Mon 9/22/2014 9:32 AM

This past week has been a pretty wonderful week filled with a ton of great experiences!  Earlier this week Elder Silva and I headed up to Needham, Massachusetts for his knee surgery which went incredibly well.  We were in and out.... it seemed like.  While he was in surgery, I got to get a little bit of studies in with President Packard in the lobby which was great.  The only bad thing about the surgery was that I wasn't able to video Elder Silva right after he woke up and was a bit out of it, like he wanted me to.  After the surgery we got to spend the night in the mission home and most of the following day as well.  It sure was a different experience, but a great one nevertheless.  We got to see a video of one of the Packard's Family Home Evenings that they had previously when his brother came to visit.  We got to see President Packard rapping with his brother and son Michael.  He told us that back in the day his brother and one of his brother's friends use to rap all the time at school and their rap name was "Bread and Butter"... Haha.  I love that family so much.  It is amazing to see how talented they all are and how they support each other in everything that they do.  We got to witness Michale doing a head slide as well in the middle of the floor.  That was pretty sweet.  Since Elder Silva was walking around pretty good we ended up getting a ride home to our apartment and went to a dinner that night before heading home to take it easy.  The next few days we spent a good amount of time in the apartment until Silva was feeling we could go out again.  I am grateful for that time that we had to do that because I was able to get a lot of studying and pondering done as well as getting caught up in my journal.

 

We had two GREAT lessons with Jose Rosas this week as well as we finished the lessons with him and got the Branch Presidency to come out with us to the lessons!  Because they went so well, we feel that it really helped our leaders feel part of what we were doing.  We went over the Interview questions with him and he is all set other than finishing planning his baptism which we are doing with him this next week.  I am so excited for him. 

 

We picked up 3 people this past week that we're going to be teaching now.  Melvia y Isaac y la familia de ellos y, this lady named Caroline who is Pentecostal who is already going out on the streets sharing what she believes.  I hope everything goes well with her.  She is pretty cool and would be a great member.

 

This past week, Silva and I have been fed like crazy!   We also had a pizza show up at our apartment that his mom ordered over the phone for us.  Along with that, we have been having some pretty  random/funny experiences as well.  Ones that would take me forever to explain because they were just ones that you had to be there for.

 

We have a lot of great things coming up and a lot of Low-Lying Fruit (people who have already had some sort of contact with church before) that we are starting to collect finally and so a lot of potential.  This past week as we were with President Packard I had asked him how he does it.  For those of you who don't know much about him, he is over all the missionaries in the MBM mission, so over 200 missionaries.  He and his wife are pretty much like our parents away from home.  Elder Silva and I had asked him about how many hours of sleep he is able to get every night and he said about 5.  He receives revelation for the mission as a whole, including all the missionaries, and works very closely with ALL the Stake Presidents and leaders in the mission as well.  It really is remarkable when you think about it.  I know how exhausting and yet spiritually invigorating seeking revelation is and as well as giving blessings, but on a very small scale compared to his.  So, back to the question, "How do you do it President?" His answer was short, he said, "Love."  He then quoted Matt 16:25 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it."  As I have pondered this in my own life and the times where I am most happy, guided and seem to be able to accomplish a whole lot, it is because of this simple and yet profound truth.  I think it is interesting that as we look at the Life of our Savior, Jesus Christ, ALL that he did was to please the Father.  I know that as we but strive to do only those things that will please our Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Father in Heaven, we will better be able to come to realize who we truly are as sons and daughters of God.  It is my prayer that we all may look for ways to lose ourselves in the service of our fellow beings and come to realize that when we are in the service of others we are really only in the service of our God (Mosiah 2:17).  I know this will bring us more joy, happiness and blessings that we stand in need of in our life.  I say these things in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 9/15/2014 10:09 AM

This past week has been a bit different but really good, nonetheless. Saturday, Elder Silva had members and non-members from his last area come down for his Birthday. We were taken out to eat lunch at a Colombian  Restaurant and then later that night German and Marisol (2 investigators) took us out to Ruth Chris..... Let's just say the steak and calamari was the best I have ever tasted in my entire life.  I love those two people so much.  They are a blast and some of the most giving, and loving people ever.  German has had a very interesting life and is one of the most knowledgeable person I have met, as well as one of the most loving.  Words cannot come close to describe them.  It was a blast!  

 

This last week we picked up 2 new investigators.  One of them was a really weird first visit though.  We had an appointment with Josseline who is an inactive member whose information we got from her brother who is also inactive.  We called her and set up an appointment.  We went to what we "thought" was her house, afterwards realizing we put in the address to a referral we got for a potential investigator.  We knocked the door and this lady yelled out from the 4th floor, "Who dare?!" we answered and she yelled back asking who we were looking for and so we said Josseline and she replied saying, " Oh, she be in da back of da house, fourf flah," so we went around and started walking up which seemed to be an endless flight of stairs.  It was really weird and I have never seen so many doors in a house in my entire life.  Anyway, we get to the door and knock; she opens it and told us to come in and how she has been waiting for us to come.  The part that threw Elder Silva and I off was that she was Dominican and looked nothing like her brother, so we sat inside and got to know her.  She had a Gospel Principles book she had marked like crazy and loved reading.  In the mean time, Silva and I are just stumped trying to put everything together not really sure who on earth this lady was.  It was one of the most awkward and hilarious times on my mission.  I was so confused.  Despite all this confusion it was still a great visit and now we have a return appointment with her this Thursday which should be fun.  She loves learning and seems to have been prepared to hear the gospel, so it will be fun working with her.

