July 11, 2011

Oh man I love that story about Zekiel. But man I just love being Mormon. That's what I decided this week. This Sunday the Bishop and us made a shoutout for families to help us do this questionare about families, Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon. And it was just 4 questions that the members would ask people as they went out and knocked doors for an hour and a half or an hour. And so we invited them to do this questionaire this Sunday at 4. And It was cool because like 22 people showed up at 4 still dressed in their church clothes and just ready to do missionary work. It was just something really cool to see, that us as missionaries are not the only ones trying to carry out God's work; and that the members were ready to give time out of their day to help the missionary work. We ended up getting 18 new people to go and try to visit this week. As well as some amazing like testimonies/experiences that they had while doing it. One of the moms said, man that was just a huge hurdle for me to walk up to a door and know already who it was that was going to answer, and then ask them questions about the gospel...But it was way fun, and my understanding and testimony of missionary work has grown. A couple of the young women told us how they ran into some spanish people, and how God had blessed them to understand what they were saying; like total gift of tounges. And then other people were just way pumped cause they had found someone that was just way interested and wanted to know a lot more. So ya that was just a way cool thing for me to see. And also we found some really prepared people through nuestros propios esfuerzos tambien, and through inspiracion. But ya we were teaching this guy named Steve and just had a couple questions about the plan of salvation and Adam and Eve. And so we flipped open to 2 Nefi 2 and just read; and then he would ask another question, and we would ask him to read the next verse, and boom there was his answer. Like no joke this happened at least 5 times where he would ask a question and it would be in the next verse. And then he asked about infant baptism and so we went to Moroni 8. And the whole lesson was like question, Book of Mormon, answer and testimony. But man the Book of Mormon just has it all. Any sincere question that anyone has about anything really, there is an answer to it in the Book of Mormon. I also found out this week, that I  have so much to improve on that it is ridiculous. I don't know how many authority arguments that we got into this week. Well I just don't see a difference between your church and mine... Well the difference is that we have a prophet who holds the authority, and you can see here in the bible... Why should I be baptized in your church when I already have been baptized...Well our church has the authority to baptize and where does your churches authority to baptize come from?  Which is true, and also pretty bold, but most definitely boldness without love is equal to offensive and defensive. So I've been thinking a lot about it, and how I can address this concern that so many people have, but do it in a way that they do not become offended or defensive. And I think I have come up with an answer; actually a couple of them, But that is everyones homework this weekend. What is the difference if I join your church or If I stay in my own church? How could we respond to this concern, without trying to convince them intellectually and with a hundred different scriptures on authority? I love yall so much! Have a good week

July 5, 2011

 I want to thank Elder Montagoose, because his insight with his companion about writing daily miracles just completely changed me this week. Well we had a lot of miracles this week. One of them was a guy named Fernando Dominguez. The lesson was a testimony to me that God answers prayers and is helping us everyday to find the prepared. He had prayed the night before to have God help him change his life around and then we showed up. He was way interested, and the spirit was very strong. We invited him to pray right then and there to find out if Joseph Smith was a prophet. He did, and the spirit filled the room. He accepted a baptismal date, and filled out a calendar of what he needed to do to prepare himself to be baptized. It was amazing and such a miracle. Another miracle that I experienced this week was to hear the power of my comps testimony of how the gospel blesses his family and the example his dad was for him. I loved it and I know my comps and I desire to share the gospel just sparked. I've decided that miracles come in all shapes and forms, and if all we think of miracles is that they're this giant manifestation of the extraordinary, then we are missing out on so many of God's little blessings. And miracles truly seem to happen once in a lifetime. And when that happens our faith in miracles is diminished, and with the diminishing of faith, comes the diminishing of miracles. But if we learn to accept little miracles, and we learn to recognize them, then our faith in miracles happening increases, and by small and small increments of faith leads to the ability to witness the ministering of angels, the moving of mountains, and to someone that has full and complete trust in their father in heaven. When we have faith, we trust God. I love in Ether, when it is talking about his sanctifying process, I believe it is in verse 17 it says, how his worries were no more, for he knew it was all in God's hands. I am not there yet, I am not going to lie; but I am working on it and by recognizing the daily miracles and by growing in my faith of God, I know I can get there one day. But ya, its crazy we are meeting just so many awesome people, now they just need to come to church haha. But It will happen this week. Well I love yall so much, and I hope yall have an awesome week!

