Mon 8/18/2014 10:00 AM

This past week has been amazing!  So many miracles have happened as a result.  Since I don't have that much time, just a few of the things that transpired.

 

On Friday we had a great district meeting and all the trainings tied in perfectly together.  They were about goals, accountability and fear.  I was asked to give a training based off the article our Mission President was inspired to write about, which was fear.  It was a great article and it was amazing how all these things tied in to each other.  I will send a copy to my sweet mother who will hopefully be able to put it on the blog.

 

After District meeting a lot of our appointments fell through and so we went and tried to contact a potential investigator named Joshua. As we were on his front porch this lady in red, across the street, walked by.  I had the thought come to mind to go talk to her, but I convinced myself not to, since we were waiting for Joshua to hopefully answer the door.  I kept looking back at her and just kept feeling like I needed to go talk to her and just try to help her have a better day.  She eventually turned right onto the straight, and the thought came to mind, "Well, looks like you just lost an opportunity, good job!  Now, that is someone who won't have the chance right now to hear the, so called, wonderful message you have."  I started to feel pretty guilty wondering where she was and what was going on, and then the thought came to mind, "Go get her, she's not too far.  Remember what you just taught in district meeting?  Go get her."  I looked over at my companion and told him that we needed to go try and find that lady.  We hopped in the car and started to try and catch up to her.  She turned on a one way road (stinking one ways out here are everywhere and makes things more difficult than they need to be... lol), so we turned on the next street looking for somewhere to turn so we could get out and walk to her, so it wouldn't be as awkward. We finally got to the street she was on and were going to hop out and then she walked in front of us!  Talk about a weird contact.  To jump out of a car right after she just saw us and before knowing we were going to talk to her, lol. Anyway, she was moving quick and was out in front of us a little ways now, so we started to pick up our pace.  She slowed down next to this younger girl pushing a baby carriage who was with another boy on crutches.  We slowed down thinking about what was going on and for some reason feeling hesitant.....it was weird to say the least.  Then she sped up again and so we took off again, this time being delayed by walking into a less active kid; talking to him and setting up an appointment.  After seeing this lady, who we had been chasing for some time now, start to get away, we ended our conversation with him and tried to find her. She was out of sight, but the girl with the baby carriage, we saw earlier, was right in front of us.  We said hi as we passed by (I have always felt weird about talking to high school aged girls on the street, because I feel like people might get the wrong idea, so I usually don't, unless I feel I need to) and the next thing I know I just turned around and walked back to them and started talking to them letting them know about the wonderful message that we have to share and how it has changed my life.  In my whole mission I have never felt or had the experience where when I looked at these kids, especially this girl, I felt the Spirit hit me, almost as if it were telling me she has been being prepared from the Lord for the message that we have.  It was something different, that I haven't really had before, out of the many street contacts I have experienced while talking to them.  We got their contact information and they want us to come by and teach them.  We kept walking, realizing there was no way to find that one lady we were initially hunting down, and so Elder Silva and I talked about going back to the car and how we didn't want to go back the way we did because that girl was there and we told her we were in a rush, because we were, so we went the long way around.  As we got closer to the car we saw this girl sitting on a front porch.  We walked by, got to the car, and she kept coming to mind, and so I talked to Elder Silva and he was getting the same impression to go back, so we did.  In short we got her contact info and she is interesting in hearing more.  We will need to give her information to the Providence Elders since she is out of our area.  I probably did horrible at trying to explain how all this went down, but it was an amazing, everyday life experience.  It was amazing to see how as we just followed those SIMPLE little promptings that the Lord sent our way, our fear was overcome and we just went and did the what the Lord led us to do.  I am so very grateful for that experience.

 

On Saturday we went on splits with some members.  I went with our Branch President, Pres. Martin.  The appointment we had, and confirmed, wasn't there, but the nonmember living at her house was :-).  We got to know him and taught him the first lesson and he said we can come back and teach him more! There is something so powerful in working with members and especially going out with the leaders.  It is really the best way to either make or break trust with them.  The Lord has been blessing us immensely here with so many miracles, more than I can even come close to sharing.  The work is moving forward and we are doing our best to work with the members and leaders and to earn their trust.

