Hi Family,

This week was just overall pretty normal, but still good. I've just been in a generally happy and normal mood lately. There was one thing this week that wasn't fun, but was kind of funny too. So whenever we go out and bike, we almost always have to take the same road since it connects to every other place that we go to in our area. The road doesn't have any sidewalks, so we just ride on the edge of the road all the time. Well on that road there's a house with a dog that is always outside. It's not very big but literally every time that we pass by it runs and barks at me and chases me for about 100 yards. And I swear that every day it just gets closer and closer to me when it runs at me. It usually just runs on the side of me and barks really loud. It would run all the way out onto the road if it wasn't scared of cars so much. So it was time to go back home one night, and we were coming up on that house. I was even biking on the opposite side of the street of the house this time since we were going the opposite way we came. Well I heard the dog start barking at me and I was like "yeah whatever I hear this all the time no worries", but then a split second later I looked down on my left and it had run ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ENTIRE STREET JUST TO COME AT ME. It scared the crap out of me and I freaked out and shrieked and then turned away super fast because it was trying to bite my legs. I tried to kick it while I was riding but I missed. A car came by and it ran back, but geez I hate that dog so much. Anyway yeah that was pretty funny too I guess.

Other than that nothing really happened this week. Carl didn't keep his commitments this week. We've been doing service and trying to get him to come with us so that he doesn't drink, but when he said he would come he wouldn't answer the door when we went to pick him up. So we just did the service anyways at the Scott's house. They're a really old couple that needed help moving stuff in their basement so that they could start finishing it to sell their house. Brother Scott is hilarious. He always says "legit" it's funny. The next day we talked to Carl and he said he was sorry, but we told him that he needs to get in control of his life so that he doesn't miss out on stuff he commits to. He and Dory have been talking and Dory is going to quit smoking if Carl quits drinking and smoking. So that was a big step there, but we'll have to see where it goes. Carl said he would be at church on Saturday, but he didn't show. I'm not mad or depressed about it, it's just annoying that he can't keep simple commitments. I'm being patient with him though, he may just take longer than normal to come around and to change. We a recovery class but it's all the way in Greenville and Carl has been to rehab and AA before and he says that he doesn't want to go back. We are going to try and get him to maybe use the online one that the church has. Hopefully it will help him. (The Church has developed an addiction recovery program that is extremely successful and this is what Sean is referring to. Not only does it focus on behavior, but also the Atonement and how relying on that saving power helps people overcome their addictions better than just therapy alone. Click here to learn more about it.)

We couldn't get in contact with Sherry this week either. She got really sick and then when she got better, a family member passed away. I feel really bad about her situation and I hope that this week we can help her out and teach her so that she can be happier in life. She said that she has been reading though, so that's good. 

This week went really well and I had a lot of fun. Elder Welty goes home in a week and a half. It's coming up pretty soon so he's trying his best not to get too trunky haha. He's still doing really good though. This week should be a good one and I feel that a big breakthrough with someone I'm teaching is going to come as long as I stay dedicated and faithful in my efforts. :)

Oh I forgot to mention, I finished Jesus The Christ today. All 750 pages haha. (This is a huge accomplishment for Sean because he does not enjoy reading very much!) Reading Jesus the Christ has helped me understand the Atonement, His character, the Apostles, and the timeline of the world better. I love reading about Peter. He was bold and dedicated to the end and I learn a lot from what he preaches in Acts and how much he loves the Savior.

(I asked Sean what he has been studying recently) Right now mostly I'm reading through the Book of  Mormon and marking it up really in depth by doctrine, by what characters are described as, what they say and do, and how it effects their lives and others. Other than that I study out of PMG (this is the "Preach My Gospel" manual that all missionaries use) every day and I'm trying to go through all the lessons and write summaries of what I read and then using the scriptures suggested and picking which I like best and then writing any other thoughts I have on what I learn in the margins.