 

One of the other great experiences this last week was with Neftali who we haven't been able to meet with for a few weeks.  We went in thinking we were going to be teaching him the Restoration, but the Lord had something different in store for him.  The Spirit was so strong and what happened that night Elder Silva nor I cannot take credit for.  As we listened to the Spirit we stayed on the point of Gods love, asked him if he's ever felt it before.  He said yes, but it has been a long time.  The question then came, do you want to feel it again?  He said yes.  I dont know how to really explain everything that happened, but there was a lot of opposition.  It was all guided carefully by the Spirit.  We go to the point where we asked him to pray, so he can feel that love.  He said he didn't feel ready for it.  Then as we asked more questions (I have no clue what they were) the next thing I know we are just promising him so many things and testifying to him about his potential as a Son of God and many other things.  He said for some reason he felt angry, and all these other things, that night; not toward us, but just felt angry inside.  It was at this point he asked if we could just come back because of how bad he was feeling inside.  I wasn't going to give up on him and especially let him feel worse after meeting with us.  It was very clear that night that Satan and others where there bringing that opposition.  Through persistence, and being guiding by the Spirit, we were able to eventually give him a blessing.  I was able to be the one to be the instrument in the Lords hands and be the mouthpiece for the blessing.  The whole experience was one that I will not forget and one that I am grateful that I was able to experience.  Through persistence, love and the Spirit we were able to help him to feel peace and the Love that God has for him.  It was a remarkable experience and one I am not too sure I should explain more about.  I am so grateful for the Priesthood and that it has been restored on the earth for our use in blessing the lives of others. 

 

Our Gospel Principles class was jam packed yesterday!  We had 10 or 11 people in it!  Six of them were non-members!

 

On friday we had a wedding for Hna Estrada who is one of the most amazing members ever.  It was at the branch building and she made it a  missionary focused wedding which was pretty cool. There were about 26 or 27 non-members there.

 

This week has gone by so quick and was jammed with so many different things it is hard to express everything, so sorry if it is all over the place.  I am stoked because tomorrow I get to study with President Packard and sleep over at the Mission Home because my companion is having knee surgery.  It will be a cool experience.

 

This last week I finally feel that all that the Lord has been teaching me over the years is starting to sink in and make sense. It is interesting how it seems like it is at the end of the mission that EVERYTHING starts to make sense about how to do things.

 

I am so grateful for our loving Father in Heaven and his Son Jesus Christ.  I know that they are all merciful, loving and have special plans for each of us to accomplish in our lives. I know that through them ALL things are possible.  I am so grateful for what they have allowed me to learn and come to know.  I leave these things with you all in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 9/8/2014 9:53 AM

This last week has been a pretty great week.  It has had its trials, but a week I am very grateful for nonetheless.  We unfortunately were not able to get a lot of work done in our area due to interviews, going to the Temple for an endowments session for a kid we worked with who is about ready to go on his mission, and then attending a baptism for somebody that Elder Silva worked with.  It has been a blast.  I was not able to have my interview with President Packard last Tuesday after emailing because he was running behind and had a HUGE meeting he needed to get to that night.  I will be going to the mission home in a week or two any way because Elder Silva will be getting a minor surgery on his knee and so Sister Packard wants us to stay the night up there afterwards since it will be in MA. I will get to have my interview then and pick our Mission President's brain a little bit ;).  I am looking forward to it.

This past week I have been overwhelmed with a sense of great gratitude for the greatness, love, mercy and wisdom of our Loving Father in Heaven, in His Son Jesus Christ and as well as the Holy Ghost.  I have found that I am starting to recognize things I had never before really taken notice of in my life.  Those small and simple things.  For example, on Sunday I was overwhelmed as the opening prayer was offered in Sacrament Meeting as I opened my eyes and looked out at all of the faithful Saints who were in attendance, all with their heads bowed down coming together to worship their Savior and learn more of him, united in their faith.  I have felt an overwhelming appreciation for trials that come into our lives, no matter what they may be, where our faith is tried.  I have been learning more and more of the importance of continued faithfulness to things the Lord has previously told us and as we do so the great peace that comes into our hearts as a result.

As time goes by on my mission I seem to be learning more and more of two things each and every day.  That is, the truth that Satan is real and that Jesus Christ is indeed the Savior and Redeemer of the World, who came to deliver us from bondage, whatever that bondage may be.  I am so very eternally grateful that amidst all of the trials that go on in our lives, we have a Comforter and Guide in all things.  I am so grateful for the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  That wonderful member of the Godhead to teach us and guide us in this life as we but rely on him.

