Nov. 8 2010, Watched 2 General Conference Sessions and I am Thankful for...

Hello family!

So nothing much really happened this week. Just a whole lotta sweat! (Led Zeppelin reference)

We got to watch 2 sessions of General Conference this Sunday and a Priesthood Session on Saturday night. It was cool to go to. I miss it. We were somehow late because we had to run and grab Daniel, we are like his daddy, and another one of our investigators so we missed the first talk.

It was still really a good session. I really like the Priesthood sessions. President Monson really is God's prophet. Everything that he says seems to have personal relevance for what is going on in the world today. He rocks. Also President Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk on pride was very good. I cant wait until the magazines come out. THANKS FOR THE CONFERENCE MP3's. We listened to them the moment I opened them.

I also liked President Monson's talk on gratitude. I am very grateful for all that I have. Coming from a place with hmm plenty and coming to a different place has helped me recognize how much I am blessed. After talking with the other missionaries, I am probably one of the most blessed people in this world, it seems. For example most people can't say this:

I have married parents and grandparents and a sister who are sealed in the temple.
My parents worked and put me through school.
I can read and write.
I have all my appendages and they work correctly.
We have a washing machine.
We have lights so we can read after 6 pm.
I was able to get a scholarship and go to a university.
I have a musical instrument and can play it.
My parents support and love me. I was raised in my own home.
We have home teachers, visiting teachers.
Our public transport allows for easy visitation of family, church members friends.
I have friends who are members of the church.

Hopefully I will find it hard to complain about much when I get home. The talk about how the family during Thanksgiving was complaining about how they didn't have a nice dinner and forgot about how it was to live without lights. The father then turned the lights off and just lit a candle and then they realized how much they were blessed. If I ever complain when I get home, just smack me across the head.

Well we have a fun little story about conference.
The church rented some power generators for conference because the lights always go out and everything goes tatsup (throws salt over shoulder and spits). So we watched the Priesthood session and all was well, the power went out and the generators saved the day. Gasoline powered Priesthood Session. We watched it on a small tv.

On Sunday we got to church for the other sessions and they brought a projector and DVD player. NO SPEAKERS however. We helped them recognize the problem and then they frantically called somebody with a laptop that had speakers so we could hold up the mic to the dinky laptop speakers. (Man it was like scratching a cat backwards, it would have been conference from a tin can sound). They brought the laptop but the dvd drive was not working. They then brought in the church computer and it didn't have the correct codecs, or software to play DVD's. So finally Elder Collings was able to step in and carried in the TV and routed the DVD to the projector and then used the TV for speakers and then we were able to mic the TV speakers to the church PA and still use the cord for the projector. It was big, nice and loud. Yahoo for the technologically smart people. (Star Trek Sign here. Salutes with fist touching chest, you know how they do)

I wanted to snap a photo of the chaos and pile of technology and gear for the conference showing but I didn't bring my camera. Oh well. It was funny.
I would have just used a headphone jack into an XLR cable, but good luck finding that around here...We improvised and it worked out.

We got 3 of our candidates interviewed this week for baptism on Saturday. It should be really sweet.

We will baptize a man named Edward Anderson. THATS RIGHT! I will baptize an Anderson on my mission hahaha. Also the man Samuel E. and a woman named Beatrice A.

I had to go on splits the other day and somebody said the whole baptism for the dead thing slip out too soon and it scared Beatrice to death. She took it literally instead of being baptised in behalf of someone who has died. I had to come and explain the whole thing simply and use the scriptures to help out and get members to teach her how it works and that we don't dig up dead bodies and that Spirits don't follow you home or any mumbo jumbo juju or anything like that. Just then the temple Liahona came out and we showed her the pictures of the temple and then read the little kid section with her. We later watched a movie about the temple called "Between Heaven and Earth." The brofo, english, is big so we had to keep pausing and explain what was going on. After we were done she said, "so when can I go?" It was a great day!

Sorry o my time is short today. We gotta run and do all of this stuff. Elder Zadi's candidates didn't come to get interviewed yesterday so I gotta run and do all of that stuff. The AP's and Zone Leaders keep calling every 5 min and are frantic. I gotta go track down their people and interview them asap.

oh one last thing.
We took Elizabeth A. to teach a lesson with us and she was such a pro! She bore her testimony and offered to walk with the person to church etc. She taught the man how the Holy Ghost testifies to our heart and mind in a whisper and shared how she came to know that the church was true. Man it was sweet. It was a great day. I was so proud of her! I'm going to go buy the primary song cd's for them tomorrow so her little daughters can learn them. I also have the primary songs little book you sent me I might give to them. YAY for active recent converts.

Well I love you guys. I'll send more pictures next week. I'll send a nice big email next week.

Oh thanks for the birthday rice krispie cake. We all enjoyed it and it was awesome!
you guys rock.

Well I'll talk to you later my family.
Love you!

Elder Bills