Letter #49 (Byram, MS)

Hey Mom,                                                                                                               June 24, 2013
First of all, want to give a big shout out to Elder Reber the second who is preparing to enter the MTC come Wednesday. It is truly amazing to see the work go forward, especially from our little family. To think that over four years we were going to have 7 missionaries out is mind blowing. But to think that in just over a year we will have 7 out. No words can describe the feelings of pride as I share this with members and non members here in Mississippi. The dedication from the families, alone is enough to make me emotional. But this is not a time to get complacent. And this is not a time to dwell on what we did yesterday. This Gospel is all about progressing. Day by day and minute by minute. And how do we progress? By sharing the message of the Restoration with friends, family, and anyone who will ask us our reason for joy. My thoughts today are centered on the broadcast that occurred last night. I hope that you guys had the opportunity to go, it was an amazing night, and many thoughts were shared. The overall theme though was clear. Member Missionary Work. As a missionary, obviously I am biased when it comes to my opinion on what members should and shouldn't be doing. One thing that each of us must work on though, is to help the missionaries. Even you, in Utah must do more to help the missionaries. There are people all around us, who need the Gospel. One thing that I learned was taught by President Boyd K. speaking of Repentance. See as a teacher, you strive to make everything simple. To teach in the easiest way, and his brief teaching on Repentance hit me. To paraphrase he stated that Repentance is to go back to where you went off the straight path, figure out where you went wrong, fix it, and move forward with your life. Simply beautiful, his teaching of repentance, and I hope that we can all apply it in our lives. This week is going to be weird. Mine and Elder Anderson's last serving together as companions. While its definitely sad, its exciting to see the both of us close a chapter on our missions, and start a new one!
                   
~Elder Maddox

Elder Anderson (left) & Elder Maddox (right) at a baptism in April.