The other day Elder Silva and I were talking to this girl Josselyn, who will be leaving on her mission this Tuesday for Salt Lake City.  As we were talking, this member from the English Ward came and started talking to her, giving her some tips and pointing some things out to her.  One of the things he said really stuck out to me and is VERY true and something that I think and feel I should bring up to all reading this.  He said the reason why new missionaries in the field are some of the most powerful in teaching, and just awesome missionaries, is because they really don't know anything and so need to RELY on the SPIRIT (Holy Ghost) more to help them.  Now this isn't just applicable to missionaries, but every single one of us.  I feel that if we all took time to slow down a little bit and really think about the things we have learned, the experiences we have had, and humbled ourselves in the depths of humility, acknowledging our nothingness before God and our great need for him (Mosiah 4:11), we would start to feel this sweet, guiding influence of the Spirit even more in our lives.  This wonderful companionship will be with us in ALL that we do as long as we live worthy of it.  If we truly want the best in our lives, for us and our families, we would be wise to live our lives in a way that we are ALWAYS susceptible to the divine guidance and heavenly influence of this member of the Godhead.  Can you imagine how much better our lives would be if we TRULY counseled with the Lord in all our doings?- Alma 37:37.  No matter what decision we are making in life, no matter what we want to learn, to do or become, we have a wonderful, loving, perfectly wise and all knowing Father in Heaven who is so EAGER to help us!

I love my mission so much and for the many things I have been blessed to learn from others here and that the Lord has taught me through the Power of the Holy Ghost.  I am not perfect and have a long way to go in order to keep progressing and becoming who the Lord would have me be, but I am so grateful that the Lord loves us enough to give us the Gift of the Holy Ghost, even that Member of the Godhead to lead us to ALL TRUTH.

It is my prayer that we all may seek to find ways to court the Spirit, to be humble enough and more receptive to its influence and make the necessary adjustments to do so.  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church restored on the earth once again.  That miracles have not cease.  That God still talks to his children in this day and age and that ALL can come to know all things through the Power of the Holy Ghost.  I am so grateful for the process the Lord allows us to go through in order to keep learning and progressing.  I leave these things with you and pray that you may be blessed with whatever guidance and things that you stand in need of in your lives, and do so in the sacred name, of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Tue 9/2/2014 9:49 AM

This past week has been amazing and filled with miracles left and right.  I am going to be short today because there are a lot of things going through my mind right now and a lot of feelings.  Plus we have interviews with our Mission President today.

 

This past week we have worked a lot with our members and finally were able to get one of them to set up an appointment with their friend who has come to church for 5 or 6 weeks straight now.  We had 2 lessons with him this past week.  We felt we needed to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to him as the first lesson and extend a baptismal date.  It was amazing!  As we started by helping him to know how he can recognize the Spirit; to know of the things we were saying are true, he asked us "what's next!"  He had already been feeling all these things and that was why he kept coming back to church!  We had to take a deep breath and tell him that we will address the "what next" later in the lesson.  In short, we got to baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost and after we helped him see the difference between the Power of the Holy Ghost and the Gift of the Holy Ghost it helped answer his question.  At the end we invited him to be baptized and he said YES!  So, as of now, he has a date for Sept. 28th.  We have a lot to teach him and it will be hard because it is very hard to meet with him with his work schedule and because he goes to meetings every other day with a support group he has been with for almost 20 years, but we feel that he can be ready by then, so please pray for him.

On Friday night we had exchanges with our Zone Leaders again (because we are troubled missionaries lol... jk) and I stayed in our area with Elder Perkins while Elder Silva went to situate with Elder Lefthand.  It was a blast!  In the morning we met with Ivan, who was a referral and taught him the Restoration and extended a date to him for October 12th and he accepted as well.  Then we took Chris out with us the rest of the day who is a less active kid we have been working with.  A great kid, but a little rough around the edges.  We had some great little moments with him.  One moment was after he helped teach English Class with us we were in the car and apparently one of the games missionaries play sometimes now is where they roll up all the windows and crank the heat full blast.... Well, I don't see what is too fun about it.  Anyway, we had a good little moment where we were able to talk for a little bit.  I am worried about him though because he moved yesterday to Hartford, CT.  It can be either a really good thing for him or a bad one depending on what he makes of it.

One of our most awesome members got her divorce papers in the mail that she has been waiting over a year for and so she can finally get married which will be this month on the 13th!  We are all stoked for that.

This last P-day we went to the church building in Situate for zone O-day.  It was a blast!  They had a fire pit and everything you could want.  We got permission to have a fire, smores, hot dogs and Elder Lefthand took his guitar, so we all had a good time singing along. We played ultimate Frisbee at the end and man it was a blast.

