Mon 9/23/2013 8:52 AM

Life has been good here in Chelsea for the past two weeks with many wonderful experiences, opportunities for growth and many tender mercies and blessing from the Lord. Everything I will write about will be from either 2 weeks ago or this last week (it is all jumbled together now since it has been so long).

After one of our District Meetings we went out with the Sisters- Sister Hileman and Sister Laudie to meet with one of our investigators.  Her name is Micah and agrees with a lot of what we believe, but is very content with her religion because it teaches a lot of what we teach.  Before we went, we went to a little deli for lunch and I felt impressed to do a quick 1 meal fast, so I did and watched everyone eat.  We got Sis. Hileman to play her Ukelele for the waitress there which was fun.  As we went over to Micah's home we prayed and prepped a little bit more beforehand. We ended up sharing 3 Nephi 33 with her, and talked about the Book of Mormon and the Priesthood of God, since we were there to give a blessing of comfort since her husband passed away a little while ago.  We started the lesson by singing a hymn and the Spirit was so strong the whole time!  When we gave her a blessing, Elder Sompi was truly led by the Spirit and said things that were beautiful and that she truly needed to hear.  After the lesson we shared with her the love that we have for her and bore our testimonies.  It made for quite a wonderful visit.  There is so much power in being able to work with Sister Missionaries because they see and handle things so differently than we do and when we are able to work together like that, miracles happen!  After we were filled with such joy and gratitude we said a pray of thanks right away and such a sweet Spirit followed.  It was truly an amazing experience.

That weekend we had an International Dinner at the Church.  There were dinners from where every member in our ward was from.  It was a lot of fun; dancing; music and a lot of non-members that the members brought.  We had our little American dessert table that we all pitched in together for. We couldn't afford anything too crazy, so we just made cookies and brownies.  It was a great time.  We met together and prayed really fast to see what the Lord would have us do to help peak the interests of those there.  During that prayer the Lord, in his great mercy and love, showed me something that I will never forget and am so grateful for.  The Lord truly does work in mysterious ways.

This last week, there has been a lot of correlation with the sisters and other elders about the area and we have a lot of people to meet with now!  We met with a less active family named the Lapops and had two great wonderful lessons with them.  The first was only with the wife and a member we brought with us.  We shared with her how Christ wants her and her family to come back.  That we love them and need them back.  It was a great 1st lesson with them.
This last week we went back and the husband was there.  We had another great lesson with them. They opened up to us and I felt like I needed to share with them an experience I had and had typed up for the digital mission about forgiveness and forgiving others.  It really helped them open up and strengthened our relationship with them.  It was a great visit and the Spirit was so strong as we invited them back.  The husband works every Sunday, so that will be a bit of a challenge, but he has such a strong testimony and actually served a mission.


This last week I was asked to give a training on bearing our testimonies.  I prayed that the Spirit would be there and work through me that we all could be more effective representatives of Jesus Christ and help people come closer to him through our testimonies.  The Lord in his great mercy blessed me to be able to do this.  The Spirit was so strong and the Love that was in that room was overwhelming.  We then felt impressed to have a testimony sharing meeting which was truly beautiful.  I love my district so much and am so grateful for each and every one of them.
After this we went home and I crashed and took a nap, since Elder Freeman got me sick and I had nothing left to give.  After my nap, we went back out again.  It is amazing to me how strong Spiritual experiences just zap the energy right out of you.


Saturday I spent a lot of time prepping for a talk for Sunday.  We were given the opportunity to have a missionary sacrament.   Sister Hileman and I were asked to speak and we all sang The Spirit of God.  It was an amazing experience.  Anyway, I was trying to prep all day and couldn't seem to get anything.  I remember James 1:5 come to mind and also D&C 6:8 as well. So, I went to my knees and asked the Lord what he would have me speak on, expressing all my desires and reasons behind my asking for guidance.  After kneeling and pondering what the Lord wanted to tell me, I received the prompting to focus on the Atonement and missionary work.  To read Mosiah 4:11 and some other scriptures and that it would be given me what to say in that moment.  It was a wonderful spiritual experience and then I received a warning from the Lord that Satan would try to get me frustrated that day and to stay faithful and keep busy.  I know that with all my heart this was an answer to my prayers because a lot of dumb little things came up that day that Satan was trying his hardest to get me frustrated.  But, because of the heads up I was able to stay focused and busy.  It truly is amazing how the Lord is aware of us and gives us opportunities to grow like that.  We went out and invited a lot of people to church the next day.  We came back around 8ish and I tried prepping again with not avail, so I just decided to prep scriptures. I still had nothing though and normally I would be freaking out, but the Lord was blessing me with his grace and love.  The next morning I woke up and poured my heart out to the Lord again and he comforted my soul and so I moved forward.  There were doubts that came to my mind as we went to church, but I kept remembering my experience and moving forward pushing those doubts out.  Sacrament was such a beautiful meeting.  Sister Hileman went first and did a fantastic job speaking about grace and miracles, and then I was up. I had no idea what to say but the Lord granted me to say what was needed to be heard.  After, we sang our Hymn and it was a very moving experience for everyone.  Later that night we had dinner at a member's home whose son and his wife are less actives and we had a delicous meal and sang a lot with them and developed our relationships with them a lot.  We had a beautiful lesson about Christ loving his sheep and how he goes and looks for those who wander off to bring them back.  The Spirit that was present was so strong and that led them to ask for a blessing.  They asked me to give the blessing of comfort, and it was such a moving experience for me.  As I placed my hands on her head, they were no longer mine.  The words that came out of my mouth were not mine.  There was an overwhelming presence in that room and later words came out of my mouth that introduced them.  None of us saw them, but Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's presences were in that room letting this daughter of their's know that she was loved.  When these words left my mouth the Spirit confirmed them and the room was enveloped in such a sweet, loving Spirit.

Brothers and Sister, I know with all my heart and soul that we are sons and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father and that he is aware of each and everyone of us. I know and bear my solemn witness that Jesus is the Christ, the Redeemer of the World and He loves us more than we can ever come close to comprehend.  He shed His precious blood for each and every one of us, being spit on, mocked and gave his life willingly for our sakes.  I know that He lives for I have felt his presence so many times in my life.  I know that as we turn to him in sincere prayer and express all of our desires to him that he will bless us with the things that we stand in need of.  I know of these things for myself and what joy, what peace and what gratitude I have that God in His great goodness, His great love and mercy to me has made these things known to me as a result of my desire to find out for myself.

