Dear Fullmer Family,
Can you believe that it's already the 7th of August... I can't believe how fast time is going. I'm pretty sure I write that in every letter but I just can't believe it. We got transfer info last night and unfortunately I'm going to be transferred... Not really looking forward to it because this is my favorite area! I love Killian! My companion and I get along so well together that it's sad to leave. However I know the Lord needs me somewhere else. It doesn't feel like I've been here for a fouth of my mission. Time really does fly. So to start my next transfer who knows where I'll be...
This week really has been one of the greatest ones yet. We had a zone challenge called "Coming to Ourselves" challenge (based off of the talk by Elder Robert D. Hales from last General Conference.) It talks about the prodigal son coming home and not being forgotten by his father. We took that as zone leaders and applied it to the missionaries of coming to ourselves by finding out who we are and working with no regrets. One of the suggestions that we used was to really prepare to take the sacrament last week. I really took that to heart and studied about the Atonement every single day. As the days went on my desire to take the sacrament increased. As my desires increased my actions followed by working hard helping others to desire what I desire. By the time we got to Saturday night I was pumped to take the Sacrament the next day. This was the most special sacrament that I've had and helped me really internalize the Atonement into my life. As I prepared for this moment I wasn't going through the motions and gave time to let the Spirit help me "always remember Him." I'll forward the challenge we sent to the zone. Also, I encourage you to read that talk again.
Well this week I've got some cool stories. So on Wednesday we went to go see the ***** family with the Bishop and it went really well! They're wanting to get married and they're starting to plan everything. The father hasn't really been staying for the lessons much. However the mother loves studying and reading the Book of Mormon. We come over and she talks about what she read the night before and when we leave they always keep studying. They're so great! They love the Bishop! Well after that lesson we picked up a recent convert of ours named Brother %%%% (from Peru... weird huh?) anyways. We took him to see ******* but at first she wasn't there. We took him to see another person who also wasn't there and then we went back to ******. We saw her outside of her house in the parking lot with her husband and Brother %%%% started talking. All of them are from Peru, not cuba :) They got along really well and then he just went right into his testimony. He shared his story about when he and his wife almost got separated but they found the Gospel and it brought them together. The same thing is happening with ****** and her husband. Very powerful and a great moment.
Then we got a call from a member who wanted to give us food and wanted to meet up in the Publix parking lot. We went there and as we waited brother %%%% went inside to buy something so we waited outside... Then some woman came up to us and asked, "Will you spare 5 minutes of your time to donate blood to save the life a 2 year old girl with cancer?" We told her we were really in a rush and couldn't. At this time it was 8:50 pm. So we really couldn't. She then said, "well if you really are representatives of Jesus Christ why won't you help save a life of a baby girl? If you knocked on my door I don't think I'd listen to Hippocrates..." She got us. We got into the blood bus and donated blood... I don't think we're supposed to as missionaries but I just didn't know what to do. The 5 minutes she was talking about turned into 25 minutes... We came out and the sister giving us food gave it to bro %%%% and then he said, "she got you didn't she?! She says the same thing every time! I've never seen that 2 year old!" Haha. It was frustrating but it all worked out! Haha... So if you get letters in the mail about donating blood you know why...
So we saw ##### this week as well. It turns out that he's going to move to his house in Veil Colorado for the rest of the summer. It was sad to see him leave but he'll get baptized soon. The lesson we had with him was so good! Teaching him is so different than teaching any other investigator. He had such great questions about the sacrament and about Christ's Atonement. He also had the question about why bad things happen to good people and we asked him if he had a Preach My Gospel.... He went upstairs and grabbed his. Again, so different than teaching any other investigator. We showed him the section on how the Book of Mormon answers the questions of the soul and he loved it! He's such an amazing person who is so prepared to be baptized! I'm definitely going to stay in touch with him :)
On Saturday, A recent convert came out with us practically all day long, six hours to be exact. As we went to Harvest (knocking doors) he was having a hard time because people kept rejecting us. He said, "Let's go to another area. No one wants to hear from us. Why do you do missionary work if it's so hard?" We explained to him, and helped him recognize, the blessing that we receive from the gospel. We asked him, "How would your life be different if we never knocked on your door?" He thought about it and knew if we didn't harvest he wouldn't be a member of the church. It was so great to see him grow and increase in his desires to share the Gospel. We brought him with us to see an investigator and bore his testimony that we are representatives of Jesus Christ. He bore his testimony of Baptism and how it changed his life. It was probably the best member present lesson I've ever had. It's been such a joy to see the progress with him. I've seen if from the very beginning. He really is turning into the person the Lord wants him to be. He rode his bike to church on Sunday, which was about 4 miles away, and was so happy! He got a home teaching companion and is just thriving. I love him and leaving him is the hardest thing about leaving this area...
On Friday we had Zone Leader Council so we went up to Fort Lauderdale and saw the progress of the temple. It's really going up fast! I didn't take a picture but when I go up tomorrow i'll take one and send it home.
Well that's about all I've got! Transfers really are a time to grow and meet new people. Even though it's tough to leave what's comfortable it's worth it in the long run and I know that there are people for me to meet in my new area, wherever it may be. I love you all and I thank you for all of the support you give me! Have a wonderful week and keep me in your prayers!
-Elder David B. Fullmer
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