Missionary Letter and Other Ramblings...

So, I wrote this letter to my brother this evening and thought I would post it. I hope you don't mind that I post it, but I was pleased with how things turned out and hoped that it would be motivating for all of us who are trying to be good missionaries.
Elder Corry,
TGD,
I remember going through weeks where we didn't have many lessons going on. It was pretty tough. I am glad you can do a lot of street contacting. We would talk to people outside when we were riding on bikes or walking down their streets, but I didn't do too much tracting. I really tried to work with members/media referrals/less actives and new converts. Street contacting is better I am sure because people can't just hide back in their homes, plus there is something about being outside that makes people more open and willing to talk. Oklahoma was a little more spread out and less populated than...Germany!
You asked what some of the biggest things I learned on my mission were. Well. The main thing that I took home with me was that my mission was to prepare me for the rest of my life. I really do think about it everyday since. I used an experience in a ward missionary meeting last year to motivate our ward to set higher goals for baptisms. So instead of 2 we set a goal of 10. That was unheard of for our area. Did we reach it before December. No. But we had 7 people join and that was a miracle. We all worked harder in our ward to come together. If I was you, I would make sure that you develop a good relationship with the bishop without putting too much stress on him. They have tons to do and thinking about missionary work can be overwhelming. I would stress that the best way for members to be missionaries is to set goals and then do their best to serve their neighbors and friends all around them. The Lord puts us where we need to be, there is no need to traipse around the world looking for missionary and service opportunities when there are thousands of people around us that can use our help. (Of course it may be a bit different for a full-time missionary...) For a normal member of the church our missionary work is in our neighborhood with our friends and family. Just being prepared to share the gospel through scripture study and praying for experiences will bring many opportunities and probably more converts than we can imagine. It really is as simple as "Ask and ye shall receive..." Of course there is work to do, but it is never more than we can handle. The Lord goes line upon line and will not overwork us, or overscare us, He works to our level and slowly helps us climb as we are able. Anyway that's some advice and things that I have learned since my mission, even better than when I was on it. Of course without it I wouldn't have had any of these experiences.
Well. I hope things find you well. We are all really excited for you to get home, but do it safe and with honor. Work hard and include the Lord. Listen to His voice and you will be given direction and miracles in every aspect of your life.
Take care,
Jeff
Anyway. That's my letter. Things are going well. It is amazing to me how much a Sunday, especially a Fast Sunday can restore my soul. Much more than sitting around at home on Saturday. I suppose a lot of this is because we are social by nature and it "grows" our spirit to be able to interact positively with our neighbors and friends.
Anywho, these are the things I have been thinking about...
Our last week has been pretty good. Thankfully not as exciting as Jerry and Shannon Moser's and JD and Valerie Crockett's. I am glad to hear that their babies are doing well. What a scary thing. I don't know how I would handle these things, I suppose when they arise you "just do it".
Again, I am glad to hear things are well for these two families and their babies. Babies bring so much joy and yet can make life so SCARY sometimes! I sure love our boy and soon to be born girl! Jenna is doing well. (Quite sore to tell the truth...) We are expecting our baby in 6-ish weeks. Dallin was 4 weeks early so really we are trying to be prepared for anything. As long as everything goes well, that's all we can ask from the Lord. I think having a perspective our eternity can soften any blow this life can deliver, because all the trials we receive will only be temporary if we'll stay close to God.