I know that all men and women can come to know what I have come to know and even more as they turn to the Lord and truly, truly come to know Him more than they did before and to continually strive to know Him better.

I urge all of you to seek for ways to do just this, come to know your Savior and Redeemer.  Come to know what love and great blessings He has in store for you.  A great way to start is by reading the Book of Mormon which is another testament of Jesus Christ, which truly does teach us how we can come to know Him.  I know these things are true and I leave you with my solemn witness, in the sacred name, of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 9/9/2013 9:12 AM

This past week has been really good.  There has been a ton of planning involved, serving and some teaching.  It is truly a great blessing to see the Lords hand in His work and to be able to receive inspiration concerning the things that we need to do in this area to get the work moving.

 

We have been in daily contact with the missionaries in our ward, and since we have been working so smoothly with each other things are going well and the work is going great!

 

Last night was a great lesson.  We had Hermano Alfredo and the other Elders come with us (an awesome member) and we ate dinner with La familia Cruz.  The mother is active but all her kids are inactive/less active.   We only had about 10-15 min to prep before hand at Hermano Alfredos house, but it went really well.  Elder Freeman and I shared a couple of scriptures and explained them. Then I felt prompted to go share part of my conversion story, why we are here and a scripture in 3 Nephi 9:13-14.  I love this scripture so much because it is Christ inviting those who once came unto him, but turned away, to come back.  The Spirit was there as we explained this and we were able to get their attention.  It was a wonderful experience, for which I am glad for. I hope that they will continue pondering the words we spake through the Holy Ghost and that as we continue to work with them we will be able to bring them back.

On Sunday we taught the Young Men on how to resist temptation and what it truly means to be a Son of God.  It was a great experience and amazing to see how  the Spirit touched their hearts. I love working with the youth, and am so grateful that I can relate to them, and because of my experiences I can better help them.  We also had a young man help us teach who isn't even a member of the church.  The only reason is because his Father won't allow him until he is 18.  He did really well and has a great testimony already.

Today I was reading in 2 Nephi chapter 33.  It is such a beautiful chapter.  There is too much to share that I loved, but one verse really stood out to me and goes hand in hand with why I am here.  It is verse 6 and it says:
 6 I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.

Brothers and Sisters I know that with all my heart and soul that Jesus Christ is the light and life of the world and that he truly is truth.  I have tasted of His love and that is why I am here.  For he hath redeemed my soul from hell and as Nephi, I will rejoice in my Lord and glory in Christ for he truly does live, and because he lives there is hope.

 

I invite all of you to turn to Christ and seek to come to know him as I have, for it is the greatest blessing in my life.  I leave you all with my love and this testimony, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Tue 9/3/2013 1:44 PM

The new area is pretty nice!  We have a huge apartment and there are a total of 6 Elders living there.  We have a balcony which is nice, so we get a nice breeze.

Pretty much everyone in Chelsea speaks Spanish.  We walk and ride the bus everywhere.  My companion is Elder Sompi and we have 4 other missionaries working with us in our ward.  We have 2 more Elders and 2 Sisters.  All of them are awesome!

There is a whole lot of work to be done, that we need to get started. We are in Revere 1st Ward and we had 135 people last Sunday attend.  A little bit bigger than the branch down in CT.

On monday we were able to go to the Temple, which was amazing. There were so many missionaries there and I got to see some of the members as well from Bridgeport that came up.  We got there at 7:15 am and left at 1:30.  It was packed!

We were allowed to go to the Redsox game with permission from Pres. Packard, but we didn't because we didn't have time and weren't sure we wanted to spend $30, so we went to the Cambridge stake center (which is a beautiful building and one of the most expensive).  There were Brazilian members there who were having a BBQ.  They invited us for lunch and there was a party in there with musical chairs and everything.  It was fun and we then went into Boston to Quincy Market and that was a very interesting and fun place.  There are a lot of things to do here since we are so close to everything, so I am looking forward to my new area.

There is a man named Dan who the Elders met on the street.  He come up to them and wanted them to meet his mom in a nursing home.  He is a very nice man and doesn't really want anything to do with the church, but we are really good friends with him.  We went Sunday night to see his mom with him.  It was really hard to walk in there because of how sad it is, but it was a beautiful experience. She wasn't in the best of moods and so we ended up singing a song, "Families Can Be Together Forever."  The Spirit that was there was amazing and she just lit up after that.  It was really a great visit and she kept talking about how bright we were, like there was a light coming from us.  She expressed how she was scared and so we expressed our love for her and talked a little bit about the Plan of Salvation since she also said she never got to know the purpose of life.  It was a great visit, but so hard to see how the whole situation was affecting Dan.

How blessed we are to know the answers to these questions that everyone asks themselves at one point in their lives, which is the reason why we NEED to share these wonderful things with others. 

I would encourage all of you to ponder for a few moments exactly how coming to the knowledge of these things has blessed your life and affected how you have handled situations differently as a result.  Wouldn't you want others to feel that same peace that you have felt; that same joy?  Can you imagine having to go through life in the dark not knowing why we are here, where we came from and the fear that people have about death because it is the unknown.   We do not have to be in the dark and I know that Heavenly Father has provided us a way to have a light in this life; that light is Jesus Christ and his gospel.  Everyone can have the peace and guidance from having this light in their lives if they but chose to follow it.  We as members who have come to know this truth and have had this light have the responsibility to share it with others.

In Luke 15:4-6 we can learn one of the best ways to really be that light.

4  What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine ^ain the wilderness, and go after that which is ^blost, until he find it?

5  And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Every Sunday we go to church and partake of the sacrament and then go to our classes learning more and more about our Savior, but how often during church are we truly striving to become more like him?  Are we having too great of a time focusing on ourselves and those who are at church and not giving a second thought to those who aren't there?  Brothers and Sisters I hope with all my heart we can apply this parable to our lives and start looking for those who are not at church and making it a priority to stop by and see how they are doing.  To let them feel that they are loved and that they are needed, for truly they are loved and needed.  Just as The Good Shepherd goes out to find that sheep that is lost, so should we.

 

We should all ponder about how going to church each Sunday blesses our lives and why we would want others to feel that same way.   We need to ask ourselves, "who is not here today that should be," and then, "who is not here because I didn't invite them?"  Just as Christ invites all people to come unto him, so must we.  I know that as we invite people to come closer to Jesus Christ their lives will be blessed and so will ours.  There are so many blessings waiting for those who let their light shine forth.  I urge you to be that light to others, that they may come to know what you have.

