The 77th Chronicle

Hello family and friends! 

In our mission we have what's called a standard of excellence. The principle behind this standard is outlined in Preach My Gospel. It's essentially a set standard that we as a mission (under the direction of our Mission President) create in an attempt to shoot for. It's goal is to increase our vision and faith. Well, in our mission we spell "standards of excellence" a little differently. We write it out like . . . "The Standards of ExcellENCE". This is in honor of President Ence =) What this standard entails is the four key indicators of progression. Each missionary is expected to work towards having TWO people set on date, TWO people attend sacrament meeting, and to find THREE new people to teach each week (2,2,3). The fourth indicator is how many baptisms and confirmations we had that week but that count is not included in "The Standards of ExcellENCE”. 

With that in mind I've been pondering how powerful this standard is. I've kept track of my weekly key indicators for my whole mission. As I looked back recently on those statistics, I realized that every time I was consistently hitting standards was also when I would see people progressing and entering the waters of baptism. When I was not hitting "The Standards of ExcellENCE”... just the opposite was the case. I believe these factors are a good indication of how carefully one is working on studying, planning, and executing those plans with obedience and diligence. With that foundation I want to share with you what happened last week . . .

(Monday) "We've hit standards the last two weeks which is super exciting and we have Mitchel's baptism coming up this weekend so that's got us hyped. We want to not only reach but exceed standards so essentially we've set some lofty goals. I believe we can accomplish them if we put in the effort and trust in the Lord."

(Thursday) "Wow, it's been a good week so far but it seems as if appointments keep falling through on us and our plans go to pot each day. We haven't been able to get done what we need to in order to reach our goals. We have a solid appointment for Sunday night and we're hoping to set Emmanuel on date to reach our goal for sets. We still have only one new and who knows how church is going to turn out. Last week a ton of people dipped right before. Let's pray they come this week. It hasn't felt super productive and I'm not feeling very focused or diligent."

(Saturday) "What just happened today? Between an insane schedule, miscommunication, and trying to get ready for Mitchel's baptism tonight we have had very little time to find and those appointments we were counting on cancelled or didn't show up. We've been running around like head-less chickens and I don't know how it's going to work out. We did hit our baptismal goal and it was so cool to see Mitchel be baptized today. What a blessing for him and all of us. His whole non-member family came to support and the ward fellowshiped them really well this week as his Mom had surgery and they dropped off meals as well as welcomed them to the baptism."

(Sunday) "Wow! The Lord is so good. We just set Emmanuel on date and we found two new people to teach earlier this evening. Bless up! We started the week with the desire to reach standards 2,2,3 then surpass them to hit our goal of 3,4,3. With the baptism, today's news, and those that came to church we just hit 3,5,3!! I really don't know how it all worked out but God knows. I'm so grateful he has blessed us despite those times this week when I may have doubted or lost my focus. I want to trust in him more now and realize in a greater way that this is HIS work not just mine."

Quick notes: We enjoyed having a trunk and handing out candy at the ward trunk and treat. We had Jesus cards taped to each package of sour patch kids and swedish fish. We also hit up the capital building which was pretty impressive. It looks like a cathedral. We had a chalkboard with the question "What's your favorite part of Lincoln?" outside the institute for Husker Gameday. We had a ton of people participate which was sweet. Also, turns out Sister Leydsman has a pineapple skirt so of course I had to whip out my pineapple tie so we were twins. But, it gets better! Elder Andrew also has a pineapple hand-sanitizer holder and Sister Soares has a pineapple plushie. Enjoy the pictures!

Quote of the Week: "We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey... love is the very essence of the gospel." -President Thomas S. Monson

Kia Kaha!

Elder Brady