Wow... that's a huge dog.....

Mom and Dad survived!!! I’m super glad to hear that y'all enjoyed the trek. I remember the trek very well. It was the first time that I can really remember feeling the spirit, and one could not forget the bus ride. It was the first time that I ever bore my testimony in front of anyone was on the trek, when we got back and had a testimony meeting. I remember crying so much and was just so confused on why I was shaking and crying, I just thought I was hungry or tired, or both which I knew I was but it was a different feeling. I'm so happy for you guys. I wish you guys could be down here to see Alabama; just living here has changed my life so much.

But more than just changed my life, I'm a firm believe that it changes our nature. We don't "Try" and live the gospel, we just "Do". I feel like a total baby down here because I'll read my scriptures or watch a Mormon message or read the ensign, and have to grab a tissue because I find myself crying. This gospel changes our lives. It takes us Punk teenagers and Young men and turns us into disciples for the Lord. You stop thinking about what you should do and tell yourself what you need to do, you find yourself doing it and learn about who you are. This week I needed a spiritual recharge, and we got it.

These last few weeks have left me a lot of time to think about what I'm doing. Camden makes you think a lot about what you do. Not only because everything you do everyone sees, but you have to motivate yourself. Keep yourself positive. As we make our mistakes like everyone else we turn to the Lord in prayer. We ask for his help. His guidance in our lives. His protection. As I found myself striving to serve the lord with everything I had, nothing seemed to be working for us.

As we came back from the temple charged and ready to work we started back up tracting, and we must have picked the one road that was not having a good day. As we started our first door, we were properly greeted with a quick smile and door slam, as common in most places nothing out of the ordinary. As we continued to work we received more and more rejection. Till the last house of the street, as we said hello and began to walk over they simply ignored us replayed, we’re Baptist and continued on with their conversation. Nothing too out of the ordinary for a day here but it didn't just stop there.

As the week went on everything just went downhill, we had no luck for the several days we were out, we found the bed bugs in our bed. and the 3 or 4 random people that tried to teach us about Jesus and correct us of our false teachings. We continued to work and pray for strength to keep moving. We decided last week that we were going to go down to a place called Coy on Sunday and work in that area for the day.

After several houses we found ourself's walking down a dirt road to another house. As we got a little bit closer to the house one of the dogs chained up to the side of us began to bark as they always do, but there was more than one dog this time which was a little bit new to us. We still walked closer to the door we here a LOUND bark, and this HUGE bulldog rips around a car and charges straight at us as fast as it can. Within 2 seconds the dog was right in front of us.

As the dog charged at me a series of thoughts went through my head. That went something along this line...

Wow... that's a huge dog.....

Crap.......that's coming right at us.... were dead

Well at least I don't have to go to school anymore.....

....Peace.....

As the dog charged right next to us close enough to pet a sudden peace come over us. Like how you feel when you know everything's all right. So contradictory from what I was seeing the dog ran right past us and charged at a dog that was following us. As we hurried to the door and knocked, the man answered the door and invited us in because his dog was off its leash....... as we found out

We told him about how it ran right past us and began to teach just as we normally do. James, the fellow we met seemed not interested from the start but we kept on like he was the most interested person we had met. As the lesson went on he stopped us when we began to talk about Apostasy, and asked us a Question, something we ask everyone. Why are there so many churches, how do we know what one is true?

We bore our testimony's and spirit was right there with us, we continued on and left him with a Book of Mormon, understanding the Book of Mormon answers questions we asked him if he ever had a question that we might give him a chapter to look over. He went on to ask us  Why do bad things happen to good people? We left there so excited, that all of our work had paid off for that moment, with a lot of help from our father up stairs we kept on working.

I don't know what's going to happen these next few weeks, but I know that God knows our needs. He watches us, knows when we need something to hold on to to, keep pressing forward. I love this gospel more than anything right now. Alabama is the promised land. I love this mission, love the people, just love Alabama...... even the heat

Hope y'alls week goes as well as mine did

Love Elder Aldana