Week 35 2/23/15

2/23/15

Hey Everyone!

Its another P-day! haha, and as of wednesday i will hit my 8 month mark! Wow, that has flown by fast! some people told me that the mission is like a time warp but i didnt realize how truly fast they ment! Im going to be home before i know it haha, guess i better work harder and harder then! gotta do the lords work while i have time :)

So this week we have still been working with Micah a lot as well as alfredo. They both are doing awesome!! just progressing over time. we hope that they can come to church and keep on keeping their commitments! They are awesome though!

Other then that this week has been full of so many different things!

We will start off at tuesday:

It was an awesome day truly, We went right after studys to help the sisters teach their investigator named Maria Llamas! she is super cool and really wants to be baptized! So, we taught her a lesson and then we went to a chinese buffet with her haha. it was a great time and she really enjoyed it! (she even later came to both sessions of stake conference!) Then me and Elder Faustin were on exchange and we went out with a member to see Diego, one of our recent converts and then took micah to play ball with us at the church! it was a super awesome time!

Wednesday: We went store contacting in the morning to try something new and to really try and do work on exchange and we found some awesome people for Elder Faustin and Ruano. Then we exchanged back and me and elder gunther took some time to fix our area book. the last few missionaries that were here did not treat it well... but now it will be really usefull for us! Then we had dinner at the Mays house (awesome lder couple in our branch) and finished out the night contacting.

thursday: We had a great zone conference! My mission is really trying to focus on member missionary work! its so much easier to find and teach with members than alone! For instance, about 1/1000 people we contact will be baptized, but 1/3 member referals get baptized. So thats a HUGE difference! So right now we are really trying to work with members more. i think each of you should try and help out missionaries too! (as time permits of course) its truly amazing how much better lessons go when members are present :) Here is a little spiritual video about that :)

https://www.lds.org/training/wwlt/2013/hastening/members-and-missionaries

Its the video called "Ill go where you want me to go" Its awesome :)

Friday: we had a great football night! lots of non members came and hopefully we will be able to start teaching some!

Saturday: We helped move some of the senior missionaries haha. It was not to hard but it took a while, they are super awesome though! elder and sister newman is there name. Then we had stake conference and ran around like crazy trying to make sure all the translation stuff would work right the whole time etc. It was a blast hah.

Sunday: We worked out a much better system for translating for the branch and we had a really good stake conference! We then had an awesome lesson with stepfan, one of our investigators, and he is comming to church with us on sunday! We also had an awesome healthy dinner made by the vaughns. ( a yound implant family in our branch) She is from peru, but it very into health and so we had this brown rice and chicken and shrimp dish, it was awesome! 

Then today we are planning on going to the civil rights museum! should be a blast! Please watch the video! it has a great message about it with out using any words :)

love yall!

Week 34 2/16/15

2/16/15

Hey everyone!

 Yet another Eventful awesome week has taken place! We have been running around like crazy this week doing so much! 

To start off the week i was on an exchange with Elder Bott, one of our zone leaders. He is a super awesome missionary and we had a blast just working hard. We spent all day speaking Spanish so that i could improve. (Which i am really trying to work hard to do because it would be really beneficial to have a Spanish degree before going to med school. So i better study hard!) We went to the hospital to help a member give his baby that was born premature a blessing. It was sad that a baby would be in that sort of situation, but thanks to the power of the priesthood and faith, right now little lucas is doing awesome! Then we just went hard talking to everybody we could in Birmingham on the streets and then tracting! We took a short break along the way to eat a taco from a taqueria called gordos. seriously the best tacos in the world! these where amazing! Then we ended up running into a bunch of awesome new people we will be following up on. Then we went to see a LA named Adrian who is way cool! he is going to take us out for tacos on thursday. we just hope we can help him find a job where he doesnt have to work on sundays!!!

So it was a fabulous exchange! Then thursday the coolest thing happened! Micah, a young black kid who lives above our apartment came to knock on our door. He had previously been given a church video. He said he loved the video and would love to know more about it! Crazy right!? We literally had someone knock on our door to be taught! it was a littl ebackwards, but i liked it haha. So we taught his a lot about the book of mormon, then the next day had some pizza with him and watched the restoration video. He is doing really good right now, he has been reading and he wants to come play basketball with us on tuesday. Im super excited for him to keep on doing good things!