I'm so excited to talk to you in 2 weeks! I don't think I've told you this yet, but in this mission the missionaries get to video chat or skype home! So you'll get to see me too! :)

I hope y'all had an awesome week. By your emails it seems like you did :)

Love

Elder Bills

Hi Family, I hope you all had a really good Easters this weekend. I know I did.
 
This week was really fun! On Tuesday we had Zone Conference and a Specialized Training meeting at the church here with my zone. On Monday night at like midnight I woke up because someone had jumped on me in my bed and I was super confused why anyone would disturb me in my slumber, but it was Elder Willie! Since it was Zone Conference the AP's stayed in our apartment for a day and night, so it was good to see Elder Willie again. Zone Conference was really fun too. President Holm gave a lot of advice on honesty in what we do and also what we need to work on as a zone to meet our goals. He mostly talked about how we really need to get the people we teach to church. We played a couple games too. There was a basketball shootout with all of the Elders, and I was robbed because I didn't make anything :( Even though the day before we played basketball in P day and I didn't miss at all haha. Oh well. Zone Conerence was really fun and I took a lot from it so that I can improve on things that I want to improve on.

The rest of the week was pretty good. We saw Carl and Dory just about every day at their house. We had a good talk with Carl and we set a lot of goals with him so that he can live the Gospel again. The goals were to come to church every week, cut down his drinking by half a day, and to pray more often. Once we set those we wrote down 3 things that he could do in order to keep those goals. I was really surprised by his effort this week, there wasn't a single day that he didn't go over having 6 beers, and most days he had less than what he set his goal for! It was so great to talk to him when he was more alert and mellow. I could easily see a change in his attitude and behavior and it made me so happy that he has started to change. I knew that patience with him would go a long way. He and Dory came to church yesterday too! It was so great to see them there. I am really proud of Carl in keeping all of his commitments this week. He's made a huge step in becoming a happier person. He's a great dude. We also tried to get in contact with Sherry but she got really sick this past week. We were able to stop by and talk for a minute and she said that she has been reading and she is liking what she reads. We're seeing her tonight because she's supposed to be better so I think that will go really well. 

Other than that, this week was pretty normal and fun. It did rain all weekend though. Biking in the rain is lame i'm not gonna lie. But Elder Welty and I had fun anyway. We actually got lost and decided to walk these train tracks because we knew that it led to a person's house that we wanted to see, and as I was walking on the tracks he yelled super loud "TRAIN!" and I thought he was serious and I immediately jumped off the tracks and he just busted up laughing. It was pretty funny cause I looked really stupid cause I literally jumped like I was hurdling even though the track is 4 inches high. We joke around with each other like that all the time it's really great. I'm gonna send a photo from the week hopefully of the cake that I made from your package mom! Thank you so much for the food. There's so much that I probably won't run out for a long time :) I really appreciate it a lot and so does Elder Welty. We loved the ties you sent us too. 

This week was a really amazing and just normal week for me. I had so much fun talking and visiting members of the ward, and teaching. I really love how happy this work makes me. I've never been more motivated in my life than I am now because I know that the work I do is what I'm called to do. I'm so glad that I get to teach happiness and hope to people who are searching for it. And I'm glad that it was Easter. I wouldn't be where I am today without my Savior. I watched the Easter video the church put out and I've been watching the Bible Videos a lot over these few months and it helps me really know what the Savior was like. Because of Christ I get to help others, have fun, teach The Gospel, and become the person that God knows I can become.
 
I hope ya'lls week was Eastery
 
Love
 
Elder Sean Bills

Hey Family,

This week has been really amazing. I've definitely been blessed with a lot of success. We got in contact with a lot of people and we found new people to teach too. The weather has been really great too. Well, the pollen everywhere makes my eyes itch and water all the time, and the bugs are starting to come out (especially bees...) but I'm still having fun all the time! (Sean hates bees! Like he screams and runs for his life when he sees a bee.)
 
