What are you going to learn today?

This week we gave some trainings on goal setting and planning. They are important things in missionary work. I haven't always been much of a goal setter in life, at least not by way of writing things down and holding myself to them. I suppose we all set goals in some way, but its never been an especially big thing for me. However, out here I have definitely come to recognize the importance of doing such a thing. And I feel like I have faith in the principle of it - that we can set a righteous goal, seek the Lord's help, do all we can, and He will help us to achieve it/provide a way. That whole thing makes perfect sense to me. But I really haven't put it into practice a great deal, which is kind of sad being a missionary. Perhaps a great opportunity I've missed out on.

At the beginning of this transfer I said to myself, okay, this is the last one, I'm going to baptized somebody. So I very prayerfully set the goal, fasted, wrote it all down, wrote down current "prospects", wrote down what would need to happen to see these people baptized (basically made plans), and kept praying and fasting. I really tried to show my faith that the Lord would open doors. I found my goal motivating me to do my best work. To push a little harder. I was expecting that some way or another, we would see a baptism this transfer. Meanwhile I was trying to be mindful of the will of the Lord. But I kept thinking, there is no way it is the Lord's will that nobody in this area of Connecticut be baptized right now. There is always somebody. I'm sure of it!

So the days went by and we were working and doing our missionary thing, and we had two people that were really looking good. But two weeks ago, neither of them had made it to church yet. There's not really a written rule about how many times a person needs to come to church before they can be baptized, but I like to have them there enough to have developed somewhat of a habit of attending, and also to get to know members and such. And two weeks ago I was starting to wonder if there would be enough time for that to happen. But I was doing my best and I was still sure the Lord could make something happen, even though the most visible road to success was starting to get a little foggy. After church two weeks ago the Bishop grabbed us and had us into his office. There was a couple sitting there, a part member family, the husband of which is not a member. I had inquired about him from some other members, and it sounded like he'd been through the game with Elders, and nobody really knew why he didn't ever get baptized. He's been coming to church to support his wife for years. Held callings in scouts and such.

Anyway, two weeks ago Sunday, apparently it finally just clicked. He told Bishop he was ready to be baptized. Bishop grabbed us, we talked to them, set a date, scheduled time for visits, and that was that. Turns out he's been basically active in the church for 10 years! A dry Mormon. He goes to Gospel Doctrine class, has his own scriptures, etc. He knows it. We taught him everything in two visits. His name is Shaun. The guy is sweet.

Yesterday he got baptized. The Lord provided a way. Now I didn't really do anything for this. We showed up, taught some things, filled up the font, set up some chairs, and called a bunch of people. It wasn't your typical weeks and months of teaching and overcoming bad habits and attitudes and such. It was nothing. It just fell into our lap. Given to us on a silver platter. What I mean to say about all this is that I know the Lord had His hand in the timing of it all. This was a HUGE tender mercy to me. Could the Lord have waited two more weeks to touch this man's heart and cause him to know it was time? Absolutely. Do I think my setting the goal to baptize someone caused him to receive a change of heart? Probably not, but I know that Lord has a plan, and its amazing to see how things all work together when we give ourselves to Him. I got to a point where I wasn't sure how someone was going to get baptized, but the Lord opened the doors. It wasn't this amazing process of conversion that we witnessed, but that's not what I specifically prayed for. I wanted one of God's children to make a covenant. And I tried my best to find one. But I guess He already had one in mind. And He taught me a wonderful lesson in the process.

In hindsight I KICK myself thinking WHY HAVEN'T I BEEN DOING THIS FOR TWO YEARS??? I guess I'm glad I learned it now rather than never. I'd learned it in smaller ways, but this was a much more powerful thing. He bore his testimony briefly in Sacrament meeting yesterday. He knows its all true. It was amazing. I don't know what takes a person 10 years, but it was nice to be the harvester of so many planted seeds! So the Lord blessed us with a baptism. The beginning of an eternal family.

Well over half the active ward showed up to the baptism. I can't tell you how much I LOVE this Avon ward. They're unique, I don't feel especially close to anyone in particular. But the whole collective of them just feels good! There are a lot of solid impressive people here. Good examples. Wonderful, wonderful people. I love it! I can't tell you how sad I will be to leave. I just want to go back to all the Wards I've served in and be there again. I love the Saints of Connecticut. And I LOVE Connecticut. A huge piece of my heart is going to get left here. Very. Very. Bittersweet. I don't care if its New England and the work isn't very fast moving here. I don't care if people think people are hard-hearted. Maybe they are. Maybe they are "all set." It doesn't matter to me. I like the place. Its where I served my mission. And that makes it the best place in the world.

