Sain uu?

Thanks for all the great emails and updates! And when you get your camera back send some pictures my way ya? Today marks the start of the 6th full week that Elder Verdusco and I have been in Khailaast and man how fast these last 6 weeks have flown by. Khailaast is a whole new ball game and it's been completely different from any area that I've been in before. Elder Verdusco and I are at work to find new investigators, especially those who are prepared to come to Christ and to live by the Gospel. This branch also has suffered the effects of not doing things the Lord's way in leadership, retention, and Church organization and that's been on my mind a lot lately. The organization of a ward or branch, if they follow the guidance that is given, is perfect! I have had my outlook on the programs, activities, quorums, and ward organization completely changed this last six weeks, especially how I've thought about our home ward, how it blessed my life and what we need to do to bless the lives of these members here in Khailaast. Here's a little about the week:

Elder Verdusco and I continue to teach a ton of English and it usually ends up sucking 3 or so hours out of work each day. Now working out of the city center we see a lot more poverty and I can't ever complain with all the many blessings we are given. We've been working a lot with a less active brother in our ward and this week have seen a lot of success! We have been focusing on the scriptures with him and doing "study sessions" together paired with our lessons. The scriptures have an amazing ability to fill us with righteous desires and we've noticed that with this brother! In part of our efforts to strengthen the branch we met 3 or so new families that for some reason or another became "lost sheep." Last night we finished work by meeting with one of them and after a bit of introductions shared a spiritual thought and invited them back to Church, to continue meeting with the missionaries, and to again grow closer to Christ. They replied that they had felt the need to come back to Church, but hadn't been able to work up the courage to start themselves and expressed their gratitude that the Lord had sent his missionaries to them. There's nothing that makes me happier as a missionary than that feeling that we are on the Lord's errand and I was grateful to see that this week with our less active members!

Sorry today time is really short, but I love you guys and hope you have a great week!

Elder Jolley