Fifth Email: July 7th, 2009

hyelo mama -

thanks for your story!  I remember her...probabaly just cause she had
one arm, but i remember her...and as for repentance, well I think the
Spirit is getting to me.  In letters from friends, a common topic has
been repentance and how it's affected their lives.  At a Group Meeting
this week, the teacher shared a story about an area from his mission. 
It was the "Armpit" of Mexico (meaning only 3 baptisms a
month...haha...missions are so different).  But their mission president
set up an optional "sacrifice week" to make the work progress.  They'd
wake up at 5 and do personal study for an hour.  They were out the door
by 6 so they could catch the men going to work.  They worked tirelessly
throughout the day, only stopping to pick up a sandwhich from the
members around noon.  They were in by 10 and were asleep by 11...and
they saw success!  He said they had 10 people planning to come to
church as of saturday night!  He told us how earlier that week, his
zone leader gave him some advice, "Elder Chalk, if you really want to
see the work grow, then you've got to repent."  He said he blew off the
statement...he was a good, worthy, hard-working leader in the mission! 
As he went to sleep that saturday night of "sacrifice week", (they
slept on the roof because if was so hot...maybe i'll try to scale the
residence hall tonight with my mattress...hmm...) he could not get that
out of his mind.  He tried to think of anything this past week that he
needed to repent of.  He remembered that throughout the week he had
been humming "babylon" songs...not bad songs, just distracting ones. 
He decided to ask for repentance.  He described how he was on his knees
for a long time...about an hour...just asking for forgiveness.  He
compared it to Enos "wrestling with God" to be forgiven.  But it came. 
He humbled himself, was forgiven, and sank into bed.  The next day at
church, 20 people came instead of 10 and by the end of the month, those
20 people were baptized.  This really really hit me.  Repentance is not
something that i've ever thought to be a daily thing...i had this
conception of using the atonement for the big things.  The more often
we can be cleansed, the more pure we are, the more the spirit can hang
out with us, the more God can perform miracles before our eyes.  So I
spent a couple hours today studying repentance...how to repent, why we
repent, the joy of repentance (alma 36!)...and it's changed my prayers,
my relationship with heavenly father.  Repentance includes ABANDONing
your sin...leave it alone in the rain with no mommy... and because of
your love for the Savior, you don't do it anymore.  We are endowed with
more power everytime we turn away from our silly little sins....i love
it...and now you ask me to read about repentance in the Bible
Dictionary!  I didn't even get around to that resource...i'll do it
tonight!  The spirit is telling me this and i'm listening.  The purer I
am, the better teacher God can make me. :)
oh man, well that was long.  4th of july was hilarious...we stayed up
till 10:30 to watch fireworks...rebels.... and we got to sing in
English!
Russian is like a bug scary dark tunnel and right now I can't even see
the end, but, like Romans 8 something says, if you see it you can't
hope for it...or something...look it up its stupendous
Cec. Schaefer is a hoot and holler...i wish you could spend just 2
hours with her and get a taste of what I taste 24/7...words cannot
express why i love her, but i do!  She's amazing to teach with and to
learn from...and she spins around and around and around in circles when
she gets really happy or excited...i get dizzy :)
We're the big kids now!  the older district is flying to russian and
ukraine...weird!  We just barely got here...

my favorite russian word is "free-ka-del-kee" (i'll send home how to
spell it) it means meatballs!  another ditrict favorite is "chore-nee
shnork-ee"  which means black shoelaces...the distric is amazing as
usual...everyone uses us as an example of unity, but we use them as an
example of dillegence...we learn together.
I'm working so hard.  I had a special experience with a member of my
branch presidency...basically he told me that the Lord is pleased with
what i'm doing...that he knows and loves me and is smiling down at my
actions.  I needed to hear that.
love you...love the mtc...love life...i'll send home some pictures this
week, tay?

oh and mon, can you write before like 9 on tuesdays?  i like to got
print them off after we go to the temple, so i don't get cut off while
we write...i know the trick about how to get around the timer, but i
don't want to use it ...hahaha...love you!!!!!let me know if i can do
anythings! keep on keepin on...stay strong...

love cectpa rella chile

dad -
i've been praying and fasting for you and your job stuff...i just hear
stuff from lizzie, but things will be grrr-eat.  i know it.  love you
and THANKYOU for you story.  i love it and i've already shared it in
class...it'll be nice to fill in the details.  And i've added two
things to it...so i can be a "FLOSSER" every day...enthusiasm, and
surprise surprise, repentance.  because this is the funnest most
exciting work EVER and i can be a more worthy vessel for the lord to
work through if i repent...love you...give those inmates a squeeze for
me... and don't kill obama.  my scooter...my scooter obama, not the
president...oh no...