Being Rude to My People, The Parable of the Chocolate Brownie and Satan's Counterfeits, Oh and the Most Successful Month Ever

 So first something that happened last Monday we were out by the souvenirs market looking at some hand- crafted merchandise and just enjoying talking to the craftsmen and even met two BYU professors. Anywa,y there where these two European ladies there being super rude and disrespectful to the locals and yelling at them and i was about to go give some serious fire  but they left. If anything boils my blood, it's rude people. Especially when they're being rude to my people who are just trying to make an honest living. Enough of that. We had a good week. We are preparing to have 4 baptisms this month. One is a great family who is just eating up the gospel so fast. Another is a man we had just met on the street who is so honestly searching for the truth in his life. The last one is an older gentlemen who, despite his very broken English, is very excited about the church. We had two brand new investigators come to church for the first time which really gets me excited to see such commitment. Interestingly enough ,the gospel principles lesson covered what we had been planning to teach three of our investigators next. Love it when that happens. Interesting experience the other day. From the Gospel of Elder Lusk the parable of the chocolate brownie. So we were at the store picking up some groceries and there by the bakery was some fresh chocolate brownies. We saw them and where like "man those look great" and they did. We bought our things and we went back and because they where cheap, big, beautiful, still warm and we were hungry we each bought one. Excitedly, we finished dinner and then unwrapped our treats. It looked and felt just how a chocolate brownie should expect one thing...they sure didn't taste like they should. They where disgusting. And now it was too late and we had already bought them. It gave me a great metaphor for Satan's counterfeits and temptation. They might have looked tasty but they where not. They were in the open right where we would see it at a vulnerable time. They were cheap but the same money could have been used for bus fare to our area and for something productive. Unfortunately, we learned the lesson late after we had bought and started eating the "brownie". This is just how satan works to tempt and deceive us. He knows our desires and purposefully makes sin appealing despite it's bitter after taste when we chose to yield to it's enticing facade of momentary pleasure. It seemed a small innocent thing and they looked exactly who they should but they where not. I love this simple example of all the everyday lessons we can learn when we simply try to see the opportunity to learn from them. Oh big news. this month was the most successful month the mission has ever had in terms of baptisms and lessons taught. The fields are white here in the great Zambia Lusaka Mission. I serve among great people and with the best missionaries in the world. I am so humbled to be part of that effort!! Not too much else to say I've successfully finished the Book of Mormon for the first time on my mission. Oh and this is the last official week of my in field training! 12 weeks here in Lilongwe have been the best (and based on the way things are going i'll probably stay here awhile which I am totally down with i love my area).  Lots of love to you all back home.

elder lusk