Well greetings everyone!!!

 

Man what a great week and so much happened but mom hate to break your heart but I can’t fit it all and I’m not trying to write a novel like all the sister missionaries do. Like shoot who has time for that!

 

Well I guess we will start with the TIWI..... Elder Demke HATES !HATES! the TIWI! so the TIWI is this black box put in all our cars that forces us to drive like all the snowbirds in az. Sorry g-pa but your one of them (still love you). It constantly says "check your speed" like 4 over "CHECK YOUR SPEED" I swear it’s going to kill us because a semi-truck is going to run us over we have to go so slow. It also monitors a number of other things. I can’t even drive yet and I hate it.

 

So now that I vented about the TIWI the Highland Heist went over to the assistants to the president for a day and I loved it! There is four of them and four of us so 8 dudes hanging out in a one bedroom dirty dirty man pad of an apartment for 24 hours and it could have not been more fun! We were up late trying to wrestle Elder Boden this big old college wrestler farm boy who wrecked everyone! But let it be said your boy won with staying with him for a whopping 45 seconds haha. After getting no sleep we woke up at 5:45 to play basketball and then we all split up for the day to go work with one of the assistants. I loved it because I loved learning from the best and how I can become like them. I was with elder Pope who about pooped himself when I said I was related to Destry Abbott. We were in the most ghetto part of Cincy! (mom don't read this) but we were dropped off in this area that was like a 1/4 mile of straight projects and we were told that just in that area there were 3 murders in the last three months. A gun shot went off in one of the lessons and everyone just acted normal hahaha I would have never been caught dead there before my mission but it wasn't even scary for me. Any who met great people gave great lesson.

 

I have to give a huge shout out to my boy ELDER HALL! his email last week was amazing I strongly encourage you all to read it just ask my dad for it. He talked about focusing on the gospel rather than earthy matters. The natural man in each of us tries so hard to change the treasure of our hearts. It’s been very interesting for me as a missionary always trying to find my next step in becoming better and I was thinking constantly about trucks, back massages and the fam. I am a missionary an extension of Christ in doing HIS work. In doing HIS work I want to become just like him and the only thing that matters is this gospel! not trucks and sports. 

 

So my challenge to you all, is to look into your own life and see what you spend most of your time doing and thinking about. Is it directed to our Creator and fulfilling his work or is it worldly thoughts. I heard a great quote in church this week. "When our time is cut short what do we cut?" are we cutting home teaching, family home evening and daily studies or are we cutting the things we enjoy but are not as important. 

 

I leave you with wise words of Dieter f Uchtdorf "We get so caught up in getting to the end we don’t find joy in the journey" 

 

much love everyone sorry for the choppy email 

 

(no I am not breaking any rules because I am not touching that gun) 

 

WITH MUCH LOVE 
ELDER DEMKE