Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication

Excellent week. We moved around a fair amount, got to visit all the zones. This is going to be a super busy transfer. I already knew it would, but its shaping up to be even more so. We had to prepare a "training" for the whole mission, and its always interesting how things like that end up coming together after struggling through it, not knowing what to do initially. Its great. We had to deliver it 4 times though, which is kind of a pain by the 3rd time. Now I know how President Pehrson feels. Groundhog day! It was awesome though, I love the opportunity to see all the missionaries and interact with them a bit. We have such a great mission right now, I love it! I've been thinking back a little, I remember my first few companions, they were all fine and good, but I would always kinda think to myself, oh I wouldn't hang out with this kid back home though, he's not my style, or something silly like that. I totally would limit myself with these superficial barriers. But I look at the missionaries now, and I just love them all! I feel so grateful to be here in Connecticut. I want to hang out with them all, I want to hang out with everyone! Ha ha, I just mean to say that in retrospect it feels good to know that I've hopefully become less judgmental of people, and have come to love all these Elders and Sisters I serve with. This mission is wonderful.

Rob - we taught Rob the Plan of Salvation Tuesday. He had read this pamphlet we gave him about it, and we discussed it and answered questions. Its really neat how it just rings true to some folks as soon as they hear it. They just know its right. Same things happened with him when we taught the Word of Wisdom last week. He just knew it. SO SWEET! After the Plan of Salvation we asked him to try and relate it back to us, based on this little diagram we had put down. He did it perfectly. It was so cool. Rob is a prepared soul. I can hardly even say how blessed I feel just to be a part of his life and witness the conversion process. To see him change. Its amazing. Last night we talked about faith with him. He's starting to catch the vision of what he can become and its kind of scaring him a bit. He worries he's not doing enough. Its so funny because I think that is exactly how I felt the whole first half, and then some, of my mission. Rob is beautiful. You've never met a person like this. Truly a humble seeker of happiness. Its a serious miracle that he has done what he has in the past month. We are transitioning him into the ward he's supposed to go to and working with those Elders. I've been trying to get some members involved too, and I think its going to be excellent. Ah my gosh! I'm going to cry if I don't get to see him be baptized, whether in my ward or not, but at least its going to happen. This guy is incredible.

We took this Elder to the airport on Thursday morning. It was a spur of the moment thing, he was supposed to fly out friday, but there was a big storm coming in, so they got his flight changed. Ha it was super weird to take him to the airport with all his bags and everything! His mission is done! Fin! Crazy to think about...a little teaser of things to come. Yikes.

Lets see...Mary, she's doing good, she finally came to church again and what do you know, the speaker gave an excellent talk that I kept thinking oh I'm so glad Mary was here to hear that and oh I hope she heard that, etc. Good stuff. She's still struggling to grasp this whole authority thing, but I think it will come. We watched the Restoration DVD and she loved it. It has ASL on it and she is a professional signer so we watched it with a deaf friend of hers and she said with the sign language interpreter it really sunk in and had a deep meaning. It was cool to hear, I'd never considered something like that. Mary is great, she knows the Lord lead us to her, and I do too. She wants to get baptized and we will baptize her. We just need her "get" a few more things and keep coming to church enough to develop the habit. If she comes every week from now on, I could see her in the water, so I'm crossing my fingers. Her life is kinda hectic and something always comes up. But I find that with church, something will always come up if you're not committed. She'll get baptized. Sooner or later. Hopefully sooner!:)

More snow this week, it seems to be never ending out here! Tuesday we had this crazy ice storm! I've never seen such a thing! It was kinda fun, but we had to be careful. We had a zone meeting and the whole parking lot was just a sheet of ice. Sheets on the cars, the branches on the trees, it was just ICE! "You mean like snowmen and eskimos and igloos and...ICE!" Wild. Weather does not make missionary work easier. Extremes. Heat, cold, really cold! It was -2 this morning. Wow. Icicles everywhere.

Generally, things are good. Yesterday church was wonderful. I love this Avon ward! I have been so blessed with areas and companions and everything in general. I'm in the home stretch of things here, hard to believe, but its definitely been a time for introspection, which I like to do. My mission has been incredible. I love Connecticut, and I love the Saints here, and I love the feeling of it all and so many more things. Anyway, Avon has some wonderful people and I'll surely be sad to leave. Give me one more transfer!!! Its so neat how each ward has a different feel to it. And you truly grow to love a people by serving them. It has been so good for me to have to take the reigns in this area. Being in charge just forces you to grow. Lengthen your stride. Its awful though because I feel like I'm FINALLY starting to get how to do missionary work. Of course, here in the winter of my tenure here. And then I'll go home. I guess that's just how it often works in the church. You grow into your calling and then they release you and give you something else you don't know how you're going to do! Keeps us humble, huh. Gosh I've learned so much about the importance of humility in the past few transfers. Ahh, I just love Avon! Its wonderful!

Okay. God's Tender Mercies. This week has been FULL of them. I, uh, won't toot my horn too much, but it does feel really good when someone tells you that you made a difference in their life. In a nutshell, I saw several sisters in the Woodbridge ward this week, and they said I was definitely missed down there. That we were good Elders. That feels good because I LOVE that ward and miss it like crazy. We are working with this super nice guy named Ben, who's not the biggest commitment keeper, but I told him something about reading the Book of Mormom (thanks to Chris Linford for providing the story), and he called me a week later and said he had been reading and praying every day, and that he was really noticing a difference. He called and thanked me for helping him. I also got in touch with a former investigator in Waterbury (via facebook, ha) who told me some nice things too. Those among other things have REALLY made me feel good. And especially good about some of the things I've done and seen and been a part of on my mission. Blessings!! Too many to count.

I am grateful for the sweet sweet peace the spirit of the Holy Ghost gives. There is nothing like it. The good tidings of the Spirit. Oh that we all might live our lives to have that comfort and guidance with us more abundantly. There is nothing so precious.

I love my family. I love my life (most of the time:)). I love the Gospel. I love the Lord.
I love my area. I love my companion. I love my mission president. I love my mission.
SO much.
I don't love facebook.

Love you all!

Elder Kunz