Wed 4/24/2013 2:04 PM

There are so many cool things since the last time I wrote! 

 

On Sunday they asked me to give a talk on missionary work for 15 min.  I spent two hours Sat. prepping for it and was really excited because I saw it as a great opportunity to uplift, edify, strengthen their conversions, and help awaken everyone to their responsibilities. 

 

That morning I was starving, but I remember having such a strong desire to be able to communicate the things God would have me communicate to them, so I decided to fast.  I remember going over my talk as I sat on the stage before it started when a great desire came over me to just go and greet everyone in the congregation until the meeting started.  I was filled with such love that day.  I was the first to speak.  I remember pleading with all I had that I could be the Lords mouthpiece during this time to say the things that His people needed to hear.  When I stood up I was a little nervous, but then everything just came out as I opened my mouth.  I pronounced everything perfectly and the Spirit was so strong!  Then next thing I knew I wasn't even looking at the paper, but staring them all in the eyes and pouring my heart out to them and the things God wanted me to say.  It was such an amazing moment.

 

After sacrament everyone was astonished of what had come out of me, since I've only been out about 6 weeks now.  It was truly an amazing experience... being used as an instrument in the hands of the lord and to speak with tongues.  The best part is all day Sunday I was able to understand pretty much everything being spoken and able to speak to everyone.   My confidence in the language increased so much, but then the Lord, in his wisdom and humor, allowed me to have days this week where I could hardly understand anything or speak it!  It's still a wonderful thing to see His hand in my life.  I love it so much.  After the meeting we finally got a whole paper full of names of those who want to come out with us. There were just 4 names on the sign up and afterward all 20 slots were filled!

 

We have only been able to meet with Alma once since last time we visited her and her son because of her work schedule.  A member wanted to go with us, but we did not know she would be bringing her young daughter, who prove to be a big distraction.

 

We realized that what we really needed was to be bold with Alma because that is the only way anything really hits her, but she still has not set a baptismal date yet.  It's been hard to meet with her son since he has had a lot of doctor appointments lately, but our week is still really packed with appointments.  We received a huge list of names from our Branch Pres., and along with our investigators we have a lot going on.

 

Our branch sent in its paper work to become a ward!!! It is awesome!

 

Before I forget, another thing that happened on that same Sunday....while we were out contacting members and sharing messages with them we were called over two times by people in cars!  In each case they wanted to know more about the church and expressed how they felt they needed guidance in their lives from God.  It's neat to see how when were are doing what the Lord would have us do & go where he would have us go, by relying on Him, He puts people that He has been preparing in our paths.  How great and marvelous this work truly is!  It is amazing to see it move forward and especially to see the Lord's hands in it all, for it is His work we are doing, it is His Gospel we are sharing.

 

Every time I pour my heart out to him in humble prayer I always feel his love and guidance.  It is truly amazing to me to see the progress, not from what I can do, but based off what I can do with Him by my side.  To see where my Spanish was just a short few weeks ago, and where it is now and all of the different experiences where he has allowed me to speak with the gift of tongues, my heart is truly full of gratitude.  I am beginning to know what it means to trust in Him by turning to him in all things.

 

Oh how I wish I could just open my mouth and instantly share all of these things with all people, so they could come to know what I have come to know.  I am so grateful to be out here, to be able to have met some of the most amazing people in the whole world.  I hope with all my heart I can share this gospel with others with the same zeal and conviction that the sons of Mosiah did.  I love it so much and I'm so grateful for it in my life.

I know with all my heart that this church is the Church of Jesus Christ that has been fully restored on the earth today.  I know Jesus Christ knows each and everyone of us perfectly and our own individual struggles, for he suffered them for us in order to help us overcome and become like Him.  Last of all I know that Jesus Christ lives and this is his work, for it has beem made manifest to me time and time again before my very eyes.  I leave this testimony with you and a challenge to put to test my words to find out if what I say is true by doing the things I have said to do in the previous entries.  I leave these things with you all in the sacred and beautiful name of our Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon, Apr 15, 2013 at 11:43 AM

By the way.....my companion made me a sandwhich that is called "Ramen Sandwhich".  You boil the water, throw in the Ramen for literally 2 sec. then take it out, split it open and then put an egg in the middle with ham and fry it on both sides then put it between two pieces of bread.  It's actually not too bad.  I wont eat it all the time, but it was pretty good.