 

I know that this church is true.  That it is truly Christ's church restored on the earth today and that there are many people who are looking for the truth, but do not know where to find it.  I know that Christ is our Redeemer and is that Light for all men.  I know that because He lives He will always be that light that can never diminish, and how great this knowledge is; I know that my redeemer lives.  I say these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Wed 8/28/2013 9:44 AM

Where to begin... This last week has been a fantastic week!  A very bitter, but very sweet week as well.  I have been called to go serve over in Revere, Massachusetts now and will be leaving tomorrow morning (Sept. 29, 2013) bright and early.  Elder Treseder from my MTC district is coming down here to replace me and so I am excited for that.  I love him so much, and hope he will love this wonderful area here in Bridgeport.  My new companion will be Elder Sompi, who was Elder Jones' companion before me.  I have already met him before when we went to Boston for P-Day for Elder Hawks' last P-Day.  He is a great Elder and I am looking forward to serving with him.

This last week was jammed with so much work.  For this month our Zone Leaders gave a challenge to the zone that whoever had the most members present at investigator lessons would get a nice dinner from them.  So after a lot of wonderfully hard days we WON!  It has been such a great blessing to see the power and extra Spirit that comes from having a member present at every lesson. The work picked up even more, the members get more excited to share, and we as missionaries were blessed to see others, both members and non-members alike come closer to Christ.  We ended up telling them that we didn't want a huge dinner but rather 50 cent ice cream cones from McDonalds. =D.

The past few days in particular have been weird since it is my first time during a transfer where I am leaving.  I was able to meet with all the people we were working with.  Sunday was all the investigators (most of them) and so many doors opened as a result. We stopped by Kaylas with Gabe (her bf) (she, by the way, was losing interest since we answered all of her questions), but I was able to just share with her my love and the real reason behind why we and Gabe are there.  The Spirit that came was so sweet and a great blessing.  We were able to meet with her dad and mom and found little opportunities where the door with them could open more and more.

 

Just visit after visit was such a tender blessing from the Lord.  I have come to love all these people so much and it is really hard to leave them, but I know that the Lord wants me to go to Revere now.

 

One of the sweetest things to me has been how the Lord can expand our hearts.  I loved being able to meet with these wonderful people one last time to express my gratitude and love for them and one of the most sweetest and most tender parts was when I was able to bare my testimony to them and express that love and then after leave them with a blessing.  Whether it was through prayer or offering a blessing with my hands on their heads, they were truly tender moments for me.

Every day of my mission my eyes open more and more for all that the Lord has done for me.  I am awakened more and more each and every day that truly I am nothing without him.  Everything that I have been, I am and will become is solely through his great love and mercy towards me.  He loves me so much that he has blessed me with the ability to choose for myself, but even more than that he grants me life each and every day and his Spirit to be able to go out and help his other sons and daughters come to a knowledge that He truly is there and does love them.  There is no greater blessing to me than this.  To see peoples lives change and to be able to be a part of that, to be able to be an instrument in the Lord's hands.

I can now understand greater the joy and gratitude that Ammon expressed in the book of Alma 26:11-12

11 But Ammon said unto him: I do not ^aboast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my ^bjoy is full, yea, my heart is brim with ^cjoy, and I will rejoice in my God.

12 Yea, I know that I am ^anothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will ^bnot boast of myself, but I will ^cboast of my God, for in his ^dstrength I can do all ^ethings; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

I know with all my heart and soul that this church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church fully restored on the earth today.

I know that we have a prophet on the earth today as we did in the days of Moses and Abraham and that his name is Thomas S. Monson.

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the World and that He loves each and every one of us more than we can ever come close to comprehend.  I know that He lives and oh what joy, what peace and what strength that knowledge brings. These things are ever more solidified in my heart, soul and mind more and more every day for I have felt his presence so many times in my life, felt his love, felt his guidance and have seen so many beautiful miracles in my life and in the lives of others.

I know that God truly is a God of grace, love, peace, power and miracles.  I have seen his hand more and more abundantly in my life and know that truly "I am nothing" and so I shall not boast of myself but rather "I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things."  And So I will praise his name forever!

All you reading this I bare my solemn testimony that I know that these things are true and I invite you all to come to know your Savior and Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, better than you do now and not to just know of him.   He truly is there waiting for you to turn to him and I promise you that He will prove all his words to you as he has done for me.

I leave this things with you, in the sacred and wonderful name, of Jesus Christ, amen.

3 And my brother, Jacob, also has ^aseen him as I have seen him; wherefore, I will send their words forth unto my children to prove unto them that my words are true. Wherefore, by the words of ^bthree, God hath said, I will establish my word.  Nevertheless, God sendeth more ^cwitnesses, and he proveth all his words.

Mon 8/19/2013 2:53 PM

This past week has been amazing.  There has been a lot of new work coming our way and ideas on how to do it better and huge events going on as well.

 

For instance, on Sat. we had the Temple ground breaking for the Hartford, CT Temple and Pres. Monson came down for it.  We had a new investigator go with us to the broadcast for the event.  Her name is Victoria and it is a long story how we came in contact with her again, but it most certainly was not a coincidence.  All of the different circumstances that happened in order for us to literally be in the right place at the right time, and then for her to tell us that she was just thinking about us and praying that we would show up. When she said this I felt the Spirit hit me and confirm the words she just said.  She has a lot of faith and knows the scriptures like the back of her hand.  She is a missionary for all sorts of different churches, and we can tell that it will be a little difficult to teach her, but it will be well worth it.

 

Last night we had a missionary musical fireside where missionaries performed musical numbers, bore testimonies and read scriptures.  I was asked to recite scriptures to introduce the topics, so I shared D&C 19:16-19 on the Atonement and James 1:5 on Revelation.

All the performances were beautiful, especially the ones with our Mission President and his family.  He sang one song with his 16 yr. old daughter and one with his 13 yr. old son.  Each was so beautiful and I felt the love that they had for each other and the Spirit just overwhelmed me and that is how it was during the whole event.  His family is very musically inclined.  Elder Lefthand was able to record it, so hopefully I can get it from him.

 

We met with Silvia on Thurs. and taught the restoration lesson with a young man whose papers just went in for his mission.  It was an awesome lesson.  She is what we as missionaries call a "Golden Investigator" and truly is one of the children of God He has been preparing to receive the gospel, so it is sad she moved to New Jersey on Sat., but we went ahead and set her up with the missionaries in her area.

