Week 5 Exciting news!!!!!

So this past week was a great week. We almost lost some less active members we were teaching. But we are slowly building our teaching pool back up. It is taking a lot of work on our part to do that. The members are making a lot of excuses about how they only know other members or they are working on getting something going. But when i hear the same thing from the same person for 5 weeks straight I have a hard time believing them. I mean that is ok and everything but it really is remarkable the effect of having the members involved has. The strongest investigators we have had, were those referred by a member and where we have had the member participate and be a friend. I cannot over emphasize the importance of member involvement in helping the missionaries. Those people who are referred by members and taught with them and fellow shipped by them progress faster and are more likely to stay active then those that we find on our own. But it makes it so much easier when we have the help of the members. 

But we are slowly building up our teaching pool. We have had a couple of referrals from the ward mission leaders so that is nice that we have some names to track down and hopefully start teaching. It helps us so much. So that was our past week. Not too much exciting happened in Hurricane. We have had a lot of rain for this area. Where I am at had no problems, but apparently some areas around here had flooding. But nothing severe. A lot of rain here is like an inch. You can really tell it is a desert. 

I do want to say congratulations to my Brother and Sister-in-law on the birth of their newest daughter. She is adorable and I can't wait to meet her. I bet she has 2 proud bigger sisters too.

Well I said we didn't have anything exciting happen here last week in Hurricane. And that is true, but I would have been lying if i said nothing exciting happened last week. So on Saturday we had a mission conference up in Salina (that is about 3 hours north of Hurricane). And the only reason we had a mission conference is because David A. Bednar requested to come and speak to our mission. So all the missionaries down here in the greater St. George area reported to the visitors center at the St. George temple at 5:00 am and hopped on a bus. We drove up to Salina and met up with the rest of the mission and had a 3 hour conference with Elder Bednar, his wife Sister Bednar, Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the First Quorum of the Seventy, and Sister Clayton. It was spectacular. Just to be able to feel the spirit there and have to opportunity to ask him questions. He got up and talked for a little bit, then turned it over for a Q&A. He started by asking us questions about the talks we were assigned to read before the mission conference. Then he allowed us to ask him questions. And he would inquire of his wife or Elder Clayton and his wife if they wanted to answer. It was an amazing experience. Afterwords we were able to shake his hand and at the very end we got a mission Picture of the entire Mission, Elder Bednar and his wife, and Elder Clayton and his wife. So when I get a copy of that I will make sure to send it along. It is not everyday you get to have an experience like that. 

Sorry I don't have any cool pictures this week. But I love you all! 

-Elder Valentine