Week 42 - Littlerock

Hey everyone! This week was a little crazy. The hermanas in our area have an investigator that was going to get baptized on Saturday, and I was going to interview him, but as I talked to him and as the hermanas and Elder Mendoza and I talked about it, we felt like he was doing this to get financial support from the church. Our Branch President felt the same way and was relieved to hear what we thought. He did not get baptized on Saturday. This week we got transfer calls, and Elder Mendoza and I are both staying in this area. We went by an investigator named Cynthia, and she asked us to help feed her horses. We went into what we thought was a small backyard, but it was actually a huge yard with a tall fence. She took us to the fence and opened a gate, and the yard continued with a small ranch. She also had about 100 chickens. It was crazy. We fed the horses and talked to their family. It was pretty cool.

   
Something that I've been seeing is a lack of real faith in the district: I'm imperfect, and I include myself in this. I was talking to Elder Mendoza about this upcoming transfer, and he explained to me that he had been here for six months without seeing large success, and that this one transfer wouldn't change too much. I told him that we were planning a baptism this upcoming month, hopefully, according to our goals, and he basically said "Why wouldn't any success happen earlier". Therefore, faith is something we will be working on. We set the goal: if we say we're going to find "3 new investigators" and "2 with a bap. date" and "2 at sacrament meeting", we will and must do everything we can to accomplish it. I am expecting a miracle, because we are going to need it, really. I am so grateful for this chance to serve, and I hope my experiences I gain here will have an eternal effect. 

  
In district meeting we taught more about the doctrine of Christ, and president has been talking about that a lot, and said "We do not understand the Doctrine of Christ enough".

And do you know Elder Patterson? He lived in Pride, LA, and he'll be in the zone. Also, the hermanas in the district are staying and so is Elder Mcgill, and he will have Elder Frankum with him, who is a pretty cool elder.

Elder Mcgill and Frankum are English, but the hermanas are Spanish. I hope it is, but there is a lack of faith here. I was talking to Elder Mendoza about this upcoming transfer, and he explained to me that he had been here for six months without seeing large success, and that this one transfer wouldn't change too much. I told him that we were planning a baptism this upcoming month, hopefully, according to our goals, and he basically said "Why wouldn't any success have happened earlier".

 It was a pretty good week overall. I love you all, and I am so grateful for everything you guys are doing. I appreciate it so much. Thanks for praying for me, and please continue doing so. I l love you all!

Week 41 - Littlerock

Hey everyone! This was a pretty good week. This week was pretty good. We had interviews with President Layton, and it went pretty well. We also went to La Michuacana again with the awesome member who feeds us every week. On Saturday we went to the branch mother's day party, and I got to conduct. It was a lot of fun, and we sang a song during it. I'll include a video of us practicing, with Elder Mendoza playing the violin. Super fun. The Lord has been blessing us in the work. As a district leader, I check to make sure people have things down, and I prepare district meetings, and do calls every Wednesday and Sunday. The work is going pretty well. I really can see that there are people waiting here for the Gospel. I feel pretty good about everything, however to be honest, I still feel unqualified to be a district leader in this area. Nothing too much is new, walking in the desert is still fun, not getting old. Something funny is Elder Holland and Elder Coburn. They're in the other district and they're the funniest. Also, Justin Timberlake lives in their area. I am trying to stay hydrated, but last week I got that sore throat worse than I had ever had it before. I could not even sip water without feeling like I was going to die. I was able to fix a pair of my suit pants with a hole. and for your love. I love you all so much, and please keep us in your prayers. 

