February 22, 2011

Hey family! How is everything going?? Thanks for all of the support and love! Time is flying by! I cant beleive that February is almost over. Things have been going pretty well here. I am learning a ton and really enjoying my time here. On sunday as you guys know i spoke at a fireside in Bakersfield. There was a ton of people there. It was like a stake conference. I was so nervous before it started ha. I started sweating and then I started to have like a panic attack because I was afraid to have an attack! So i prayed so hard and I turned to elder Manning and was like man, Pray for me! So when it was my turn to speak i got up there, and honestly I was as calm as could be. My mind was clear and I really was so calm. I had my notes and I bore my testimony on the importance of sacrifice and why i came on m,y mission. I had been really pondering about it the past week and i realized something really special that I shared at the fireside. That I have always known that football wasnt the most important thing, even though i didnt shopw it at times, but my parwents always showed me that we had priorities, and that The Lord was always #1. I shared how griowing up I remeber my parents teaching em to give thanks for the ability i was given to play football and all the blessings that I have, I always remeber them praying with me and thanking the lord for all he had blessed me with to play football. I hadnt realized it up until last week buit this was a way that my parents were humbling me. I realized that my whole life i have known that all i have and was given to play football was from the lord and that by the example of my parents, i alweays thanked god for those blessings and I truly came to know that all was and is from Him. I am so grateful to you Mom and Dad, Kc Kelly Kevan Kimmy fdor the ecxample you were and are to me. I wouldnt be here withiout you. I talked about how it is necesasry to make sacrifices to come closer to the Lord and we should make them everyday to be colser to Christ and the Holy Ghost. I spole for about 9-10 minutes. I felt guided by the spirit. I know that this is the greatest thing thathas ever happpened to me. I love my mission. I love the people I have baptized. Juoquin Guytan. I know he uis a reason I came out here and that I was in Santa Paula. I know that Christ is the savior of the world.

We had a lot of awesome experiences this week. Yesterday we had a zone training for the fundamental s of PMG. After the training we went and taught Linda and she had read up to 1 nephi 10. She had a lot of q's abouot her readfing. All of her questions were from 1 nephi 8. We invitesd her to keep reading and she would find the answers. We camn see her growing in testimony and recieving revelatiopn from the book of mormon. We set her with a date for the 26th of march. The lord is in this work! He loves his children so mnuch!

I love you guys more than words can describe.I love the Jesus Christ. I want top be like Him, I want to live my life serving him. This life is such a blessing! I love you all so much! Thanks for all that you do for me! Lover ELder Bills