Mason's letter -- October 5, 2009

Hey familia!!

This is my 3rd email! Can you believe that I've almost been here for 3 weeks? If I was an English speaking missionary I would be leaving for the field this week. That's crazy.

Well this week was sweet and also pretty boring. Not much happened other than class and general conference. So let's talk about general conference. It was amazing! It's just like I've been studying everything about the gospel and what the prophets of old have said for 3 straight weeks and then I got to hear a modern day prophet!! I felt the spirit so strong it was crazy. Espeicailly during Elder Holland's talk. It was about how the Book of Mormon is true.

Oh it was so sweet! He is so powerful and I felt the spirit the strongest probably in my whole life when he was talking. Everything about conference was sweet! This was probably the first time in my life when I realized how important a living prophet is in our lives. How can we get through this life without the direction and guidance of a living prophet? I'm so grateful for a true living prophet of God!

During the talks and everything it was just so clear to me that this Church is Christ's church. It is the true church, we have the fullness of the Gospel! I just kept thinking to myself how many people are out there in the world without that knowledge? People don't have any clue that there is such a church on the Earth. I thought about this and felt extreme sadness for all of God's children that don't have the blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ in their lives! Why was I so blessed to have the truth just given to me? I want so bad to just tell every single person I know that we do have this amazing message. That there is hope for everyone! I don't know how anyone could deny this gospel and turn their backs on it. It is simply amazing!

Well anyway those were just some of my thoughts during conference. My testimony was strengthened so much and my purpose of being a missionary became so much clearer to me. I feel like if only people would give me 10 minutes I would be able to convince them of the truth and bring eternal and enormous blessings into their lives. I can't imagine anyone not being able to reach their potential as heirs of God. It makes me sad to think that not everyone will have this.

So basically conference was my life this week. We would go to conference, then eat, then go back and get a good seat for the next session. This went on all day for 2 days. I was exhausted last night. This week we got to go to the Referral Center again. This time we learned how to have online chats with people. So me and my comp were being the example for everyone to see how it's done and a guy came on and tried to mess with me. He called me names and then just logged off...and that's my one experience with online chats! Way fun! Haha but I did get to talk to a bunch of people on the phone. That was actually pretty satisfying actually talking to something other than an answering machine.

The TRC was also good this week. We had to talk about someone's family and relate the Restoration to their family in Spanish for 15 minutes. I did pretty good. I actually had like a pretty decent conversation with the Spanish woman. Then we taught her the first lesson in English and the fake investigator decided to get baptised!! So I guess that's good, even though she was already a member we taught her well enough that her fake investigator persona understood that she needed to get baptised! So one baptism for me already!! haha jk.

Mom thanks for the package it was awesome. I wrote you and dad two letters today so you'll get those in the mail sometime this week. I will try and get photos printed off today, so expect some pics maybe sometime next week? I dont know, but there are some good ones...and some where you might wonder if we actually work around here. We do work very hard all day! Don't worry.

Oh, yesterday, I saw Aaron Bennet that was on the soccer team my junior year. Yeah he is here and going to Peru. So that was weird. I had a normal conversation with him yesterday. Also like the 3rd day I was here I saw Tyler Munk, I forgot to tell you that. We were gonna get a picture together but we didn't have time and he left like the day after I saw him. I've seen a few other people that I dont really know but I know who they are and am surprised to see them on missions. Haha. But it's all good.

Thanks so much for everything you guys do for me! I'm so lucky to have such an awesome family. Everyone is great. I have so many blessings in my life and I've realized that the gospel has brought every single one of them to me. I don't even want to think what my life would be like without it. That is why I want to teach every single person in Honduras about what I have. Everyone needs this. This is what life is all about. I don't want one single person to come in contact with me without me sharing the gospel. You guys can do the same thing back home! Make me proud!

I love you all.