Elder Kyle Winters: April 22nd 2013

I survived my first week in Wales! My companion and I are working hard, and we are looking for ways to work harder :) As we strive to become better servants of the Lord, the Lord has directed us in the work. Last week we found a man who had been taught briefly by previous missionaries. We knocked on his door, and he let us right into his home to teach the entire lesson on the Restoration of the gospel! He is going through a whole lot of challenges right now, and we are hoping that he will make and keep the commitments he needs to in order to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ and find joy in his life. In our first lesson he told us that he really wanted to quit smoking. He had done so for several months previously, but he had begun to smoke again in an attempt to deal with the stress in his life. We explained to him that the church has put together a fantastic stop smoking program which we could teach to him in the future. When we went to visit him 5 days later, he told us that he hadn't smoked since our last visit! I respect him so much for his will power!

Although I have experienced many miracles in the short amount of time I have been here, one really stands out to me. A couple of days ago we went out to talk to a potential investigator. He wasn't home, but as we walked back to the car we stopped to talk to a young man who looked about 14 years old. He told us that his parents discouraged religion and he didn't know much about it, but I gathered that he really wanted to know more about Christ. We gave him a Book or Mormon and explained that it would help him come closer to Christ. He asked if we had a church somewhere in the area, and we gave him the address of our meeting house. He told us that he might come to church on Sunday, and he asked if he could bring some friends! WOW!!!!! We didn't see him at church on Sunday, but I am praying that he will make it in the next couple of weeks. In any case, we were definitely able to plant a very big seed! (It might even qualify as a bulb:)

The gospel is true! Pray for the missionaries, and pray for opportunities to share this glad message with your friends!

Elder Winters