 

We have been setting so many goals and trying to accomplish them.  This last week we set the goal to speak Spanish to each other as a companionship from 9am-9pm.   We haven't been perfect at it, yet, but we have already seen a huge improvement in our Spanish. It is really amazing!

 

I know that when we strive to put our trust in the Lord, and ourselves, that that is when miracles truly start to happen.  These experiences I have shared along with the many other experiences I have had are a testimony that the Lord works through small and simple means to bring about great things.  It is my prayer that we all may learn to trust in the Lord enough to then trust in ourselves to do his will.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Tue 8/12/2014 9:26 AM

Well, there has certainly been a whole lot that has transpired the past several weeks.  I am currently in Central Falls Rhode Island in  a newly formed Spanish Branch.  The members are amazing and the leaders are great as well, but there is so much to do!  Before I get into all this stuff I want to hit on some things that happened in Revere before I left. 

My last P-day there in the morning it was raining incredibly hard and a huge storm came.  We called our Sisters to see how they were doing and they said it was really, really bad where they were.  It turns out that two tornado's touched down over there and did a lot of damage and shortly after everything passed the skies cleared up as if nothing had happened.  We then spent our P-day giving service to those in the area that were affected and helped cleaning up.  It was weird and felt like we were in a completely different place as we walked into Revere to get where we were going to help out.

The last week was filled with visits to the people I had come the closest to.  It was so hard to leave this wonderful area. I am very grateful for the Priesthood and the opportunity that I had to give blessings to those whom I care so much about.  I love the Priesthood and never cease to learn something new about our Loving Heavenly Father as I use the Priesthood he has allowed me to hold. 

Now to Central Falls.....My new companion is Elder Silva who has been out for a year.  He is not a native speaker, but is a great guy ( I am starting to think I will not get to experience having a native companion).  He is just like Nephi of old who has such a strong trust and faith in the Lord; he just goes out to work trusting that the Lord will tell him in the moment what to share with people and who to visit while we are out.

Our focus right now is on member work and working with the leaders because we don't really have any investigators, but we have a lot of potentials that we need to follow up with the members on.  I do know that this is where I need to be at this time and have felt the Lord confirm that to me many times as well.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who knows each and every one of us perfectly and has nothing else in view other than that which is best for us.  I have felt their love, their presence and guidance in my life and am so grateful for that. 

I know that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the World. That miracles are very real and still happen today.  I know that "they love us not because we are good but rather because they are good".  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Tue 7/29/2014 8:23 AM

This week we are very limited on time because we werent't planning on emailing today.

 

Yesterday there was a tornado that came into Revere where we go to the library.  We spent our P-day helping clean up some of the damage.  It was so weird because where we live in Chelsea it was compeltely  un-affected.

 

I am getting transferred to Central Falls Rhode Island, to a new Spanish Branch that was formed.  Elder Lefthand, my dear friend, will be my new Zone Leader and so I am excited for that.

 

Everything is going well, I am sad to be leaving but a little bit excited to go as well. 

Mon 7/21/2014 10:30 AM

This past week has been fantastic!  So many great things have happened!  I'll start backwards so that way I can hopefully remember at least the big things that happened.

 

Yesterday, was a pretty bust Sunday!  In the morning we had the opportunity to give blessings to our Sisters.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood.  This experience for me was one of the more touching experiences while giving a blessing.  I remember as I placed my hands upon their heads I was overcome with a great love that the Savior has for each and everyone of us.  I started to ball as I thought about all that He did for us and the wonderful gift He has allowed me to hold, that being his Holy Priesthood.  As I continued on with the blessing it was no longer me, but rather Christ telling her what she needed to hear.  I was but an instrument in his hands and my heart is filled with such gratitude because of that experience.

 

After the blessing we all talked for a little bit to figure out what we can do for Sonia since her baptism is this Saturday and she is having huge doubts about being ready for it.  It has been hard to see because of how much she has changed and us knowing that she is ready.  After sacrament we went with Hermano Paula to get Sonia's son Chris to come with us to meet with her and try and help her out.  We got to his house and she ended up being there!  Long story short, we gave them the sacrament, talked about baptism and helped her see the huge change that has come into her life and that she really is ready and gave her a blessing of health and in that blessing many things were told to her through the Spirit.  Afterwards, she still felt she wasn't ready, but that is ok, we aren't giving up on her yet!  Satan sure is working hard on her and that is evident, but it comes down to her praying and getting that answer directly from Heavenly Father now.