Okay, I'm done with my story. Hope it was fantastically dreamy and inspirational and you all want to go set goals and achieve them. I'm still not very good with goals, but at least I know its possible.

So apart from that, this week was strange! I could count the number of hours we actually proselyted on one hand! Tuesday and Wednesday we were snowed in! We braved it for a while one day and went and tracted, but after a while it was like...um...this isn't working so well. Don't judge me for not going the extra mile on that one. We went inside and drank hot chocolate and talked about other things. THERE IS SO MUCH SNOW!!! Like there have been plenty of years in Idaho without this much snow! Actually, it rained on Saturday, so that brought the level down a bit, but people's roof's are collapsing and all kinds of wild stuff. Life is nuts! Oh, but life is so good! I'm scared to come home. I'm way excited, but geeze, right now I have the best life there is.

Anyway, two snow days, two Zone Conferences, lots of preparations, reports, baptism, church, meetings, NOT VERY MUCH MISSIONARY WORK as it is typically considered to be. But so is life sometimes.

Great insight from President Pehrson this week, one I wish I would have heard a LONG time ago. Something to the tune of a great missionary seeks first for spiritual power. If we do that, obedience will follow naturally. It makes perfect sense. I've had so many headaches about obedience, when I feel like it would have been a lot easier if my focus was more on just having the spirit. Is this right or wrong, should I do this or not... Am I going to have the spirit in this or that circumstance? That's a better question. I've always been a bit intrigued by the Letter of the law vs. the Spirit of the law. Slowly I've come to get it a little more. I could go on, but I like that. Simple, I ought to have got it long ago. But again, at least I got it.

So I heard from Elder Miller who is still in Hamden about this guy who was inactive who has suddenly come back to church. I really like this guy, he was a really good conversation. But I saw him as pretty far gone, and I definitely wasn't about to bring him back. He was no dummy, and very good at seeing different sides of things. Anyway, this guy is coming back to church! I was shocked! You could imagine what he did. Among other things, he read the Book of Mormon. I have no idea why he decided to do that. Read the whole thing in four weeks. Couldn't deny it after that. He knew it. I don't know what his motive was, but even being somewhat devoid of the spirit, it worked on him. He quickly quit smoking. Etc. Anyway, this is a miracle. Totally. Cool huh.

Lately I just can't stop feeling this marvelous sense of gratitude as I kneel down at night, and even in the morning when 6:30 comes way to quickly. My prayers have been wonderful lately. I feel so good after prayer and I think to myself, what a wonderful world. Just kidding, I think to myself, man I could have just hopped right into bed and skipped the prayer and fallen asleep, but I would have missed all the beautiful feelings I receive from prayer! All the good tidings from the Spirit and pondering all the blessings of life and the things I seek for the Lord's help with. All the people in my life, all the experiences. IT FEELS GOOD! I love prayer and its taken me some time to grow into the principle and find consistency, and I'm sure it will fluctuate throughout life, but I do know it works. I know God is there and is mindful of us and when we come to Him with perfect sincerity, wow, He really answers. Seriously. That is absolutely incredible.

So seriously, being a missionary is the coolest thing there is. I've been thinking about it lately, and for real, this is the best. Nothing is as awesome as all the things we get to do. Its got its ups and downs and days that are NOT so great, but overall, it is great. I want everyone to do this.

So amidst all this, I'm not going to lie to you guys, I am excited to come home. But only for a few reasons. The end being so close now, its really hard not to think about it, for better or for worse. I don't think its been a distraction much, but the looming finale just brings a bunch of stuff to mind. Stuff. Chaff in the whirlwind. What is life. I don't even know. I just know how to be a missionary a little bit. I don't know what's gonna happen when I'm cut loose. It going to be hard. It ought to be easy. I think its good to be mentally prepared. Lindsay was recently saying to me how its like the Lord is kind of beginning to transition me. Who knows.

Dad, Mom, Michael, Laura, it feels good to be happy. People make me real happy. If you have questions about anything about my return, you need to email me because I can't remember anything when I sit down here. Wow, this church is insane. It is so awesome! It amazes me! People in this church are just great. We all got our issues, but they're great. Everyone is great! Its really nice to be in a good mood when I write these things. I'm not always in a good mood, but lots of times I am. Love you all. I seriously love you.

Elder Kunz