Wednesday, December 3, 2008

From: Alec, 12/1/08

it was great to hear from you, dad - and i'm really glad you enjoyed the picture of the woody - i knew you would. it is pretty cool - when i saw it i knew you'd want to see it. i actually have on someone elses camera me in a touched up stingray. i don't know much about cars but this member had so many really cool old cars. (a different one than the woody). he had an old GT 500 mustang, really sweeet, a couple stingrays, a 68 camaro, and an old truck, not sure what brand i can't remember. but he owns a ton more you'd probably love to see.

my teaching pool is good. we've had not baptismal dates for a while and it seems like most of our investigators are having trouble progressing (as far as we can see) but we're finding 2 new investigators (4 this week) per week and so we are getting work done. i also feel good about our pool because when i can't see any progress in everyone we have written up on our whiteboard, i feel that the lord is watching over them and making sure they are progressing and learning. Elder Pongi and I are doing everything we can too!

no don't worry about doing anything on your side other than prayers for us and if you want our investigators. pray for them to feel and recognize the spirit and have the courage to follow those promptings from God. above all for you guys - let your prayers be guided by the spirit, i try hard to do that, and i know that there are times that i'll pray about something that just comes to me and it needs to be said/asked for. it's easy too - really be sincere and think about what needs to happen or be done. think about and feel your love for people and the spirit will tell you what to ask or say. maybe read Bednar's two recent talks about prayer too - and implement!

i'm glad you're trying to put focus on the Savior vs. gifts and the commercial side of christmas. it is funny and sad how subtle satan is in turning a completely religious holiday into a materialistic craze for a month. i see lots of christmas decorations and hear songs and i look at some and realize all to often all of those dumb landscape blow-ups are of santa and reindeer or something like that. nothing about Christ (it's become Xmas instead of Christmas). i do love all of christmas and santa and stuff, but it can be easy to lose focus of things. it seems satan's favorite tool is half-truths and things like that. he'll never say "run around and do every sin in the book", but he will say, "you don't have to read your scriptures right now, you can read them later." bad example but you know what i mean. Be soo soo careful about half-truths. i'm preaching to the choir though! Love you dad

elder Hoopes

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