The Dayton Adventures Continue!

Family!

The highlight of course for this week was general conference.  I was super excited to listen to it, and I wasn't disappointed!  After Elder Ballard's talk, I'm expecting all of you to read through Preach My Gospel... =)  I really liked something said by Elder Hallstrom during the priesthood session.  He said something along the lines of "The purpose of General Conference is only fulfilled if we are willing to act, willing to change."  There are always things that we can do better in our lives, and I enjoy the opportunity to receive personal revelation at general conference for how I can improve and be a better person.  I went in to general conference with some questions, and I came out with a whole bunch of answers.  I know that as we sincerely study the messages and look for ways we can improve, the Lord will help us know things we can change to become more like our Savior.  I also liked one of President Monson's closing remarks about how we should all take the time to review and study the conference messages.

Well, as always, this week was filled with a whole bunch of experiences.  It started with me cutting my hair again right after emailing last Monday.  I decided to try and do it fancy and do different lengths.  It wasn't too bad, but I've still got some room for improvement...  On April Fool's day we received two voicemails on our phone from Sister Porter.  On one of them she said that they had just got a call from Salt Lake, and our mission would be receiving iPads very soon, and on the other she said "Happy April Fools!"  But the messages got mixed up, so we got the "Happy April Fools" message first!  It was a nice try... =)

We taught a guy this week who told us of a dream he had recently had.  He was in this place, and before him were two paths.  One was like a highway: straight and wide and easy to follow.  Lots of people were telling him to follow that path; they told him that it was the path that led to happiness.  The second path was a narrow, winding trail that looked a lot more difficult to follow.  Even though everyone was telling the other path was right, he said he knew that the trail was the way he should go.  That morning I had been studying in 3 Nephi and had read 3 Nephi 14:13-14 which talked about two paths.  I was able to share those verses with him and explain to him that he could follow that narrow path by following Christ and being baptized.  It was a cool experience for me, and it reaffirmed to me that the Lord guides both investigators and missionaries.

I taught about footnotes for the first time this past week!  We recently met this super awesome family, and when we introduced them to the Book of Mormon, the mother asked us what the "tiny letters above the words" were!  I've never had anyone ask me that!  So we were excited about that.

We had a guy run away from us in an apartment complex.  He was walking across the lawn, and we asked him how he was doing, but he just kept on walking.  I was pretty sure he was ignoring us, but just in case he hadn't heard us, we started walking after him.  He saw us walking up to him, and he just kept on walking.  He went around a corner, and when we got there just a few seconds later, he was gone!  The only way he could have disappeared is if he had sprinted around the building and gone into a door on the other side!  So yeah, we are scary I guess.

In the English ward here a missionary just barely returned home from Guatemala.  His mom had us come over for dinner the following day so he would have someone to speak Spanish with.  His Spanish was amazing!  I wish my Spanish could be that good.  I can get it good to a certain point, but I don't think it will ever be like his was.  He was around people who spoke Spanish for 2 whole years, so he learned it on the streets.  I've learned a lot of Spanish from natives, but I don't spend as much time around them, so there's some things that I'll never really master, like the slang or country-specific vocab.  Those were just observations I made in talking with this RM.  I also got a glimpse of what it will be like to come home in just over a year.  It will be weird. =)

I think that's about all.  Today we are finally fulfilling our dreams and going to the Dayton Air Force Museum!  I'll send you some pictures of it next week!

Love,

Elder Foote 

P.S.  By the way, thanks for the conference package!  We watched all 5 sessions of conference at the church, and we got the package just as we were headed out the door for the first session on Saturday.  Perfect timing!  You're the best!

Love,

Elder Foote

Elder Graf, Elder Taylor, Elder Foote, Elder Wells