The other Counselor in the Presidency is President Michael Haight.  Also, Clayton Christensen has a book out about member missionary work which is really good that is only 10 bucks because he wants it to be affordable.  I cant remember the title, but I'll let you know.  So, the library thing.  Today it was suppose to be closed because it is a holiday, but the one we come to is actually open.  Also we are very low on miles because of all the leadership training meetings we have been going to. So, it is just a maybe thing that I won't be able to email you on some Mondays.

This last week we didn't get to go do service because we had a leadership training and also interviews with the Mission President.  We work at the zoo from 11-1 and the thrift store, "Penny Lane," from 11-1 as well.  The thrift store also has a section that is used for disabled kids.  It's really nice.  We have a washer/dryer in our apartment, so that is really nice and I will send pics today of the apartment.

Last P-Day we went to the beach and lighthouse.  We hit tennis balls with a mini bat we found and played soccer and football.  I will send pics of the light house as well.  

I just want to make clear everything is going just fine out here, and I didn't mean to scare anyone, if  I did.  It was just very interesting to me about the circumstances going on out here.  There is a lot to write about.  

 

Before General Conference we met with this lady named Alma who has been what we call an "eternagator" meaning she has been taught all she can and still isn't baptized. She has been attending church for 9 years, 6 off and on and the past 3 every week.  We have been praying mightily striving to find out what she needs and to get her to open up to us.  We have been making progress.  Anyway, before Conference her son invited us in (1st time meeting him).  He is huge! A very big man. probably like 6'4" and just huge.  Anyway, his story is he had a 9 lb. tumor in his stomach and got it removed, so he has been recovering at his parents house and can't lift anything over 5 lbs.  He speaks english and something else I thought was cool, as he lived in Japan for a few years.  Anyway, we had him sit in on our visit with his mom and he participated a lot.  The main thing we came to this visit for was to prepare Alma for Conference and receiving that confirmation she felt she still needed that the Church is true (she believes the BofM is true and everything else, she just wanted a confirmation from God).  So we taught both of them.  I was filled with such a love for them, and the spirit was so strong.  We watched "General Conference Has Something For You" video by Jeffrey R. Holland and then shared further how wonderful Conference is and how we then can receive answers to any question we have if we prepare for it.  I had no idea what was going on, but I know that it was all the Spirit.  I can't take credit for it at all.  I bore testimony, I invited, I promised and told them exactly what they needed to hear.  Camillo (the son) accepted the invite to watch, so did the mom.  We taught them the purpose of prayer and how to pray and found out the mom's personal prayers were in bed laying down and she would fall asleep.  Anyway, it was an amazing experience.  The spanish rolled off my tongue. I had to ask my companion sometimes exactly what they were saying and ask for some words, but that didn't matter.  It was remarkable!  Alma watched it and Camillo watched one (since he is still recovering) and it was the one on faith and flipping the light switch on and off by Pres. Uchtdarf.  He liked it a lot and it has been getting him to ponder things.  We haven't been able to meet with him after that because when we stopped by he was at the doctors.  Alma, when we met with her the other day, said she wants to get baptized!  We tried setting a date with her but she isn't sure when and wants to talk with her sister who is also a member.  I remember leaving that house so filled with love and grattitude for all that the Lord had done for me and his help during that time.