 

We have a new Elder in our district name Elder Nordin, who is with Elder Nielson currently (the Elders that live with us).  He is a great Elder and has been out a little over a year now.  We all bonded really easy and have the same goals, so it is awesome to see the change in the apartment and really in just everything.  We are a lot more unified.

 

Everyone has been telling me how my Spanish has improved so much and I am really grateful for that because I am a lot more comfortable at speaking it because I can understand more now.

 

We had a wedding the other day for a lady who has wanted to be baptized for 5 years and couldn't because she wasn't married and didn't have her paper work.  She has a baptismal date on the 31st of this month.  Now her husband will be able to receive the priesthood as a result, after waiting the allotted time.

 

I have been doing a study, since our District meeting, on focusing on Missionary work and the blessings and promises that we will receive if we just do it.  This is not only for full-time missionaries, but for EVERYONE (members and non members alike) and for those who have been baptized and are members of the church it is just to keep their baptismal covenant(promise) to God to stand as a witness of him in all places and at all times.  The blessings that we receive can help with ANYTHING in our lives.  Whether it be financially, family wise - like helping our families become more unified and strengthened from everything going on out in the world.  We are promised to be forgiven of sins to become more clean, more in tune with the Spirit and so many more things than I can even come close to list at this time.  So, in short, for all of you reading this and especially those who are struggling with something in your lives, whatever it may be, just be a missionary!  Find opportunities to serve others, (opening a door, sayiing hi and asking someone how they are doing, etc.) invite others to come to church with you, to activities or to dinner and invite the missionaries over. Share the gospel of Jesus Christ with people and invite them to learn more about it.  If you are worried that it will ruin your friendship, it wont.  Just let them know how much you love them and why you would like to invite them, and that if they don't want to accept, that is fine, and will not ruin the friendship.  I wish I had more time to share with you all the importance of doing these things and the great promises awaiting.  I share this with you because no matter what it is you are going through at this time in your life, no matter where you are spiritually, whether you are very strong in the gospel or just starting out, these things will bless your lives in more ways than you think possible.

 

I leave you with this invitation to put these things to the test and to prove God himself for he will deliver. "prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

These things have been a great blessing in my life and have helped not only my life but my family's as a result.  I know that these things are true and are out there awaiting those who will just put them to the test.

 

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World, and that He loves us more than we can ever come close to comprehend.  I know that He wants us to turn to him that he may heal us and help us to become like him.  I know that he took upon himself the sins, sicknesses, infirmities, and injustices of this life upon himself so that he could do this.  I know that He lives and because He lives there is always hope and He will help us.  I say these things in his sacred name, even the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

 

Mon 8/12/2013 9:03 AM

We have had a lot of work going on.  We have six investigators right now and around 12-14 really good referrals/potentials and all of which are growing.  The work has been picking up a lot and hardly any time to do anything between all the less actives, and member work.

 

We went to the temple on Sat. to help out our Branch since we need priesthood holders.   It was a wonderful experience.  Milena was going to go, but couldn't last second.  

 

Yesterday at church we had 95 people in the Branch, so our numbers are finally back and we had a member bring a non member family member who wanted to learn more.  Her name is Silbia and was a news anchor in Puerto Rico.  She is very friendly and not afraid to speak up or do things we ask her to do, so that is awesome.  It was actually a cool experience how it worked out.  I was praying hard that the Lord would put someone in our path that He has been preparing, for truly the field is white all ready to harvest.  And next thing you know she is there.  I feel that it was indeed an answer to my prayer, so I am excited to teach her more.

 

The temple ground breaking is this Saturday for the Hartford, CT Temple, so I am exited for that.  I can not wait!

 

Also on Sunday there was a farewell for a Raquel who is leaving on her mission and reports to the MTC on Wed.  There was a lot of good food and people there.  A member brought her husband who is not a member who we just started working with.  So it was a great experience.

 

We had Zone Conference last week as well which was amazing. We had the whole Mission Presidency speak.  Pres. Clayton Christensen and Pres. Hate.  It was amazing!  We got to see what our digital missionaries are working on and it is awesome.  It will be a great tool in getting the whole digital way of doing missionary work going.  It is a great blessing to be here when there is so much going on. 

 

I am out of time, but I just want to bear my testimony that I know this church is true and that this is the Lord's work.  I know that because I can feel His Spirit daily in blessing the lives of others as we teach them about the gospel.  I know that the Lord has a plan for all of His children and it truly is a plan of happiness where we can be sealed to our families for all time and eternity in holy temples through Priesthood authority from God.  Meaning, we can live with our families (the people we love most) forever!  I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 8/5/2013 11:07 AM

There is so much to write about and not enough time, since we are all leaving soon to go bowling today and I was the last to get on a computer.  I will try to hurry and get everything in.

This past week has been really focusing on having members presents at our lessons with investigators.  This has been turning out really, really well.  Especially because a lot of the people we are teaching are referrals from members.  We have done a lot of praying for each individual and have received a lot of answers on things we need to do, so I am excited to be able to do those things. 

 

I have learned a few more songs on the guitar, and just working hard.

 

On Sunday we had a wonderful fast Sunday and there was a descent turn out at church since it has been slow lately, but it is finally starting to pick up.  It was at 88, and when people get back from vacations it should be back to around 100ish.  During sacrament as I was looking around a lot of people came to mind that I needed to talk to and start working with.  A lot being part member families.  So, we set up our planner with a ton of stuff to do this next week.  We are now going to be booked.

 

After sacrament we went with Gabe Maldonado (a youth whose girlfriend we are teaching) and a return missionary and helped a member move.  It was a great experience.  We didn't have time to change so we did it in our church clothes and stopped and talked to a guy who was curious about us.  He was interested in going to church and everything!  It was cool.  We got done around 4:30 and had to hurry and head up to the chapel in Trumbull to practice for the interfaith musical that night.  I was so nervous, but it turned out really good!  There were so many very talented people there!  It was amazing to see all of these people come together from different faiths but united in Christ.  It was amazing!  The Spirit and love that was felt in the chapel was overwhelming.  One of my favorite parts was hearing the primary kids sing.  It was beautiful.  They are getting CDs, so I will get one and send it out.  There may be video as well, but I am not sure.  It was awesome and the people who were putting it all together had a lot of opposition as they were trying to get it all done.  After much fasting they succeeded and it was truly beautiful.  We had Kayla's parents there sitting in front of us and the Spirit was just pressing on my mind to talk to them a lot that night.  After the performances there was a lot of dessert and goodies, and I talked to them quite a bit, they are very nice people. I hope we will be able to get that family to become interested and put these things to the test so they can come to have a greater peace and joy in their lives.

