Timely update (surprise!)

Mission date: 10 November
We aren't riding bikes much because we cover an entire stake. Two of the units are about an hour away. I am exercising in the morning though and have lost a little weight too. I think it's because I'm eating bigger breakfasts and smaller lunches. That, and I'm not snacking as much either.

My companion, Elder Aguilar is from Mesa Arizona. He's hilarious and a great missionary. I enjoy serving with him. There aren't too many Hispanics up here so we are working in English too, but my companion and I talk to each other in Spanish.
There is no WalMart or KMart for hours. We go to a local market called Ridley's. It’s WAY expensive, but I don't worry. The members here feed us well and they give us a lot of food to take home and cook too. Most of it is hunted animals: elk, antelope, mule deer, etc. Good stuff. Right now we don't have any set-in-stone plans for Thanksgiving, but we have NUMEROUS invitations to dine with other people that day.

Missionary business is going good as usual. I think it's getting better because I'm deciding to be more positive. Things are slow, but we still work hard. We've got a couple of people set for baptism, and one of my old investigators in my last area got baptized. I called her the night of to see how she was doing. She's way happy! Also, she and another baptism that I had about 4 weeks ago are both going out to help the missionaries and to bear their own testimonies. It's interesting how a missionary’s joy increases as a convert takes steps. He's happy when they’re baptized, but it gets better when they get the priesthood. It gets even better when you hear them bear their testimony to others. It gets even BETTER when they go to the temple to be sealed and/or receive their endowments. As they go throughout life, the joy continues to grow. I love it, and hope that I will be able to see some of my converts go to the temple. That'd be amazing.

I don't have too much time left, but I want to share a spiritual thought with you that I've shared several times at dinner appointments. In Mosiah 2, the last verse teaches us that those who keep the commandments are blessed both temporally and spiritually. They are happy. Before the mission, I used to obey in order to avoid the consequences. Is that bad? No. But there could be a better reason for obedience. As I have served, I learned about the law of blessings, and started to obey because I wanted the blessings. That's a much better reason than just trying to avoid punishment, but there is still a better reason. The best reason to obey is because we love the Lord. We want him to bless us so that we can use those blessing to bless the lives of his other children. We want to assist him in His work. When we have this mindset, THEN we can be happy. THEN we can be able to return to live with him. I kind of wished that I had learned this before, but thankfully I know it now.

I love you very much, and hope that all goes well with you. I know that if you all are doing what you need to be doing, the Lord WILL bless you. Its a promise, and you know that he can't break his promises. Take care and be happy!