Another cool experience was this last week when I went out on an exchange with an english elder in my disrtict.  We contacted referrals all day and it went really well.  His name is Elder Broadhead ( the one in the hat pic with me).  He is a country boy from Utah.  Also sometimes looks like Justin Bieber haha, but is really cool.  There was this girl who was probably 24 who loves learning about religions and believes in the morals of them, but wants nothing to do with religion.  She was very nice and it was a porch visit and we 1st talked to her about it really quick and gave her two B of M's and pamphlets of the restoration because she wanted one for her cousin in another state.  She loves the church's geneaology program and actually would defend our church from people saying things they didn't even know anything about, which was cool.   We left and started driving away when I got the prompting we should have gotten the information about her cousin, and so we went back because I felt strongly we needed to.  It turned out in the end that wasn't the reason we went back.  I know now that the reason we went back was to bear our testimonies.  I remember looking her in the eyes and bearing my testimony to her about the Book of Mormon.  I shared a little of my experience and as I bore testimony of it the spirit was so strong and her eyes started getting a little watery.  I then left her an invitation and challenge to put the book to the test.  To do what it said and promised her that she could come to know what we and many others have come to know.  Now I do not know what will come of this, maybe nothing, but I sealed our visit with my testimony and looking back it wasn't to get infromation on her cousin, but rather to testify that it was just not some other book, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is not just another religion, but it is the Church of Jesus Christ that has been restored on the earth today.  It was so amazing!  I love this work so much that I can't even come close to express the true feelings of my heart.

I would like to leave you all with my testimony, that I know this church is indeed the Church Christ himself established on the earth and it has been restored again today in its fullness.  Time after time of sharing this with others and seeing and feeling God's spirit solidifies that truth deeper and deeper within my soul.  I know that all who take the challenge, as I did, to put it to the test and do as it invites us to do which is, to read it, ponder it, and to ask God with real intent having a desire to know. I promise you that you will receive an answer of it's truthfulness by the Spirit of God otherwise known as the Holy Ghost.  What greater witness can you have than from God?  I am not here to convince you of its truthfulness, but rather invite you to find out for yourself.  I know God loves each and every one of us perfectly for I have felt that love even in the hardest of times.  I know that he knows each and every one of us perfectly for he is our Father in Heaven.  I know that Jesus Christ is the only Begotten Son of God and that he suffered more pain and anguish for us than we can ever come close to fully comprehending - "For I God have suffered these things for all that they might not suffer if they would repent.  But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself even God the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, to bleed at every pore and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink.  Nevertheless I partook and glory be to the Father" D&C 16-19.  I know with all my heart, all my soul that Christ lives and he is always calling us to come unto him with his arms open.  I beg of you, please do not turn away from him.  Accept his invitation and you will come to know what I know, that he lives and how wonderful that is.  I leave this with you in the sacred name of our Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Salerno

Mon 4/8/2013 8:36 AM

Bad news..... I had more pics but I accidently deleted them all off my card : (

I was messing with my camera and clicked yes on arrange card or something like that and next thing I know everything was deleted!  I will have to take more.

Everything out here is going good.  It has been very hard lately with a lot of interesting things going on.  A little background on the Mission Presidency and the Boston, MA Mission. We have our Misson President, Pres. Packard - a successful lawyer, awesome man, very strong in gospel, and very very intune with the spirit, following it and looking for ways always to be better. His Counselors: Clayton Christenson - rated the smartest man in the business world, works at harvard as one of the big guys on campus.  He shares the gospel to some of the most intelligent people in the world and now has a study group for the book of mormon with them. :-)  We then have his other Counselor, Pres. Hate (not sure of his first name or spelling), a very, very successful businessman who meets with some of the most powerful men.  He always shares the gospel with them. A quick story, he was meeting with a very powerful man and felt prompted to share the restoration with him (btw they won't tell us who) he said the Spirit was so strong they were all crying.  So, this is just a little background of our presidency.

They obtained the records of our mission as far back as Salt Lake had, which was 5 years, and put the information through a very fancy computer for cause and effect.  It shows us the importance of having a member at EVERY LESSON.  It showed the baptismal rate increased because of this.  So, now the theme or vison of our mission is to build Zion.  It is possible if we keep doing all we can.  Elder M. Russell Ballard is very interested in this mission and keeps constant contact with the Presidency.  He has come back here a few times already and he is very excited about what is going on.  

