December 19, 2011

Hey Y'all

This week was a blast. It went by very fast, and a whole lot happened. To start off, we have met with Pat 4 times in the past week, and she came to church too! We are really excited for her and her family. She is feeling very comfortable at the church and is very close to deciding on baptism. She has changed a lot for the better since we first met her, and she has found a lot of peace in the Book of Mormon. A long time ago she had a dream about her grandfather dressed in white. She asked a few people what they thought it meant, and they told her to pray and ask God to stop those kinds of dreams. That really bothered her and she stopped asking questions for a long time. Well, she told us about it in our lesson last Wednesday, and then the next day she was reading in The Book of Mormon and read in Lehi's dream about people dressed in white. She found a lot of peace in that, and hopes that she could be with her grandfather again. The Book of Mormon is truly a book from God and can bring us closer to him!

On Friday, we were biking home and I heard a sound of a bike hitting pavement (yes, it has a very distinct noise). I looked behind me and my companion was on the ground. I was really confused because we were on the sidewalk, and it was one of the flattest sidewalks in all of Dallas. Well, it turns out that because it had rained a couple days ago, his bike chain was rusty, and it just slipped off and seized the back tire. So it really did just come from nowhere. He is alright; we think he has a bruised bone so we will not be biking for a few weeks. The mission vehicle coordinator just happened to have 1 car lying around and now for about 2 weeks we will have a car. A nice exchange for a few weeks.

This is the season for us all to think of the birth of the savior. He really is our Lord and God. Because of Him we can live forever with Heavenly Father and our families. What greater blessing is there than the humble birth of Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Elder Riley Layton

PS This is a note sent to me (Larett) that I thought I would share:
This last week president Durrant called on Tuesday morning and asked if it would be okay if he attended my district meeting. I was terrified. I instantly had butterflies and was really nervous that I would do something wrong that would disappoint him. He did tell me that I took too long, that district meeting was to be shorter, but he also told me that it was the best, most organized district meeting he has attended. President Durrant is such a wonderful man and he always tells you things that just make you feel like a million bucks. I am so grateful to have him as a mission president. I think he is probably the most Christ-like person I have met. I cannot even tell you how much I have learned from him.