Powers Baptism This Week

The Powers are going to be baptized this week! Thursday at 10 AM to be specific. There's going to be hardly anybody there, but Kim works evenings and it's just what will work for them. It's going to be awesome and I'm excited. Shaun was ordained a priest this week, so he's going to be doing most of the baptisms. One of the little girls, Lily, wants me to baptize her and Kim wants Elder Beddes to baptize her. I hope that Lily changes her mind because I think it would be cool for her dad to do it, but hey, I'm not going to complain about getting to baptize somebody. Especially when they're not as giant as my dad.

To any pre-mission boy that happens to read my e-mails: Don't get a real girlfriend until you're home from your mission. I promise the Prophet knows what he is talking about. Girlfriends are dumb before your mission. Here's why:
1. They cost a lot of money. If I had spent as much money and time on my car or on cooler things as I did on a girlfriend, I would have a really sweet 1970 Nova. Instead I had to sell it and now I drive a station wagon.
2. They aren't as nice as they smell.
3. Having boys as friends is better anyway. You can watch Arnold Schwarzenegger movies instead of Twilight and do fun (parents read: stupid) things in the car you spent all your time and money on. 

4. They are distracting. If you have a girlfriend back home, she will keep popping in your head randomly. Even when you're studying about how Teancum should have been a Navy Seal.  

5. It is way better to write like 50 girls and feel good about it rather than only one because you feel guilty or something. Mail is like Christmas, but it comes six days a week. As far as worldly things go, nothing is more awesome than getting a letter, and nothing is more crummy than getting nothing in the mail when you're on your mission.
6. You will get Dear Johned and it's super distracting for like two weeks. That's two weeks wasted when you have to struggle to feel the Spirit because all you can think about is how sad you are and how you wish you'd written 50 girls instead of one.
So you know how a couple priesthood sessions ago a few of the Apostles railed on the returned missionaries for "hanging out" instead of dating? Do that before your mission. It's way better in every way ever. My pinky promises.

I think that the coolest thing about General Conference is that everybody takes away something different from it, but everybody still feels like at least one talk is written just for them. Everybody keeps saying how one of the biggest things that they took away from Conference is the importance of the Eternal family. I didn't get anything about families from it, but I sure felt like I got a lot about faith and starting to build your faith where you are instead of giving up. How cool is that? I love it. I read Elder Holland's talk again last night and wanted to hug him. He's the man. We also watched President Monson's talk with the Powers on Saturday and that was also awesome. It was so much fun to see the kids and Kim get excited about seeing the Prophet and really being able to feel how much he loves us.

Before conference, I had been trying really hard to develop a closer relationship with Christ and His Atonement. Two talks really helped me out in that area. The first was President Eyring's. He said, "I am a witness of the Resurrection of the Lord as surely as if I had been there in the evening with the two disciples in the house on Emmaus road. I know that He lives as surely as did Joseph Smith when he saw the Father and the Son in the light of a brilliant morning in a grove of trees in Palmyra. This is the true Church of Jesus Christ. Only in the priesthood keys held by President Thomas S. Monson is the power for us to be sealed in families to live forever with our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
How cool!! President Eyring knows that the Savior lives and I don't even have the faith of a mustard seed. So frustrating, but so inspiring.

Then Elder Holland said, "What was once a tiny seed of belief for me has grown into the tree of life, so if your faith is a little tested in this or any season, I invite you to lean on mine. I know this work is God’s very truth, and I know that only at our peril would we allow doubt or devils to sway us from its path. Hope on. Journey on. Honestly acknowledge your questions and your concerns, but first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe"

How truly uplifting and inspiring. I am so grateful to have prophets on the earth today that can say such wonderful and uplifting things. Conference is a super missionary tool as well.

As far as other interesting goings-on, I don't have much to report on. Things are going really well, but I will be happy when the weather decides to be warm for real. I can't wait to tell you all about how awesome the baptism is going to be.

Oh wait, wait!! I have an awesome story. Fast and testimony meeting was yesterday. A little boy got up with his grandpa and started to proclaim to the entire congregation what he believed. This is what he said, "I'd like to bear my testimony...I know that Jesus lives...Not everybody may believe it, but dinosaurs once walked the earth!..T-Rex's love meat, it is their favorite food. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

BEST. TESTIMONY. EVER.

I seriously love you all and wish you the best. To everyone who isn't sending me letters, please send me mail so that I can have Christmas every day of the week. I promise you'll get some sweet letters back.

Keep on Keepin' on, 

Elder Christopher Drake

"T-Rex's love meat."