 

I have to go right now, but I want you all to know that I know that the Church is true, I know Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world and as we all seek him he will come to us.

 

I know that the song of the righteous is truly a prayer unto the Lord and that we receive blessings as a result!  I love this gospel and being a missionary.  There truly is nothing better than serving other people.  I leave these things with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 7/29/2013 9:01 AM

This past week my heart has been filled with such gratitude for everything in my life.  I am so grateful that the Lord in his great mercy has been bringing back to my remembrance the things he has done for me and those whom I hold dear in my life.  There is so much beauty in the family and it is no wonder to me why the family unit is central to the Lord's plan for his children.  It is a place where we can learn, grow and develop in a loving atmosphere and where we are surrounded by those who only want us to succeed.  So I am very grateful for my wonderful family and everything that each individual brings to the table to add their own insight on things.

This last week there was a lot of great things that happened.  We met with Kayla and actually are practicing for an inter-faith musical event coming up.  We are doing "I Need Thee Every Hour," and she is playing the guitar and her boyfriend is singing with Elder Jones and I.  I am a little bit nervous because there will be a lot of really good performers there, but it is ok because we will bring the Spirit with us!  When we have the Spirit with us it doesn't matter if we sing horrible or not... Haha, but honestly we are not too bad.

We were able to visit with a referral we received from a member, with the member there, and it was an amazing 1st lesson.  The spirit was very strong and we were able to teach in unity and love.  Her name is Flor and we are excited to be teaching her.

We also met with a less active family that we have been working with for a time, whom I really have come to love so much and found out another one of their needs for sure, something we have thought, and so we have been basing our lessons around, and they finally just opened up and said, we believe this church is true and that Joseph Smith was a Prophet, but we don't believe in the Book of Mormon. So, we brought back to their remembrance some of the wonderful experiences we have had with them from reading from the Book of Mormon and how they felt the Spirit testifying to them and explained more about the Spirit and how it cannot testify of something false.  It was a wonderful visit and we shared many things through the Spirit and committed them to read the Book of Mormon and keep praying until they receive an answer.  Before they only prayed once or twice and expected it right then.  We have them on a reading schedule to finish it in 100 days to fit with their schedule.

A lady in our branch gave birth to a baby boy the other day and he has heart issues.  They were separated for a day or two because they sent her home and he stayed in the hospital, but now they are re-united.  We visited them last night and he is so precious.  She wanted us to give him a blessing and asked me to give it.  It was a very touching experience for me to give that blessing and afterward my companion and I felt such great peace, love and gratitude for everything, especially the Priesthood and to be able to hold it worthily.

On Friday we had a baptism for an 8 year old girl named Rachel Marquez.  It went very well, but let's just say that the day was insane, so many things went wrong, but there was a lot of laughter a long with it so let's just leave it at that..... Haha.

Yesterday I gave a talk in sacrament pretty much on the fly.  I was told to have something prepared just in case some one didn't show up.  I had about 30 min., but the Spirit guided me in what I needed to talk about and what scriptures to use and everything.  I wasn't even nervous.  I remember in Exodus 4 that when Moses was told to go forth and preach he was very nervous and doubtful because of he was slow of speech and didn't think he was fit to do the Lord's errand.  The Lord showed him signs that really all is possible through him, but he still doubted.  This is the conversation between him and the Lord-
10 ¶And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of ^aspeech, and of a ^bslow tongue.

11 And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who ^amaketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?  Have not I the Lord?

So verse 11 has been in my mind a lot with the language and has been a great source of help to me.  I remembered this and went forward with faith.  During sacrament I felt the Spirit completely envelope me and then the speaker before me I could understand pretty much perfectly.  After she was done I then got up and spoke about the Atonement and how that applies to missionary work.  I did it with no notes or anything, just completely relying on the Spirit, the scriptures I planned on sharing I felt I shouldn't and so shared others that came to mind.  It truly is amazing how the Lord works by the faith of the children of men.  The spanish that rolled off my tongue came naturally and the rest of the day I could understand most of everything that was going on.

So, for those who may be wondering how the guitar learning is going.  I have learned, "I Need the Every Hour;" "How Firm a Foundation," and I am currently working on, "The Spirit of God," which I have down, just not too quick at it yet.  It is amazing how much we can truly fit into our schedules when we just plan properly and space things out smartly.
 
For lack of time I have, I strongly encourage you all to read and feast on the word's of Enos in the Book of Mormon because there is so much wonderful information in that chapter on how we can truly keep our baptismal covenant we made with the Lord; to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ at all times and in all places.  I have come to love this chapter more and more and I have pondered it.

I would like to bear my testimony on the Atonement of Jesus Christ and I pray that the Holy Ghost will be with me as I do so and carry this testimony to your hearts for truly it is the most important event that ever has happened or ever will happen in all time and eternity.

For I know that it is the source of all joy and a well of living water for us.  It is the fruit that Lehi saw in the vision about the tree of life.  It is the very bases of all Christian beliefs and doctrine.

All those reading this, I want you yo know that I know with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the World.  He is the Messiah, which means the anointed one.  He was chosen to be the Savior of the children of men and he is the only one who could have done what He did, which was to take upon himself, not only the sins of the whole world, but also the sicknesses, infirmities, and everything that we go through in this life that just is not right.  Whether that be sadness, depression, anger, pain and whatever else affects our happiness.  This burden was so intense that it "Caused himself, even God the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit- and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink-."  I know that this event happened because I have used the Atonement in my life and have felt the love of God, which love causeth my soul to rejoice and share this wonderful message with others.  For it is not only for our sins, but to receive the grace or the enabling power in order to continue on in our journey in this life until we can once again return to live with our Heavenly Father and become like Him.

I know that Jesus Christ lives and because He lives we can do all things through Him for truly "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me."

It is my prayer that those of you who have felt the redeeming power of the Savior to always remember how that feels.  Remember that overwhelming sense of joy and peace of knowing you are clean and I promise you that as you remember these experiences and the greatness of God and your own nothingness (recognizing you dependence on God) you will feel an overwhelming desire to keep your baptismal covenant to stand as a witness of God at all times and in all places.  This my friends is the greatest source of Joy we can receive.  To use the Atonement to become clean, to use the Atonement in all things that we endeavor to do, praying with all our hearts and souls for the grace or enabling power of our Savior.

For all of you who feel your testimony in Jesus Christ is not as strong as it once was or that it is not as strong you would like, I invite you to remember your prier experiences and move forward with faith, remembering daily these things and clinging to the power of the Atonement; relying wholly on the Lord in all that you do.