 

After this we went back to church, gave more blessings and then met with Bishop Iverson with the Sisters.  After that we were able to go out to visit a member's husband who isn't a member who has a tumor and she just had a baby.  It was yet again another wonderful experience.  I love teaching about the Priesthood = ). 

 

After this we headed home and started dinner at 7.  Since we have an hour for dinner, after we ate, we sat on the couch.  Elder Cathcart started to study a little bit and I had the phone out following up with people.  Next thing I know, is that we woke up at 10:15 then scurrying to get numbers ready to send them to the Zone Leaders for reporting.  Yesterday was one of the most draining days I have had on my mission and one of the greatest.  It is amazing to me how Priesthood blessings, when giving multiple, just zaps the energy right out of you.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to go to the Temple with the Sullivan family down from Trumbull, CT as they got their endowments out and were sealed as a family for all time and eternity.  It was a miraculous experience and one of the most joyful times of my mission.  To see the growth this amazing family has made and to see them sealed together was by far my favorite part and words cannot even come close to try to explain the joy and happiness I felt as I was able to witness that.  I remember clearly before we got to the Temple and how Satan had thrown every single thing in our way to try to frustrate us and keep us from getting to the Temple.  The hardest part was when we got to Alewife, the last train station and the bus we were told to take didn't exist.  We only had 30 min before the session started and so we called ALL the taxi companies in the area and they all said they couldn't do it because they don't pick up at train stations, which to me didn't make any sense.  Anyway, as frustration and desperation started to come full force my wonderful companion knowing how much this experience meant to me was like, hey let's just walk around this last corner and see if we can't get lucky.  We did and we just so happened to find a cab!  We got there 6 minutes later.  I am so grateful for that and for him and because of the love that he has for me for not giving up and as a result getting us to where we needed to go.  Truly the Lord prepares a way for everything good in our lives.

We had another opportunity to go to the Temple this last week as well with our Ward Mission Leader, Hno Paula who is one of the most passionate and loving guys out there.  We were going to take Sonia to have a lesson outside, but it was raining pretty badly.  The Sisters brought Veronica Sanchez, a recent convert, and we all did baptisms.  It was a great experience.

I have to get going now, but I want you all to know how grateful I am for the opportunity to hold and use the Priesthood of God, that He has given to man to bless the lives of his children.  I have learned so much by using it and am continually learning from it. 

 

I know that Families are the most important unit in the World and that through a loving family the love of God is manifest.  I am so grateful that we have a loving Father in Heaven who allows us to be able to be sealed with our wonderful families for all time and eternity, meaning that we can continue to live with those whom we love after death.

 

I know that it is through the Temple that we can learn, live and become who we need to be in order to once again return to live with Him and our families for eternity.  I invite all to go to the Temple.  Go often, especially with those whom you love.  If you cannot enter into the Temple, go anyway and enjoy the wonderful Spirit of peace and love that can be found on the grounds.   It is the house of the Lord on the earth today.  I leave these things with you and this invitation, in the sacred name of our Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 7/14/2014 11:11 AM

Before I start about everything that has transpired this past week I wanted to express to all of you reading this that I am very grateful for your prayers and support on my behalf.  I have been feeling the added strength I have needed.  Thank you.

This past week we have had some very touching and special experiences where the Lord has put people in our path and has filled this week with many instances where people have given us service.  Experiences I am very thankful for.

After the 3rd of July celebration when we were on our way home we ran into this man named Cam.  He was batpized a few weeks ago in a huge church in Texas when he was visiting and it has been amazing to see the Light of Christ so brightly in his countenance. Well, we met with him on Tuesday with the English Elders and one of their members to pass him off.  It was a very powerful and wonderful visit where the Spirit was there so strongly.  We went over our purpose, an overview of the Restoration and gave him a Book of Mormon. It couldn't have gone better.  He was pumped, we were pumped and then the next day we got a text from him saying pretty much that he wanted to just stick with the Bible since he is new to religion and that he was going to start going to the church where these other guys we had met with right before us went.  We expressed love and wrote him back in text in which we asked him some questions and everything was by the Spirit.  The conclusion was the same.  Even though it didn't turn out the way we had hoped it was still a great experience.  We did ALL that we could and could not do any more.  The thing that I love from this whole experience was to see someone with the Light of Christ so strongly in his life and someone who had used the Atonement, tasted of the Love of the Savior and was a better person because of it.  It was amazing!

