Elder Junk's Washington DC South Mission Blog: 1-22-2018

New Apartment Mailing Address:
20810 Wallingford Square #102
Sterling, VA 20165

From: Carson Lewis Junk [mailto:carson.junk@myldsmail.net]
Sent: Monday, January 22, 2018 1:39 PM
To: Kathy Junk
Subject: A New Age (Group Email)

Hello everyone! First of all, thank you all for the outpouring of love, support, and prayers on my behalf. I truly do feel all of you reaching out to me and it has helped me more than you know. Still doing my best to stay strong and fight the good fight. I love my mission so much and am really looking forward to going to the doctor this week and receiving counseling to hopefully continue to propel me in the right direction to get feeling better emotionally. This week I have seen the Lord's hand in the work and I know that he is there for me. I don't feel forsaken but I want you to know I'm still staying strong as much as I possibly can. I would still love and ask for all your prayers to continue to help me through this trial. It truly has been a great week but with the depression I have been feeling, it's like even the happiest moments of joy are turned down a notch. I'm not sure how to describe it. I'm just hit with intense quick moments of despair and it's really tough because often I'm doing something I absolutely love and am so passionate about. Nonetheless, I'm doing the best work I can possibly be doing and I know this work to be true.

I would like to begin with Wednesday. I enjoy being District Leader and leading the meetings. Our District is awesome and I love learning from everyone! We met with an investigator named John Hazlett. He is a family man in his late 40's, very educated, and very generous. He teaches classes at the McClean Bible church but has genuine questions for us as missionaries and what we believe. He truly wants to learn more. He picked us up and offered to take us out to lunch at the Corner Bakery. We had an incredible lesson with him as we shared with him The Family: A Proclamation To The World. He loved it and felt very blessed with the knowledge it contained. He is continuing to read and pray about The Book of Mormon. He is starting a new job and so we won't be able to meet with him until March, but this was an incredible lesson and the spirit was felt. Truly an awesome guy.

Thursday, we got some big news and had Zone Conference. We now have smart phones as a companionship, a Samsung prime J3 (basically a galaxy). We also have access to Facebook now and I created my account. President Huntsman and the church in general really want to further the work along through all resources possible. I deactivated my old account until after the mission and created a new one. I'm still foggy with all the details/rules and I know I can add you guys but can't follow you. Not sure if you can like or comment on my things, but if you see me on Facebook feel free to look at my profile! I won't be able to message you but I know this tool will be used to further the Lord's work, especially with all the busy people here in Virgina.

Sunday was a miracle. We have been meeting with this man named Edwin and have had 3 lessons with him. He's originally from Peru but speaks very good English. He's going through a really tough time with his business and is looking for a church and God in his life to help him. We brought with us to talk to him a couple who just moved in named the Stocks and who happen to be from South Weber. Brother Stock speaks Spanish and started talking to Edwin in Spanish. Apparently, Edwin has been wanting to work on his English but hasn't been understanding much of what we have taught him (as you know gospel terms are a little bit tougher to understand). For about 20 minutes Brother Stock had a conversation with Edwin in Spanish. Edwin felt the spirit and we put him on a baptismal date for March 17^th He was so happy to receive The Book of Mormon and feel God's love. He offered a very humble prayer in Spanish and it was an awesome lesson. He will be passed over to the Spanish Elders but we are all on the same team under the same Lord. Brother and Sister Stock live right next to him and are having him over for dinner on Wednesday. We are excited and happy for him and his journey and being a part of 3 lessons with him.

Sunday we also got to go into the Primary and sing with the kids and they were all loving us. If they sang good they got to come put stickers on us. It was fun!

I love you guys so much and am so thankful to have the friends and family that I do. Although a very tough time in my life, I know this gospel to be true. I love my mission and will continue to pray to the Lord and put this in his hands and do my best to stay strong. Thank you all for everything and I will talk to you all next week! I love this mission and gospel. I know The Book of Mormon to be true.

Love,

Elder Junk