For those of you that feel lost and that you cannot feel this joy of which I speak, I testify as a representative of Jesus Christ Himself that you can come to feel this great peace and joy once again in your lives as you humble yourself and turn to the Lord and apply the Atoning blood of Jesus Christ to your life.  We are truly never to deep or too far gone to where the Lord's arm cannot reach us.

Of these things I solemnly and gratefully testify, in the sacred name of our Lord, and Savior, even Jesus Christ, amen.

7/22/2013 9:38 AM

This past week there has been a lot of good going on.  On Saturday we had a Stake family day and they wanted all the missionaries in the Stake to come to help out, so we did.  It was a blast!  I was assigned to pass out Otter Pops to everyone and there was a flood of little kids from 3-5 yrs. who would come back every few minutes for another since it was so hot, but I loved it so much.  It is so hard to observe the ways little children talk and act and not be filled with a greater love and respect for all of our many blessings from our loving Heavenly Father.

During this week we were lucky to be able to meet with Camilo (Alma's son).   He had a lot of really good questions.  I am glad that we were able to answer them and shed some light on some of the things he just didn't understand why we do what we do in the church.   Concerning his doubts that arose we shared a few scriptures where the Lord tells us to prove him and his words.  We then bore our testimonies that the Lord will make these things known to us if we but ask in faith with real intent.  It is truly remarkable that we do not have to rely on what others say, but that we can find out for ourselves directly from the source. 

 

I love the Book of Mormon and love sharing scriptures from it and inviting others to come closer to Jesus Christ and to put the Book of Mormon to the test.  The best part is that I can do this with a perfect confidence because I know with all my heart that they will receive the same answer that I and many others have received.

 

I do not have much time today because there are a lot of people waiting for computers here at the library, but I do know that this church is true and I know that those who truly want to come closer to Christ and follow him can do more so by reading the Book of Mormon and the Bible together.  For the one adds more clarity to the other and a more complete witness that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World and our Redeemer and that through Him we can have peace and joy.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Wed 7/17/2013 11:31 AM

This last week has been pretty crazy busy and hopefully I can make at least some sense since I am a little out of it today.

This week we have been on the bikes every day and they have real issues!  It is nice though to be able to get around more and be able to fit in a lot more visits.

There has been a sickness that has been going around our district.   It started with the district leader then my companion Elder Jones got sick and then I got sick because I accidently drank out of his water bottle.  So, needless to say it has been fun.  There seems to be a lot of sicknesses out here!  Anyway, we have been sweating it out on the bikes and yesterday we ended up riding 21 miles, so we are pretty exhausted, especially since there are a lot of good sized hills here.  

I am still in Bridgeport and have not been transferred.  Alma is still not baptized.  It will happen, I am pretty sure, but things just keep coming up.  Her husband is in the hospital still and probably won't be able to go to her baptism, but she still knows the experience she had and we are keeping in touch with her.  Because of this whole ordeal though we started to teach her son Camillo again and we got his interest.  We stopped by trying to meet with Alma and she wasn't there, but Camillo was.  We met with him and got to know his beliefs more and then asked him some questions that got him thinking.   He expressed how since there are so many different religions it is hard to know what is real and what isn't.  We then asked him a question and taught him and bore testimony that he could find out for himself by praying and asking God.  We showed him how to pray, and some ways that the Holy Ghost could manifest the truth to him.  We then shared part of the restoration about Joseph Smith and how the Book of Mormon came to be.  We invited him to accept the Book of Mormon and pray about it.  We got down on our knees right then and there and he asked God if he should read it.  The thought, "give it a shot" kept coming to his mind and we then explained to him that is one of the ways that the Holy Ghost can tell us what we need to do.  He is reading it and we are going to meet with him tomorrow.

We got another investigator who is a girlfriend of one of the youth in out branch, her name is Kayla.   Our district does a prayer list for a week until our meetings and so each companionship chooses one person they feel that we all should pray about and come up with some specific things to pray about for that specific person.  It is amazing to see the results.  All the people we have prayed about have progressed as everyone does their part.

The Lord truly does hear and answer our faithful prayers especially when we are all united in purpose.  I decided to read the Book of Mormon in 50 days in Spanish and so a lot of my free time goes to that, which honestly isn't much free time.  So my guitar learning will have to wait a little longer.

Everything is going really good.  I am getting to know my companion more and we are starting to be able to work a little better together.  On Saturday we went to a baptism for the Sullivan family.  A family I have really only had the chance to meet with and teach twice, but have become really close to them.  They are such a wonderful family and it was an amazing experience to see all of them get baptized together!  The spirit that was in the room was incredible and then that same day they were all confirmed members in the church.  All the missionaries were invited to confirm the mother and her daughter as members and that was a pretty unique experience.  Every time I hear the words "Receive the Holy Ghost" I feel the Spirit so strongly and my love increases along with greater gratitude for the Priesthood. 

I would like to bear my testimony today to all of you on prayer and how beautiful it truly is.  I know that prayer truly is direct communication with our loving Heavenly Father, and that through it all we can come to know for ourselves that we are the sons and daughter of God and that we can turn to him always for our support.  I know that it is through our sincere, faithful prayers that miracles happen and that we come closer to our Father in Heaven and our Savior Jesus Christ.  Some of the most precious experiences in my life have been though truly praying to my Father in Heaven and how grateful I am for this.  When we truly "Pray as if everything depended on God and work as if everything depended on you.." miracles happen.

 

I know that this church is true and that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer.  I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God and that we have a prophet on the earth today who is Thomas S. Monson.  I know that all those who desire to know these things for themselves can ask God in prayer and receive that witness for themselves.  I leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 7/8/2013 10:44 AM

For July 4th we did service in the extremely humid heat, then we came home completely exhausted and dead, planned a bit, then went up with all the missionaries in our district and ate at a member's house.   Played volleyball, basketball, then went with the Sullivan family to play ultimate frisbee and watch the fireworks.  It was really, really nice. 

This past week there has been a lot that happened, too much to write about!  I think I want to focus on yesterday.

 

We confirmed Milena, which was an awesome experience.  After sacrament we taught the youth. a last second thing since their teacher wasn't there.  That was awesome.  They just got back from a Pioneer Trek and had a good experience.  In short, we related that experience to them being pioneers today and helped them see their potential.  As we spoke I felt the Spirit speaking through us so powerfully! After that we had a lunch with a LA and we are teaching her and her daughter to get them ready for baptism on the 26th of this month (it is very hard to have a full fast in the Spanish program!).  

