Philosophies mingled with scripture

Family and friends,

Last Tuesday we went on exchanges with the zone leader. It was a blast. The elder I was with is a great example of how to have fun while working hard. We talked to a couple people that had some strange ideas, including the "ancient astronaut theory." It might just end up being the leading religious theory in the world...if we find more evidence of 12 men coming down in rocket ships to mix their DNA with ours millions of years ago. And along similar lines, my companion and I spoke with several people on Thursday that shared a lot of our beliefs. They had a lot of truth mixed in with their assertions. It was amazing. And every case could be solved if they would just read the Book of Mormon and pray to know that it's true. Much of what they said agreed with the Book of Mormon, but they were reluctant to exercise faith and accept Moroni's challenge. It was good to have those interactions though. I feel more prepared to share my testimony of the Book of Mormon and of Jesus Christ.
Also on exchanges, when we were on bikes, we got some rain. We weren't in it for very long but it was kind of exciting. That was my first time being really rained on while biking.
Well we received a referral this week from the Mesa Temple Visitor's Center. We stopped by on Wednesday with a lesson plan for potential investigators. After meeting with the family for a couple minutes we discovered that they are already members. They moved into our area in February and have been inactive since 2007 I think. But they either requested or consented to have the missionaries come over. We had a good visit with them, although they didn't come to church yesterday. But we'll keep working with them. The less-active work in our branch is really getting some momentum. Our elders quorum held a 40-day fast, with a different member of the quorum fasting each day within that time period. And now we're seeing the fruits of that faith. Ademas, a former investigator just showed up at church yesterday with her inactive member boyfriend. And another less-active just happened to show up yesterday as well and asked us when we are going to come by his house. His hand is guiding the work for sure.
Well I think that's the best I have to share. Thank you Rachel for your package. The cookies are delicious :) I'm excited to talk with you all next Sunday. Merry Christmas!

Much love,
Elder Joshua Gathro