Yesterday we went up to the Temple in the morning because Elder Silva had someone he had taught that was doing baptisms for the dead for the first time.  It was also the mission Temple day and Recent Convert Baptism day where our mission presidency goes and give a little talk before the new converts go and do their baptisms.  It is suppose to be a very spiritual and uplifting experience for them.  I and a few others had the opportunity to give service in the Temple while that was going on, so we did laundry, which was a blast!  I love the Temple and the great peace that is there.  After that we went into Chelsea to pick up some things I had left and borrowed some street clothes since we forgot ours and were going to be with a big group of missionaries.  I was rocking in gym shorts, a short sleeve shirt, tall black socks and my church shoes all day, lol!  We went into Boston and met up with Jack for a little bit.  He got us food; we got to ride in the police car and just had a blast.  We walked over to Mike's Pastry's and ran into Sister Romans, her new companion, Elder Cathcart and Treseder.  We just roamed the streets of Boston with good friends and it was a good time.  We got lost for a little bit and had a guy yell at us that we needed to repent once he found out we were Mormon missionaries and told us we were a cult and everything.  It was a great P-Day.

As for me, I am doing great.  I couldn't ask for a better place to be than right here in Central Falls.  I love the people, the area and there is so much work to do.  I had a dream last night about going back to Bridgeport to die, who knows what will happen lol.

The other day, once again, here I was telling people I had 5 months left and then I was corrected that it is actually 4 1/2 months!  Time flies by way too fast!  Even though the Lord doesn't work by time, necessarily, I am very grateful that He, in our very inadequate way of thinking and trying to plan everything out in our lives, has granted us the great blessing of time in days, weeks, months and years; something this last week I grew to appreciate as I contemplated it all.  Interesting huh?

It seems to me as we look more and more into our daily lives for what we are grateful for and what He has done for us, we realize more and more that EVERYTHING is a gift from Him.  I am very grateful that we have a loving Father in Heaven who knows each and every one of us perfectly.  As time goes by, I realize more and more how, "nothing I am," or in other words, powerless without Him.  He gives me my very breath each and every day.  This morning as I contemplated and pled for His help to forget about my own feelings and thoughts, I came to realize even more about His grace, love and that, He works in ways that truly are higher than ours.  As I wrote a dear friend, a Mormon message came to mind titled Wrong Roads by Jeffery R. Holland.  Here is the link to that video
http://www.mormonchannel.org/video/mormon-messages?v=2714780496001

As I thought of this video and everything that has transpired in my life, I am so grateful that the Lord is there guiding us.  Sometimes allowing us to go down a road that we feel he has told us to go down, only to find out that it is a dead end.  I love the example of His love behind the reason why he allows this to happen.  It is so that we can have an increased peace of mind and heart, experiencing a fullness of joy, because we then KNOW that our correction puts us on the right road leading us to where we want to go and where HE wants us to go.

There have been so many things that I have been learning lately, as I have been applying what I am learning, that I wish I had more time to share with all of you.  One of those things is about prayer. Maybe next week I will be able to write about it if I feel inspired that I should.

I want all of you to know, that are reading this, that I love you, and that I know that our Father in Heaven and his Son, Jesus Christ love you.  That as we start to put our faith in Him and remember the things that He has previously told and promised us, that ALL will be well, no matter the end result.

I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ changes people, for it has been changing me and I am so very grateful for that.  It has changed my very nature and hope that I continue allowing my Savior to do that.  I leave these things with you all in the blessed name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

P.S.   Smile!  Go out and find a way to help someone this week ;)

Mon 8/25/2014 9:00 AM

This past week my eyes were opened yet again to how fast time flies on by!  After telling various people I had 17 months in my mission after they asked the other day, I realized I have been out for 19 months!  It is so weird to think about.  It seems like all of my good friends in the mission are dying off now and so the last stretch might be a lonely one.... lol.

This past week has gone by incredibly fast and I forgot to bring my planner so I will do my best to recap some of the things that happened.

Yesterday we stopped by our investigator Walnels house because ever since he got his new job we haven't been able to meet with him.  It was nice to finally see him but he was going into work at 1:00, so couldn't come to church at 2:00.  We tried to get a hold of Marta and her family as well, but haven't had any luck. ,She didn't come to any of the English classes this last week, so we are a little bit worried about them.  We will continue to try our best to get in contact with them again. 

We had a member from Worcester come down and visit Elder Silva, so we ate dinner after church and then went out and met with some members.  One of them is struggling right now and is turning away from the church.  We have tried to meet with him alone before, but his wife is always there and since they always fight with each other we haven't had too much success until last night.  We were able to steal him away for a little bit in his garage to play some pool and get to know him which turned out to be great because we were able to share a message about prayer with him, which is something he really needed to hear.  The Spirit was there and now we are going to go back tonight to play a little more pool with him and share a message.  He is a great guy, but with everything going on in his life, he has been turning away from everything he knew before. 

On Saturday we were able to go to the Temple with our branch because three of our members were taking out their endowments, so it was a great blessing to go there and do a session with them.  I CANNOT wait till after the mission to be able to just sit in the Temple all day.  That is one of the biggest desires I have had since I first started.  It truly is the House of The Lord.

One of our members finally got her divorce papers from her husband in Guatemala, so that means she can finally get married to a recent convert and they can get sealed and everything!