 

We got to ride our new bikes that we got last week (they are old, and in very bad shape due to previous accidents) and we rode everywhere.  We stopped and talked to a man named Kenny who waved us down, and he was interested.  All the things he was saying to us lined up with what we believe, but he didn't want a Book of Mormon, but accepted a Pamphlet. It was a nice little discussion we had.  Then we continued to visit with some of the Potential investigators we have.  I don't think I have ever sweated as much in my entire life as we did that day.  We finally got an appointment for this week, so we are so excited.

 

We met with a bunch of people on the way home and are currently working with a couple to help them get married so the lady can get baptised and the man get the Priesthood.

 

We are starting a Bible study class as well and are working to get it advertised so we can get all people, members and non-members to come to it and hopefully spark some more interest.

 

There is a lot of good stuff happening here and transfers are coming up =/.  I hope I will be able to stay a little longer, but if I get transferred, then oh well, it will be where I need to be. 

 

I am so grateful for all of my many blessings, and I can see that the Lord is helping me learn the language so quickly, more quickly than I ever could on my own.  As time goes by, and when I don't worry about it, I am just speaking more and more spanish and understanding more and more.  It truly is remarkable.

I want to bear my testimony that I know that this church is true, I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and that he lives.  I know that this is His church and His work and that all who come unto Him can come to know a peace and joy they couldn't come to know otherwise.

 

I know that those who believe in the Bible and are willing to read the Book of Mormon and ask God if it is true will find out for themselves of its truthfulness.  I ask you to please put to test my words and find out for yourselves these things.  I leave this with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 7/1/2013 10:48 AM

This last week seemed like we had no time to do missionary work because of all the different meetings we had and things to prepare for, but it was an awesome week!  We met with a referral we received from the sisters who are so awesome.  We were only able to stop in for a few moments because they were super busy, but we were able to use the priesthood and give a blessing on her house and family.  Her house was truly a refuge from what is going on outside in the world and she is an awesome lady.  She has the light of Christ so much already, I hope she will be willing to learn more and be able to add to that light because if she does then man, she will be awesome!

 

We had interviews with President Packard and a training by the traveling Elders on Zion.  It was all very, very good, especially meeting with Pres. Packard.  He is truly an amazing man and the love he has for everyone and the knowledge of the gospel and his ability to follow the Spirit is a great example to all of us.

 

A lot of the stuff that we had planned and set up this week seemed to fall through and there was a lot of walking, but that is how it goes sometimes, but it's always worth it, especially when the Lord puts us where he needs us to meet someone he has been preparing. It seems like we run into so many people and have to pass them off to the English Elders, but it's awesome because it is all the same work! 

 

We spent all day Saturday prepping for Sunday, since now every 5th Sunday we have to pretty much take care of classes and everything.  We spent all day prepping for our talks in sacrament, selecting the videos to watch from the missionary broadcast 2 weeks ago, planned for a branch Family Home Evening and then the baptism that night for Milena Lopez.  It was a long but awesome day.  The sisters were at the chapel also for a little bit because they had to practice a musical thing they were performing on Sunday, so we got to listen and it was very moving and beautiful.  I am so grateful for people who develop their talents and skills and share them with people.  I wish I did more of that when I was younger, but there is always time!  (by the way, this is random, but on P-days and when there is free time that doesn't interfere with the work I am learning how to play the guitar from Elder Lefthand). 

 

So, back to Saturday prepping...after much praying I felt I needed to speak about our baptismal covenants and also about building Zion.  All day I tried to put things together and I just wasn't satisfied.   I then woke up early Sunday to try and finish and get things on paper.  I remembered about my experiences prepping my farewell talks before my mission and got on my knees and prayed with everything I had sharing my righteous sincere desires.  I felt the Spirit and very peaceful and that everything was going to be ok. During sacrament meeting as I partook of the sacrament I felt the Spirit wash over me completely again giving me the peace I needed.  I got up with my scriptures and a lot of note cards that I might use if the Spirit directed and also had True to the Faith or en espanol Leales a la fe.  I expressed my gratitude and then paused and relied wholly on the spirit.  I was able to talk about the baptismal covenant and what it means to build Zion and why it is important.  It was truly amazing to see the Lord helping me through my weakness in the language and truly as the scriptures say, make weak things become strong.  After me Elder Jones got up and talked and that was awesome as well.  It all tied in perfectly and he let everyone know the things that we as missionaries are here to do and why we are here.  After that Hermano Borjas our Branch Missionary Leader got up and talked on the same things and really backed us up.  We were all unified and didn't even know what the other was going to talk about.  It was amazing.

 

For Priesthood and Relief Society we watched the videos from the broadcast and that was awesome to have the Prophet and the Apostles back up the words we said last Sunday in branch counsel, when pretty much everyone thought we were joking.  So, it was an awesome Sunday.  There were a lot of people excited afterwards. Now we just have to figure out how we can get out there to visit with everyone!  We then had F.H.E and it was a nice turn out and there was a lot of food!

We got a ride by Hermano Borjas to the Trumbull building where the baptism would be and we got ready for it.  I practiced over and over again in Spanish what I needed to say to baptize Milena.  I was fine and had it down.  Then the time came and for some reason I got really nervous once I got in the water.  Then as my heart was pounding I almost forgot everything lol, but it came and it was a successful first one.  When I said those words I honestly can't even come close to explain the way I felt, but there are no words to even come close.  There is so much power in those words.  We had almost 40 people there and pretty much all the single adults from New Haven came down to support Milena since they met her once before at institute.  It was a great day.

 

This morning after my study I studied the hymn books and the songs in them and how beautiful they are and the scriptures they came from.  I love the introduction to the hymn book and I encourage all of you reading this to read it and do as it directs, for there truly is so much power in music. 

I would like to bear my testimony that I know with all my heart and soul that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Church of Jesus Christ restored in its fullness on the earth today along with the Holy Priesthood of God.  The same Priesthood that Christ and his disciples used to heal the sick, raise the dead and give comfort to those who were in need of comfort, it has been restored along with the Authority to use it.

 

I know that we are all here on the earth for the same purpose and that all who have received the wonderful blessing of coming to know of the truthfulness of the gospel have the sacred responsibility to share it with all other people so they to can come to know what we know.

