...and where does the broad path go?

Gday famlay. Its a muggy Monday morning in the land of trees and... well mostly trees. Sweet.

Well this has been a pretty good week for me. I've been noticing since the transfer that I feel like I've been way more consistently happy. Isn't that a blessing. I think its for different reasons, but it sure is nice. Nice to feel good. President Uchtdorf gave that wonderful talk a few conferences ago about work and education and such and said something to the effect of Work will keep you from dwelling on the difficulties of your situations. I think my happier nature as of late is due in great measure to that. Work. I've had to really take charge here and do my best to make stuff happen that there has been far less time to worry about myself. I think so much more about what we're going to do next, and where we're gonna be, and what will be more effective and what we're going to teach, and all this kind of stuff. With Elder Tanner, he was the authority. He knew the area, so I didn't question these things so much. But now, its in my hands. Its an interesting thing. I'm sure other things contribute, but I really think I just haven't had as much time to get caught up in my own worries. Its a tough thing though because staying busy helps SO much, and that can be a hard thing to do.

We don't have a lot of work to do right now (depending how you look at it), so staying busy has been a challenge. I'm just doing missionary work the best way I know how, and I know that's enough right now, but the Lord has really been blessing us. After our baptisms, there was like, zero foundation from the past months to go off. So we're really just having to go at it and figure it out for ourselves. And like I said, we are having a certain amount of success. We are being diligent, and the Lord is blessing us. It definitely is taking patience, because the fruits of our labors seem to come in very small doses. But they are sweet fruits, and they make it worth it. I feel the Lord is leading us to people who are ready to hear our message. Slowly, but surely. Answering our prayers. I was just thinking the other day about how much sense it makes that the Lord would answer our prayers of righteous desires. Of course he wants us to have those things! Of course He will grant us the things we righteously desire! Its wonderful.

We found this fella John this week. First visit with John was great! Tracting and he invited us in. What?! I could count on fingers the amount of times that happens. He's a sharp guy. He told us the reason he let us in was that he feels he is searching for something and wanted to hear what we have to say. He had a lot of excellent intelligent questions and observations, so our "1st lesson" was pretty scattered and I'm not sure how much he grasped of it, but by the end, he really wanted to read the Book of Mormon. It was cool. It was a totally random way we came to be tracting his street too.

We came across a guy on the street last night that we talked to for a long time who really wants to listen to us and get his life in order. I was thinking about timing and everything that contributed to us being in the exact place we were in order to talk to him. It makes me feel like hopefully we are doing something right. That perhaps we can be instruments in the Lord's hands. Its something I pray for every day.

Sometimes you have those days when you come in after a hard day, knowing you really worked hard. That you really were trying to find people and bring them to Christ. We've had a lot more of those days lately than I've had in a while. And that feels really really good. Perhaps that's something contributing to my higher moods. Perhaps that's why we are having a certain amount of success as we're out each day. Like I said, its not like every day is amazing and we are finding all these prepared souls. Quite the opposite. We find few, and have difficulty getting to where we are actually teaching people. But its okay. I suppose part of it is our attitude. We know were in rebuilding mode, but we also know that we will find people. This area is great. I wouldn't rather be in any other area right now for the situation we're in.

So our mission is also going through some changes. The Church has this new program for missionary work that we are starting to apply. It, is, awesome. We've been having these long training meetings once a week for 3-4 weeks, learning things and trying to apply them better. Its still all Preach My Gospel, but we're kinda reapplying the principles and shifting our focus. As I learn these things, I just feel like this church truly is led by inspired men. I feel like they are hitting it right on the head. What we need to be doing. How we need to be teaching. Its all perfect, and it really excites me. I am sure if our mission and all missions can be applying what we are learning and become experts at it, the church will start seeing a lot more baptisms. Its really cool. I just have this good feeling inside me whenever I think about it.

Well, oh - Alexandra and Nicolas went to the Boston Temple Saturday! They did baptisms for the dead! Awesome, huh?! They really liked it. But now they are much more curious about the Temple. They really want to be able to see it all. There's pictures though, in Temple booklets and all, so we've showed them some of that. They are excited to go through in a year, and I think they will take very seriously the preparation and all. They'll get it. They blow my mind sometimes. I just cannot believe that they are coming along they way they are. Yesterday they were sustained as gospel principle/essentials (sunday school) teachers. They're excited to do that too! They'll be splitting it with the regular teacher, but still, they're gonna be learning! Again, can't believe how much they love the gospel already and are embracing it. I think its so simple for them. They are living it, and they are recognizing the blessings, so they want to live it more! And receive more blessings! They are sharing it with their families! Its crazy. I feel so blessed just to be able to see people like this, let alone baptize them! Man.

Uummm... Yes. I think that is all I have to say today. So Peace be unto you! I wish I could somehow express to you the feelings inside me, but I can't do it. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is real! Its True! I feel like it just can't be denied. Even to approach it from a logical viewpoint, it makes sense. I was reading the Book of Mormon the other day, about the law of restoration in ALma 40-42. And in 1 Nephi 1 there is this amazing parallel to Joseph Smith (and I just think about 2 Ne 2 and everything it says in that chapter, that really is beyond me how anyone could come up with that). Geeze man, a smart fella did not write that. A genius did not write that, nor could he. Only prophets. The Book of Mormon is mind blowing. It really is. I sit and read in awe every morning. For so many reasons. I know that there is a God who is ever mindful of us, and He really does have a plan and a purpose. There is a reason we are here, and there is something to look forward to, and we have the blessing of being able to make that better by the things we do here. If not so, as it says, God would cease to be God. I think back to the way this less active guy in the Waterbury ward put it to me, "if our church is not true, there is no God." Ha, its bold, but I love it. This makes sense. It is beautiful. It is perfect. Man is flawed and fallen, but the gospel is perfect. I don't even know what to say about Jesus Christ. I can't even grasp it for a moment. Only a heart full of gratitude. And I love it! And I love you all so much.

Elder Kunz is my name.