Russell's Email 4-2-09

This week has been another week that has built my faith in Jesus Christ and the love of our Heavenly Father. I have seen in multiple cases where the Spirit has touched hearts of people that is nothing short of a miracle.

I see the power of missionaries. In the last two weeks, about 4 families who have been less active have decided to come back to Church. Elder Hunt and I have the opportunity to teach them about the Priesthood to prepare them to receive it. I'm REALLY excited for the blessings that are to come to these people.

I also had the opporunity to have Family Home Evening with the U. family. I have such a love for them and I'm so grateful for the blessing that they have been in my life. It's amazing to see the hand of the Lord as he acts in our lives.

I'm also really grateful for the leadership of the church on the local level. I am amazed at the kind of man that Bishop Brandt is and how respectable he is. I love working with the leadership and having their help in this work. It's true, missionaries cannot do anything without the assistance of the ward and it's members.

I love being here and serving the Lord. Many young people believe, "When I go on a mission, I have to meet this sterotype." It's so not true... I love being me and interacting with people, building their faith in Jesus Christ and helping them to see that, because Heavenly Father loves us, there is always more.

One such example is a man named S. We talked to him and he had talked to missionaries several times before. I asked what the thought and he was kind of stand offish. I said, "S., do you know that Heavenly Father knows you and loves you?" He replied that he wasn't all that sure there was a God. I held my arms out like "LOOK AROUND!" and said, "S., the things we have here, the sun, the mountains, the trees, all these beautiful creations testify that Heavenly Father is real and that he loves his children." That was pretty much the end of that contact but I could tell he was touched by the Spirit and that he wanted to be happy and he felt something.

I'm grateful for this experience to serve the Lord and to grow in this gospel. I know this is the faith that produces salvation and I know the Savior is indeed the way, the truth and the life.
Granted, as a 20 year old with one year of college and "real world" (ha, it's not really real world) experience, there's a lot of things that I don't know. However, this is one that I know without a shadow of a doubt.

Elder Russell Christian Hitchcock