Good Morning!

Hello dear friends!

It's been a great week. We're being blessed bountifully for the work we are putting in. We're going to see the Big Ben again as a Zone today. That will be fun! :)

Things are moving along, although perhaps at a slower pace than the natural man would want. That's okay. These people are on the Lord's timetable. If we are doing what is necessary, we can be satisfied that the Lord is pleased with our labours.

Right now, we are trying out different ways to communicate with/build the trust of the members, especially the ward council. Members here are SO busy supporting their families that we often go long periods of time without seeing them.  We decided that we needed to communicate with the Ward Council on a more regular basis. We now email our progress record to the whole ward council every Friday and include with it some notes on how our week went, who we're working with, and what actions need to be taken to help move the work forward. We also include some brief reminders about praying for the missionaries, the wards baptismal goal, and things like that. We also list off our teaching appointments for the next week and ask who can come. This has been incredible effective. The members LOVE it. They're always thanking us for the updates.  Now we are going to try and emphasize having that information filtered into the individual quorums and auxiliaries through the Ward Council so that the whole ward can join together in moving this work forward.

Our investigators are doing well. We're trying to see all of them each day so we can follow up with the commitments we've left in person. It's been quite effective. We're doing out best to plan for this effectively while scheduling in quality finding time. It can be challenging but it is definitely rewarding. It really all does come down to effective planning. We also need to write EVERYTHING in our planners. Well, I do at least. Otherwise, I forget everything! :)

Since the mission is emphasizing the Sacred Time between 6:30 and 10 AM, I prayerfully considered how I could better make use of that time. I decided that I was also making 10 to 10:30 PM sacred time. From 10 to 10:15 I write in my journal, since I've found that the better I am about writing in my journal, the easier personal revelation comes. At 10:15 I pray, allowing me plenty of time to be in bed by 10:30. It's made waking up in the morning SO much easier. People who know me well know that I am NOT NOT NOT a morning person, I know it is simply the Lord blessing me for obedience to His schedule.

You guys are all so wonderful and I love you so much! Have a great week.

Oh, and happy late Valentines Day ;) and Presidents Day... forgot that existed...

With love,

Elder Frederickson