Things are going really well with Elder White...

Dear Family,

CONGRATULATIONS HALEY AND JORDAN!!!! You is having you a little girl. That is so exciting and to tell you the truth I really don't know what to say. Haha I have been telling everybody down here though. Yeah Yeah!

I loved those pictures of you guys when you were little Dad. I think one of my favorites was the one with guys holding up the Star Trek poster things haha. I just thought it was really funny and that is something I could see Taylor and I doing. Those are some pretty fun pictures and maybe that one with Uncle Stan can be my first instagram post when I get home... #sharegoodness

Things are going really well with Elder White. We are good friends and we are able to just joke around and it makes it easy to shrug off things that could make life a little more stressful. It is always a blessing to have a companion that you are friends with because then you are able to put all your focus on the work and that in turn builds even more unity. That is definitely a huge blessing because lately things have been kinda tough. The work has been pretty slow and it has been kinda hard to keep my focus on missionary work all the time. We have so much time, that it is hard not to let thinking of home take some of it up. Maybe I just don't really feel like I am doing a lot of missionary things right now and so it is hard to feel like a missionary. But then I feel bad because I want to be able to be doing what Heavenly Father wants me to do and I feel like I would have more opportunity to do that in a different area or back home or something haha. I am grateful for this experience though because I am learning a ton about what I really want and how I can improve. I know too that this is the best way that I can learn these lessons and I when I look back at this experience that I will recognize how far we have actually come. And then there are those little experiences, the tender mercies everyday that just help you remember what is really important. That contrast has been a huge blessing to observe. There is a quote that says some thing like this. "You never know how hard the wind is really blowing until you try to walk against it." So even though it might be hard that is what is going to make us stronger. We can't control all of our circumstances, but we can control how we react to them and that is what defines our character.

Elder White and I wrote a song about Football and Tailgating. We were at a members house this last Saturday for a little BBQ and while we were there his roommates family showed up to go to the game. We played our little song for them and the next thing we knew they were offering to buy us tickets haha. So Elder White and I had permission and were able to go to an LSU football game this last saturday. It was definitely something that I have never experienced. You never really know how much people love football until you come to Tiger Stadium during football season haha it is crazy. It was an exciting atmosphere and I am grateful that we were able to do that. I'll send some pictures.

Here is one more funny little thing and then I will share a cool story. So we found out yesterday that the number that we having been passing out for the last month to people has been wrong this entire time. We had our number printed on the back of our phone and it was off a couple numbers haha. At first we were pretty frustrated because all the Book of Mormon's, pass-along cards and pamphlets that we passed out had a wrong number on it and so none of those people could contact us, which is really sad. But we know that it is going to work out and we are just going to find those people again!

So this next story is really cool. We told you about S, the kid who came up to us one day on campus and wanted to come to church.  He came to institute this week too and he loved it. That day we set up a lesson with him for Thursday and he was looking forward to being able to ask us some questions about the church. And at this point we thought he was just a less-active member. He told us that his family had started leaving the church when he was fairly young and he was never actually baptized a member of the church. His dad served a mission, but now they are all pretty against the church. So that makes it tough because naturally he has grown up (and he admits) that much of what his parents taught him he believed cause that is all he knew. So during our lesson he had tons of questions about our beliefs and doctrines and how they are in harmony with Christ's teachings. The main topics of his questions last lesson were about the Apostasy, why and if it really happened, Eternal progression, Grace and Temples. He is a very honest seeker of truth and at first glance it would be easy to mistake his questions as skeptical, but really they are very sincere and he just wants to know for himself. It was a humbling experience for me. Sam is a very intellectual and logical person and so when he would ask questions at first I was trying to answer him in a more logical way, but I quickly recognized that when I did there would be a flaw in my logic. Haha I thought that I could take a smart way out, but I can promise that the best way is to wait and listen to the spirit. That will work everytime. Elder White was doing really well this entire time and he was just listening to his concerns and addressing them simple. You always learn how to be a better missionary and those situations are tender mercies because they teach you that. So rather than trying to explain, we just testified. He still has a lot of questions, but I know that he will find his answers because he is genuinely looking for the truth. Heavenly Father is going to help him and us as we all grow closer to Him and and His Son. When we were talking about Temples though he said something really cool. (This part is mostly for you guys) He said "I forgot how I felt when I saw the temple. I don't know if this is weird or spooky, but every time that I see it I feel happy and peaceful. I have a longing to go there and I don't know why because I am don't even know if I really believe that it is true." As soon as he said that the spirit entered into the room. I know that the Temple is the house of the Lord and we can feel close to him there. I know that we can be sealed with our families there and that gives us the opportunity to live with them for eternity. I know that this was made possible by the Restoration of the Gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Christ led that Restoration and still is today. I know that this is the that Gospel that Christ brought back and it includes all of the saving ordinances that will allow us to live with our Father in Heaven. How cool is it that we have that knowledge! The world is so crazy, but no matter what happens we can hold onto our testimony. I know that Sam is going to receive his answers because the spirit is already in his life leading him to the truth every day. I'll keep you updated!

I want to let you guys know how much that I love y'all. 

Prayers and thoughts always,

Elder Soper