a consecrated missionary

   My week has been good. It sounds like things are going good.  yeah prayer is really important, there seems to be a fair number of families that lack that just because they put other desires first but thanks for always praying for me. . .. an interesting subject, Alma and Amulek really were good missionaries, I know that we have the opportunity to be like them here, I was recently studying this morning about the forth type of missionary, It is an article on being a consecrated missionary, and I just read a little while ago of when Alma and Amulek taught Zeezrom. It is interesting how the people rejected them a bit but they must have felt something to keep talking and that is a consecrated missionary... someone who says what Heavenly Father wants and doesn't have to worry about what will happen to him, he has a desire above all to serve, and for that, those are the happiest missionaries, or friends or people. well love you

Welcome Home/ He desires our happiness

 What a wonderful time!  So HAPPY!!  His faithful service will forever bless our family!

Elder Seffker's letter:

Wow how nice all the things going on now, it sounds like a really good project, going to mexico. that is really fun, how long will the mexico trip last. Did you know I have seen a few rotary international symbols here, one example would be the restaurant we ate in today has one hanging on their wall. I am glad to hear that things are going good. I know the Lord really loves your efforts to reach out to people like Jesus Christ did. By the way yeah my day is good so far, for breakfast I had hmm I think a carrot and cabbage and an egg.  so you guys went rock climbing then and Jack can right?  yeah thats cool and melissa four point oooooooooooooooooO wooow that is cooool . well would i know your guys' new stake president? sounds like a good idea, reading the new testament, it would be really fun to see the differences in what was recorded of similar experiences. 

One thing I really liked about this week was that we could see two baptisms two days in a row, and they both were 9 years olds I think, They both went well and the second one was reallly neat. The little girl that was about to get baptized asked if she could read a scripture after someone gave a talk. that is how baptisms seem to go here. And when she read that scripture, which was about repentance and baptism by fire I felt the Spirit, little kids have that ability, and are perfect in Christ, Also a cool thing about that baptism is it was right after Church and we were able to have an investigator come with his wife to Church and then the baptism. It is really cool because he has foot problems and so we have been helping him build another room on to his house and he seems to feel that we love him and want to help him.oh yeah my testimony. I know that Christ lives and that His grace is sufficient for all who come to Him and that through prayer we can communicate with our supreme creator and that He has His truth on the earth  and we are a part of His plan, He desires our happiness- love ya

eventually become like Him

yeah the week was good... I think that one thing that really sticks out to me now would be our interviews with President. We have one every three months. I felt the Spirit pretty strong in the conference we had. We learned about desires, it was a talk from Dallin H. Oaks I think. In the interview we talked a little bit about the same topic. I brought it up by talking about obedience with exactness. Basically for me now it is impossible. It sort of concerned me that we promise people we are going to obey exactly and I have never seen a missionary do it. The thing that concerned me is I hate lying. I told him that me and my companion have talked hours about the topic and what conclusion I have come to is that it is your desire. If you have a pure desire to be exactly obedient you are. The thing is other desires can move in the way and people make excuses. I told a little story; Once me and my companion had to give a blessing to someone, this person was going to go to the hospital that night. We had to give the blessing that night  before she was to receive surgery, so we ended up arriving at about 9 at night. I knew what the rule said 9 return to house unless in a lesson, or if so 9:30. We gave the blessing and it was past that time. I remember walking home with a little prayer in my head. Right now as I am typing just as in the interview I felt the Spirit. Heavenly Father said through His Spirit that He was happy we gave the blessing. That is the rule, the greater thing, our desire! Eventually we will reach our greatest desire because we will be striving for it, and obviously we will be getting help from Heavenly Father if it is a righteous desire. I just realized that in Church on Sunday I learned a thing about this... the fall, transgression. Fulfill the greater law and break the smaller. In the mission and in life you will eventually learn this as you desire to become like Christ. That should be our desire and often times things as simple as food or technology´s desires get in the way. 

We can always be assured that Heavenly Father desires us to be happier and return and eventually become like Him. I have a knowledge that if we desire to follow we will always have the help set out that we need.

love you guys and have fun

Elder N. H. Seffker

fast and testimony meeting / by grace I progress

This week is probably going to be a little short but it was a great week! Zayneb got confirmed on sunday and Tariq got baptized. Next week Brenda is probably going to be baptized. Trish came to church again and this sunday was fast and testimony meeting. I gave her a note at the first of sacrament meeting that explained what fast and testimony meeting was and she leaned over and asked me if she could go up. I told her of course and she bore her testimony! It was really good. She seems to really be progressing. Sunday evening she called us and asked if we could come by and teach her more (usually we're the ones that have to set up the appointments haha). She's so awesome. We went to primary to help Brenda to feel more comfortable. She's 9 years old. Man, primary was so fun! I love that class. First off I was so impressed at the 9-year olds sitting in front of us! They were so smart. They were answering questions better than the guys do in priesthood. (not to discredit the elders but to compliment the kids). Second, its fun being around the kids. While we were singing "the wise man built his house upon the rock" they were all doing the actions and at the part where you have your fist pounding on your other flat hand one kid was just banging it on his head. At another point they were playing this game where you through a bean bag into a muffin tin with papers with song names on them and whichever one you through it into was the song we sang next. When one kid got up it may as well have been payton manning throwing the bean bag in. I think he must have thrown it 60 mph. haha and while he was doing that another kid said, "just miss it so we don't have to sing!" then a kid turned around that was in front of us and showed the teacher a picture of a dragon (the kind that I used to draw in second grade) and said, "could you imagine this destroying your face?"). haha Sorry this probably all proves that I haven't grown in maturity at all but those kids were so funny. We loved it. And Brenda did too I think haha. 

Well I love y'all. Farewell. I'll probably not email next week. Maybe but most likely not.

-Elder Russell

                               I'm really old in the mission. The stress has greyed out my hair. 

                                                         We eat a lot--hibatchi grill

Elder Seffker writes:
So what happened this week? well lots of things I think my highlight would be when I felt the Spirit this week, http://www.mormonchannel.org/watch/collection/come-unto-christ/standards-education-the-glory-of-god-is-intelligence  I just watched this video and realized the Lord has blessed me with more intelligence. I can understand it with or with out the words. The Gospel can be similar in your lives. We will all face trails and we can be ready to face things like Nephi. He never did sit down and say, "aw man I cant hunt now and everyone is putting the blame on me." He seems the be the realistic one. When the storm threatened the lives of his family and he got saved at the last minute he thanked the Lord. With the help of the Lord he gained the intelligence to build a boat. there was no boat when they got to the beach. We can learn things if we keep the faith. I am not perfect but my goal is to be better all the time, and by grace I progress. Jesus Christ did the same and now I can too. Jesus Christ is the only way Home. That I learned better in our zone conference, we are now trying to be obedient more as a mission.

                                            Funny selfies of a missionary who needs a haircut!

                                                  Us eating more on la Navidad

                                                                     I am eating a potatoe.