Exchanges, General Conference & God's Money

Dear Family & Friends,

This week was another blur in my memory. 

We went on exchanges on Tuesday/Wednesday. I went to Moultrie with Elder Tanner Allen, who is also from Poky. We had a great exchange and worked hard. 

The weather was also fairly mild. Later in the week we were rained out on Friday. It did this last week too. Thunder and lightning was certainly interfering. We did hear the tornado sirens, but we mostly got thunder and lightning. 

On Friday, the 1st, I hit my year mark. It came quickly and it is now passed. So much I have learned in the last year, but the next 12 months will be a landmark. 

At a gathering before the Priesthood session, a member told us a story how he was interviewed by Elder Monson, yes, THAT Elder Monson. He asked him why he was on a mission and he started speaking about baptizing and teaching and basic answers most missionaries give when asked. During his shpeel, Elder Monson shook his head until he was done. He then told him "When the people are ready to receive the Gospel, the Lord will lead you to them. The purpose of a mission is to prepare ourselves for responsibilities we will have after". It was a direct quote, but the message was certainly received.

Can I just say I love General Conference!? I was looking forward to it all week. We watched the first two sessions at the Demings and had lunch and dinner with them. We also helped a buddy of Brother Demings move a washer and dryer in between sessions. Now, I'm not a great note-taker, but I wrote some things down that are either direct quotes or my summary of what was said:

Quoting Elder Holland- "You can have what you want or you can have something better". This illustrates that our will is not necessarily God's will or his plan for us. 

Elder Stevenson- Priesthood keys govern ordinances necessary for Salvation. A reminder of what we do in the temples and at Baptism.

President Nelson- Seek Priesthood Power as you would seek advancement in temporal affairs. This teaches me that we need to have our priorities in the right place and seek Heavenly Power.

Stephen W. Owen- "Jesus Christ was the greatest leader because he was the greatest follower". We follow Christ because he knows the path back to our Heavenly Father.

President Monson- "If we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice". Christ will never lead us astray and we can trust Him with our fiber of our being. 

A marvelous General Conference and I look forward to it every 6 months. 

One more thing before I close this. On Thursday, we were out tracting and we felt like we need to go to one particular house. We knocked and a sweet Korean woman answered. She was just going to make it short, but Elder Anderson interfered with that. We talked with her for nearly 45 minutes on her porch. At the end of the visit, she asked where our bikes were. We replied that we were walking because Elder Anderson's was out of commission. She then went back inside we thought to get us water. She came back with a folded up bill and Elder Anderson tried to refuse, but she wanted to give it to us. She said it was God's money and that she wanted to help. Walking away, Elder Anderson behind me, says "What the fetch!?" She gave us a $100 bill! We were awestruck the rest of the day. Elder Anderson's bike was fixed by Bro. Spiers, the Ward Mission Leader, but no money was used to do so. So, we will be talking to President Cottle about what to do with it. 

I cannot seem to find my Patriarchal Blessing or my line of Authority. I have looked everywhere in my bags and when I was in N. Augusta. At the very least, it is in a missionary apartment. My suit pants are taking a beating and I may just need another pair. There some weird reddish stains on the front.

That's all folks! Have a good week y'all!

Elder Alexander Kestner