Hello Family and Friends!

We were able to get in a solid week of work here in Minoyan! So great! Miracles. This may have possibly been the last straight week of work that I will have the rest of my time here. We have Zone Conference and then MLC coming up in the next few weeks and then I'll be home. That's so crazy.

Working was really good this week. One of my biggest weaknesses as a missionary for my whole mission has been talking to people everywhere; OYM'ing, as they call it (open your mouth). I have always just been to afraid to talk to random people. I feel as though I am "inconveniencing" them by stopping them to share this message. But lately, in the words of one of the sister missionaries here, "If you were bringing around free gold to people, would you hesitate to offer it to them because you thought it would inconvenience them?" I pondered that and realized that I AM offering gold! I got so much more bold in talking to everyone this last week. I realized that if I don't open my mouth right now, I can never know if someone else ever will! As we were more diligent and dedicated about OYM'ing this week, we were blessed with great new people and contacts. We hope to see them progress.

I have been reflecting a lot on myself and trying to figure out what exactly I have become on my mission. I feel like I still lack a lot of attributes that missionaries usually have, but when I read a friend's letter the other day, I realized that I feel the same thing! I will now quote Kimber Young's email.

--

"I realized how bold I am getting as a missionary/person in general. I was kind of bummed about it. Before my mission, I always pictured myself returning home as a quiet, kind, gentle, meek, submissive, sweet, and humble girl (. So on my mission I have tried hard to be like that person I wanted to become and it wasn't working!! Instead I have found myself being more bold, strict, diligent, organized, and always speaking my mind. I was so confused and frustrated by this because I have been learning all these things and feel closer to God than ever before but I wasn't becoming the person I wanted to become! But my "a-ha!" moment this week was this: it's not about becoming the person I want to become, it is about becoming the person He wants me to become. Maybe He wants me to be bold and loud and organized and obedient. My strengths now are not the same strengths I had before my mission. I am becoming a different person on my mission but not in the same way as I expected myself to. And that is a good thing because it is not about changing myself but allowing God to change me."

--

Now, I don't desire to become a "sweet, and humble girl," like she said in her email, but I have always hoped to obtain those attributes. She took the words right out of my mouth. The biggest thing that has been on my mind lately is: "Have I reached the level of potential that God had in mind for me by the end of my mission?" I really hope so. I have realized how much we need to improve all the time. And I realized, as it explains in Doctrine and Covenants, that our rate of improvement in the next life will probably be the same as our rate of improvement before we died on earth. If we die unprogressive, we will remain unprogressive in the life to come. And if we are improving at a slow rate, we will STILL be moving slowly in the next life. So I guess we really only have right now to build up that pace and to maintain a high pace for the rest of our lives.

That's all for this week!

Elder Welton

Here's a picture of our area. We went up further than we had been going to see if there was potential. This area is the prettiest one I have been in my whole mission!

P.S.:  Here's a fun description from a message Tanner sent to his dad:   

"I know you love the small details of missionary life -- We came down from the mountain yesterday wearing our long sleeve shirt (for church meetings) to go to a meeting with president and we haven't had time to go back to our area all day because of errands. We went to sleep at 2 last night because we were getting numbers and making reports. We don't have any clean laundry or food left at the house and we have to wake up at 4 to get on a bus and then get to Cadiz for a Zone Conference at 9. I have to hand wash my long sleeve shirt tonight in hopes that it will be dried by the morning. If it isn't I will hang it in front of our standing fans in our house to get it as dry as possible.

 I figured some of this might just bring back some fond memories of yours to remembrance. Such a great time."