An Ensign to the Nations

 Greetings friends and family from Huskerville.  Hope everyone is
doing fantastic and really getting into the routine of school and
fall.  As always, being a missionary continues to be amazing.
Everyday is a challenge and a growing experience.  It's amazing that
Heavenly Father always gives us personally tailored challenges and
trials in life that help us to learn and gain experience.  Not that
I'm going through any major trials right now, but new experiences
always bring new challenges to overcome, and right now the challenge
is trying to figure out how to serve in a singles ward.  It is
certainly unique.  But this is the Lord's work and He will make sure
it is taken care of as long as we are willing to follow him.  So last
week we were able to take Doug up to Omaha to the Trail Center to see
it the temple and watch the Joseph Smith movie.  It was awesome, and
he loved it.  His testimony is growing so much, and we're so excited
for his baptism on the 22nd of this month.  It was funny, because we
actually took a group of us up there from the singles ward, and the
Sister who was taking us on tour couldn't tell who was the
investigator, haha.  Sometimes Doug is a better fellowshipper than a
lot of our members.  We also have a new investigator who came to
church for the first time Sunday, where we met her.  Her name is
Simone, and she grew up in Omaha by the Trail Center and Temple, so
she knows a fair amount about the Church.  She has a friend in the
ward who invited her to church, so she came.  And get this, she bore
her testimony.  It was awesome.  We were able to talk to her after,
and we're really excited for her first lesson tomorrow.  Other than
that things remain the same.  We still continue to struggle finding,
and the best way it seems is by members bringing their friends to
church.  Really looking forward to this transfer though.  We just
moved into a new apartment that is way closer to campus, so we're
excited to be able to make more effective use of our time.
     So spiritual thought of the week, one of my favorite phrases in
the scriptures comes from Isaiah where it talks about being an "Ensign
to the Nations."  One way I think we can truly be an ensign to the
nations is by our personal standards.  When I look at the standards of
the world, they are very low, and differ widely.  People do not see
the importance of keeping the commandments.  As Latter-day Saints we
have a great opportunity to raise the flag of righteousness by the
example we set to others.  We must realize that people are always
watching us, and often base what they will do off the example we show
to them.  I know that as we strive to be more like Christ, people will
notice, and they will desire to do the same.  This is what our Father
in Heaven expects of us, and I promise as we do so that we will see
the blessings of influencing others for good.  I love you all so much,
and hope you have an amazing week.

Godspeed,
Elder Chandler Kendall