Email from Elder Lofthouse 2/24/14 Life is Good

It's a great day to be a Mormon missionary!  I have been doing just wonderful.  We had interviews with President Gelwix on Friday.  He'd been telling us to prepare for it, to really put some thought into what we would talk about and I did that.  Because of that preperation I had the best interview I've ever had with him.  It was about 15 minutes long, but it was one of the most uplifting experiences I've had on my mission.  He is so great!  I'll miss him a lot.

Thursday morning we received a call from the Q family, who were supposed to be baptized on Sunday. Sister Q was in the hospital. We then found out later she would probably still be in the hospital until Monday, today. So, the baptism is getting pushed back. Some members went to visit her in the hospital though so that was really great. Hopefully she'll be doing well enough to be baptized this weekend. We're praying for them. They have a lot of faith and they have told us they are still set on getting baptized as a family.

On Saturday we went on a team-up with Brother Z and in one of our lessons he was talking about his goal to stand before God clean and pure. I really liked how he talked about it and as I was thinking about it in church the next day I realized/decided what I wanted my main goal to be: Alma 5:19 - To stand before god with a pure heart and clean hands, having his image engraven upon my countenance. I think wrote down the things I need to do to accomplish that and then set some shorter-term (but still long-term) goals such as finishing my mission with no regret and then what I'd have to do to accomplish that. It was so revelatory and so simple! Once I got it figured out what I wanted the main focus of my life to be, everything else just started falling in place. It was really cool! I feel like I have a pretty good short-term gameplan worked out right now and I keep adding to it and adjusting it.

I can't believe there is onlly 2 weeks left of this transfer!  I can't believe Elder Hatch is going home next week!  Holy cow!  It's the beginning of the end.  I am so determined to use my last 9 months to the fullest.  I have grown so much and I plan on progressing more than ever.  I am so, so thankful for this gospel.  I am so blessed to have this privilege to be a missionary.  

I love you all so, so much!  I hope you are taking advantage of the time that's given to you and that you're enjoying every moment.

Love,

Elder Lofthouse