Smallest Seed Grows to the Greatest Tree

Familia y Amigos,

Hola!! How are you all? This week in Columbus has been pretty crazy. Lots of great moments and learning moments. First of all, on Wednesday we met with an older woman and I just felt the spirit pretty strong right when we sat down in her house...which was kind of weird because that's not usually how it goes. Feeling that, I knew that it was going to be a powerful lesson and that this lady was prepared to hear a message about the Savior. Well, we taught her about how we can see our lost ones again and live with them forever. And she really opened up. It was a really great night. And we are really excited to visit with her again tonight.

A few days later, we met with an older man who is probably one of the most intelligent men that I have ever met. However, as we got talking to him, we came to find out that he doesn't believe in God. Man! That would be such a sad life. I could sense his confusion and I feel bad for him. This was an eye-opener to me to know that there are people out there that don't believe in God, but if you look all around you, I don't know how we couldn't believe that there truly is a God. This visit made me think about my own testimony and made me so grateful that I know that God lives. And He loves us.

And then, Saturday was a day full of great experiences. First, we had lunch with a family in our branch and as we began to share a message with them, it pretty much ended up them teaching us than us teaching them. haha The wife told us how she graduated with a degree in Forestry and so she knows a lot about trees. We were talking about faith and she commented on how the biggest tree in the world is the sequoia tree, and that the smallest seed in the world is the sequoia tree seed. How cool is that? She related it to Alma 32 and how we can know the truth of all things if we have faith like a mustard seed. Well, if we have even just the smallest desire to believe, God will bless us for that! I thought that was way cool.

And then after this visit, we received a few phone calls and come to find out, every single one of our appointments fell through for the rest of the day. What the poo? So we were like, hmm...that's dumb. Well, we got to thinking, hmm...our faith must be being tested right now. Well, it was super hot outside. I was sweating like crazy, yet we decided to knock a few doors because we had no idea what to do. So we started knocking doors and then right as we were about to go back to the car and try something else, we saw a trailer at the end of the block and I had a feeling we should knock it. Well, we went down there, knocked it, and the guy let us right in without us even introducing ourselves. We got talking to him and he started talking a lot about the crazy stuff going on in Mexico...but he's grateful for God in his life. However, he said that at his church he has noticed people that do bad stuff during the week and then come to church and act like nothing happened. He was really bugged by that and so he is searching for a better church. We were like...hey! right here! haha So we taught him some good stuff and man he is the coolest guy! We are super pumped to visit with him again this next weekend. And, this was a strength to my faith to know that God knows our situation and is aware of us. He blessed us to see this guy. Hopefully we can visit with him a lot more and he can come to understand the truthfulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

And this next weekend is General Conference. I'm super pumped. I hope you all will make time to listen to the words of God to us through the Prophet and other leaders of the Church. Have a great week! I love you all. And thanks so much for all your love and support!

Love,

Elder Vawdrey

Proud to be a Mormon!

Familia y Amigos,

How are y'all? I hope it's been a great week for each of you. This week was full of changes. Elder Caldwell is here with Elder Roberts and me now, and he has a lot of new ideas for the area. So we are excited about this. And it looks like we will probably be doing a lot of tracting this week. Many of our investigators are dying...as I like to call them, so we will try them a few more times here and there.

But this past week was special because G got baptized!! She is the step-daugher of C (who we baptized a few weeks ago) and she was super excited to become a Mormon. She tells us she wants to be a missionary someday. haha cool. But what made it a special day as well was because C baptized her. He was really excited to do it and it turned out well. Even though it took 5 times because her dress kept coming up above the water, haha it was a good time. I'm grateful for the opportunity to work with her. And I hope that she continues forward from here on out. I like to think of an analogy relating to G's baptism. I call it life. It took 5 times immersing her into the water to get it right. In life, we fall many times but the Lord will always pick us back up and help us to know what's right if we just trust Him.

This past Sunday we had 1 investigator come to church. His name is G. He is 19...a really cool kid, and we hope to work with him more. He has a lot of potential. And so we are hoping things continue to go well with him.

I love you all and hope you are all doing great!! Have a great week!

