December 21, 2015--Week 20

Hey everyone,

   This has been a pretty long week because we did a lot of contacting. I am not a huge fan of contacting because it takes a lot of enthusiasm to go up to random people and start talking to them and I am not very good at it, but we have been working to find new different approaches and came up with a few this week that have worked really well for us. We found 4 new investigators this week which is really good for us. Putting it into perspective, since I have been here, we have only found 2 new investigators until this week we found 4 new ones. 

   Outside of finding new investigators, it is getting really cold here and it's kind of miserable. It's too hot to be snowing, but it's about 40 degrees with a lot of humidity and wind making for cold fingers and face. It also means people aren't quite as friendly when we try to talk with them because they don't like standing around outside much.

    I don't really have too much to report on this week, nothing really major happened outside of a lot of finding. This next week is Christmas week, and we are looking forward to calling home. For our other investigators, we have Li, he is still doing Li things. He is coming to church, but is struggling with smoking. He will come around eventually, so we aren't too worried about him. We don't teach him more than once a week anymore because we can't do much to help him past his smoking so we just stop by every week. He keeps coming to church though and loves it and wants to keep learning more. He reads the scriptures every day. Quan, we dropped, he wasn't willing to keep commitments. Then we found 4 new investigators this week, please pray that their appointments will go through and that they will be open and receptive. 

     This week in my studies, I came across Ether 12-23-27 which I have read many times, but I caught something this time. In verses 23-25 Moroni sorrows because he thinks that because of his weakness because of what he considers his inability, the Gentiles will not listen to what he has to say. Moroni worries that because of him, the people in our generation will not accept the gospel. But after this in verses 26 and 27, the Lord comforts Moroni and explains why he has allowed Moroni to have this weakness. I encourage all of you to study this scripture this week. I know as I studied this scripture, I found many weaknesses that the Lord has given me, and I think he wants us to bring these weaknesses to him so that he can make them strong. I testify of the power of Jesus Christ's Atonement. I am proof that it works. I have seen it work in my life as I have worked to learn a new language and overcome fears. I know that this same Atonement is available to all those who come unto Christ. 

Merry Christmas to all of you and enjoy your time!

-Elder Nickerl