Some photos and a video!!

June 27, 2011

I really liked that talk mom about the difference between to do and to be. You think that you could send it to me? It was crazy because that is what I studied in my personal study to day. I was reflecting on how come there is always sometime during the week that I will forget my purpose, by either becoming irritated with an individual, or by thinking too much about numbers, by procrastinating doing something or just being complacent about where I am at. And just like everything, if I am not consistently striving for the spirit and trying to build my testimony, then my spiritual awareness and testimony will begin to shrink. And so I started just really pondering on the things that I failed to do this week, that may have impeded me from becoming closer who God wants me to be, and what he wants me to accomplish. So the first things that popped in my head, was my goal to becoming sanctified; i had neglected to check myself on it this whole entire week; my journal, I had missed like four to five days this week; I had failed to read my patriarchal blessing and other things that I had failed to do. And so then I started making goals for this week; a to do list- so that I would be able to have the spirit with me. So I decided to take the advice of Elder Montagoose and just begin by making a list of miracles that happen every day. But then it hit me... the goals or things that I will be doing this week, MUST be more than a check off list too me, or the progress to what I really want; to be sanctified, will be very little. I think that is why the word remember is said to be the most important word in all of scripture. We don't become who God wants us to be by making a to do list, but rather, by making a to do list and remembering each and every day to ask ourselves, is this helping me become who God wants me to become? And so that is definitely something that I learned this week. But man this week we were really just blessed to find some prepared people, and to also use our members to help us. I love it when we can take a member that is somewhat less active in the church and somewhat battling with some testimony issues, and help him see the miracles and spirit of missionary work. And they come up to you on Sunday, and they're just asking about the investigators they taught, how they're doing and if there is anything that they can do to help them out and stuff like that. And I think that is the key to all of missionary work; when the members, get to know the people you are teaching and it ignites a flame in them to have their own missionary experiences. Its an awesome thing. But I got to get going. I love yall so much and have an awesome week!

June 20, 2011

This week we were just so blessed with teaching opportunities and with people accepting baptismal commitments. We weren't so blessed with people coming to church, but its ok because I was just checking myself on the things that I should be doing, and on doing everything I can do to get people to church I have completely failed. So it just let me know that God wants me to have success and miracles, but it is all dependent on my faith repentance and what I do. And what we did this week was focus on using the Book of Mormon and baptism. And God blessed us with people that were interested in the Book of Mormon and accepted baptismal dates; but in the process we forgot to focus on church; and well we didn't receive all the blessings for that. But now this week we will be focusing on all three, and I know we will see the blessings from all three. One of the people that accepted a baptismal date is named fransisco Villa, who is a son of a former investigator. And he is only 15, but we just had like 10 min. the first lesson, so we just taught him how to pray. And he is like well I don't really have anything I want from God, so I don't rally need to pray, right? And we were just like well Yes you do. Its a commandment to pray, and if you don't have anything that you need or want, then you should have a giant list of things to thank God for. And he was like oh well that makes a lot of sense. And so he said a prayer of thanks. And all he said was I thank you for my family in the name of Jesus Christ Amen. And it was just an awesome prayer. And after finished, he just said, wow, I feel really good right now. And it just so amazing to me the power of prayer, and how when we have the desire and the understanding of prayer, it doesn't matter what we say or ask, but we will feel the confirming presence of the Holy Ghost. Some of the most powerful moments on my mission have been in having investigators pray and feel the presence of God. Whether that is a prayer to come to know if the BOM is true, or something as simple as I thank you for my family. oh y tambien esta semana we taught a guy from India who is of the religion Siek. He had the whole prayer room and idols and everything. But we started with the plan of salvation, and how all of us started from the same religion, and how that religion had a prophet named Adam who was instructed by God. And how those prophets continued to go down, and people that didn't believe would break off and not listen to the prophets and even some times claim to be a prophet themselves. And that's why we have so many different religions today such as Siek and Buddhism and Judaism and Christianity and everything. And ya it was pretty cool, but his english wasn't all so good and so I don't think he understood, but I drew it out for him; and ya that probably actually made it worse. But what can you do? way nice guy though. But for me once again it was an experience that helped me understand prayer even more. Because obviously they aren't praying correctly and yet still feel way good when they do it Like it doesn't matter who you are; God will answer because you are his son or daughter. But prayers become just even more powerful as we come to know that God is not just a god of a certain attribute or thing; that God is not just a creator; but he is our Father, and he loves us. And that through His son Jesus Christ we can return to his presence, not just as an angel singing and playing a harp; but with the potential of becoming like Him and learning form a father that wants to teach us so much. I really do love this gospel, I love the power of prayer, I love seeing people change their live as they realize that they can not only talk to God, but that God can talk back. I know this is true, because I have heard the words of God through the whisperings of the Holy Ghost. I love yall so much! have a fabulous week!