Week 40 - Littlerock

Hey everybody! This was a super cool week! We were able to go by some investigators this week. We have an investigator named Cynthia, and she's a single mother of two kids. She is a cool young lady with a lot of faith in Jesus Christ. Her son was put into a mental institute for a while and just got out of it. We also are teaching a family of a mother and her daughter with her children. It's really cool. They want to learn more about Jesus Christ and what He can do for them in their lives. It's been pretty great. We also found this guy who was super excited to see us. He had talked with us before, but he hasn't been keeping appointments. The Lord has blessed us and this work. We went to a restaurant with the Familia Rosario, and it was fun. Afterwards they took a video of me for my mother on mother's day! Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!! We went on exchanges with the Zone leaders on Friday, and I went with Elder Crane, who was my Zone Leader in my first area. I learned a ton from him. It was a lot of fun. We were walking down the desert in Little Rock and we found this little stream with a cute family fishing. We started talking to them, and they are really cool. During District meeting this week, the topic was part one of the Doctrine of Christ! I applied the doctrine of Christ to the Book of Enos. We did a scripture chain about it, with the following as the chain:

 Vs. 2*

3-5* 3 Nephi 12:6

6* 1 Nephi 2:12, 16

7-8* Mosiah 26:23, 27:24-27

23* Alma 11:43-44

27* D&C 45:3-5

All about the doctrine of Christ, and it was really cool. The Lord loves us so so so so much! It is true. 

   On Sunday I got the chance to talk to my family over Skype! It was so great! We were able to talk and have fun, and afterwards, we closed with a family prayer, my first one with my parents in almost 9 months. It was very cool and powerful.

   I love you all, and really the Lord trusts those who really trust Him. He is proud of everything we try to do right. He loves us and has a purpose and a plan for us.

Week 39 - Littlerock

Hey everybody! This week was pretty good. Last Sunday, I held my own personal fast to try to find people, and this week, we found 1 more person than our goal. Hahah. It was awesome. This week we didn't have district meeting because we had Zone Training Meeting, and it was a pretty good meeting. And it was also the last. We learned about accepting miracles and teaching repentance with a cool scripture chain that explains why we need to repent and the hope that repentance brings. It was pretty cool. We went on exchanges this week and I went with Elder Mcgill. It was pretty fun and we were able to work. I forgot to add, but last week we found out that the Zone Leaders have an investigator who is deaf, and I cannot teach him because if he decides to get baptized, I'll have to do the baptismal interview. It's pretty cool. Luckily they have a member who knows sign language who'll translate what the missionaries say for them. It's pretty awesome. During call-ins, the zone leaders explained that they noticed the same stuff that I did about the district, and we talked about ways to fix it. One thing they have is that some missionaries have goals of what bad things they can say they've done on their mission. They legit have a bucket list and imagine "funny things" they could do. The mindset of being on a mission is off. They also have seemed to forgotten how to work. But the Lord will bless us as we keep going on and hopefully I can receive revelation on what they need here in this area. I love you all and thank you for your continual prayers for me!

Week 38 - Littlerock

Hey everyone, so this week was pretty good. On Tuesday we had Zone Conference and we learned a lot about the Gathering of Israel. One thing I learned is that when we use the Book of Mormon in our lessons, we are able to get out of the way and let the Spirit teach. Also, if you bash using the Bible, you will win, but you only convince yourself that you know what you're talking about and embarrasses the guy and he won't want to talk anymore. Just use the Book of Mormon to end conflicts. We had district meeting, and it went pretty well. District meeting went well, and I do believe we were able to inspire the district. We focused on Mosiah 7:33 with the bondages, or weaknesses or stumbling blocks we may have, and did a chain with how He delivers us in Ether 12:27, Mosiah 23:21-24, and then how to trust Him and hold on in 1 Nephi 3:7, Deuteronomy 29:9, 30:9-11, and 1 Nephi 11:17. I think it was inspired, and I'm grateful for the help the Lord gives us. I believe that can be applied to us all. We gave a blessing to our ward mission leader last week, and that night he went to the doctor for an appointment. He had something wrong with his heart. After the blessing he felt better, and when he went to the doctor, he was healed and the doctor was speechless, saying that that should not have happened. We were able to give a blessing to an investigator and her mom, and they liked it. We also gave a blessing to a member. It was a lot of miracles. Finding has been low here, so yesterday I did a personal fast to find prepared people, and we'll see the miracles of the Lord from it. I know this work is true, and I know revelation is real. I love you all, and please keep us in your prayers!