9.16.2013

Hey family!

This week was very unique. It's amazing to see how when you're obedient and do your best, the Lord does bless you and help you along the way. However, that doesn't mean that you won't have difficulties or struggles. One thing that has been a little bit hard to deal with this week was the death of one of the members of the Lowville Branch. We had just started to meet with Brother Laconti a few weeks after I got here and I was starting to get pretty close with him. He had a difficult life and a lot of struggles, but we were meeting with him and started to have some really good visits with him. This last Thursday, we had a really good lesson with him and he was really starting to progress. We stopped by on Friday and helped him load up his van for a trip he was going on and had a good visit. However, his neighbor we're teaching called us and told us he thought Brother Laconti was in the Hospital. So we drove by after church and saw that his van was still there and he didn't answer when we called, so we went to the Hospital to find out if he was there and visit him. When we got there and found out he had been admitted, the nurse told us that he had passed away a few hours before. Didn't expect that to happen. It was kind of a weird day. My testimony of the Plan of Salvation has grown a lot, so I wasn't upset or angry, but I still can't quite believe that he's gone and that we won't get to meet with him anymore. It's just hard to believe we saw him and he was doing fine, then two days later he was gone. However, I am grateful for the fact that he was beginning to progress a lot and that he was mending his relationship with God right before his passing. But that was the difficult part of our week.

Besides that, things are going really well. The Lowville Branch is so great! When I first got here, we only had one meal appointment a week. However, I've been working really hard to build relations with the members, and it's starting to work! We had a few really good member present lessons this week, and in the upcoming 2 weeks, there's only 2 days someone didn't sign up to feed us. It's amazing how quickly things can change as you do your best. We still don't have a ton of people that we're teaching, but we're just doing our best and I know that we'll start to see the work pick up and progress. Just like Massena, it's only a matter of time! I know that this is God's work.

That's cool to hear about that meeting Dad got to go to! It's really cool when you get the opportunity to see an Apostle or General Authority in person. The Spirit is strong in those meetings! Dad did spend a lot of time at church this week though! Back before my mission, that might have been a little rough, but I've learned to love the time I spend at church. Meetings and figuring out how we can better help our Brothers and Sisters out there are great, as long as it's followed by action.

Things are going well. It's amazing to see how many unique experiences I've had so far on my mission.... A companion getting really sick, opening a branch, and now the passing on of a good friend I met on the mission. It's really odd to think about, and while that sounds like it hasn't been the best experiences, I'm really grateful for the things that I've learned so far and the ways I've grown. Missions are pretty great!

I love you all! Thanks for all of your love and support.

-Elder Hussey