In addition, our Mission President brought up in a meeting about how Satan is so very strong and doing all he can to stop this work. Since our Mission President was called he has had to send home 20 elders (he has been Pres. for 8-9 months). A lot is going on and I can tell you that Satan is doing everything in his power for I have felt it and I can't even imagine what it would be like if I was not set apart with the authority of God and power of God to go forth and preach this gospel.  Even after receiving this I can feel the weight, the great storms.  Never the less, I know in whom to trust and rely on.  Through Jesus Christ my Savior, my Redeemer I can do all things and Satan can have no power over me.  I have learned an even greater importance of being fully 100% obedient in ALL things and ALWAYS having my thoughts turned to the Savior and doing that with full purpose of heart.

I love this work, I love the people.  I know that this is God's work and he will continue to be by my side as he already has been.  It is so amazing to open my mouth with faith in Him, after doing all I can to prepare, and relying on the Lord faithfully, to then walk into a home and love those people perfectly and want with all my heart them to hear and accept the invitation to come to Christ.  I know how greatly they will be blessed.  It is amazing to do these things, feel this way and open my mouth not knowing what to say and then all of  a sudden find myself speaking spanish fluently, pronunciating clearly and saying things I know that are not from me but from God.  Then to see in their countenances a peace, light and hope come across them. There is nothing more magnificent than that.  I love it!   Experiences like that solidifies my testimony that this is the true church of Jesus Christ restored on earth once again and that has a prophet called of God to guide his children back to Him.

I know that this promise is for all who accept the challenge and invitation to put the Book of Mormon to the test.  For if you desire to know if the Book of Mormon is true, if you read it, ponder it then pray and ask God if it is true, in the name of Jesus Christ, God will tell you of its truthfulness in your heart and in your mind.  If the Book of Mormon is true, than Joseph Smith was a prophet who restored Christ's Church once again on the earth.  If that is true, then this Church is true and its trachings are true.  How great this knowledge is!  How great the peace, joy and guidance this can bring to lives!  I know this is all true because I have put it to the test.   It is what keeps me going when life gets hard and I now know in whom I can always rely on and that is Jesus Christ, my Lord, my God.  I know that Jesus Christ lives, that he gave his life willingly for us that we may, through his sacrafice become clean, receive peace, and know how to improve to become who he wants us to become.

I leave this testimony with you in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, amen.

Elder Salerno

Please Keep me and all the missionaries in your prayers and pray mightily for us. We need it.  I need it. I love you all and mom I will get more pics and send them out to you.  Also, I may not be able to get to the library for a while.  If that is the case, I will write you letters and maybe you can scan them on the computer and post them up.  We will figure something out.  Anyway, I love ya. 

Mon 4/1/2013 8:35 AM

Oh, also I dont know if I ever told you.....

My companion and I have had a lot of work to do and still have a lot of work to do.

We came into this area with no new investigators, so we have been working hard in trying to find and get the members involved.  All the meetings we have had are 2 1/2 hours away.  The exchanges we have been pretty successful with because I feel we have been relying on the Lord. 

We now have 7 Investigators, one with a baptismal date and the others will have one too, we just need to meet with them more, but it has been hard since we haven't had the time this last week and we found them pretty much this last week and the week before.  We have a lot more people to find, but I love it!  Anyway, that's just a little update on the work.

Mon 4/1/2013 8:22 AM

Oh, and we do puzzles at the library while we wait for computers...check out my work!

Mon 4/1/2013 8:18 AM

For the last week or so we have gone on splits because my companion is the District leader and also because the Zone leaders wanted to get to know me better. So, I have been teaching a lot in English which is really, really nice but makes it hard to get back into the Spanish mode.

We do service twice a week.  Once at a zoo on Wednesdays in the morning for 2 hours and the next day at a thrift store for like 30 min. to an hour.  The zoo is the best part of the day! We get free entrance to the zoo (it isn't very big, but it is still cool) and they have huge tigers there.  This last week we helped to get an area ready for an Amur Jaguar that is very rare and so our work consisted of digging holes and breaking huge thick pieces of cement with a sledge hammer ( that was the fun part).  It was really nice because I have actually missed hard labor.  As for missionary work.....it's hard work too, but it's a different kind of hard.  On average. when we don't have the car, we walk about 10-12 miles a day.  I can do that easy enough, but it's the spiritual and mental work that is a bit different, but I love that too.  I am very glad for the experiences I had before my mission to prepare for my mission.

