The work continues...

Hey familia and friends! I hope that this letter finds you guys doing amazing and enjoying summer and all the good activities that follow! I continue to think about you guys but I know that you are doing great. Thanks so mucho for your love and support during my time here, I really can’t believe that another week is gone and here I am writing again, it’s crazy!!! But all good! Let’s get down to the hot/humid report shall we! Yup, it’s warming up again... oh great! HAHA

Well this week we had some battles, not going to lie. This week was not a cake walk at all. We had a lot of doors slammed on our face and people just really not wanting to listen to us. It makes me sad because they really don’t know what a great message that we can bring to them. We can bring so much peace into their lives and help them grow so much closer to our Savior, they have no idea. But we got after it, we kept battling and I can honestly say we didn’t really have much success until yesterday... but what a great day yesterday was. I can testify that the Lord blesses us when we keep doing things in the right way even when its hard. This week was another testament of that. It was a harder week but ended up amazing, so that’s good!

So walking all week thinking, where can we go that someone will really want to listen to us and where should we go. Well, I said to my companion you know what, lets work close to our house and see what it brings. Right down the street we found a great familia! They are amazing! They have never listened to two white missionaries HAHA, never, so it was a great time and they are super interested in our message that we brought and they said that they feel something special in just the first visit. The first time we went the husband was not there, but the second time the wife said don’t worry the whole familia will be here, so when we got there on Sunday they actually were all waiting there for us.... and people keeping their word here doesn’t happen as much as you would think.. so we were so pumped!

They loved our message and they are super excited to have us come back this Tuesday so that was great!

Then Sunday I had a feeling that we needed to go visit and member, we are also teaching their son but he struggles a mucho with drugs, so we headed there because I felt like we needed to ask the dad if he knew anyone that we should visit. So we followed the spirit and went with it. We got there and asked him if he knew anyone, he said no one wants to listen to missionaries here, everyone thinks they know everything. I told him, Hermano F. I know that you know someone that you can bring us to teach and he was like I really don’t know of any one. I said well bring us to a friend or someone you know because I had an impression that I needed to ask you to help us find someone. So we went to his friends house. Come to find out he was one of the first members here in Talanga. He was baptized about 25 years ago... how crazy is that! His wife had a baptism date but then the missionaries had changes so they left... and they have never had missionaries visit them in about 20 years... how crazy is that!

It brings me to the point that we must always listen to the spirit, it will NEVER lead us astray. I promise you that my brothers and sisters. When we came to the door they were so excited to see two boys in white shirts. It’s EXACTLY what we needed this week to say the least. It was excelente! I am so thankful to have the spirit guide us when we need it most. We must prepare ourselves to listen to the spirit. You never know when the still small voice will tell you to do something or not to do something and you never know what will come of it. I testify that the Lord lives. This is the Lords work, I see and feel it every day. I am SOOO proud to be serving and would not want to be anywhere else. Enjoying every minute of the way!!! 

This past Friday my mind was full thinking of my brothers and sisters that were running and marching out of Jacks Valley from boot camp at the United States Air Force Academy. About 2 year ago I was in their boots... and let me tell you what an experience that it is! I had goose bumps the entire day thinking about what they just went through and what they accomplished. I am proud of all the cadets that made it out of boot camp. I am so thankful for the time that I had at AFA. The AFA experience is a lot like the mission in a lot of ways but in many ways very very different. I am so thankful to have both experiences and I know with all my heart that I am a better man today from both of these journeys that I was on and will continue to do when I return home. I know that the Lord has a plan for me in my life. I know that this plan isn’t easy, but it will make me a better man and has changed me.  My time at the AFA and my time here on the mission has changed my life for the better. I am so thankful for my heavenly father who has a plan for me and my future. I know that if I do what he wants me to do and do what’s more important, one day I will have the opportunity to live with him once again.

I am so thankful for the past two years and all the ups and downs that I have had. I wouldn’t do a thing differently. I know this is my time to give it my all to the Lord. At times it’s not easy, but I have this time to serve and my whole life to remember it! I am so thankful to be serving right now!

Friends, family and loved ones, thanks so much for your love and support these past two years when I have been on some crazy experiences. I want to share one thing that I have really learned on my mission. This is especially for my little brother and family whom I love so much but also for all my friends and family. I have learned here on the mission one question that I ask myself a lot and that has changed my life.... Where will this decision take me?  I love that question so mucho. I ask ustedes to pregunta su mismos este pregunta. Where will this decision take me? We need to build our strength and capacity to see and think ahead. This will help us so much I promise you guys. I ask myslef this a lot here in my mission and it has helped me out immensely.  So Gi, where will your decisions take you? What will you do differently? How are you going to prepare to serve the Lord and what will you do to be a better young man? Thanks mom and dad for your examples. I wouldn’t be here today doing what I am doing and going to the AFA without the love and support of you guys. THANKS. 

I want to leave you guys with my love and testamony that I know that the Lord loves us and that he wants the best for us. se que cada uno de ustedes tienen un proposito en esta vida. quiero el mejor por cada uno de ustedes, si hay algo que puedo hacer por ustedes cuentame porfa! Se que el evangelio puede traer mucho gozo en nuestro vidas, y eso es que quiero por mis hermanos y hermanas! estudia las escrituras, vaya al iglesia y ustedes van a ver los bendiciones en sus vidad, les prometo mis hermanos. Espero que todo bien con ustedes! Tengan un buen semana!

Aim high in all that you do, put your best foot forward!! 

Con mucho amor,

Elder Long!!!!!