 

As I mentioned earlier, we have been the recipients of so many acts of service from people.  As we sat down on the curb for a few minutes to figure out what to share with someone we were meeting with later, this older lady walks out and brings us two ice cold waters.... It was amazing!  She said she saw us and thought we looked thirsty.  Funny thing is I have no idea how she saw us because the house she came out of had all the blinds closed.  It was such an uplifting experience and funny because she brought them out to us the day we were doing a mission wide fast, so we had to wait till that night to drink them (they tasted fantastic though).

 

Our friend Jack came by and brought us a ton of food as well which was a nice surprise and then members last night called us and had us come out front and gave us milk, rice, eggs and other things.  Their name is Ruiz and they are Peruvian and one of my favorite families here.

 

The highlight of this week I would have to say was contacting this 20 year old girl named Maria.  We were walking to Cam's house and saw her walking towards us,.  We said hi and kept walking since we were trying to get to Cam's on time.  After walking by we were thinking, wow, she was nice, we should have talked to her. later that night as we were walking to another appointment we ran into her again.  This time she was walking next to us.  We had a great 10 min talk with her about what we do and everything.  She was pumped and thought it was so awesome.  We got her number and set up a return appointment.  That night, SHE texted us saying how awesome what we do is, that she wants to come out with us and teach people and she starting talking about her beliefs and it was everything that we believe.  Long story short, we met with her the next day with Sister Wake and Romans and had a fantastic lesson with her on our purpose; get to know you; invited her to come find these things out for herself and gave her a Book of Mormon Lesson.  She is one of the MOST sincere people I have met on my mission who loves God and wants to serve him.  It was amazing!  At first, to be honest, we thought she was just interested because of Elder Cathcart and I, but after meeting with her with the Sisters and getting to know her more, she is pretty legit.  It is amazing to be able to find those people who the Lord has been preparing.  I am so excited to continue to meet with her and see her progress.

 

On Thursday for Weekly Planning with the Sisters I had the thought come to mind that we needed to include the Lord more in the planning sessions and have a return and report accountability with him in prayer for each individual.  So, after praying, talking and planning out what we were going to do, at the end we prayed, told the Lord everything we planned on doing and then asked him to confirm if the things were right and if there was anything else we needed to add to inspire us.  Well..... He sure did!  It was amazing to be on our knees united, receiving revelation for our investigators. Ideas just flooded us and as a result we had an even more inspired list of things to do for our people.  It sure felt good to do that again. I remember during that Weekly planning session having my heart expand and being filled with such gratitude that I felt inclined to go off, kneel and offer prayers of gratitude.  That was also when we had received what we needed to say to Cam and how to say it through text.  After this weekly planning session I was brought to a remembrance that this isn't our work and that it is the Lords.  I think sometimes as missionaries it is so easy to pray for the Spirit to guide us and help us know what to say, then to plan for individuals and come up with good things to do, but until we truly remember that we are doing the Lord's work, I feel that our efforts will only be in the good or better category and not the best.  I had lost track of that for a little bit, but I am grateful for this experience to help me remember that.  If only we all will remembered that and applied that to every aspect of our lives.

 

I am grateful for learning the difference between praying and TRULY praying.  I think some times we treat prayer as a one way conversation where we say all that is on our mind with how we feel, what we want and need and then jump up and get on with things not giving it a second thought or even letting the Lord get a word in.  I think we would do well to remember at times that prayer is communication with the most powerful, perfect, supreme being who only wants the best for us.  I am still learning and trying to remember this concept when I pray.  I am not there yet, but I hope one day I can be humble enough and WISE enough to heed the counsel the Lord gives me in those prayers with all my heart, might, mind and strength.  I have felt the energizing, soothing, uplifting, and inspiring love and guidance of our Loving Heavenly Father.  I know that "prayer is where our agency meets God's power"-Mitch Welton and that when we truly pray, seeking the loving guidance of a perfect being we can then start to become more effective tools in his hands.  It isn't until after we allow him to guide us with his perfect hands that we will see He has had the plans already prepared and is using us to create that wonderful masterpiece he intends to create.

