United in Purpose

Labas
Well, another wonderful week in good ol' Vilnius. There was a cool story on Sunday. So a man was baptized here a few months ago. He is one of the most solid members in the branch now. His name is Audrys. Absolutely amazing. His family was not baptized with him however they are all 100% active worthy members. His wife and two kids come to church with him every single week. The mom has been hesitant because of various reasons but on Sunday we had fast and testimony meeting. I sat down and as the meeting started I knew that she was going to bear her testimony and tell everybody she had decided to be baptized. At first I thought how cool that would be but didn't really believe it. As the meeting went on I felt it more and more. Then, as the last speaker, she stood up and went to the pulpit where, through tears, she said she had just decided to be baptized with her children. Their date is the 27th. The other Elders here have been teaching them and they weren't upset by that at all. Every missionary in this country has just been waiting for that commitment. We are all very excited.
Also, come to find out, Darius quit drinking! We never official committed him to even do that. I only just mentioned it one day at church. He asked me why I don't drink and I said, "Because a prophet has received inspiration that we shouldn't do it and I know that drinking is a habit that would make it more difficult for me to be the example to my children that i want to be." I want my actions to always be in the positive for my friends and family. Selfishly indulging in habits that don't benefit anybody just perpetuates the problem of increasing selfishness in our society. Apparently he thought about it and decided that right now he doesn't want that for his family either and he quit drinking 2 weeks ago. So that was cool to find out. They are both still progressing but Darius still needs to get an answer about God. He just really cares about his family. He made that change in his life for the mere fact that he wants to help his family. He still has no idea about who God is and what God wants him to do.So. I liked the sending the picture and attaching a thought to it. So i am going to do it again this week. This week Elder Graham and I connected on several levels. He is an amazing missionary and I have been learning tons from him. We have had the privilege of feeling the spirits tender mercies together and learning from its healing power. I am so grateful that no matter how different two boys are from two totally different backgrounds, we can still find common ground on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Just as we can read The Book of Mormon and Bible and receive totally different revelations from God to help us in our daily lives; we can all read the same words of Christ and improve our FAITH< of="" baptism="">


Elder Cool