It's Cold, But We're Keeping Busy

Hey everybody.

February is being a beast. I'm cold all the time and I can't warm up at all, especially my hands and my feet. I'm a bit late updating today because we had to run down to Mississippi to give someone a blessing. So that's ok, right?

I got a cool letter in the mail the other day. Elder Jordan Bingham sent me a Chinese New Year card, which looked awesome (see photos).

We haven't had our car all week. It's really put a damper on the work, and in turn, my attitude. There are people out there that need to be taught, but they're never at home or are too far away to easily access. This is the first time we've had a bike week in 3 weeks. I was feeling so great about all the work that was happening, but now it's gotten a lot harder. I feel like everyone around me is drifting away, and I haven't been able to catch all the people I need to. I feel like this'll really hurt my relationships with some, and I don't want that to happen at all. Some are already hurt enough...

I've seen a lot of blessings this past week in individual peoples' lives, and I'm grateful for that. As a whole, however, I feel like the work is waning. There are so many people around me. I'm a tired sheepdog working on a ranch too big for me, I guess. I'm still working how I know best and letting things take their course. Pray for me, though.

The family of 3 that we were really aiming to teach last Monday is amazing. They recently moved from Arizona after living there for 5 years. They have two sons in the military and a daughter going to college that lives with them. Their daughter had some Mormon friends, and she even went to early morning seminary with them. A few weeks ago, they were seriously considering what church to go to as a family, and the Mormons came up. They're very curious about the church. They've known many good Mormons in Arizona that stood out to them through their example.

I'm grateful that we, as members, live what we preach, otherwise good families like these wouldn't be as interested in the church. Unfortunately, they have very busy schedules. We have yet to contact them. We'll have to visit them at their house to talk to them, it seems. They live 15 miles south. Emphasis on why we need the car so badly.

Over in Moscow, about 20 minutes east of here, lives an older lady that we delivered a Bible to. She's open to learning about the Book of Mormon, and her neighbor across the street would like to hear something about it, too. So we had a lot of success this week getting new investigators.

I hope everyone is safe. I'm really wondering how my friends in Provo and Alpine are doing. If someone could find that out, I'd greatly appreciate that. And Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I love y'all!

-Elder Staib