Hello everyone!
The weather here has been cloudy and gloomy for a while now. One of these days the inversion will clear, but as far as today, the sky is ... gray. Like it was yesterday. And the day before. And the day before.
The highlight of the week was another baptism in my last area! With one on the way for next week as well! Wahoo! I'll attach a picture at the end, but let me take some time and tell you about Dan.
Dan is a man who ... well I have to say I kinda agreed with one of the missionaries who bore his testimony at the baptism. In his words, he said that the first time he met Dan, he thought he was crazy. I have the liberty to say that in an email because Dan laughs and agrees with us when we talk about it. All the first part of teaching him, I thought that we were not getting anywhere with him, and going over wasn't really worth it. Haha oh impatient me.... how foolish I was. But in the moment, when all he did was argue and you couldn't get in a single word edgewise and really there weren't any answers to the questions he brought up, it was hard to see anything happened.
I started to change, however, the longer I met with him. I learned more of where he was coming from and who he was. This was a man who was born in the middle of tribulation. He has gone through more than anyone I know to this day. As I started to understand this, I was blown away at how far he has already come. I remember one night that he drove us home and opened up to us more than he had before, and I was humbled at what he was going through. It was at that point that I realized that Dan was a man to look up to, no matter what anyone else thought or said.
After that experience, my love for Dan just grew more and more. I was also able to see him change little by little, which brought me such great joy! I knew then that I just needed to be patient, and I would see great things come to pass. And they did! He is now a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and that is a great miracle. He has made a complete 180 with his life, and I know that he will continue on the path of following Christ. I have learned so much from him, and we have shared some crazy times together. We were laughing about a bunch of those at the baptism. Memories I won't forget!
From Dan, I learned what it means to be a father - he would do anything for his son. I learned what it means to serve others - he sacrifices so much to help other people! I learned what it means to always be welcoming and hospitable, even when you don't necessarily like or agree with other people. ;) Most of all, I learned what it means to stick up for what you believe in and to always be a defender of the faith at all costs.
There's the mission fur ya! You learn, others learn, you help, others help, and the world is a better place because of it. We are all together doing the Lord's work and bringing His gospel to the world, and boy is it work! And boy is it hard! And wow is it rewarding, even when we fail to recognize the blessings that come. I love it, and I'm learning to love it more and more as the days go on.
Thanks for all your help and prayers! I love you!
--Elder Usevitch
P.S. I have found a scripture that describes me perfectly. Please take the time to set up a camera and have someone record you reading it. Then compile all the responses and put them on a DVD that I can watch later. :) It's Isaiah 28:20.
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