF HERE!!!!!!!!!!" Well, she didn't need to tell me twice. I threw the car into drive and sped out of there as fast as I could. I honestly felt like our lives were in danger, and I don't want to even think about what might have happened if we had gotten out of the car right away. I know that God watches over His missionaries. I've felt that divine protection on multiple occasions, and I'm so thankful for that.

Alright, now the inspiring story! On Saturday, we went to visit this guy named Chris, one of the inactive members of the singles' ward. He's a nice enough guy and he likes the missionaries, he just hasn't been to church in a while. His friend Ian happened to be there when we got there, and so Chris asked us to teach the first discussion - you don't have to try and convince missionaries to do that! We had a good lesson with him, but the whole time Ian seemed a little skeptical. He said things like "I think it's great that this book has had such an influence on the lives of others," and so we tried to ask him questions and see what his concern was. Turns out, we didn't need to. Chris took over and bore a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon, and you could just see Ian softening. And so, long story short, he accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon, committed to read Moroni 10 and pray about it, and to meet us again this week. We're excited to have a new investigator and grateful that the Lord is answering our prayers. I love seeing the Spirit work in people, and it's an honor to be part of this great work.

Love,
Elder Justin DeLong

Lessons of Faith and Dedication

I'll start this week's email with a funny story - they teach you to "hook" your audience from the start, right? Anyway, we were teaching this Cambodian woman a few days ago - it was my second time going over there to teach her. After starting the lesson, I pulled out my Cambodian scriptures to read from. She seemed surprised and asked me if I knew how to read and write in Cambodian. I responded that I did. Mind you, the last time I was there we spoke in Cambodian the entire time, and we had been speaking Cambodian the whole 5 minutes or so we had been there that evening. So, a couple minutes later, she stops mid-sentence, looks at me quizzically, and says (in Cambodian), "You know how to speak Cambodian?!?!" I'm not sure why it took this long to register in her mind. We tried to stifle our laughter, and we laughed pretty hard about it afterwards in the car!

The Lowell ward is so unique and multicultural! There are Sunday School classes in Cambodian, Portuguese, Spanish, and of course, English. Sacrament meeting is also translated into Portuguese and Cambodian. Guess who does that? Yeah, we do. It was really difficult. Elder Ang did most of it...I tried a few times, though. I did one of the sacrament prayers, part of the announcement of the program, and the closing prayer. I'm definitely going to be adding "practice translating" to my list of things to do for language study.

As for the work here, things are going alright, I'd say. We've got a great Cambodian investigator who, unfortunately, wants us to speak English when we teach him. He's really interested in the gospel though, especially in eternal families. I'm excited to see how he progresses. One of the recent converts here, who's also Cambodian, has finally agreed to go to the temple! She's had some fears about it, but she made the decision to go, so we're happy about that. We've also been trying to visit less-actives and we've been some detective work for our Bishop.

These last few days have built my faith and taught me a lot. I got sick in the middle of last week, and for a couple of days it was rather minor. It got worse on Friday, and I had the prompting to ask for a blessing. I shrugged it off, telling myself that it wasn't "bad enough for a blessing" yet. I then "felt" the words, "Have you done EVERYTHING you can?" This made me stop and think. Yes, I took medicine, and yes, I was going to bed on time, and yes, I was drinking plenty of water...but I hadn't asked for a blessing. I then got the distinct feeling that I was going to have to show my faith if I wanted to be healed. This time, I listened, and I asked my companion and the other Elders in our ward for a blessing. They gave me a blessing that night, and I woke up Saturday morning feeling differently. I felt more sick than before, but strangely enough, I felt like I was in the stages of getting over a cold. It was like my body had just skipped the two or three days when the cold is in full swing. I know that was because of the blessing I received and the faith I showed. My lesson doesn't end there, though. We worked all day Saturday, and yesterday (Sunday) morning I woke up feeling absolutely awful. We went to ward council first thing, and I struggled to get through Church. By the end of the second hour my condition had worsened dramatically, and I realized that I wasn't going to be able to make it and that I should be resting. We organized an exchange - Elder Maldonado came with me back to the apartment do that I could sleep, and Elders Ang and Stradley covered the appointments for both areas the rest of the day. From this I learned that we need to be sure that we're taking care of ourselves before we can take care of others. I also learned that we need to do EVERYTHING we can first and act in faith, and then the Lord provides the miracle. I didn't take the time I needed to rest to allow my body to recover, and so I didn't get better. When I woke up this morning, I felt immensely better than I did yesterday. BUT the story doesn't end there! I had another miracle happen to me last night - we switched back to our companionships around 5:30 PM, and we got a call at 6:10 from an investigator who wanted us to come and see him since he wasn't able to meet last week. I decided that I was going to "man up" and go to the appointment, and so I prayed and asked my Heavenly Father to allow my sickness to subside so that I could teach for this appointment. I mustered up the strength and drove to the appointment, and as we walked up to his door, I felt my symptoms melt away. We had a fantastic, Spirit-filled lesson, and as we left and walked back to the car, I started feeling sick again. I know that that was a miracle, an example of the Lord's tender mercies in our lives.
Elder Ang and I had an interesting discussion during weekly planning this last Thursday as we had our companionship inventory. He said to me that he can tell that I want to help "rescue" Lowell, and complimented me on that. He told me about how he and his last companion didn't plan effectively and didn't get much done during their time together, and as a result, this area kind of "died," so to speak. As he was telling me these things, I thought back to the goal I set for myself when I found out that I was being transferred. I was just in a very busy area, with tons of potential investigators and a small handful of progressing investigators, with a large number of recent converts. The active members there are great, and I had the opportunity to serve with my best companion yet. I loved the work, and I was excited to be a part of it each and every day. I told myself as I prepared to move up here that I wanted to take that same excitement and joy with me up to Lowell, and so I set the goal to do so. As Elder Ang spoke with me, I realized that I'm really passionate about this work. I love being a missionary, and even though I've only been here just over a week and a half, I really want this area to become successful. I determined right then and there that I was going to do everything in my power to make that happen, for both the Lowell ward and the Heritage Park YSA ward (almost no work is being done there). I see absolutely no reason why these two wards can't be as successful in their missionary work as the Revere 2nd ward, and that has become my approach to the work here. After all, Pres. Monson just spoke to us about seeing people as they can become in the Priesthood session of General Conference. For me, that includes investigators, members, and entire wards, and I'm really looking forward to helping this area reach its full potential.

Love,
Elder Justin DeLong