There has been a lot of things that have happened giving us great cause to celebrate.  We are still in the process of finding new people to teach, and have been trying to follow up with some of the ones we have already contacted.

As for me, I have been doing pretty well.  I love this area and the people here and the fact that there is so much to do.

As time goes by and as I have more and more experiences I learn more about our Savior and his great and abundant love for us and come to the conclusion that I really do not know him as well as I would like.  I am so grateful for his perfect love, and overwhelming desire to shower us with the blessings from heaven, as we but ask him in faith, believing that we will receive them.  I think at times in life we become so complacent with everything that we forget exactly who it is that allows us to have EVERYTHING that we do have as blessings from them.  The Lord truly is the one that gives and takes away, all for a wise purpose in him for our benefit.

In "True to the Faith," under Gratitude, towards the end it says "Work at being grateful.  You will find that it yields wonderful results."  I can testify of that.  To me gratitude is one of the simplistic things and yet one of the most powerful things we can learn in this life, especially when we express our true gratitude to the Lord for all he has done for us.  It is what allows us to be filled with happiness and joy even when everything around us seems to be falling apart. 

This past week I have been striving to apply a principle from a book titled "Putting on the Armor of God"  (Yes, I have been given permission to read :-).  The principle I have been applying is "WHAT HOLDS MY ATTENTION HOLDS ME."  I wrote  it on a sticky note and have it in my planner so that when I open my planner throughout the day I take a little inventory of what I am thinking about during the day.  As I do so it helps me to focus on the things that really matter most like our Savior, what he did for us and the many blessings he has blessed me with and what he has in store for me.  As a result of this I have been re-awakened many times this past week of REMEMBERING the reason why I am here, who it is I am serving and the power behind the calling that I have been given to represent the Savior of, and Redeemer of the World, Even Jesus Christ.  As I remember that, I remember that not only as a missionary, but as a member of the church, I am to say, do, think, act and love as Christ himself would.  That is a huge task to try and accomplish, but I am so grateful for the great blessing of our Savior's grace, or in other words, enabling power to carry that out and do the best that we (he and I) can do together. 

For all of those reading this, who are members, I would ask you the same soul searching and thought provoking question that Alma asks in Alma 5:26, "And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?"  I feel that if we truly want to show our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ that we love them, and that we are grateful for all that they have done for us and to continue to feel this song of redeeming love forever, that alma speaks of, we should strive to remember each and everyday who it is that gives us our daily breath and strive to live our lives in a way to keep our baptismal covenant to ALWAYS remember him.  I promise that as we do so we will find a greater peace come into our lives, a peace that can only come from the Prince of Peace.

I love my Savior, and all that he has done for me.  I am so grateful for Him bringing me to this knowledge time and time again that those drops of precious blood he spilt were for me and for all of you.  It is my prayer that we will strive to remember Him always and as we do so, be filled with his perfect love and share this wonderful message of love, hope and miracles with all those around us.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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.

Mon 6/23/2014 10:06 AM

This past week has been a little bit different.  It was a great week though.  Most of our investigators have been sick so it seems like it has been forever since we have seen them.  We spent a lot of time following up with all the people we have contacted and set up appointments with, however a lot of them fell through.  Also, we are in the process of putting a lot of our records online now, so we can work more united with our ward mission leader and so he can see our weekly plans to follow up with us throughout the week.

 

On Friday we had a great lesson with Hermano Lapop, an inactive member.  He pulled out his mission journal when we were there. We had a great lesson helping him to remember how he had once felt as we used scriptures from Alma 5.  We then eventually were able to get him on his knees to pray and simply ask God what he would want him to do.  So, he prayed out loud for us and then we stayed on our knees in silence for the answer.  Afterwards he expressed to us what came to his mind and that he would be going to church on Sunday and also asked us on Saturday to remind him. Well, he was at church! =D.  Also on Sunday, we all got up and sang a musical number, Elders of Israel. 

 

This last week we had a ton of contacting experiences which were pretty funny.  We met this Polish man who is a fisherman as well and talked to him for a while.  One of the most unique people I have met.  There were some times were I had to pray and do my best to not start cracking up.  Some of the things that came out of his mouth were just so out there.  Good thing is that we have a new friend who will give us great discounts on fish, squid and whatever from the sea.  I love talking to everyone!  There truly is a whole other aspect of joy and spirit that come from it.

I know that if we but strive to do our best to talk to those around us about the wonderful and marvelous message we have, we will feel the Spirit come into our lives in even more power and abundance.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 6/16/2014 8:40 AM

A lot has happened this past week and I do not have my planner with me, so I will do my best to remember all the things that happened.

Yesterday, on Sunday we had a great day.  During church in Sacrament Meeting we watched a Mormon Message - Earthly Father, Heavenly Father.  It was different watching it during Sacrament Mtg. with a projector, but it was cool.  I love that video.

