15 November 09

(Coulson responding to Mom's questions-ED) As to being an effective missionary… I’ve seen people who are so serious about their work as a missionary that they don’t even enjoy it, and it’s like an obligation that they just have to fulfill. I’ve also seen people who just take this time in their mission as a type of huge vacation
where they can get to know random people and learn a little more about the gospel, and enjoy a little bit more money than they’re used to. I’ve also seen missionaries, straight out disobedient, don’t follow any rules, are lazy, don’t want to be on the mission, yet still have a ton of baptisms. It confuses me a little bit, but I’ve found that being an effective missionary doesn’t always mean baptizing everyone in your sector. It’s just finding out what it is that the Lord wants you to
do, and then obeying. And as to the job that Calder got (2 years here in Las Vegas as a clerk for Judge Roger Hunt, a dream job-Ed), I was praying one night this week (don’t remember which day)about that clerkship with Judge Hunt and I just knew that the Lord would let him get that job, and I even remembered to write it in my journal, so that’s pretty cool. Well, here’s a story all about how my mission got flipped turned outside down, and I’d like to take a minute so sit right there and I’ll tell ya about… Jessica Widdup. She really is a great person, and she was going to church every week for about 2 months, but she wasn’t married (still isn’t) and for that she can’t get baptized, and for another reason, she doesn’t want to. Her sister was in the hospital and the doctors had her in intensive care because they
said she was going to die and that her lungs were basically full of blood. And Jessica stayed with her sister all that week in the hospital (missed the deadline for her wedding papers) and visited her family. But at one point, she was so desperate that she prayed to the Lord and said that if he would heal her sister, she would go back to the church she went to before (Evangelica). Miraculously the next day her sister left the hospital breathing normal and healthy. Sucks for me cause now she won’t come back to church even though she knows the Book of Mormon is scripture written by prophets and that Joseph Smith really did see God the Father and His Son. But we’ll just keep visiting them because they love having the Elders over to their house and I can’t help but feel that she’ll come back to the church eventually. And the half hour is over, so that’s it. Love you guys, and next week I don’t know what’ll happen because we have a multizone on Monday so I’m not sure what’ll happen, but still, send me a few letters.