February 7, 2011

Hey Yall!

haha, I'm finally in Texas and absolutely loving it! I am in a city named Rockwall. it is just a small suburb right outside of Dallas. The weather has been really crazy. There has been sleet and snow and just freezing cold humidity(which is like a blade slicing through your bone) and of the last week we weren't allowed to drive 3 whole days! so for several hours we were stuck inside, we tracted all of the apartments around us and didn't have very much to do. I am still waiting on my bike, the mission has it in something called "the pit" I don't know what that is, but it's there and haven't gotten it quite yet, but it will get here eventually! Also, yesterday we figured would be totally ineffective to tract at all, or teach investigator lessons with it being the Superbowl and especially because it was here in Dallas! people have been so excited for that ever since I got here! haha, so we just did a bunch of member lessons, I think a few were unhappy with us because we cut into their time watching the game, but it's not really like they had much of a choice! haha

So Just as everybody has said; everybody out here is just so nice I love them all to death! even those that don't want to hear our message is still really nice. The funniest thing ever happened on Thursday, Elder Duke (my trainer, I will talk about him later) and myself were tracting these apartments and knocked into this one guy and he has pretty much been the only mean guy to us yet. He told us we had no right to be "selling stuff" in the apartments and we just could not convince him we weren't selling anything, so we were fixing to give him a pass-along card, and he took it and told us that he would be sure to look out for anymore and if he found anymore in the complex he would know where to send the cops haha, it's sorry to see someone so unhappy and what's even more sad is that we know the key to eternal happiness and he just denied it! Anyways as we were leaving he told us to go home and not bug anyone anymore, so we went and knocked the apartment right above him and met a lady named Vivian. She was very nice and welcomed us to come back Tuesday(tomorrow) and we are so excited to go back and see her. It definitely seems like for the first little bit of tracting, we are kind of ineffective, but as we strive on and keep enduring, the Lord blesses us for our efforts and we start getting more and more potential investigators as time goes on. it's totally true what my teacher in the MTC said, he said that as we work harder the Lord will trust us more with those that have been prepared to hear the gospel! The harder we work the more people seem to just come across our way! It's just so exciting! Sometimes I cant believe I am finally a missionary, but it's just such a blessing to be here! I am so grateful to ya'll (I've been working on my Texan lingo) back home for all you've done for me and the examples I have had in my life! I wish I could have ya'll out here with me to see the miracles that happen when someone accepts us in and you can see the different phases of their progression! It is so amazing and such a testimony builder! I love you all!

So my trainer's name is Elder Duke, he is from Farmington Utah and just such an amazing guy! He is not afraid to work me hard and I am so grateful to him for that! he has definitely taught me a lot and has a lot more to teach me! I was praying endlessly for my first companion to be a good one, and I couldn't have asked for anyone better! I love him to death and look forward to the next 5 weeks with him (and I won't mind if its longer than that either!).

All in all, other than the crazy weather spells we've been having here its been an awesome week! I love you all and thank you for your support and prayers! I definitely feel them here in the work!

Love
Elder Layton

P.S. If anybody wants to help the work move along, go to mormon.org and create a profile for yourselves. it is an amazing missionary tool and you never know who will be touched by YOUR testimony! A testimony is a powerful thing and can change lives!