 

It is my prayer that we seek to learn the language of prayer, to seek His guidance and then humble ourselves and do those things He reveals to us.  I leave these things with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 7/7/2014 10:18 AM

This past week has been a bit different, but jam packed with service!  This last P-day we went into Boston and did the Freedom Trail.  As we were there we ended up running into a couple of people we had met on the street a few weeks ago and it was cool to see them.  Later on in the week we  were trying to weekly plan and this 17 year old kid just walked into the church wanting to talk.  He said he was really frustrated and needed some help.  It was cool to be able to just talk to him and help him out.

 

Because of the Hurricane warning for the 4th of July event, it was moved to the 3rd.  That was a  little weird, but it turned out great! We got permission to go and be out until it was over, with the requirement that we would get home ASAP afterwards.  The show had to stop early because the storm came in.  As they finished the show everyone started heading for the t-stop and as we were in this huge line, we just heard a lot of screaming down the road.  We looked and just saw this huge wall of rain coming our way.  Within a few seconds it hit us and it was just like somebody dumped a huge cooler full of water on us for 5 or 6 min!  It was freezing, but it sure was an experience!

 

We ended up doing a lot of service this weekend as well.  After that our beloved friend Alfredo Gomez, other wise known as "Negrito" took us out to this great sub place called D'Angelos.

 

On Sunday, Jack came to church!  After that we broke our fast with him and then went out on a bunch of visits with our Ward Mission Leader, Hno Paula.  It has been a great week.

 

Also earlier in the week we met with a youth and we had no idea what to share with her.  We got to her house and it was a great visit!  She expressed her desire to become closer with her mom, her fears, frustrations and everything.  It was definitely a tender mercy from the Lord to have been able to help her.  The Spirit that was there was so strong.  This youth is one of my favorite youth I have met in the mission field.... she is solid.

 

There are a lot of things going on.  I am continually trying my best to keep learning and become who the Lord needs and wants me to be.  I would be lying if I said the Mission was easy, but  I am so grateful for it and know that it is definitely worth it!

 

I know that this is the Lord's work; that He is so much closer to us and this work than we have any idea.  As we do our best and try to give Him our all, He can then magnify us.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 6/30/2014 9:27 AM

This past week has been AMAZING!  We have had great success talking with everyone and the Lord has continue to put people in our path to find.  There were a few off days for contacting in the beginning of the week and then we realized we had some serious following up to do with the people we had already contacted.  So, with that, we got our finding pool online as well and have been doing our best to contact everyone.  As a result the Lord is helping us contact again.  We even extended a baptismal date to a guy on the street and he accepted.  It was what we call a, "soft baptismal date," but it was a pretty cool experience.  We could tell he looked a little bit down and so we talked to him, testified to him and promised him blessings.  It was awesome!

 

Also in District meeting I gave a training on how to bear our testimonies and used D&C 1:7-8 and broke it down to everyone.  It was an awesome experience.  The Lord truly was helping me out and now as a result, if everyone applies it, they will be able to teach and testify with even more convincing power and conviction.  We also extended a baptismal date to Sonia, one of our investigators, for the 26th of this month.

 

Everything is going really good here.  At the bus stop we ran into this awesome guy named Bill.  He had a roommate in college who was Mormon and then got a calling and ended up moving to Utah. He was always interested and was a devoted born again Christian for 7 years.  He is a very sincere and friendly guy.  He gave us all his info. and committed himself to come to church.

 

There is so much to write about, but no time!  I was able to give a blessing to my wonderful companion.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood and feel that I keep learning things each and every time I use it.

I know that this is Christ's Church restored on the earth today.  That Joseph Smith was a Prophet and that Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet today.  I know that God is a God of Miracles and that truly miracles have not ceased today and will never cease as long as we are faithful.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.