Dear family,
So I opened the mailbox this last Thursday and what do I find? A letter from Joe. As I read, something felt a little wrong. Then I got it. It was dated July 27, 2008. That was last year. How in the world did that happen? Oh, well. I hope that’s a first time and last time thing. I would hate it if there were several letters written that took a whole year to make it to me.
So this is a historic time in the Texas Lubbock Mission. If you remember, last November, a stud seventy named Elder Pearson came to our mission and reissued President Hinckley’s commission to double baptize. That was quite the challenge, being that since the conception of this mission, back in 2002, we have averaged 20 baptisms a month. Hitting an average of 40 would be quite the task, but we took it on. A couple of Zone Conferences ago, after having hit 30 baptisms as an average since Elder Pearson left, we set a goal to hit 35, a stepping stone to 40. Well, in June, as a mission, we got 38 people baptized and that pushed our average just above our goal of 35. President Robison being the great fun person he is, decided that we needed to celebrate this occasion and so last week we had a combined zone party over in my former area of Midland, Texas. Great times. Now the quest is on. The goal is 40 and it is just around the corner. I am excited.
In concordance with this, Eastland plans on contributing to this quest to meet President Hinckley’s call. There is a 41 year old guy named Michael Blakeley that we have been working with for a while now. We knocked on his door back in February and have been teaching him on and off since then. He is a great guy. Some would call him a dry mormon because everything that he believes is pretty much what we believe, we have been just trying to help him connect the dots. He loves talking and has a crazy gift that most people wouldn’t understand. They would call it psychic powers, probably like what Lamoni was thinking when Ammon read his mind. I rightfully call it the gift of discernment. Our first visit was crazy. At the end of our lesson Michael gave me some great advice. He pretty much told me that I had a hard time with rejection and often get flustered when things don’t happen the way I expect. He told me not to worry about because I am doing the Lord’s work. I was rather shocked. I hadn’t said anything about that. I felt like I was getting interviewed by my mission president, not an investigator that I had met for the first time. He was right on, though. I do have a problem with that. I hate it when I go through days, weeks, or months when nothing works out. I feel like Alma when he says he wishes that he was an angel and could shout repentance from the rooftops, yet I sin in that wish because I should be content with what I have been allotted. Anyways, Michael has been reading the Book of Mormon and has just started to come to church. I truly feel that he is beginning to see the light and we have set a baptismal date for the 25th of July. He is thinking about that hard. I feel it can happen and I would ask for your prayers for Michael to make it to that date. It would be nice to perform a little swan song dealy and get a 3rd baptism in Eastland before they finally boot me out, if that ever happens. Anyways, have a great week everyone!
Elder Adam R Droge
The DrogeMiester
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