Great Week!

There was a really big storm that hit the coast these past few days. We haven't gotten too much of it because Mount Jefferson sort of blocks us from everything. It slows the storm down a ton. We did have some crazy winds and a little bit of rain over the weekend. I can't imagine how it is in the valley and closer over to the coast though! 

That is crazy to see all of the changes that are taking place at home in the Stake! It sounds like both stakes are going to be in good hands. The fact that those leaders are called through revelation makes it comforting to know that they are called of God. That's cool that dad got to meet with the general authorities. It sounds like they were really good people. It's pretty amazing to see the Spirit that is always around people like that. It's definitely something that I want to work towards. There are some missionaries that just have that Spirit with them every time you see them. I was on exchanges with Elder Christensen a couple of weeks ago and he was like that. That is how I imagine Chris was on his mission. 

That is a great thought on repentance. That's something that I have been learning too ever since entering the MTC. Repentance is something that we need to embrace every day because it is a way that we can come closer to Christ and get to know Him more every day. His Atonement was made for each one of us so that we could all progress from wherever we are. A lot of people think of repentance as something you only do when you have big sins, but it is literally for every one of us to improve. I love what President Winters said. There are no breaks! Serving the Lord is a lifetime work. It's who we become and it's our lifestyle.

This week was pretty good. It was really busy though. I feel like we spent more time in the car than anything. We left Tuesday afternoon for Newberg because we had a tech training and me getting my iPad on Wednesday. We had Elder Smith and Elder Pratt with us because they had to go too and they're in our district and it's a 3.5 hour drive so we needed to save miles. It was fun though. We stayed at the APs apartment on Tuesday night, but their power was out that entire night so on Wednesday morning President and Sister Tateoka let the 6 of us use the showers in their home and Sister Tateoka even made us breakfast! It was awesome! I finally got my iPad Wednesday. It's great to be able to plan and use it to help study. It is a lot more effective than I ever thought it would be. 

We had some really good lessons this week. We met a couple who are married with 3 kids that were really interested in finding truth. The Spirit was so strong during our visit with them. They are honest seekers of truth. I can't wait to meet with them again next week. This week I read a talk from last year's October conference called What Lack I Yet. It talks about asking Heavenly Father in Prayer what we can individually do to improve and then ponder and listen for what the Spirit prompts you to do. For me, I was prompted that I need to get up and walk around for a second before I pray. I've done it the past couple of days and have seen the difference in my morning prayers and in how it invited the Spirit in the mornings for me. I would challenge you all to read that talk and take that challenge! The Spirit really helps you know what you need to do to improve. 

Elder Halaeua and I are both going to be in Madras for this next transfer! Our next transfer I think is the very last week of November. I love Madras so I am excited to be staying.