How could I not notice the obvious message of light that we received this morning as we were finishing our breakfast of Swedish pancakes! We noticed this shaft of light coming through the narrow window shining right onto my Bible and Book of Mormon, stacked there waiting for me to pick them up and study and ponder. How can one ignore that type of divine nudging---a quiet sweet invitation to keep trying and allow the light of Christ to enlighten me. I want to share what I have been prompted to study this morning:

From the "Bible-New Testament", John 8:12: "Then spake Jesus unto them saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

From the "The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ": 2 Nephi 10:14 : " ...for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king. and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words".

Karen and I invite each of you to join with us today and search for additional light and truths in the Bible and Book of Mormon. They testify of Jesus the Christ and will literally help you recognize and accept divine light.

Elder Brown got lots of attention when he came to Institute wearing a huge bandage. Some of the young adults insisted on signing it, even though he only wore it for four days. After weeks of numb fingers, sore wrist and hand, and not being able to type, and having to play pickle ball with his left hand, he decided it was time to address his carpel tunnel. I think the breaking point was when his wife could finally beat him at pickleball because of his handicap! We were blessed to find an excellent doctor in Fort Worth and Elder Brown has been doing amazingly well. He gets his stitches out this week. He will soon be a threat at pickle ball with the young adults and missionaries once again.

 

This week we are losing a wonderful Sister missionary, Sister Goettl, because she finally gets to go to Portugal, her assigned mission. We are excited for her. We love Sister Goettl and Sister Cannon, a powerful duo here in Abilene. We made them Elder Brown's famous Swedish pancakes for a going away breakfast.

Our good friend Isaac Eatmon was baptized on Saturday. He is a valiant and noble young man who had prepared himself for the gospel long before he ever met the missionaries. Getting to know Isaac and watching him grasp the doctrine of Jesus Christ and desire to get on the covenant path has strengthened my own resolve and faith. We call this group "our family." This family is loyal, helpful, and they support each other 100%. We play pickleball with them, play games with them, talk about the gospel together, and have some dinners together, just like a real family. We have grown to love them all.