In the land of the Canaanites

Dear family and friends!!!!!
How are all of you doing this fine wednesday morning??? I would like to hear how all of you are doing and what cool things are going on in your life, just remember that if you write me a letter you may not get a reply for sometime because I am really bad at that.(thats something that I said I would never do before I left, woops.) Anyway things here in New Canaan are absolutely fantastic!! Some really amazing things have happened this last week that have cause a lot of chances to me personally and to the mission in general.
The first big thing that happened was Elder Bednar came to NY and talked to all of us missionaries together. It was absolutely amazing to be in the same room with a member of the quorum of the twelve. When he walked in my companion tapped on my shoulder and said "Can you feel it?" The answer was yes, I could feel the change in the room the minute he walked in, he carried with him the spirit so very strongly that I don't think anyone in that room didn't feel it. I always thought Elder Bednar was a very serious guy but hearing him talk to all of us young missionaries I come to find out that he is actually really funny. As funny as he is though that doesnt take away from the message he had come to share with us. The things I learned in that meeting are things that I will never forget, he taught us wonderful things that will stick in my brain forever, but the most valuable things I learned, I learned through the power of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost touched my heart and brought truth into my heart that would help me to become a better disciple of Christ. It was such a powerful, and wonderful learning experience and one that will always stick with me. After Elder Bednar talked to us we had the oppurtunity to shake his hand and say hi, I cannot tell you how nervous I was and definitely can not describe the way I felt when I shook that mans hand. Meeting him and seeing the kind of person that he is makes me want to be much, much better. I have a lot I can impove on and I know we all do, sometimes its hard to make those improvements in our lives, but the Lord wants us all to do better and when He wants something done it can most definitely be done. I encourage all of you to reflect and pray about some areas in your life that you can do better in, wether it be scripture study, praying more, working more effectively, loving more, it really doesn't matter. You need to take it to the Lord and see what things you can do to better those areas and improve them, then after you come up with ways that will improve that aspect of you life, DO THEM. If we seek without the intent to do, our prayers stop at the ceiling because Heavenly Father knows you won't do the thing your asking for so He most likely won't give you the answer. Their is a great talk by Elder Bednar titled "Ask in Faith" it talks a lot about praying with the intent to act and then showing your faith in that prayer by doing your best to accomplish the thing you have prayed for. I promise all of you if you will read this talk, and then ponder and pray about certain things in your life that could be improved, and then follow the counsel of your Father in Heaven in how to improve, you will see a big change in your life for the better:)
Some other really cool things have happened this last week. I don't think I told any of you this but the missionaries that cover the New Canaan ward also cover a singles ward called Waveny Park. On sundays we get to church at about 7:15 and don't usually leave until about 5:30 because all of the meetings and what not. So we were in the singles ward on Sunday helping some of the people get ready for the linger longer that they have after church. We were helping them get the food ready and also eating some of the food because we are missionaries and pretty much eat everything. So as we were helping I saw these 2 girls walk in to the kitchen and I thought to myself, those two girls look so familiar but where do I know them from. A thought popped into my head that I knew them from high school but no way was that possible because I was 2000 miles away from my home town. Well then they both saw me and then I knew that I definitely knew them. I knew both of these girls (their names are Erika, and Carissa, I may have spelled them wrong) from school, they were in some of my classes and I knew them both pretty well. They both came up to NY to nanny for some of the families that live up here, apparantely a lot of girls from Utah or other mormon communities do that a lot. So now I am serving as a missionary in the same ward that 2 of my high school friends attend, I'm not going to lie that it was a little weird because I am a missionary. Its really cool though and it was nice to catch up with both of them and see that everything is going well and they are both active in the church. Then after we caught up on stuff I used my missionary skills to ask them to find some friends that aren't mormon and bring them to church so that they can recieve the happiness of the restored gospel into their lives. Hahaha I love being a missionary.
Now on to the really really cool miracle that happened on that same sunday that I ran into my friends. Another member of the singles ward brought a friend to church and her friend thought it was really cool and is willing to learn more. I asked her what she is looking for in religion and she said that she wants something that balances out her life and really focuses on the family. She wants something that helps her spiritually, mentally, physcally, and in a family way also. After I heard that I got really excited and told her that she has just come to the right place. We gave her a Book of Mormon and told her a little bit about the church, answered her questions, and set up and appointment with her and her friend on Saturday. Her name is Suzanna and if all of you could remember her in your prayers that would be super cool and very helpful. The Lord will definitely bless us in the ways that would best help us, all we need to do is be as obedient as we can be and trust in Him. Heavenly Father loves all of you, I know that He loves me, and I absolutely know that this gospel is something that He has given to us that will help us all find happiness. I want to hear from all of you and I love and miss you all. Remember who you are and what you stand for.
Love Elder Shepherd