I hated to post over that picture of Heather.  It's been nice to open the blog and her radiant face shining back at me.  kp

This week has been full of challenges and well learned lessons. It has seemed like one of the longest weeks in my mission but one of the most spiritual as well. I have come to know the Atonement on a more personal level.  Once again, it has brought back the same feelings I had for it at the start of my mission that have slowly faded over time. The Atonement is everything to me now.  It is a lesson I learned at the beginning of my mission when I thought I would never be able to change and that who I was at the start, was who I was going to be for the rest of my life...but!... I was wrong.  When my trainer introduced the Atonement to me, I changed immediately and I am glad I did because I did not like the old me very much. I still have the feeling that I have not changed much, but changes are evident when I pray to my Father in Heaven and on the outside, I may be the same but inside, I am different.   I am glad that God hears me and speaks to me in my feelings and it makes life so much easier when there is someone waiting with an open ear.
     We had the opportunity to go to the temple this week and it was amazing.  I love being there and feeling the spirit that constantly dwells there. I have been thinking lately of whether I should extend, come home early or stay to my normal time and it has kept my mind busy for some time.  At the start of my mission I wanted to extend and go longer.  Now I have no idea and as I prayed in the temple, I had feelings of staying out until my full two years are up in January but I keep wanting to extend.  I have no idea.  I want to make the right choice and it is a tough one and hard for me to see the answer yet.
     This week we had a cool experience with someone Elder Johnson and I contacted last transfer and then Elder Ramasima and I contacted again on saturday.  His name is Jason.  When Elder Johnson and I first met him, we gave him a card for a Finding Faith in Christ card and he called the number and we brought him the dvd. We lost contact with him for about a month or so and then Elder Ramasima and I contacted him on the street and i remembered him.  We got to talking to see how he was and some how he brought up that he was not baptized yet and that he wanted to be.  We walked with him for about 10 minutes and taught him about the Atonement and how that can changed who we and allow us to become better people.   He told us that he wanted to get his life in order and come to church and start over on the right path and so he said he would be at church the next day and we were going to come by and pick him up with a member.  The next morning we come by and knock on his door cause he was not outside like he said he would be and through his bedroom window he told us   "the Mormon church isn't for me because I don't agree with some of the things they teach. I won't be able to come to church with you."  That really shocked both of us and made us think of what might of happened in the 12 hours we weren't with him.   The catch is that he is schizophrenic and possibly bipolar so that solved that one.   It always amazes me at how fast people can change for the good or for the bad. I have also learned that talking to everyone that we see is more fun than not talking to everyone and letting them pass by and then we wonder what to do when there is nothing left to do.  It has been a good week in a different way. I love you all and can't wait to talk more. Elder Pelton