 

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer and knows each and everyone of us perfectly.  I know that he truly did take upon himself all of our sins, sicknesses, infirmities and everything we go through in this life that is unjust and just not right and suffered for all of these things which caused himself "  even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might ^bnot drink the bitter cup, and shrink—" 

D&C 19:18

I know this because I felt his love in my life and his redeeming power.  I know that He lives and because He lives we truly can overcome anything that is put in our life that seems too big or too overwhelming if we but turn to him.  I know that all people can come to know this for themselves and come to feel what I have felt IF they read The Book of Mormon, ponder the things in it, and then with real intent and all sincerity ask God himself in mighty prayer if it is true, that they WILL receive an answer testifying of the truthfulness of it.  We can apply this method to all things we do.  Should we come to a cross road and need to make a decision we can ask God and he will guide us.  I know these things are true with all my heart, soul and mind for I have done them myself.

 

As a representative of Jesus Christ I invite ALL to come unto Him, to learn of Him.  I promise all who do this and the things I have bore witness of, WILL come to know that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God, the Lord and Savior of all the World and will come to know that this truly is his Church restored on the earth today; that the Book of Mormon is true and that we have a Prophet on the earth today just as in times of old whose name is Thomas S. Monson.  I leave this promise and my love to all of you in that sacred name, even the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 6/24/2013 12:53 PM

I'm glad to hear that girls camp went really well and you had a good time there.

 

Sounds like you had a really good time with Grandpa.  I miss them. I got a letter from Grandma about the card I sent her.  She is so loving, I miss her so much!

 

You will need to send me pics of the pics Uncle Paul and Aunt Janice took while on their trip to Italy.  I would love to see them.

 

Yeah, it is so cool about Alma and Milena getting baptised.  Plus, Milena's family is warming up to us which is good and will help open the door to getting their whole family into the church. Hopefully.

So, for as this last week......we were very busy!  A lot of things fell through, but there is always something to do.

 

We started teaching a 9 year old boy who wants to be baptized (we got permission from his mom).  His name is Bebo.  His grandparents are members so he comes to church with them sometimes.

 

We still have a lot of people we need to visit with from the lists we got from the branch, so we went ahead and started contacting them (or trying).  There was an inactive lady who lives right around the corner from us.  There was about 10 people out in front of her house hanging out on the stairs.  They said she lived there and that we had to yell to her to get a hold of her.  So we did, she replied, but didn't come down.  While we were there we started talking to the people outside her house and they were curious about who we were, so we told them.  I started talking to an old man who was in the Vietnam war and who believed in Jesus Christ, but man was his heart hardened, lol.  I thanked him for his service to our country and he started to give me the story of his family.  After talking to him we talked to a single mom with 2 kids and ended up giving her a pamphlet on the Plan of Salvation.  It was a good little discussion we had.

 

On the walk home we ran into two other people.  One guy drove by and pulled over asking us for the cards of Jesus and told us why he stopped us.  He was invited awhile ago to our church, but lost the address and so we gave it to him; got his number and will follow up with him.  It was pretty cool, and it just goes to show you that as long as you are doing your best and planning your days the best you can the Lord will put people in your path because he knows where you are going to be and when you will be there.

 

We then ended up talking to a homeless person who came up to us and started talking about things I wasn't even sure he knew he was talking about.  He didn't like the people who lived in Bridgeport, he made that very clear.

 

After this we ran into a bunch of people drinking and a lady called us over and wanted to get our number, a Book of Mormon and a card because she was curious about our church.  She also loved my name for some reason and the fact that she guessed it was Italian....

 

So, there have been a lot of pretty fun and awesome street contacting moments and even more yesterday of which I wish I had time to write about.  I love the people here so much and they all love us, they call us, "The Jesus People" lol.

On Sat. we had language training by Pres. Packard's cousin who serves as mission Pres. in Chile and it was mostly about how we can work with the culture.  We also learned a lot of really cool things that I am excited to apply when we meet with people.

 

Yesterday the Melendez family came to church and when I saw them there my heart filled with joy!  I love them and was so grateful to finally see them there.  After church there was a broadcast from the Marriot Center in Provo, UT about missionary work and it was awesome!  Oh, also on Sunday Elder Jones and I got to teach primary about baptism and repentance.  Oh how much I love those little kids.  They are so awesome!  There is truly nothing greater than to hear them answer, when asked why they want to be baptized, and hear them say, "because I want to follow Jesus..." oh what precious words. 

My heart is filled with such gratitude at this time for all that the Lord has done for me and is doing for me.  I can feel my heart expanding more and more each day and hopefully one day like Enoch, my heart will have expanded as wide as eternity!

 

To all of you reading this I would like to bear my testimony that I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Redeemer and that he loves us and has a plan for each and everyone of us and that He lives.  We can come to see a glimpse of that plan and of our true potential if we but turn to him and do as he would have us do.  I know that as we read the Book of Mormon and ponder the teachings in it and pray and ask God with all sincerity of heart if it is true, we will receive an answer that it is true.

 

I ask, can you receive any greater witness than from God?  When you come to know of the truthfulness of it would you then decide to follow God who is your Father in Heaven who created you and who is perfect, who knows all things, who has all power in both heaven and in earth and who loves us beyond our ability to fully comprehend, or would you decide to turn your back on him?

 

I testify and bare record that there is nothing else in the world or in this life that can even come close to knowing of the love that our Father in Heaven has for each of us.  By deciding to choose him and follow him we can receive everlasting life and spend time and all eternity with our families and those whom we love.  I testify that if we follow him by repenting of our sins, being baptized by someone who holds the Priesthood and has the Authority from God, by receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to then end, we will continually progress and become more and more like him.

 

I plead to all that are not members of the church to put these words to the test.  Come and partake of the joy, happiness, love and knowledge which I have come to know and cherish in my heart and soul.

 

For those of you who are members of the church I encourage you to do all you can to remember the covenants you made when you were baptized to show God you would follow him by joining his church; taking the name of Jesus Christ upon you; to... "bear one another's burdens, that they may be light, mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those in need of comfort," to "Stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places," and to serve God and to keep his commandments. 

Live worthily to have the Holy Ghost with you at all times and in all places for that is such a great blessing in our lives, for it is through the Holy Ghost we can come to know the things of God, those things he wants us to know, have the ability to help others and truly endure to the end.  Look for ways to have it more abundantly and I promise you by the Holy Melchizedek Priesthood which I hold and as a representative of Jesus Christ that this will be one of the greatest blessings in your life for you will come to know true peace, and joy.

 

"O that thou had'st hearkened to my commandments-then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea."

I leave these things with you in the sacred name, of Jesus Christ, amen.