Hello everyone!!!
This week was a good week. It started out with one of the craziest lessons I have taught on my mission. We had a lesson planned for Monday night with our investigator Elaene who is from Brazil. When we teach her we have to go slower because English is not her native language so we usually bring a Portuguese speaking member with us when we teach her. We also have a rule that we need another male present with us if we are teaching a female. So on Monday night the member didn't show up and we tried calling him but no answer, so we were a bit disappointed and made our way to her place to cancel the lesson and reschedule for another day. But it just so happens she had her male friend there named Alijandro (he is from Panama and speaks Spanish) was there. He said he would like to listen so we walked in to teach Elaene and Alijandro, but then her other roommate walked in who is also from Brazil, named Monique, she said she wanted to listen as well. They all have different backgrounds of religion and the English barrier made it crazy to teach all three at once and address each one's concerns. So we got to the portion where we wanted to watch a DVD about the Restoration and we had it play in Portuguese and had Spanish subtitles on for Alijandro. Then halfway into the video their other roommate who is from Saudi Arabia walked in and joined us as well haha. It was a good lesson but boy let me tell ya, it was a tough one, to make sure they all understood at their own level. Anyway, I also had a funny moment this week. We walked into an apartment complex that is gated and locked, after being here for so long I have found which gates are always open and which ones we can easily get in to. We got in and this man I have talked to before (a very rude man) was walking down the path toward us heading toward the pool, with a microwaveable bowl of lasagna in his hand, so I smiled and asked him how he was doing and he said "Do you have a certificate to come in here every stinkin' single day!? Do you have the right to solicit people like this and harass everyone in here!?.....I just smiled and said "Well sir, we have been called by a prophet of God to share this Gospel with the world. However, we do have a certificate that is signed by the Prophet of God that gives us permission to share our message with everyone." He got a little flustered and then angrily said "Try the civic center!!" and then madly shoved a piece of lasagna in his mouth and walked off, so I said "Well, have a good day sir!". There have been a lot of people on my mission that do that sort of thing and it doesn't even bother me anymore, I just smile and love them. We have still been hitting the pavement and tracting all day long, we are on the search for new investigators. I love this work! I love you all and hope everything is going well!! Write me!! Until next week!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Monday, August 22, 2011
August 22, 2011
Hello everyone!!!
Well this week was amazing!! I want to start off by talking about what happened this Friday!! Our recent convert Michael got the priesthood last Sunday and this Friday he baptized his sister April!!!! I can't explain how happy it makes me to see their family growing together and the strength the Gospel is bringing to their lives. Michael told me and my companion that the relationship between he and his sister had been terrible before he met us for the first time. He said he has noticed the peace and the love that the Gospel has brought to his life, and now he and his sister are extremely close and are now both converts to the church and are loving every minute of it!! They are both going to the Temple this Wednesday to do Baptisms for the dead! Our recent converts Michael and Andrew both say they are 100% sure they will serve a mission. It is now only a matter of time!!!!!!!! The rest of this week has gone really well, we are still searching day in and day out for new investigators. We have faith that we will find those that the Lord has prepared. I think missionary work is best once you have been out long enough to realize how much joy you find in the service of others. The days just seem like they are shooting past, and I can't believe that in October I will hit my 6 month left mark...scary! I love all of you and I am just lovin' it down here! The weather has gotten a little bit hotter but that just means it has gotten to about 76-80 degrees ;). Until next week!
Well this week was amazing!! I want to start off by talking about what happened this Friday!! Our recent convert Michael got the priesthood last Sunday and this Friday he baptized his sister April!!!! I can't explain how happy it makes me to see their family growing together and the strength the Gospel is bringing to their lives. Michael told me and my companion that the relationship between he and his sister had been terrible before he met us for the first time. He said he has noticed the peace and the love that the Gospel has brought to his life, and now he and his sister are extremely close and are now both converts to the church and are loving every minute of it!! They are both going to the Temple this Wednesday to do Baptisms for the dead! Our recent converts Michael and Andrew both say they are 100% sure they will serve a mission. It is now only a matter of time!!!!!!!! The rest of this week has gone really well, we are still searching day in and day out for new investigators. We have faith that we will find those that the Lord has prepared. I think missionary work is best once you have been out long enough to realize how much joy you find in the service of others. The days just seem like they are shooting past, and I can't believe that in October I will hit my 6 month left mark...scary! I love all of you and I am just lovin' it down here! The weather has gotten a little bit hotter but that just means it has gotten to about 76-80 degrees ;). Until next week!
Monday, August 15, 2011
August 15, 2011
Hello Everyone!!!
