May 16, 2011 Letter

Hello Family,

 

I am doing very well.  I am still in Texas so that's good I guess, right?  So we just got done playing a game called Acquire at the ward mission leader's house.  Definately not my kind of game.  Bunch of numbers and stock trading...not a good time really.  More just a waste of a P day.  We are going to play golf with an investigator soon so that will be really fun.

 

We have been working with this investigator for about two weeks and he is kinda on the fence right now.  He wants to believe that the church is true and feels that what we say and teach makes sense...he just doesn't want to be wrong.  He doesn't want to commit to something that he is going to be ridiculed for if in the end it wasn't right.  Obviously we know that it is right and that he shouldn't have that worry but he doesn't.  So right now we are just doing everything that we can to build up his testimony.  This past Sunday didn't really help.  He had gotten the typical anti of "Y'all worship Joseph Smith."  To which of course we said that we do not and that he should continue coming to church so that he could understand that.  Well, Sunday came around and the opening hymn just happened to be "Praise to the Man".  Awesome.  Then two of the talks were given by members who talked about how they came from pioneer families who were related to, you guessed it, Joseph Smith, whom they felt so privelaged to have a distant tie to....AWESOME...Then to top it all off the closing hymn was "Joseph Smith's First Prayer".  This day just keeps getting better and better.  Then on top of Joseph Smith Sunday, the lesson in Gospel Priciples was on eternal marriage.  The teacher for whatever reason decided to teach about how eternal marriage was necessary for exaltation.  So instead of clarifying that we do not worship Joseph Smith it only made it worse and then for an added bonus threw in eternal marriage, exaltation, and man's potential to be like God.  Sweet...needless to say we have our hands full with what to teach this man.  We love him so much and we are so excited to see him and his family get baptized.  They all have a sincere desire but are just afraid that they don't understand enough.  I'll tell you more about them later. 

 

So I hope that Shannon does get back into Concert Choir.  You need to remind Mrs. D about the cd's I asked her to send to me.  Just go into the choir room one day and say that you are there on behalf of me.  Talk to her about the cd's I asked of her in my letter and see if you can get them and send them to me.  I would appreciate that very much.

 

Tell Shannon that I am very sorry for not being able to send her present this week.  I promise that it is coming....along with a letter =).  Tell her not to worry about being popular or having a ton of friends.  If you don't make enemies you automaticallly make friends.

I would have to agree with you mom, Vietnamese food is not very good.  I had some last week.  We walked in and there were shrines all over the house.  We weren't quite sure if they were members but...what the heck...I'm hungry.  So we sit down at the table and there it is...a plate of some kind of noodles with a rather large pile of eggs in the middle.  I don't know what kind of eggs or noodles they were and frankly...I don't want to know.  I cannot accurately describe how it tasted but I know that if I dipped it in the toilet it probably would have tasted a little bit better.

 

Well I will write you more next week...we had two baptisms this past weekend so I'll write you all about those next week.  Love you all very much and thank you for all your support.

 

love,

 

Elder McNinch

 

ps- Tell the children that they are not allowed to wear my shoes.  I don't mind the clothes SO much but I don't want them to wear out my shoes or my hoodies.  I would like to have nice things when I get back.  So tell Ryan that his big feet will have to find another home.  Tell them to save up money to buy shoes of their OWN!!!  That's what I had to do.