Oct 22, 2012

I got the package you sent me. and when i opened it up, it was kinda crazy. and let me tell ou, i am very excited to see the family when i get abck home. being a trainer has been an interesting experience. the person im trainings name is elder gillespie. so now there is elder masulonis, and gillespie serving under president berhisell. how much more crazy could it get with names?:) elder gillespie is a little unorthodox, but in a good way. he isnt like most elders. he is about 6"1 and alot bigger than me. he is a big fella. but thats not what makes him different. he has a way different out look on missionary work. he measures his success in a good way. and that way is by how happy he feels. there have been some experiences in his life that have molded him to be the person he is right now. the biggest one that he has told me about is some struggles with depression. he doesnt have those struggles now, but it has been interesting to see the end result of what he has gone though. before my mission, i admittedly measured success by baptisms related to how difficult the area is. its kinda silly, but that how i measured it. i thought that all those people that didnt get alot of baptisms were just people that werent very good missionaries. but i have found that that isnt the case. i have found that baptisms or any of the other numbers that we report on are gifts from our heavenly father. now there is a connection between diligence and obediance and faithfullness and the other principals of the gospel, but it is not a direct connection. meaning that even if you are the most diligent missionary, you might not even get 1 baptism. its hard to think about for me. something else that i have been thinking about, is what to focus on. my focus changes all the time. my focus is always besed on the doctrine of christ, but it often times switches around.