Then we also are teaching a man named Alfredo! he is the boyfriend of a less active member and has been to church, he loves it! We taught him about joseph smith and the BOM and he really enjoyed that as well! we are going over tonight so hopefully it will be a really great lesson! He says he wants to be baptized!

So with all of that we have been really busy! pluss, on valentines day we explored an area called noth birmingham and found out there is a ton of hispanic people! so, we will be working up there more and hopefully will meat some really cool people! Then we went to a valentines day party at a less actives house, we kind of helped her throw the party really. She made food and we ran games and talked to everyone and then at the end shared a bible valentines day message! Genesis 29:20

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. 

We related it to how the lord has sent us here to this earth. we left his presence which must have been extremely hard for him. So, can we even imagine the love he must have for us? To send us away that we might suffer hard times and pain? He does that because of the great love he has for us, and how he knows it will be worth it so that we will be able to become like him one day :)

So yeah, it has really just been a fantastic week. we are working hard and having great success! I love you all and the people here in bama so much! have an awesome week!

Week 33 2/10/15

Hey yall!

So, as you may have noticed, this letter is being sent on Tuesday instead of Monday! Usually that will never happen, but, yesterday we were crazy busy with missionary work and helping other missionary's that we did not have time to take a full P-day. So, we got permission to finish emailing today! 

So anyways, this week has been just a crazy one! Last week we spent so much time working and tracting that this week we had so much to catch up on! so many appointments to see and do! it was great for really cool experiences though! heres one really cool experience we had!

Me and elder Gunther had one of the best experiences this Tuesday! We had been working extremely hard all last week, and as i expressed in my last letter i was feeling a bit down because of the lack of success. but then on Tuesday we felt strongly to go tracting at a certain apartment complex that is a little bit out of the way and so we went. the first 4 doors where nothing. Then, the fifth door opened and we met the most amazing young couple named Arthur and Britney! They were literally praying for answers the night before we arrived at their house! We taught them probobly the most amazing lesson of my mission! such a cool experience! We will be going back to teach them more tomorrow! They are supper exited to hear the gospel.

From this experience i really learned a lot about patience. as well as a lot about hard work. It wasn't before we worked hard we were blessed, it was after. it made me think of a scripture in ether 12:6

 6 And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen;   wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after  the trial of your faith.

Its one of my favorite scriptures because truly i have had many trials of faith on my mission. Many people trying to bash you and destroy your beliefs, many long days of hard work to no avail, and many difficult situations. But its amazing how through it all, I have only grown stronger. How Ive been helped through every hard situation, helped to knock that next door, to be able to bike, and do all i need to. I know for a fact that we all are being watched out for and that through our dedication we will be blessed. Sometimes all we need to do is wait, trust in the lord, and press forward steadfastly :)

So yeah, i do not have much more time, but this last week was a really great experience, we had an awesome experience to walk through downtown Birmingham and talk to so many people. as well as find out some cool things about the city such as this place that is a car broker and they have a garage full of priceless cars that you can just go look at! We also were able to go on an amazing hike to a waterfall! so all in all, this last week was definitelly a good one on my mission. Lots of work, Lots of fun, Lots of spirit.

I Love you all! i hope you all will have an awesome week! remember, "work hard, play hard, pray harder" ;)

Week 32 2/2/15

2/2/15

Hey everyone!

This week has been great! Me and elder gunther have been working very hard, weve been tracting a lot and contacting and really trying our very hardest to find and to teach! Sometimes though it takes a while, we havent had too much success finding but thats ok! The lord has a plan and we know that as we continue to work hard we will be blessed :)

On the pluss side though, we have a man named Rodrick who we are teaching, he is in his 50s and is progressing so well! he loves the book of mormon! One night we went to his house and a friend of his was over (Martin) and as we taught him he started to testify to his friend about the book of mormon!! He still has a few things to learn, and he has A LOT of questions, but he wants to be baptized! so, hopefully he will feel ready before the end of this transfer! He is awesome!

also this week I had the opportunity to go to a leadership conference for the mission. President invited the district leaders and a few other people that he felt like could use some leadership training. It was awesome! He gave us a ton of quotes to think about like...

"You dont have to be the captain of the football team to lead the team to victory"

(in regards to a sister missionary who just went home) "she never had a title, but she was the best leader in this mission."

It just goes to chow how it doesnt really matter what our "title" is. Anyone can lead and be an example. Anybody can go and do great things and lead others to greatness. so why not you?