This last P-day we ate at this little mexican restaurant that members own called La Mexican which is so good.  They tell us to come by once a week and we get free food.  After that we went down to the beach because we had to stop by the old missionary apartment to drop some things off and the beach was actually really nice.  It was very cold, but beautiful.  I love looking out and seeing what seems an endless distance of ocean with beautiful blue skies and white fluffy clouds (how's that for description, mom!).  There was also a tiny little lighthouse that added to this scene.  If I had a fancy camera I would have probably just taking lots of pictures it was so beautiful.  If I had never seen the movie "Jaws" while growing up, I would probably live on a sailboat.  It was so peaceful out there.

After this little adventure on the beach we stopped by this car shop near our house that has all sorts of very old cars and very nice ones at that.  For instance there was a 1932 Mercedez and a 2006 Astin Martin.  Very nice!  The men who worked there were really cool guys as well.  I am not very good at taking pictures, so I will try to get better at that as well, but I did get some pictures of some of the cars, so check them out.

As for the language I still have a lot to learn and most of it is getting my ear use to the different languages spoken.....practice, practice, practice!

I love this work because I know that since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is Christ's church fully restored on the earth today, the same church Christ established when he was on the earth.  Because of this knowledge is the reason why I am serving a mission.  This is something all people can come to know, as I have, IF they just put the Book of Mormon to the test and accept it's invitation.  I know once they do this they will know that Jesus Christ is the son of God; that this is His true church; that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that we have a Prophet on the earth again today.  I know that once they come to know this they will learn the answers to the questions of life. Why are we here?  What happens after this life?  How can I be truly happy?  How do I need to live for this to happen?  I know this because I stand as a witness of it for I have put it to the test.  I know others lives can be blessed because of this knowledge and there is no greater knowledge to have than this.  I know that Jesus Christ lives and knows us perfectly and wants us to turn to him, so he can help us in all things. I leave these promises and testimony with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Elder Salerno

Mon 4/1/2013 7:47 AM

Easter was really, really good!  I loved it so much!  My companion found out during our meeting with our Branch President that our Mission President turned us over to them and said we can hold any calling they need filled and that if that happens we can then be in that area for a year!  It is pretty cool to think about.  Later for church we did something in every block, lol!  In sacrament they called us up to bear our testimonies on the Savior and it was a very spiritual experience for me.  The spirit was so strong!  After that we taught sunday school to youth from 12-18 about the Atonement. We watched "The Lamb of God" and then my companion turned the time over to me. The spirit took over and all the things I learned about the Atonement in the past two years came back to my memory. Some of the youth started getting teary eyed and it was just a very very spiritual experience. There is nothing grander than to know by the Holy Ghost that Christ took upon Himself all our sins, sickness, infirmities, and everything that is unjust in this life that we will go through. "Which suffering caused myself even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every poor and would that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink." - D&C 19:18.  To know exactly what the Savior went through because of the love he has for us, is so amazing; that we can be forgiven of our sins, receive peace and comfort and hope during any trial we go through in life.  It is so amazing.

Later on in the evening we baptized a lady named Maria Lopez. She is so nice and patient with me tryin to understand her lol (speaking and understanding the lang. are completely different things especially with so many different spanish dialogues in our area), it was an amazing experience! My first baptism and we are going to baptize her 20 year old daughter in 2 weeks as well. One of the things I loved is when we asked her about how she felt right after she was baptized, words cannot even explain how much love I felt for her and the Spirit that was present. The joy, the peace, the strength she felt because she decided to follow our Savior Jesus Christ and his example and be baptized by those who hold the proper priesthood authority of God is so wonderful. There is nothing greater than seeing those you love follow Christ's footsteps because you know how much it will bless their life.

I have to go relog, my time is up.