After church our original appointments fell through, but did for a purpose.  We went home and waited for a member to drop by dinner.  After we got the dinner we ran into Henry's daughter Adelle.  Henry was our Land Lord who passed away a little more than a month ago.  His kids have been in and out fixing everything up and taking care of things.  We hadn't met her before and so we started talking.  She invited us in so she could give us her number and everything.  We started talking and the death of her father and mother came up.  The Spirit was so strong as we were able to talk to her, express our love, and help bring peace to her at this time. She shared the experiences she had right before her parents passed away.  The one about her mother jumped out to me and was pressing itself on my mind and wouldn't go away.  She said that before her mother passed away the thing that brought peace to her was her mother said she saw angels in the room and that they had a book and were preparing her for something.  The whole time after she brought this up, The Book of Mormon kept flashing in my mind and how we believe that after death all those who have not had the chance to hear and receive the gospel will have the opportunity after this life.  We shared with her our testimonies about what the gospel means to us to know that we can live with our families for all time and eternity and that death is not the end and that we know exactly where her father and mother are.  We then expressed how we wanted to give her something, so we ran upstairs, got a Book of Mormon and a Plan of Salvation Pamphlet said said a quick prayer and ran back down the stairs.  I remember  sharing with her how much The Book of Mormon means to me and how as she brought up that book her mother talked about the thought kept pressing itself on my mind to give her this book.  I then told her why and that I felt this was the very book of which she spoke.  It was a very powerful, tender moment in which we all shared tears and enjoyed a great peace.  She accepted the Book and the Pamphlet and said she would always cherish them and start to read them. 

Later that night we went into East Boston and met with Mike, our 21 year old friend who is awesome.  He is a carpenter and travels a lot.  He has been to many other countries and is just an awesome guy.  Before he left for the Dominican Republic last week we had a great talk with him over the phone about a mission, which was guided completely by the Spirit.  Anyway, we talked with him, sharing our conversion stories and how we came to be on missions today.  It was an amazing visit.  He expressed all of his concerns, doubts, and fears.  He has been trying to change his life and has had a really tough one, but the Lord was there helping us with him.  We had some good success with him and I think with time he will actually go.  I know that when he does go and gets that answer, he is going to be the means of so much good because of all the experiences that he has had and just how he is. 

Earlier in the week we were on exchanges and so I was with Elder Tait in my area.  Our appointments canceled on us, it was pouring outside, we got soaked, but it was an awesome day.  We talked with EVERYONE we saw and got so many return appointments. There truly is a different Spirit that comes in missionary work when you strive to talk to everyone instead of having tunnel vision going from point "A" to point "B."  We had a great Fathers day breakfast, and many other great visits during the week.  I wish I had more time to write it all.

If only I could express even the smallest part of what I feel about this amazing work!  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is Christ's church restored on the earth today. There is no doubt to me that it is true.  I know he is very involved in his work and is preparing our brothers and sisters to receive the fulness of his gospel.  All he asks is for us to "doubt not, fear not, but believing".  As we move forward and put our faith and trust in him and talk to everyone we will come to see the truth of the promise in D&C 84:88

"And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also, for I will go before your face.  I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up."

I know that is true.  I invite all of you reading this to think about one person this next week that you can share the gospel with.  I promise you that as you do so prayerfully and out of love, you will feel the truthfulness of this verse.  I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 6/9/2014 10:16 AM

Where to begin about this last week!  It has been amazing.  We have been working like crazy and talking to everyone.  We had a 4 hour zone conference meeting from our mission president about how to receive revelation.  It was really cool, because it solidified the things the Lord had already taught men and inspired me again. It was a great meeting.

We had an amazing lesson with Wilmer at President Haites house again and we extended a baptismal date.  He didn't accept, but said he believes everything is true, he just wants to read the Book of Mormon first.  He is so ready though, so I am not to worried.  We had a 2 hour train ride with him back to our area and along the way talked with everyone.  It was a great experience.

Then there was a day where we met with Veronica, a recent convert that just got baptized like 5 weeks ago.  We met with her about doing member missionary work and had a great lesson with her going over her concerns and fears.  After sharing D&C100:4-8 her friend Gabby walked in.  The Spirit took over and we applied what we just taught Veronica, so she could see it in action.  That meeting was so packed with the Spirit I don't really know how to even begin to explain what happened because it was not us doing the speaking. It was a very powerful visit on our purpose as missionaries, our testimonies and we gave her a Book of Mormon and invited her to read it and apply what we taught Veronica to do when she reads, which is to pay attention to the things that stick out to you because it is the Lord trying to tell you something.  At first Veronica was a little uncomfortable, but then she became very relaxed and handled everything well.   She then texted us later about how amazing it was and how it was what we just taught her in action.  It was great!  Now, we usually do not do that because it is not good to pounce on the member's friends with out them knowing before hand, but this wasn't us, it was the Spirit.  I am just grateful that we were able to be instruments in the Lords hands. 

We picked up a new investigator.  His name is Julian and we contacted him on the train a few weeks ago.  We have been inviting him to our English class, but he hasn't been able to make it.  On Friday, he called us and said, "hey, I want to meet with you and talk about Jesus tomorrow," so, we headed on over there, taught him some English and part of the Restoration.  He is an awesome guy.

