Like always, the weeks keep going by faster and faster! This past week I had some super cool and enlightening experiences.

This past week we have started working with another part member family! The Yuh family. The dad is a member, the mom is not. They also have a baby on the way! When we met with them we got to know Sister Yuh's background. She in fact has met with the missionaries before but stopped meeting with them because she didn't have enough time. We have faith that now is the proper time for her and her husband to truly become one! Our message and invitation was simple, we invited them to start praying together as a family. An invitation that took me back down "memory lane"! I love being able to share that with them because I know how important doing those things as a family is. I've been super blessed to have parents that have helped me learn and understand the reasons and power behind family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening. So, in short, it's a treat to be able to share those experiences with families!

Another super cool experience came as we crossed paths with an "old friend." It was actually the first time I've ever met this person, but a couple months ago Elder Tseng and Elder Anderson ran into him. He is pretty against the way the Lord runs his missionary program. He was talking about how we need to spend thousands of dollars to get the nicest of everything, and we needed to be current in the world news and stuff going on. He talked a lot about how if we really want to get as many people as possible, we've got to fit in with the world. From a surface level perspective, his arguments might seem pretty good. Fortunately, with the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can see things at a much deeper level. God has a purpose in all of His things. There is a reason God called a young, uneducated, 14 year old boy to restore His church. There is a reason the Lord calls 18 and 19 year olds to serve missions, not only that, but sometimes not even in their native tongue. There is a reason for all of these things. We shared about the Restoration but he wasn't too interested and we parted ways. Although we weren't able to reschedule or even get his phone number, we showed him how much the Lord truly does love His children; along with that, my testimony was strengthened quite a bit as a result.

Along with that experience came a more clear understanding of the difference the gift of the Holy Ghost brings. Having received that gift when I was 8, I felt that maybe I was overlooking some of the blessings that that brings. I was pondering about it for quite some time when we had the above experience. Later in my studies, after putting the pieces together, I learned for myself some of the blessings of the Holy Ghost that I had overlooked before. The Holy Ghost is there to guide us. Not only will he bring things to our memory, he will expound our memory. Not only will He help us understand concepts, He will teach us so clearly that we can't misunderstand. (borrowing a phrase from Preach my Gospel) To say the least, I'm very grateful for this past week's experiences!
Til next week!
Love, Elder Zach Cederlof