June 13, 2011

This week was like service week for us; food bank, mowing yards, removing sod, setting up a graduation party and painting poles. Which is awesome cause I had been praying that we would have many opportunities to serve, and well God definitely blessed us with that. And you know I learned a lot from it this week. I was reading in preach my gospel, under ways to find people, and it said to just always pray for unplanned service in order to find people to teach. And so that's what I did and that is what God blessed us with; but what I learned was this; when we serve we need to serve with pure motives. And what I mean by that, is that because PMG had told me that this was a way to find new people to teach that is why I decided to do it. And after each act of service I would find myself tired and sad at the end of the day when I realized that we didn't really teach that many people. And it hit me at the end of the week when I asked myself, why did we do service this week? And my 100% motive was to find people to teach, (and granted it was to help people out as well, because I really do just love helping people out as well), but then I asked myself, and, what is my motive behind teaching people? And it just hit me; i had made that goal to see our numbers go up, and not with the intent to really serve people because I love them. And the way we can tell if we love them, is how much we desire them to listen to the message. But the concept I learned is that there really is no number attached to a pure motive. The goal and concept behind PMG is flawless, but my own flaws for thinking that finding people to teach is a number is completely flawed. Amazingly our numbers for finding were awesome this week, although none of them came from the service that we rendered. Truly this is God's work and he did want us to find more of his children this week. One of the guys we found this week is name Tomas. I think he has really been prepared. Lauro our team teacher just bore the powerfullest testimony ever about the book of mormon, and then my companion bore his, and then I invited him to be baptized and he accepted it. That was our first day ever seeing him; and so I definitely know that God is preparing his children here for me to find, and I know that as my motives stay true and pure that I will find these people and invite them to come unto Christ. I love yall so much and have a good week

June 6, 2011

Well this week was way good. But i guess some comments beforehand. congratulations Alisa! that is so awesome that I got a new niece. And also I felt impressed that I needed to pray that you had peace cause i had feeling that you were somewhat stressed. And well it sounds like you may have been a little stressed this week haha. And i just got the letter from Payden and Cha Chi today. And so I will probably send them both a letter next week. But Holy Cow this week was awesome. My new Companion is Elder Salomon from Mexico City. He is a stud. He is somewhat scared to talk in english with people, but he is a powerhouse in spanish. But ya i really want to help him with his english, but we just don't have any english investigators right now. And so that is something that I hope we can start doing this week. Cause we definitely need to teach more english people. But the familia Lopes got baptized and confirmed this week as well as Josiah which was way awesome. But now we're back to nobody on date, but I know if we work like it all depends on us and expect miracles like they all depend on God, that the windows of heaven will be opened and we will see and find people who are ready. But I don't have my planner on me so I am failing at remembering what happened this week. But ya this week was way good, and I love yall so much; have an awesome week.