We had a Great Zone Conference!

Hey Everyone, How are you all doing? I hope you are all doing well. I am doing pretty well. I am feeling better now than I was last week. I am not sick now like I was last Monday and this week was a really good week for us. We were able to have lots of lessons and find some new people to teach. On Tuesday we had our Zone Conference with President Egginton and it went really well. He talked a lot about the importance of consecrating ourselves as missionaries and focused on a quote from President Gordon B. Hinckley that is in Preach My Gospel that says, "Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause." It was a really interesting discussion talking about how we can lose ourselves in the service of others. I think it is a challenge in many ways losing our pride and thinking always of other people and their needs first. It has been a huge challenge for me as I have tried to work to overcome my many medical challenges with my constant headaches and focus on the work inspite of that constant distraction, but I have found that it is truly a blessing to focus on those around us and not on ourselves. I know it is a constant battle to look out and around first instead of inward, but I know that true happiness comes through selflessness and service. We found several new investigators this week but pretty much only one of them really shows much promise. His name is Jaime. He was a referral from a sister in the ward. He has told us that he is an alcoholic and that he is getting divorced. He lives really close to the church. We had our first lesson with him on Tuesday and then another lesson with him on Saturday. He came to all of church yesterday and then also stayed afterwards to a baptism that the Sister Missionaries had for their investigator Hno. Arturo. Jaime seemed pretty excited and interested in everything that he learned and he seems excited to learn more about the Gospel in order to overcome his addiction and be able to become better. We are going to see him again tonight. Hopefully we will be able to help him overcome his addiction to alcohol and help him progress towards being baptized! Really I know that this church is true and I know that it is Jesus Christ's Church here upon the Earth. I know that Joseph Smith was His Prophet called to restore the principles and doctrine that was lost through years of apostacy and change. I am thankful to know that through him the Authority of the Priesthood was restored here upon the Earth and that today we have a prophet that guides and directs the church. I am so thankful to know that we have a loving Heavenly Father that guides us through our Prophet Thomas S. Monson and that as we live the Commandments and follow his counsel we will be blessed. I love all of you and hope you have a wonderful week! Take care. Love, Elder Mitchell J Condie