Hello Everyone!
Well I again am running a little short on time, unfortunately. But this last week has been really great here. Weather-wise, it hasn't been my favorite. Sunday it rained so hard, there were tornado warnings going off in other nearby areas to ours. In fact, I think there was a tornado in anothe part of south-eastern Michigan. But all we got in Allegan was tons and tons of rain. We got a call from the District Leader telling us that we needed to stay inside, so we were stuck in our apartment for most of the day. Later in the week, it got really hot.
Monday, we ended up going on a 25 mile bike ride to and around a nearby city named Otsego. With the temperature near ninety and the humidity pretty high, we were not having much fun at all. We're almost positive that Elder Ralphs was starting to get heat exhaustion near the end. Luckily, the Lord blessed us, and as we were riding down the road we ran into one of the few members living in Otsego, who offered to give us a ride back to Allegan, saving us another 10 miles. We were very grateful for that, and it was a tender mercy to us.
Tuesday was even hotter and more humid, but we stayed in Allegan. Since then it's been getting a lot nicer here in Allegan. I heard that Idaho has been getting a lot of rain and stormy weather lately. If it hasn't been your favorite, at least be glad that it doesn't have 70 or 80% humidity too! I'm still trying to get used to that here.
This week things have been coming together really well. We've been praying hard this week, and on Thursday we both fasted all day. The Lord is definitely blessing us for that. We also got two new investigators this week, which is really cool and exciting. We're planning on many more in the upcoming weeks.
Things have been difficult, and we've both had our trials and struggles. But as we've tried hard to be humble and obedient, and do everything that the Lord has asked us to do, and to fast and pray and forget ourselves in the work, the Lord has poured out his blessings upon us. We know that the Lord has great things in store for Allegan, and that he needs us to do everything that we can so that we can accomplish what he has called us here to do. We've seen the truth in the scripture that says "He who loses his life for my sake, shall find it". As we've worked will all our hearts to serve the Lord, he has blessed us with additional strength to overcome our trials and hardships, and bear our afflictions. He loves these people in the Allegan area and wants them to be able to come unto Him and to be converted to the fullness of his Gospel, and His true Church on the earth. Our message as missionaries is about how God has restored the fullness of his Gospel and truths about the Plan of Salvation to the Earth through the prophet Joseph Smith, and that the Book of Mormon is the evidence that we have to know that this is true.
I have read and studied and prayed to know if the Book of Mormon is true, and I can truly look people in the eyes and tell them that I Know that it is the word of God. I Know that Joseph Smith was the Lord's prophet, and that all the prophets since him have been called by God and hold that same priesthood authority. The only way to truly know the truth of these things is through the Holy Ghost, and I have been taught by the Holy Ghost and have recieved a knowlege of these things for myself. The Holy Ghost can impress these things on our minds and help us to know them more surely than we know anything else in this world. Most importantly, by the same power I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, that this is His true and everlasting gospel that I am teaching, and everyting that he does is for our benefit. We can put our trust in Him and His promises, and the promises of His prophets. He is the rock of our foundation, a foundation whereon if men build, they cannot fall. I know that this is true, and that the scriptures are true. Read the scriptures every day, particularly the Book of Mormon, and pray with sincerity of heart, which faith in Christ, and with real intent to know if these things are true for yourself. Fast and pray, as Alma the Younger did in Alma 5, so that you can have a sure knowlege of these things for yourself. Build a foundation on which you cannot fall.
Have a great week everyone. Stay positive, and look for the ways that the Lord has blessed your life. Pray to be able to recognize them.
Love,
Elder Trevor Casper
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