Our zone started a World Cup for contacting people.  We have been hearing a lot about talking to everyone and how it is our last priority to track, but really we should be talking to everyone we see on our way to appointments.  We have a point system to help people get a little bit excited about it and to help those who are a little nervous..... make it into a game so they can build up the confidence they need.  Elder Cathcart and I have been rocking it!  It has been a blast!

There was a little poem that Jeffrey R. Holland told when he was here last.  I don't know who it is by, but the one inviting us is Christ and we are on top a huge, beautiful mountain:

Christ: Come to the edge
Me: No, I will fall
Christ: Come to the edge!
Me: No! I will fall
Christ: Come to the edge!!
Me: to the edge I went, he pushed me and I flew!

I don't know how accurate that is, but it gets the point across.

Often times in our lives Christ invites us to come to the edge, to "fear not, but be believing" or in other words, to do some things can seem scary or insane, but by forgetting about ourselves and trusting him and accept his invitation to just come to him at the edge, it is then he can help us fly.

I know that to be true. There are so many times in our lives when it is easy to be afraid.  Life can be scary at times.  We make decisions every day that can affect us for the rest of our lives.  I am so grateful that we have the fulness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to be that guide to us that we need to get to our common destination, to live with our loving Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ once more.

 

I know that Jesus Christ lives, and that he is inviting us all to come unto him, to forget our doubts, fears and selves so that he can help us fly.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 6/2/2014 10:18 AM

There has been a lot that has transpired these past two weeks.  I will do my best to touch on everything.

Two weeks ago we had a mission conference and Jeffrey R. Holland was there.  It was an amazing experience.  It was great to see everyone again that I have come to love, but as we were in our seats early and ready to receive revelation, it prepared us for what then followed.  He walked in the room and we all stood, and the Spirit just poured in.  We were all able to go and shake his and his wife's hands and Elder Hallstrom's of the Seventy.  I have never heard Sister Holland speak before, but man she speaks with such power and conviction.  No wonder they are married.

Along with amazing talks, we had beautiful musical numbers.  After Pres. Holland and all of them left we all stood in reverence and reflected on what we had just learned through the Spirit.  This was probably my favorite part of all of it.  There is nothing quite like the Spirit teaching you.

This last week we picked up two new investigators.  We had one appointment at President Haite's house in Belmont with a guy that he found.  His name is Wilmer and is from Guatemala.  He is an amazing guy and we had a very different but amazing lesson nevertheless.  We team taught with the Belmont English sisters and with Pres. Haite and his wife, all of which did not speak a lick of spanish and Wilmer's English isn't the best.....it's pretty good, but we ended up going over what they were teaching in Spanish.  It was a bilingual lesson.  We will be going back over there this week again.  Also, as we were walking home from an appointment we ran into this guy named Sylvester.  I do not know what to say to describe him other than he is unique.  He knows a lot about religion and is looking for truth and sure can talk.  We met with him in his basement and he is a DJ.  He was showing us all his stuff and right as we were about to start the lesson he started blasted some Metallica; wanting to listen to some good music as we taught him the gospel... lol!  Don't worry, we had him turn it off, but it was still pretty funny as I looked over at my companion and saw his reaction....lol.

This last Saturday we took Rosario, Stephanie and John to the temple and prepped them beforehand for what they were about to feel.  It was a great visit. They felt such a great peace and spirit there.  We walked in the temple into the waiting room and took time for them to feel the difference. Stephanie later explained to us, "I felt like I left this world."  We then took time for them to pray outside and express to God their questions and concerns.  After that, we asked them some questions to see what they got out of the experience.  Stephanie knows that it is true with all her heart and is one very special youth.  John was behaving himself as well and had a great time at the temple and with his prayer as well.  At the end of the day we committed Stephanie to do missionary work and to help her mom.

On Sunday, after learning about some of the doubts/concerns Rosario had, we had a lot of testimonies that touched on her situation.  Towards the end I felt impressed to ask one of my favorite members who just so happened to be sitting behind us to get up and bear her testimony on Joseph Smith and how we can know he was a prophet and more.  She at first looked at me like, you want me to go up now?  She was a little caught off guard, but man was it what was needed!  I remember praying so hard that the spirit would pour out as this lady was so willing to get up there and help Rosario.  The Spirit poured out, and hit me very strongly confirming to me that Rosario just received what she needed to hear.  This lady who was so willing to help us out and share her testimony just so happened to hit on things I didn't even ask her to bear her testimony on, but that Rosario needed to hear.  After sacrament I talked to Rosario to see how she was doing and what she thought. I  expressed to her the feelings I had about sacrament meeting and how I felt the Spirit confirm to me that she had just received what she needed.  It was a nice little talk and she simply replied with a hmmm and a smile.  During class we ran into Hermana Garcia (the one who bore her testimony) in the hallway and she said that Rosario just talked to her and thanked her for her testimony and that it was exactly what she needed to hear. She then shared more of her story with Rosario and invited her over to her house this week and gave us some tips that will help. =D.  It was amazing.  Then to add to all of this, Rosario talked to her ex husband after church and told him that she had been going to church.  That was a huge step for her btw, and we will leave it there. 

