Time Flies on Wings of Lightning...

From: Joseph Weiss <joseph.weiss@myldsmail.net>
Date: August 18, 2013 10:07:19 PM MDT
To: Cyndy Weiss <cyndyweiss@gmail.com>
Subject: Time flies on the wings of lightning and we scarce can hold it back.

Today is the two month mark from when I entered the MTC. As I'm settling in here in the land down under, the seconds seem to cut in half weekly. It's weird because I feel as though I've been out forever, like this has always been my life, but at the same time I feel like I just left.

This past week was good. As the Poly Elders would say, "Ees goot". I got to trade off with another missionary two weeks ago and I found out that not all missionaries are obedient... haha it hadn't ever hit me before. I thought my companion was just normal but turns out he's pretty obedient and we work hard. I still think we can work harder but line upon line we'll improve. We can't change everything at once. Thank you mom for sending me all the pictures.

Thank you everyone for not emailing me so I only have to write one letter. It's very convenient ;) Thank you P-day, for showing me who my real friends are! ;) Thanks Mom and Dad.  Last Friday we talked to some Peruvians in the mall and they invited us to come play soccer with them the next day. We went and I found out that Americans are just at good at soccer as everyone else. As Goob said, "They're all a bunch of bumbs... that's good joe!" Yes I was! I was yelling at them, I was getting the ball and distributing, and they thought I was German. Appearently I look German. Do Germans and Poles look the same? I thought we were from Poland and England. Mom, Is that right?

So missionary work is real easy I've found... the hard part is what's in between. Finding people to teach is so hard. You don't need to ask me twice to teach someone. It's so exciting when we get to teach and do our best to help them the way God would. I love that. I could do that all day! But as the good book says, "Before you can teach, you must find someone to teach.". But we are finding better ways to find and now we can teach in English as well as Spanish so were gonna be big time now.

Our progressing investigator is the bomb. Her name is Ally and she is fantastic. Her husband is atheist and religion period is a really touchy subject between them. She loves religion. She's been investigating the Jehovah's Witnesses for seven years but she doesn't feel it's completely right. She says she just can't commit with all her heart or else she'd be lying to herself. We asked her to read 3 Nephi 11 and pray about it. She took 'pray about it' to mean understand so we explained that pretty poorly but She read 1 Nephi 2 Nephi and 3 Nephi! That's over 150 pages! We committed her to pray to know if the book is true and I think she already has faith that its true but hasn't received an answer. God's gonna provide a way for her to work things out with her husband and then BANG! BAPTIZED!

Yesterday I was sitting in church and hadn't a clue what was being said, I can converse but when people speak they just fly and it's so fast I hardly understand it, so I started thinking about what speaker prior had said (He was Poly and spoke in English). He said, "A testimony is to know and feel. Conversion is to do and become." Elder Bednar said something similar, "Conversion is consistently doing the things you know to be right." I was thinking how a less active man we taught said, "Your testimonies are great, you really feel what you say". I think the testimony we share is filled with power when there is conversion behind the words. But I thought to myself, "We always talk about sharing testimonies, but I've never heard someone talk the same way about sharing our conversion." I think sharing our conversion is just as important as sharing our testimonies. Sharing conversion is not what you do on fast sunday because it's called a "Fast and TESTIMONY Meeting", but when we are with our friends I think that's a very appropriate time to share our conversion that maybe they can start to be converted also. Elder Bednar also said, "If all you've got is a testimony, you're in pretty bad shape." We need to do and become if we want to be happy. So wake up and do something good!!

Last night our Distric leader called. My Comp was speaking and the phone was on speaker phone and our District Leader asked how things were going with us? Then he said, "You're comp is the man! He's an Islander!" *DING* Validation! I did trade offs with him and I managed to stay happy for a whole day when I had no clue what was going on because all the phone calls were in Samoan! Haha but I learned a lot and I respect how hard my comp works more AND I'm now an Islander!

Ok. Love you all,

Elder Weiss VI


PS Saw two small kangaroos yesterday. Some people never get to see them and I was in a bad mood and that cheered me right up. Small miracle. They were kind of ugly though and we were driving past on the freeway.
All proselyting equipment is in good condition. Shoes are fantastic. We have a cowboy hat at the flat and when I put it on and look in the mirror I turn into Jim Craig. I'll send you a picture if I ever remebmer to bring my camera.