Dear Family

I just wanted to share a special experience I had last week.  I had the special honor of ordaining a Brother in our Ward an Elder.  I was assigned to home teach he and his family about five years ago.  When I started to visit them, they were completely inactive though very receptive to my visits.  For a while I just got to know them and became familiar with their challenges and concerns.

Well, a few months ago they started to come back to church.  They have a daughter from her previous marriage and her Dad won't give his permission for her to be baptized.  That was holding them back because they didn't want to feel like they were leaving her out.  The young women's group, including my wonderful Jennah, reached out to Sydney and welcomed her in.  That helped a lot, along with a promise that the Lord made through me that if they would become fully active in the Gospel that the situation with Sydney and her Dad would resolve itself.

I can tell you that if I never have an experience like this again in all my future years as a home teacher, this one will be enough.  I feel like Ammon who wanted to boasted in the Lord, and I didn't have to remove any arms to feel that way.  The wonderful thing is that I didn't do anything, I just participated and what a splendid partnership we can have with the Lord.  He does the work, gets the glory, and we get the happiness.  Isn't that great!  I hope we can all embrace the beauty and joy that is the Gospel we are so richly blessed to participate in.

I love you all!!

Dave