So first I guess is that we got in contact with Cory again. We talked to him and he explained that he was afraid of what his family would think of him if he joined the church pretty much. He's a really sensitive and anxious guy and I can understand how he might feel. Learning and living this stuff is a huge change. We are still teaching him though. We have been going over to his house for a little while to just read the Book of Mormon with him to show him that we're his friends and that we want him to really know if it's a book inspired by God. He's just such a super nice guy I would hate to give up on him. He sewed Elder Welty's pants because he had a rip on his ankle it was pretty awkward for him haha. 

Then we also got in contact with Carl and Dory again. We went over there twice this week to teach them that they really need to commit and that Carl needs to be the example between them. dory expressed that she feels like she wants the idea of Christ being our Savior and the Book of Mormon being God's word to be true (she grew up Jewish), but because Carl hasn't ever committed or shown any change she can't really understand how the Gospel can effect her life. She's right too. Carl hasn't kept any commitment we've given him, and he hasn't been progressing anywhere. When we were with them I got really bold I guess with him and we read Alma chapter 34. I explained that Carl needs to stop procrastinating the time to change for the better because he won't if he does. When Carl read a certain verse he felt the Spirit really strongly and cried that he didn't want to be miserable anymore and that he wanted to commit and change. I think in that lesson we really got Carl to understand that he needs to commit and change and we got Dory to gain a little bit of faith in Christ. We asked her to try praying and asking for help in her life and she said she would. We also 100% committed them to church that night. Carl said to me that no matter what he was coming to church on Sunday. Well when church came around I called him before to see if he was still coming and he refused to come. I tried everything that I could say to get him to come and he wouldn't do it. He chose not to follow through again. I really wish he would. I know that he can be happier if he did. His alcoholism is stopping him from being happy and from a lot of other things. I know that I have to just be patient with him and if I'm persistent then he will start to change. We are so close in a break through with him. I really care for his well being and I want him to be able to be changed for the better as he lives the Gospel. He could get married, have a better job, and so many other things if he would just start to commit to church. I wish I could do more for him. That was a little lame that he didn't come to church, but other great things happened this week.

We met a lady named Sherry this week. She's around 60 years old and we saw her sitting out with her granddaughter in her yard. We approached her and got to know her, and then taught her about what we share as missionaries. We told her that we teach about Christ and how his restored Gospel can help us have happiness and faith throughout life. She was so happy for us to come by and talk about it with her. We taught her the full Restoration lesson and all she had to say was "wow" as she teared up and smiled. We asked her if she had been baptized in another church around here and she has never been baptized! She says that she wants to so bad and she knows that she wants to do it. I asked her to be baptized and before I could even finish my invitation she said yes. She was so ready to hear about The Gospel. She was ecstatic when we gave her a Book of Mormon to read and we're seeing her in the next couple of days to see what she read. I don't think I've ever seen anyone more excited to hear about this than Sherry was. She wants to live it so bad and she hasn't been able to. I can't wait to teach her more.

So yeah this week was really awesome. We taught a lot and worked hard this week and I know that I was blessed for my patience by God. I wouldn't ever be successful without Him. I'm glad I didn't quit when I was in a slump.

Thank you for the emails everyone I really like reading them. I hope you have a good week

Love
Elder Bills

This was in response to some questions I asked him:

Okay I'll try and answer these the best I can.

1. What do you think is the most important thing Elder Welty has taught you:

Probably just little stuff that I didn't know before honestly. And he's mostly taught me that getting to know the members and having them help out is the best way to have success in a lot of things.
 
2. What is the funniest thing that happened this week?

So we got into a bash with this Pentacostal guy who was only like 20 years old. And he said he knows for a fact that the Trinity is right and the thought that God and Christ and the spirit are separate isn't. Well after he said that he said that God is perfect and has absolutely zero sin and he can't have sin and that Christ was perfect also just like Him except when he took our sins upon himself. Well after he said that Elder Welty looked at him and went "Wait, if God can't sin then how could he be Jesus Christ since he had our sins in Gethsemane?" And the guy just had this crazy mind blown face and was silent for awhile and he was totally just blown away because he'd never thought of it before. that was just funny to me hahaha I don't know why.