 

These past two weeks have been amazing and the Lord truly is hastening his work.  I know that if we but lose ourselves in the Lord's work with a willing heart everything will work out and miracles will happen.  I know that miracles have not ceased and that they are very much still here as we but act in faith and do our part.  I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Mon 5/19/2014 8:55 AM

Since this last week was so incredibly awesome, on so many levels, it will be hard for me to be able to express everything in a way that you can experience it, but I will do my best.

 

To start things off, we had some pretty amazing lessons with Rosario about the power of the Atonement and forgiveness.  We were able to help her start an action plan and we gave her some homework, an awesome talk by Jeffrey R. Holland called "Remember Lot's Wife."  We had a sweet Family Home Evening with her and Orlando (her bf) and we invited him to start taking the lessons to see and experience what Rosario has been learning.

 

The same day as the FHE, we did service at Alfredo's house who also had his non-member sister there visiting.  We had an amazing BBQ afterwards for lunch and then went over to Rosario's again later and BBQ'ed Otra Vez.

 

Sonia, Chris's mom, wants us to start teaching her the lessons as she has loved coming to church the past couple weeks, but by far, my favorite part of this whole week has got to be yesterday.  We got permission from President Packard to go down to New London, CT because Ramona Donstorg and Brandon were getting baptized! To add to that wonderful news, President Packard told us along these lines, "Hey, Jeffrey R. Holland will be down there for stake conference at 10.  You Elders are more than welcome to go to that if you'd like, you deserve it," so along with seeing a family I had come to love and care about so deeply, that the Lord put in our path to find, we got permission to go see an Apostle of the Lord speak in person!  It was amazing!  That whole Stake Conference was just jam packed with inspired words.  It was cool because the people who had things prepped, got up and changed them because the Spirit was directing them to say something else.  Let's just say I got what I needed to hear and it is amazing to me how our Heavenly Father knows each and every one of us perfectly and what we need in every moment.  Jeffrey R. Holland had a lot of jokes up his sleeve as well, which was cool to hear his sense of humor.  He invited us all, especially those 12-22 years of age, to tithe 10 years out of our lives to the Lord.  He then said that if we but did that, everything else in our lives would fall into place. The best part of it all was the Blessing that he left on all of us.  I don't feel comfortable sharing it with all of you, but right as he was saying it, he said this blessing was as if he himself was putting his hands on our heads for the blessing.  The spirit that man brings with him is just astounding.  After, Ramona and Brandon got to shake his hand, and Brandon told him how he was getting baptized.  It was cool to hear how excited Jeffrey R. Holland was.  Then after the line finished up and we were able to get Mike (our ride) up there to meet him, we too got to shake his hand.  It was pretty dang cool! After being filled and uplifted by the Spirit after an amazing Stake Conference we headed over to the church and had the baptism.  It was such a beautiful experience and one that I am grateful for, for being able to see all these wonderful people again that I had come so close to.  To see Ramona and Brandon dressed in white and to be able to baptize them having been commissioned of Jesus Christ was a remarkable experience.  The joy and peace that I felt was amazing.  Then the part that really got to me was when Ramona was bearing her testimony.  It is amazing to see how far she has come and the light that has entered her life as result of coming to know the truth for herself that this is Christ's church restored on the earth today with the fullness of His gospel.  The part that really hit home to me was when she started to talk about how it was my character, the way I carried myself, taught and bore a sincere testimony, that kept her interested and helped her feel something.  I still do not quite understand what she saw, because I find it hard to see, but I am grateful that even with my own imperfections she was able to see the love I have for this gospel and I think that is something that everyone can see when they look at everyone of us. We have that special light that can only be obtained through knowing the truth and having the Holy Ghost as our special companion always.  Truly, as the Lord said, we are a peculiar people.

 

I am so grateful for this wonderful knowledge I have come to know and am grateful that I have been able to help bring a few to come to know these things for themselves, whether for the first time or bringing them back to a remembrance of what they had come to know before. The joy that I feel as a result is a joy that I cannot come close to explain, truly what the scriptures say in Doctrina y Convenios es verdad.

 15 And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father!

 16 And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your joy if you should bring many souls unto me!

I know that what these scriptures say are true.  If we want to truly be happy, to truly have this great joy in our lives, this is the most fulfilling and best way that we can accomplish it.  To "forget ourselves and go to work."

 

I invite all those who are reading this to come to know what I have come to know of this great joy that can be felt through the gospel. For those who are members and have come to know how wonderful this gospel is, I invite you to think about one of your friends, family members, really just anyone that you can have a missionary experience with.  For those who are reading and are not members, I invite you to come take the missionary lessons and learn of and experience this great joy of the true and full gospel for yourselves.

I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that he lives and that The church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is his church restored on the earth today.  That this church has the Priesthood of God, that the power and authority given to man to act in the name of God for the salvation and benefit of his children is on the earth once again today.  I know these things of myself and I am so grateful for them and a loving Father in Heaven who has blessed me to come to know them.  I leave these things with you in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.