Elder Cole Christopher Safford: Glendale week 10 *October 21, 2013

Why hello there!

This week has been fantastic. The end of my training is coming up really fast and I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I keep talking with missionaries who have been out for a while to get there take on how the time spent with their trainers went compared to my experience. And I can honestly say that I have had the perfect trainer for me. He is the exact missionary that needed to be here for when I came on my mission to Arizona of all places. He has shaped the rest of my mission for me. Whether he agrees that he did a great job or not I know that I would not be where I am today without him. Sure we had our differences but we have worked through those no problem. We have to be the most opposite people on the face of the earth but as far as missionary work goes we have the same goal in mind: to be the best missionary that WE can possibly be. We have not seen too much literal success but that does not mean that we are not giving it our best effort everyday. We have really looked deep into ourselves this week to find out what we need to change so that the Lord gives us the success that we so desire. They say that the Lord does not bless you until the trial of your faith and that is exactly what these past 3 months have been. A trial. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that my faith is way stronger and my testimony is more firm because of it. I continue to learn how to further my trust in His plan for me and for my life. He really does know each of us better then we can ourselves at the moment.

I have had the opportunity to go on an exchange with a zone leader named Elder Knabbe. He has been out on his mission now for 21 months so I was excited to pick his brain on how to do certain things and just to ask him questions about his experiences so far. The day went really well and I was able to ask him a ton of questions. He is a great missionary that cares a lot about all people that he comes in contact with. He showed me what it means to become as Christlike as possible while out here. At the end of the night we do a little inventory to see how the day went and see how I as a newer missionary am doing. He had nothing but good things to say about me and the area that I am serving. It really built my confidence to hear someone that I look up to so much tell me how great he thinks I am doing. I am no where near where I want to end up but I am closer today then I was yesturday and will continue to grow all the time.

One of the biggest things that I am trying to work on is talking with everyone that I see on the streets. It is really scary to just walk up to a complete stranger and try to talk with them about the gospel. But I know that the Lord is putting people in our paths evryday who are seeking peace and comfort in their lives. If I dont take the time or make the effort to talk with people, then I will ride right past someone that needs the truth that I bare witness of. We have been able to see the fruits of our efforts in just this past week alone compared to all other weeks of my mission. We have had a ton of cool experiences (that I have recorded in my journal) that have really made this week fun. I have found that the crazy stories I have from my mission and most of the stories that other missionaries tell you almost all come from talking with everyone. So with that knowlege I am trying to do that so I too can have these expiriences haha But also to bring people closer to Christ of course.

That is all for this week. I know that the Savior lives and that His atonement applys to all of us if we will just reach out and ask for it. I know that we have a Father in heaven who cares about us and stands ready to bless us if we put forth out best effort to make it on our own first. Dont ever forget that He is there. When times get rough or you just need help finding your lost keys turn to the one that has ALL the answers. He will answer you. I love you all and think about everything that you have done for my life so far. Keep building up the kingdom of God in your own ways.