It also goes to show another quote... "The best leaders put those that are better than them, right below them." We arent going to be around forever, so in business or in a mission, or in the church, or what be it. The best leaders should put those that will lead better then they do right below them. it takes guts to do so, because that person could take your spot. but the best leaders truly want what is best for people. not for themselves.

I also found that even captain moroni did this in the book of mormon! in alma 53 verse 2

2 And Moroni went to the city of Mulek with Lehi, and took command of the city and gave it unto Lehi. Now behold, this Lehi was a man who had been with Moroni in the more part of all his battles; and he was a man like unto Moroni, and they rejoiced in each other’s safety; yea, they were beloved by each other, and also beloved by all the people of Nephi.

So, moroni, one of the best leaders we know, a man who if we were all like could shake the very gates of hell and stop satan from having any power, put Lehi, right under him. What does that say about Lehi? He must have been the best, mighty in the lord and trusted of his fellow men.

This training we receives had so much more to it as well! like how to teach, how to be an example, and all sorts of things, but one of my favorite things about it was just remembering that to truly be a leader, means to truly love those you SERVE. Thats what the savior did for us. He didnt drive us forward with a wip, but led us forward as the loving sheppard :)

Other then that, this was a great week, we are looking forward to another great week ahead as well. Love yall! 

Week 31 1/26/15

Hey everyone!

Man, what a crazy week!! My whole mission life is 100% different then it has been haha. Whole new area, new companion, new branch, new investigators, and all new people im serving around! Its crazy!! but thus far i love it! We spend most of our time in a town called "Homewood" it is a suburb of Birmingham where there are a lot of Hispanic people! So thus we have been working a lot around where hispanic people are haha. Also in my area is UAB and the center of downtown Birmingham! its pretty cool to be right here in like the center of the south! Im serving with Elder Gunther, he is an awesome missionary! he knows the scriptures inside and out and he has been out around a year and a half and so he is experienced and a great companion. We get along awesome! as far as my week was though, here goes!

Monday: was my last p-day in huntsville! we had an awesome zone activity where we did yoga for like an hour then made smoothys haha, it was super fun and really relaxing! Then a little latter we had a soccer game with Jackie and her brother Jose. They are 2 super awesome investigators that i was teaching in huntsville and are still being taught!

Tuesday: We visited ward members and Donna and tried to leave a spiritual message with everyone before i was leaving. then we went and visited the Soto's (jackie and joses family) and ate dinner with them. I taught them for one last time. then we headed out to get home on time. it was a really great last day in huntsville!

Wednesday: Was Transfer Day! We drove to the altedena building (now the one i o to church at) and had a great meeting! i got put with elder gunther! Then we went and i emailed you guys my address and set up camp and met Roddrick! a super cool black guy we are teaching who should get baptized next saturday!

Thursday: we got food because we were like out, then we visited a bunch of different people. a guy named hugo that we are teaching and a woman named latania etc.

Friday: We visited people and then went and had soccer night with the people here in altedena! a ton of investigators came and they run it like a tournament because so many people come here. it was a blast!

Saturday: We went down to downtown birmingham just on a hunch and had a crazy cool expirience! So we had a whole afternoon with like nothing to do, So Elder Gunther was like "Its kind of far, but i think we should go to downtown" and so i was like why not!? Then we rode bikes over some crazy big hills to get there and had 2 amazing lessons to some teenagers that where skateboarding by the baseball stadium in downtown. Then it was getting dark so we started to head back and in route we got a call from the sister missionarys in leeds telling us how there was a member's, non member husband in the hospital at Birmingham who needed a blessing. Well, it just so happened that we were right by the exact hospital he was in! So because we had listened to the spirit to go to Downtown Birmingham, we were able to teach some amazing lessons to some kids who really are searching for truth, and give a man who really desired a blessing exactly what he needed! It was an awesome day!

Sunday: I got to meet the branch and they are all super nice and awesome people! So far i love the Altedena branch!

Thats kind of all thats been going on this week, but im doing well and i love it here. im truly loving my mission!

Anyways, im leaving a pretty long video to watch today! its the World wide devotional that happened for young adults a couple weeks ago. it is really amazing so i encourage you all to watch it! here is the link!

https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-devotionals/2015/01/living-with-purpose-the-importance-of-real-intent?lang=eng&media=video#watch=video

Love you all, hope you doing awesome!