Bearing Your Testimony is Part of What Builds It, Ministering to Those in Need and She Gave us Each a Dog!!

 We had a pretty good week this past week. We had a good lesson with the {} family.  We decided to do an unofficial testimony meeting and share what the gospel can mean to us. I shared my testimony about the Atonement and how it can help you overcome stuff in your life and I directed it towards Brother {}. Even Sister {}, who isn't a member of our church and doesn't seem super interested bore her testimony that she can feel the difference in her home and in her family since we've been coming over. We were kinda hoping that that would happen, but not getting our hopes it. It was super exciting that she did that, though, because bearing your testimony is part of what builds it. Everyone who was there could feel the spirit.
    This was pretty cool, too. After the lesson, Sister {} said she had something for us. Elder {} and I had no idea what to expect. She prefaced it by saying that she knew we loved dogs, but also knew we couldn't have one while on a mission. With a preface like that, we really had no idea what to expect. She reached into a bag and pulled out these little toy dogs, one for me and one for my comp. The coolest part was that my comp got a German Shepard and i got a pug. The story behind that is the family has four dogs, including a pug named Toby and a German Shepard that's six feet from nose to tail named Luke. My companion really likes Luke and I fell in love with Toby as soon as I met him, so Sister {} got us the dogs that she knew we'd like the best. We were both pretty happy about it just because of how awesome the gift was, and it shows how much the family loves us. 
     Saturday night we were out with Elder{}(remember me talking about him the last time I was in Layton?) . I seriously love that man.  We ended up staying for an hour and taught her less-active friend who was there who has been struggling recently. We gave her a blessing of comfort and the spirit was super strong.
    Oh, and to wrap the week up, we got invited to a Tongan barbecue, and it was absolutely amazing. It was probably the first real poly food I've had since Glendale, including real O'tai. It was pretty awesome.
     This work is absolutely amazing. I know the Atonement is real and that it can save our lives if we're willing to do our part to tap into it. I know that God loves us. His gospel is true, and that truth can be found everywhere, but the fullness of it was restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, and that priesthood authority is here on the earth in this Church.

Love,
Elder Jake Lusk.

ps. Pugs are those dogs that are so ugly that their cute. The {} pug, Toby,  is absolutely adorable, and the next time I'm over there I'll take a picture of me with it so you can see just how cute it is and why i want one when i'm off my mission.