"I don't count down, only up" --Elder Eaves

Well... one thing I learned this week is that stark reality is so stark it's hard to look at haha. I got an email this week that said "6 month letter" on the subject line.... well when i actually got the courage to open it it basically said "hey, good job on your mission. In 6 months all this will be gone. Start thinking about making preparations to return.... blahh blahh blahh". Basically, I am an old misionary now and its offically via the death letter as we call it. Just goes to show how fast time goes and how much poential you can waste if you don't use every second. Oh well. 6 months is a long time, right? (this is where all the returned missionaries laugh and then kiss their wives)

Anyways, this week was way good! I'm going to whip out some highlights for ya real quick becasue we gotta bounce:

J* and K* are still doing great and they are both progressing to baptism really well:) they are both pretty dang inspiring to me because its just so neat to be able to watch them let the gospel change their lives and improve it. A quick note on both and why they're awesome:

We taught J* the law of tithing and about fasting and he took it like a champ. We read in the Book of Mormon about it and discussed it and said he knows that God wants him to do it and he knows he will get blessings for it:D then yesterday, he straight up fasted the entire day! He texted us at about 7ish and asked how long people usually fast for... yikes i think we failed to tell him how it works but i guess in all fairness we didnt really know he would go and fast on us. I guess we need more faith in people or something haha. But for real J* is just a stud.

With K* we watched the Joseph Smith Prophet of the Restoration movie and really enjoyed it. It really helped to give him a visual on Joseph Smith and his life. It's way cool because K* is always referring back to 1 Nephi in the Book of Mormon and the story about Lehi's dream. He says "man i just want to be on that Straight and that narrow path and stuff. Gotta get the fruit right?" haha he is a beast. His apartment is really clean now and he rolled up looking way fresh to church clothes we hooked him up with that were in our apartment. He's awesome:D

Also, shout out to Sister O'Bryant and Elder Gifford... because I made chocolate chip cookies from Sis. O'Bryants recipe for J* and i think we we found his new vice to replace smoking haha. He lost his mind when he took a bite haha I have never seen a cookie make anyone so stoked.

Then we made the Elder Gifford's snickerdoodle special for K* and some other members and K* got way stoked on those too!

So now i have the excuse that cookies save souls;)

A lesson:

Well guess what... i prayed for patience and as i was praying i had the thought "well, you asked for it." The next day we got patience tested all over the place. our trials of patience include (but are not limited to):

Being late to help move, our branch president got irritated at us, we got a 750 kroner parking ticket (110 dollars) for forgetting to set the meter, our appointment dropped us, then our other appointment dropped us, then the tire went flat on the car. Dont take it negatively becasue the coolest part was that i had a reasurring feeling the whole day that i would get more blessings in the long run.

In the Doctrine and Covenants section 136 it says

"My people must be tried in all things, that they may be prepared to receive the glory that I have for them, even the glory of Zion; and he that will not bear chastisement is not worthy of my kingdom. 32 Let him that is ignorant learn wisdom by humbling

himself and calling upon the Lord his God, that his eyes

may be opened that he may see, and his ears opened that he may hear;"

Well, my eyes were opened a little more so remember, if anyone wants to work on their patience, just know that you asked to be tried:) Don't worry, its a good thing.

Well that was my spiritual thought too:D

now a quote from satchel Paige " Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesnt matter."

Merry December,

Ældste j