The computer is being weird this week, so I hope this sends ok. Well
this week has been another fantastic week! This Sunday our recent
convert Michael asked me to confer the priesthood on him, it was such
a neat experience!! He then told all of us that his sister has also
recently decided to be baptized!!! And she wants him to baptize her!
It will be this Friday!!! This week we have been teaching our
investigators that are preparing for baptism, one named Elaene and the
other named Tacio. They are two separate investigators we found, but
it just so happens that they are both from Brazil. I have taught quite
a few people from Brazil in this area and I have to say those are
usually the most fun lessons I have had. Their culture and
personalities are just fun to work with! Tacio is a younger man who
came to here to go to OCC (Orange Coast College), he accepted a
baptismal date and so we came back the next time and he told us at the
door that he wasn't really that interested anymore, but I just
continued to ask him questions and started testifying of The Plan of
Salvation and he let us in eventually. The Plan of Salvation really
interests him and I was so happy that the spirit helped me to share
that with him or else we possibly could have lost him. We have an
amazing week planned this week already and we are really excited to
see the miracles that will happen.
I would love to write more but I am crunched on time and the internet
is really bad here, so I will send this while I still can. I love you
all!!
The computer is being weird this week, so I hope this sends ok. Well
this week has been another fantastic week! This Sunday our recent
convert Michael asked me to confer the priesthood on him, it was such
a neat experience!! He then told all of us that his sister has also
recently decided to be baptized!!! And she wants him to baptize her!
It will be this Friday!!! This week we have been teaching our
investigators that are preparing for baptism, one named Elaene and the
other named Tacio. They are two separate investigators we found, but
it just so happens that they are both from Brazil. I have taught quite
a few people from Brazil in this area and I have to say those are
usually the most fun lessons I have had. Their culture and
personalities are just fun to work with! Tacio is a younger man who
came to here to go to OCC (Orange Coast College), he accepted a
baptismal date and so we came back the next time and he told us at the
door that he wasn't really that interested anymore, but I just
continued to ask him questions and started testifying of The Plan of
Salvation and he let us in eventually. The Plan of Salvation really
interests him and I was so happy that the spirit helped me to share
that with him or else we possibly could have lost him. We have an
amazing week planned this week already and we are really excited to
see the miracles that will happen.
I would love to write more but I am crunched on time and the internet
is really bad here, so I will send this while I still can. I love you
all!!
August 8, 2011
Hello everyone!
This week has been a great week! My companion and I have been working very hard to find new investigators. Our teaching pool has shrunk a little bit but we have been seeing some amazing miracles! We taught a first lesson to a new investigator named Elaene. She is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese and is up here going to UCI studying English. We brought two members with us, one who speaks Portuguese and one who speaks Japanese, because Elaene's roommate is from Japan and studying English as well. When we taught Elaene she told us that she used to go to English class in Brazil that the missionaries of our church teach! She also said she took the missionary lessons in English. She said she already believes the Book of Mormon is true and that whenever she has had hard times in the past or struggles, she will always read the Book of Mormon to find answers and to feel peace and calm. She is such a miracle!
I got to go on two exchanges this week where I had the opportunity to work with other Elders within the zone. I love being able to see how many different ideas and ways to do the work there are. We were able to teach a man who has a best friend is a pastor and organizer of a certain church. It was probably one of the most intense lessons I have had yet on my mission. He was taking notes the whole time we were talking and he would ask really deep questions. However during the lesson he started to bash a little bit and he kept twisting what I was trying to teach and share and at one point after I shared my testimony on a principle he asked me a question where he had twisted my meaning and so I told him "You know exactly what I meant. We came hear to share what we believe and not to play with and twist each others words." It was a little bold, but he stopped and the lesson ended very well.
I am loving everything about serving a mission down here in southern California! i am learning so much and it is very neat to be in California where I get to talk to people from literally every race and culture. I think at this point I know how to say the phrase "how are you?" and a few other phrases in 11 languages. the diversity here makes tracting very fun and I am loving every minute of it! I love you all. I hope all is well! O and today was transfers, but I am staying the same along with my companion! I am excited because my companion and I will see many more miracles this week!
This week has been a great week! My companion and I have been working very hard to find new investigators. Our teaching pool has shrunk a little bit but we have been seeing some amazing miracles! We taught a first lesson to a new investigator named Elaene. She is from Brazil and speaks Portuguese and is up here going to UCI studying English. We brought two members with us, one who speaks Portuguese and one who speaks Japanese, because Elaene's roommate is from Japan and studying English as well. When we taught Elaene she told us that she used to go to English class in Brazil that the missionaries of our church teach! She also said she took the missionary lessons in English. She said she already believes the Book of Mormon is true and that whenever she has had hard times in the past or struggles, she will always read the Book of Mormon to find answers and to feel peace and calm. She is such a miracle!
