Officially 21

     I'm officailly 21. It's funny how if you tell anyone that it's your 21st birthday outside of the church they assume that you are going to be partying hard that night. I'm happy to say I still haven't drunk a drop of alchohol. I've seen the effects that it can have on some people and it's sad.

     My birthday felt like just about any other day. We had a zone huddle and then ate at Double Daves, a pizza buffett. Then we knocked doors, taught people and worked hard. I didn't tell anyone about it because I don't like the attention, so my companion was happy to tell everyone. I heard from grandma and grandpa and they sent me a tie.

     The work had slowed down there for a bit, but it is beginning to pick back up. A lot of the people we had been teaching had recieved anti from a couple of sources. We stopped by one of them, and he let us know that he was still interested. He said that he is trying really hard to stay sober right now and trying not to deal with too much else. I wish he understood the role the atonement could play in his life. He is doing well and we will probably stop by every couple of weeks to see if he is ready.

     We also started teaching a young man who is the grandson of a member in the ward. He is excited to learn. He loves to read and is willing to pray. I know that if he will do those two things with an open mind he will recieve an answer to his prays. I love how simple it is.

     We had the Assistants to the President come and visit us on Monday evening. We went and visited with a few of our investigators. I sometimes get frusterated at how number focused the AP's can be. They are great teachers but a lot of the time they will get in and scare away investigators by trying to set dates. Luckily they didn't scare anyone this time. They spent the night and then in the morning did studies with us. They had us role play with them and commented that we were the best companionship they had seen in their travels.

     Other than that nothing too new is going on.

I love y'all

Love Elder Rindlisbacher

A Father's Day Letter

Hey Dad,

Happy Fathers Day!!! Seeing that it is fathers day I thought it was your turn to get an email. Dad I'm so grateful for your example. Being out on my mission makes me realize how blessed I really am. Satan is attacking the family, but I have the best example to follow to be a great husband and father. I'm so grateful for everything you've taught me. I am grateful for all of those times you encouraged me to do what is best, even if I didn't listen all of the time. Thank you for allowing me to make decisions and learn for myself at times. Thank you for all of the support you gave me in all of my hobbies, even if they were a little nerdy at times :). Thank you for choosing the best lady ever to be a mom to be mine. Thank you for laughing even when it isn't funny. Thank you for the letters every week. I joke with my companions that your letters sound like something out of Preach My Gospel. I'm grateful for your diligent effort at studying and living the gospel. Thank you so much for being worthy to make covenants so that our family will be together for ever. I love you so much. I've met a lot of dads out here but none as good as you. Keep it up.

Love your son,

Elder Nathan Rindlisbacher

PS Let mom know you got the email this week. I'm only allowed to send one.

Disappointments with Investigators

Dear Family,

     Well we've had an interesting week full of highs and lows. I'm blessed with a very strong district. We are all young in the mission. My companion and the other companionship have all been out one transfer less than me. In a lot of ways they are better missionaries than I am. My companion, Elder Whittier, is a great teacher. The others have a super good work ethic. I'm excited to be around them and to learn from how they do things.

     Last Sunday we were calling to remind a few people about church. When we called one of our most solid investigators he let us know that he had gone to his church that morning and they told him some things about the Mormons that concerned him. He doesn't really want to meet with us again. We plan on swinging by in a week or so and trying to iron things out. I hate that other churches will twist truths to make them seem wrong or confusing. It was very frustrating.

     Yesterday we had our final zone conferance with President Thurston. He is one of the most powerfull speakers I have ever heard. The spirit was great and I realized some things that I could be doing a lot better. It is a little sad to see him go but I'm excited about meeting President Sagers.

     We got a call a couple of days before the Zone Conferance and they let us know that we would be recieving a car! They haven't told us how long we will have it but I'm glad that I wont be riding a bike anymore in this abnoxious heat and humidity. We also had our phone replaced. They also bring all of the mail from the office to the Zone Conferances and both me and Elder Whittier both got two pieces of mail! It was a great day.

     After the conferance we went back to the apartment, in our car!, and had a short break before we had dinner. After dinner we were picked up by our exchange and went to go visit with our investigator Cami. When we got to her house her husband met us outside and let us know that as a family they decided that they were going to start going to a non-denominational church up the street. By Cami's face you could tell it wasn't a family decision. She was progressing so well. Each lesson that we had had with her the spirit was in ubundance, and on two occasions she felt it so strong she was in tears. It is sad to watch someone's progression be slowed by someone they love. We still haven't decided how or if we will try to get back into contact with her.

     We decided that our area is falling apart and we need to do something about it. We are going to strive to be 100% obedient and not as light minded. It will be a struggle to let go of a little bit of pride and allow myself to change a bit, but I know it is the only way we will be blessed. Please pray for Cami and Shannon.

Love Elder Rindlisbacher

Fossil Ridge Area

Hey Family,

     I'm loving life! The fossil Ridge area is great. It is a lot more wealthy than the other area's I have been in. In my last area there where a lot of wealthy areas but we never spent any time in them we always tracted in the ghetto. I thought that was the best thing to do because the people there were more humble and willing to hear us out, but I'm realizing there needs to be a balance.

    The people here that will listen to you are golden. We found a man named Shannon the other day. He is a recovering alcoholic who is going through a bit of a rough time but he is a great father and he is open to the ideas we have been sharing with him. He has been reading from the Book of Mormon and has committed to come to church already.

     We baptised a 15 year old black kid named X-Zavier on Sunday. He is the last of his family to get baptised. It was awesome to see how happy he and his family were at the baptism. This area has been doing great. They had previously baptised 5 other members of his family and two other people before I got here. We also have three other baptismal dates set. Please pray that we will be able to get back into contact with some of our investigators.

     I'm enjoying the bike as long as I have water. A member let us borrow a GPS and we are going to keep track of how many miles we are riding every day, but I would guess that we do somewhere between 5 to 10 miles a day. All of the close areas to us have been tracted so we have to ride up hill to the last area that hasn't been tracted recently.

     P-days here are interesting. We have to rely on other Elders for our ride to and from places and today everyone is in a hurry so I love yall.

Love Elder Rindlisbacher