Love,
Elder Vawdrey

Transfers

Familia y Amigos,

Hey... how are y'all? haha This week is transfers... and because of it, I have only a few minutes to type today. So sorry this e-mail will be super short. But I will be staying here in Columbus again which I am STOKED about. This place is heaven, I think. haha I love it here. Elder St. Clair has now finished his 2-year time as a missionary and will return to his family in Arizona. Man, I freaking love that kid. I'm really going to miss him. I learned so much from him. But I'm glad that Elder Roberts will be staying here in Columbus at least until he gets his visa to go serve in Mexico. And then we are getting another Elder here with us...his name is Elder Caldwell. I came out at the same time as him and I am really excited to work with him as well. So we will be in a 3-some again. This is my 4th 3-some. haha But it will be great. I'm excited. Both Elder Roberts and Caldwell are awesome and I think we will have a lot of fun together.

But as for investigators, we had 3 of them at church this week! I was SO pumped! G is set to be baptized this Saturday! And then two others are set for 3/24 and 4/7. Things are really going well in Columbus. And we are having a blast. We are being blessed with people to teach...even when several appointments fall through often.

I'm sorry I have no time. But I hope you are all doing well and enjoy St. Patricks Day. The Church is true!!

Love,
Elder Vawdrey

The Three Amigos

Amigos y Familia,

Hola...como estan Ustedes? I hear you got some snow, and that March Madness is nearly here. Wow, that's crazy. I hope you are all enjoying life and of course the snow...if there's any left. haha What a weird winter. We hardly got any snow out here either. It's just really windy here all the time.

This week we had quite the surprise. We got a call from President Kunz saying that there is another Elder here in Nebraska that is going to join our companionship. He just got out of the MTC and is waiting for his visa to Monterrey, Mexico. So, he is going to be here with us until he receives his visa. His name is Elder Roberts and he is from South Ogden, UT. Another Utahn. Yeah! He likes basketball, is a hard worker, and has been a blast to be around. We are excited to have him in our companionship.

On Tuesday we had a return appointment with "G", a 19-year-old kid that we tracted into last week. He reviewed with him the first lesson and then he committed to a baptismal date. He is an awesome kid and came to church yesterday. We were surprised to see him all dressed up in a nice suit and tie. Pretty hilarious. A couple members in our branch came up to us and said, "So, are the four of you coming over for dinner the week?" They all thought he was a missionary! Pretty hilarious. He definitely looked like one. But, when I sat next to him in Sacrament Meeting he told me that he doesn't think he can be baptized on 3/24/12 anymore. I was like "Why?" And he said that he is moving to Kansas that Sunday night at 6pm. I was like "For reals?" He talked to us earlier about how he was planning on going to Kansas some time to work and earn money for school, but we didn't know it would be that soon. haha So that was a bummer. So we will somehow have to stay in contact with him. Thankfully there is a family in the branch that knows him and his family really well so they can stay in touch with him. He will be in Kansas for maybe up to 2 months.

Then as for "G" (another "G"), she has a baptismal date for 3/17 and she is determined to get baptized on that date. We will have to see how things go. She says she wants to be a missionary. She is presently only 15. but, we will see if she is ready to be baptized on that date. She is very excited to be a "Mormon." haha

Last night, we visited with some investigators about the Book of Mormon. "M", the wife, was in the kitchen cooking at the time, and she seemed pretty stand-off-ish. But, when my companion started talked about the Book of Mormon she immediately turned around, ran over to where we were and said, "What did you say?" haha Uh...Book of Mormon. Apparently she has been reading it like crazy. She said she likes it better than the Bible because it's easier to understand. And she gets a lot out of it. She read it for like an hour and a half the other day (or so she told us). But they are a young married couple. We are going to help them paint the inside of their trailer this week and we are excited to work with them. She asked about church and pretty much committed herself and her husband to church this Sunday. Cool! haha Good visit!

But, things are going well here. Life is good. The Church is true. The Book of Mormon is still powerful and always will be, and we're having some fun! Hope you all have a great week.

Love,
Elder Vawdrey