Letter 41

Well, not a whole ton happened this week but it was a really good one.

We started teaching Madlena's sister and she has a date for April the 15th! We want to teach the husband and all the kids too but it might be a little harder. We also aren't sure how open the husband is yet but hopefully he will be.  Madlena has to go back to Canada soon though and it will be sad to see her go. She is a really strong member so we hope she comes back soon. She is planning on it as soon as possible which is good!

We also had quite a few investigators at sacrament  meeting which was good but they unfortunately all had to leave early.   Hopefully next time they can stay for the classes to get some
fellowship, especially Arpineh, Madlena's sister.

Another exciting thing that happened was Omid receiving the priesthood! He is now a priest and we want him and Mosi to pass the sacrament soon. It has been such an amazing experience being on a mission and I have come to love these two so much.

I encourage you all to share the gospel with someone this week or to go out with the missionaries and help. Offer to be a good fellow-shipper for those listening to the gospel. There really isn't a better feeling than helping someone to receive the gospel and watching them progress. Well, that is pretty much everything for this week. I hope you all have a great week!

 

Letter 40

Hey Everyone!

This week was pretty good. The struggle to find solid investigators is real but luckily, Madlena has been trying really hard to get her family involved and we started teaching her sister! She came to church and had a good experience so we are really excited to teach her and hopefully her family soon. 

I haven't had the opportunity to really teach a full family yet so this is really exciting! We also set one of our new investigators with a baptismal date last week so that was pretty cool! Unfortunately, she has been busy and we haven't been able to meet with her all week so we might need to drop it for now.

Nothing too big has really happened this week so that is about it. However, I have been trying to make my prayers more meaningful this week because I get into the habit of repetitive prayers and one thing I tried was keeping a notebook next to me and writing down promptings and ideas I get while I pray. I have discovered that Heavenly Father is answering a lot more of my prayers than I thought, I just had to think about and write down the answers I was receiving.

Next time you say a personal prayer, I encourage all of you to try this and really go to the lord with a question or concern in mind and write down promptings or ideas you receive and then act on those. I promise that the Holy Ghost will prompt you and help you find answers and help you improve.

I really like this quote from David A Bednar. "If you haven’t been rebuked by the Holy Ghost in your personal prayers lately, I’d recommend you improve the meaningfulness of your personal prayers. To be rebuked is to be corrected and counseled." Let's just say, I have been rebuked a lot more this week, and it is weird saying this, but it has been a good experience and I have learned quite a bit from it. 

Give it a try!

Love you all have a great week!

Letter 39

Hey Everyone!

This week was an interesting one for sure. Unfortunately, Elder Dean went home this week but it is what he wanted. It was sad to see him go, but I know he will have a good time at college. Other than that, Elder Sanders and I have pretty much just been finding a whole lot and we are now teaching some people who we think will have some potential.

We want to keep finding though and really just stack up our teaching pool with people. We had a lot of meetings this week which was actually a lot of fun. I got to catch up with some missionaries I hadn't seen in a while and it felt like I was talking to people I hadn't seen in years it was great. 

It is such a blessing to be out here serving the lord, I have learned so much and I feel like I just keep learning more and more everyday. Things pertaining to the gospel and other important things that I may use later in life like breaking into my own apartment when I  lock myself out. I know that this gospel is really the best way we can change and become better and I hope you all have a desire to continue changing and becoming better. Have a great week!

Letter 38

Hey Everybody!

This week was pretty much just a major drop week for us unfortunately, but we are excited to get started finding again those who are prepared for the gospel. We just want to work with those who are ready for it and not spend too much time with those who won't change.

We have been focusing a lot of our message in the gospel of Christ and it has been a wonderful experience for me to learn about this doctrine. Truly by following the steps in the gospel of Jesus Christ we really do change and become more like him. That is all we are doing for people is inviting them to change and apply the gospel.

I would encourage all of you to study in 2 Nephi 31 as well as 3 Nephi 27 and find ways to change and apply the gospel in your life as well as in the lives of others. I promise that this truly is the way to salvation and that through Christ, you can change any behavior to become better than you were. Once you've experienced this change in your own life, share it with your friends.

There are people out there who need help understanding what the gospel is and it is up to us as members of his church to share that with all those who are searching for it.

I hope you all have a great week! 

Oh, by the way, transfer calls were last night. Elder Sanders and I are staying together but we are bringing in a third companion named Elder Dean. He is just one transfer older than us and it will be a lot of fun. He is actually a Spanish elder so that will be a big benefit as well for all of those Spanish people we contact. Nobody can pull the "no English" card on us now! I am excited for the coming transfer and I will let you know if we find any solid people this week!