Easter and April Fool's Day

Well, I've had it and I'm going home.

...april fools!

There's nowhere I'd rather be than Las Vegas, Nevada! :) We had a really great week that included a LOT of service, which is always nice as a missionary. After days and days of having to be careful not to wrinkle your clothes of spill something on your tie, it's really nice to be able to put on a pair of leather gloves and break a sweat for someone else. We did some service tracting, which is going around in shorts, a t-shirt and a nametag on Saturday morning and offering service to anyone and everyone who needs it. We did this a lot in my first area, Logandale, and I saw a lot of success from it. We were able to help a family weed their yard, do some moving, and secured a return appointment with another family. It's really nice to see the countenances change on people when they realize you're there to help; no ulterior motives, no strings attached. We just want to help, and loving service is the best medicine for a stress case like yours truly.

Church was fantastic; we had some really great speakers talk on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His Resurrection. They had lost a child early in their marriage and they spoke about how they overcame their grief and sorrow through immersing themselves in the Atonement, the loving sacrifice that Christ made for us. They bore testimony that they know that because of His sacrifice and resurrection, they know that they'll see their child again; that he will be resurrected and made perfect one day. It was extremely powerful and the Spirit was very strong and present. We had two people we're currently meeting with present at church (one of them set for baptism on the 20th of April!) and they both felt touched by the Spirit. Easter is wonderful, and I'm humbled as I think of my Savior and His Atonement, joyful as I think of His resurrection. What a great holiday. We ate Easter dinner with a great family. the Meng's, who got us chocolate Easter bunnies with our nametags on them! The dinner was awesome and so was the company. For April Fools today we're all asking President Black for a puppy in our emails to him...a not-so-small part of me is hoping he takes it seriously and I see a kennel on our porch tomorrow morning. Here's hoping, right?

I love you guys so very much, thanks for all of the support!
Jesse

 

Chocolate Easter Bunny the Meng family gave me,
complete with Elder Dowdle nametag.