3. What's the weirdest thing you ate this week?

Um I ate a blueberry bagel...? I haven't eaten anything weird

4. What's the hardest thing that happened this week?

The hardest was that Carl didn't keep his commitment. He's a pill

5. Where will you be spending Easter?

I don't know. I'm gonna be out working most of the day but I'm sure I'll have dinner at a member's house

Hey guys,

I really enjoyed Conference this weekend. I'm pretty sure that it's a lot easier to watch it and listen to it when you're a missionary though, because before my mission I could never stay awake or pay attention. I loved almost all the talks that were given and I learned a lot about myself this weekend. It went by so fast I was really disappointed that it ended though! I made sure that I went with a question in mind to conference that I wanted an answer to, and I definitely got it. Conference is really great. I really liked how much they talked about having a strong foundation of hope and happiness in ourselves so that when we are broken and depressed, we can have faith that we can endure it by using the Atonement in our lives and remembering what Christ did for us when He was on the Earth. I had really great experiences listening and I hope you all did too. 

I do want to share one really great experience that also this happened this week too. At the beginning of this past week, I was thinking a lot about how successful I was as a missionary. The people I have been teaching are dropping off, and we have had some trouble in our efforts to find more people to teach to. I was really bothered that I wasn't having any success in the fact that nobody I was teaching was progressing towards baptism or anything at all and they weren't keeping their commitments. It really upset me that I didn't know what to do really. I had a lot of thoughts that day that were negative and I really just wanted to give up and not move forward in teaching anyone until I figured out what to do next. Well as I was sitting I knew that I should pray to know what to do. I went into a prayer and expressed my thankfulness for the things that I cherished and had and I specifically asked Heavenly Father how I could be more successful and I also asked if I was even worthy of success in the first place. I felt a lot more comforted as I got back up, and I had a great feeling of just peace. I didn't have any thoughts running through my head anymore and I was just calm and quiet. I laid down on my bed to just sit and relax, and to think a little bit about what I could do next in order to find more people to teach. 

As I was getting comfy I felt the urge to just open up my Book of Mormon to where I was reading, and to just read. I kind of brushed it off and thought "I can just read tomorrow during my personal study time" and then not even a minute later my mind just basically switched my train of thought to "No you need to read them right now". I was laying there thinking over and over that I should just get up and read. Well I did. I opened up to where I had left off, which was in Alma Chapter 26. In the chapter it starts off with Ammon, and he is explaining how grateful he was for the blessings God had given him and the result of those blessing was that he saved thousands of people and brought them to believe in the Gospel. He talks about how he was depressed because he was rejected wherever he went, and he was sad that he wasn't having success. 

Then he says in verse 27: Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about toaturn back, behold, the Lord bcomforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with cpatience thinedafflictions, and I will give unto you success.

That verse hit me really hard. God comforted them just like he had me and told them that if they just bear their struggles a little longer, they will be given success. They only had the intent of saving a few people but because of their patience and diligence they were blessed to bring thousands, even a whole civilization unto Christ. I saw that I just have to do the same thing. I have to be patient and stay obedient so that when God sees fit, I can be given success. I just have to have faith and trust that I will become a successful missionary, even when I want to give up and go home. I just have to bear a little longer and I know that for a fact that I will be the most successful missionary I have to be. I don't need to worry about it because God is in charge. I know that He will bless me with success if I do what Ammon did and work hard just for a little longer. I'm so thankful for the Spirit and it's promptings to help me in my journey as a missionary. I have been brightened by the simple promptings to pray and read. The Spirit is real and I treasure it more than anything right now, because it is the guide that I have that will lead me when I don't know what to do next.

I hope you all enjoyed conference. I hope you all are happy and having fun doing whatever you all are up to this week. I love you all very much. 

Love
Elder Bills