I got to go on two exchanges this week where I had the opportunity to work with other Elders within the zone. I love being able to see how many different ideas and ways to do the work there are. We were able to teach a man who has a best friend is a pastor and organizer of a certain church. It was probably one of the most intense lessons I have had yet on my mission. He was taking notes the whole time we were talking and he would ask really deep questions. However during the lesson he started to bash a little bit and he kept twisting what I was trying to teach and share and at one point after I shared my testimony on a principle he asked me a question where he had twisted my meaning and so I told him "You know exactly what I meant. We came hear to share what we believe and not to play with and twist each others words." It was a little bold, but he stopped and the lesson ended very well.
I am loving everything about serving a mission down here in southern California! i am learning so much and it is very neat to be in California where I get to talk to people from literally every race and culture. I think at this point I know how to say the phrase "how are you?" and a few other phrases in 11 languages. the diversity here makes tracting very fun and I am loving every minute of it! I love you all. I hope all is well! O and today was transfers, but I am staying the same along with my companion! I am excited because my companion and I will see many more miracles this week!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
August 1, 2011
Before I write the letter, here is a picture from this past week. My companion and I were destined to be companions if you can tell by the picture.
Hello Everyone!!!!
This past week was week number 6 of the 7 week transfer! I can't believe how fast the time has already flown by! We have been in the 'search' mode all week long because our investigators kind of disappeared, so we have been out talking to a lot of people and knocking a ton! This week we taught a less active member named James that some other elders referred to us. At the beginning of the lesson we could tell he wasn't taking it that seriously, and I asked him what he has liked so far about meeting with the other missionaries. He said "It is awesome because they never make me do stuff"....well, his answer didn't sit well with me and my companion and I bore very strong testimony on how we don't live the gospel or go to church to be entertained. We told him the reason is because we need our Father in heaven. We must be closer to him and continually strive to be as close to him as we can. Church is not meant to be a fun zone, it is something sacred that cleanses us and brings us more into touch with our Heavenly Father, it is sacred. Because it brings us closer to our Father in heaven we have what we call Joy..."not fun or temporary happiness". Pure joy that only comes through living the way that God has commanded us to live....we went on a bit more with our testimonies but it was really powerful and by the end of the lesson it had completely changed his whole outlook on it, and he said he wanted to go to church. I love this work, it is just the greatest :).
I got to go on exchanges with my former companion Elder Bray in the Chinese branch! I still remember my Chinese! I have seen so many blessings with this language, but it is still very hard. I am so happy to be a missionary in exactly this mission. It stands out to me as a testimony, that the Lord knows exactly where he puts his missionaries and why. It seems as though I have been tested in every area of my weaknesses but also been able to use my strengths to the fullest here. It is really nice to take this time to stop putting focus on myself and put on those that are around me, it really makes life a lot happier and easier. I love you all! I hope everything is going well! Until next week!
Hello Everyone!!!!
This past week was week number 6 of the 7 week transfer! I can't believe how fast the time has already flown by! We have been in the 'search' mode all week long because our investigators kind of disappeared, so we have been out talking to a lot of people and knocking a ton! This week we taught a less active member named James that some other elders referred to us. At the beginning of the lesson we could tell he wasn't taking it that seriously, and I asked him what he has liked so far about meeting with the other missionaries. He said "It is awesome because they never make me do stuff"....well, his answer didn't sit well with me and my companion and I bore very strong testimony on how we don't live the gospel or go to church to be entertained. We told him the reason is because we need our Father in heaven. We must be closer to him and continually strive to be as close to him as we can. Church is not meant to be a fun zone, it is something sacred that cleanses us and brings us more into touch with our Heavenly Father, it is sacred. Because it brings us closer to our Father in heaven we have what we call Joy..."not fun or temporary happiness". Pure joy that only comes through living the way that God has commanded us to live....we went on a bit more with our testimonies but it was really powerful and by the end of the lesson it had completely changed his whole outlook on it, and he said he wanted to go to church. I love this work, it is just the greatest :).
I got to go on exchanges with my former companion Elder Bray in the Chinese branch! I still remember my Chinese! I have seen so many blessings with this language, but it is still very hard. I am so happy to be a missionary in exactly this mission. It stands out to me as a testimony, that the Lord knows exactly where he puts his missionaries and why. It seems as though I have been tested in every area of my weaknesses but also been able to use my strengths to the fullest here. It is really nice to take this time to stop putting focus on myself and put on those that are around me, it really makes life a lot happier and easier. I love you all! I hope everything is going well! Until next week!
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