GOLDEN

john berger (the guy that moved from kentucky) is literally the most perfect investigator ever!! we went to visited him and his wife 2 times this week, and he told us that he finished the book of mormon, read the entire gospel principles book, and is on section 84 of the doctrine and covenants!! also, he said that giving up drinking and living the gospel is going to be easy, so he decided to make a bigger sacrifice and gave up all caffeine which includes pre workouts; he said that he went to the gym for the first time in 20 years not using a pre workout! they did have a little hiccup and got in a little argument this week, and he wanted to drink super bad, and she wanted to smoke a cig, but both of them were able to resist the temptations and hold out strong! i am so excited for the 27th, it is going to be such a good day, he is so prepared to receive the fullness of the blessings of this gospel into his life!  

i was also able to go on an exchange this week with elder binnie, and learned so much! he is such a great missionary! literally the whole time we talked about the scriptures and the gospel and how it has been able to help us in our lives, and it made me want to go out and share it with everyone! he also taught me about baring testimony; no matter who it was or what we were talking about he bore a simple and yet powerful testimony of the truth of the message and how it can help them. missionaries that have an eye single to the glory of god are truly amazing, and they help me so much! they arent distracted by things of this world, but they are always talking about the gospel and building up the lords kingdom. and the amazing thing about elder binnie is his ability to have fun in the work as well! the whole time together we were laughing and having a good time, it was amazing, that is what missionary work and the gospel in general is all about!

so other than meeting with john, not much happened... elder abbott and i both got sick, at separate times... so it was pretty rough. but we were able to skype home on sunday for mothers day, what a treat that was! i loved being able to talk with my wonderful family! one of the many things that i have become so thankful for in my life is my family. they mean the world to me! i wish i wouldve given them more time and respect when i was home... but now i know! they are amazing, i love each one of them and am so thankful for them in my life! its crazy to think that the next time i see them it will be in the salt lake city airport! 

time on the mission is running short, but there is still so much work to do out here! i love it! at interviews this week i was going to talk with my mission president about extending, but i found out that no one is allowed to..... it made me super sad! i truly love it out here and am so thankful for every day that i have had to learn and to grow and to help others do the same!

i love you all and thank you for all the support you give to me!

hope you have a great week

elder schipaanboord