I have learned a lot as a Zone Leader and I have a great companion who helps me!

Hello Everyone, I hope you all have had a good week this week. I was able to have a pretty good week this week. Although it is somewhat of a challenge getting everything done that we have to get done done I feel like finally we have been able to focus a bit more on our area. Finally we don't have so many meetings to worry about and we can focus just a bit more on the people we are teaching, at least for one more week. I think that is one of the challenges of being a leader is trying to learn to balance and juggle everything that we have to do. It can be quite difficult at times. This week we were able to teach a few investigators, but one of our biggest challenges that we now have is that there really aren't many investigators to teach in our area that are progressing. We need to find more still. We have been knocking a few doors here and there and trying to contact people in the street and work with members to find more, but we are still struggling to find. I think it is one of the greatest challenges I have faced in my whole mission. The only two investigators that we have that are kind of progressing didn't go to church and one of them we haven't been able to see so we are not sure what exactly happened with her, Dayana. Hopefully it was just something small and we can still help her to progress towards being baptized. Our other investigator that seems to be able to progress is named Ramona. She has been investigating the church for four years and has finally made the decision that she wants to be baptized, but is facing many challenges and trials which is costing her a lot of work to keep up her excitement and efforts to continue progressing in the Gospel. I think we had a good lesson with her yesterday teaching her that the opposition in all things only makes us stronger and helps us to learn and grow. Hopefully she will be able to see that these trials are to help her and only a test of her faith. We were also able to have exchanges with the elders in Industrial. I went to Industrial with Elder Tzub and it was a good opportunity for me to see some of the people that I came to love there. We were able to visit Hna. Araceli our investigator from Juanacatlan and her family and we invited them to be baptized and all of the kids asked me if I would baptize them. Haha. I told them that maybe I could if their Mom would give them permission and if they prepared themselves well. I hope that they can really prepare well for their baptism. I was excited to get to see them again and they seemed pretty excited to see me. That was a fun and happy experience this week. Overall I have learned a lot as a Zone Leader. I love having a companion to support me in the responsibilities we have. It is so much easier to face all of the challenges we have to face as we do so together. As a District Leader I felt many times very alone without the help I so much desired or needed. With a companion to help distribute the load it makes the weight of leadership much easier to take and to support. I am so thankful for a loving and supporting companion like Elder Ramon that understands his role and responsibility as a Zone Leader and as a missionary of the Lord and has taught me my responsibilities and roles as a leader and has given me a good example to follow. Really it makes my job much easier as we have someone good to lead and to follow. I have a testimony of the power of two and the power of working together. As a missionary I have learned that life is never meant to be lived alone. We have companions for a reason. They are here to love and support and teach and help and guide us. I am thankful for the lesson. I have learned through many experiences the importance of companionship. The Lord didn't send us here to suffer, but he especially didn't send us here to suffer alone. He has given us a great system of support, even as missionaries. We just have to learn to support ourselves in them. As we look for the help and support of others we can find great relief and succor. I know that the Lord loves us. I truly do, I believe it and I know it with my whole heart, I have felt His love and I have received His love in so many ways through so many others. He many times sends us special people to touch our lives and lift us up when we are down. I have a testimony that the Lord has touched my life through others and I only hope that I have been able to help the Lord to touch the life of others through me. I love all of you and I hope you all have a wonderful week! Take care. I love you all! Love, Elder Mitchell J Condie