Week 12 - Oildale

Hello everyone! This has been a big week! On Monday after emailing we went to play kickball, and it was fun.
On Tuesday we went to Melva, the lady who was getting baptized on Friday, and we went over what she would be doing and how the baptism would go down. Throughout the day we tried to get to other people but they were never home. We went by a recent convert, Victor, and he didn't answer the door. We then went to this lady who lives at the very top of our area, and takes about a half hour to get there, and she works at a gas station and has the greatest faith. She asked for a ton of Spanish and English book of Mormons to give to people who come by the gas station, and she invited one of her co-workers to hear our message. She is now an investigator, and I have high hopes for her.
On Wednesday we went to the Silva family, who got baptized three weeks ago, and it turns out that he was never taught the plan of salvation, so we had to teach him that. When we finished explaining everything, he pointed at our whiteboard and said "I don't like that." We were frightened, and we asked what he didn't like, and he said "death. Why do we have to die?" That was better than what I thought would happen.
On Thursday we moved out the elders of the apartment where there was a shooting and brought the stuff to a new apartment behind ours.
On Friday we had dinner with Monica and her siblings. It was really good. After that we went to Melva's baptism, which was super great and sweet. I gave the closing prayer, and someone told me that my Spanish was fantastic. I was pretty glad to hear that. April, the recent convert who has a child and a frightening boyfriend, came over and gave a talk on the Holy Ghost. It was really cool, and she was super nervous.
On Saturday we had dinner with the Hansen family (the ward mission leader).
On Sunday Melva was confirmed and afterwards she felt so overwhelmed and sick. She was so nervous and had to go home. I hope she's okay, and we're checking by on Wednesday. We tried all of our investigators, and they weren't home. We did get someone who is a Mormon, but her family is not, so we're coming by another day to teach them.
Today for Halloween we are not allowed to do any missionary work, and after six, we are not allowed outside our apartment. We have some talks that we were asked to study, and Elder Bednar is coming on November 12th. I am excited for this.
I am doing pretty well, trying to figure out how things go. There are some missionaries who just don't like me, but neither do a lot of people we see on the streets.
If you could pray for Melva, Juan and Jorge, and the Moncera family, that would be great. The language is going pretty well but I have a hard time actually using it. We have three people in our companionship, and we have two areas to work in. We've been going all over the place, but it's been great.
The weather has been good too, and it has rained about 4 times this week! The work is going well, and we are trying to find people. The ward is also doing really well, and I can see great things to come.
Our investigators have been lazy, so this week we're planning on waking them up. Sleep has been pretty good. We go to sleep between 10:30-11:00 and wake up at 6:30.
If you could keep praying for me, to be able to speak to people's hearts, and for my area, that would be great. Thanks for everything you do for me, and for the hopes you have for us. I am super grateful to be a missionary, and I am learning a lot through my trials. Thanks for the example that you guys set for me, and I love you. 

Oh, also someone stole the GPS out of our car this week.

Week 11 - Oildale

I am serving in the La Puente, Highland Manor, and Meadows wards.

This was a crazy week. I am doing fine altogether. Every once in a while I don't feel so well, but the Lord immediately provides large blessings from it. I would feel bad, and then the Lord gives us an awesome Lesson or other blessing like that.

I have been praying a lot to try to gain knowledge or understanding of how to do what I'm doing here, and how I can keep up with everyone else, and I got it. It's all in being as obedient as you are able.

We are teaching a few people. We are teaching someone who is getting baptized this Friday! She loves the gospel, and she is really old. She doesn't like when when we leave, because she says she can feel the difference! She loves everything we teach, and Elders Rocha and Jacobson taught her originally, and they would give her a chapter to read, and when they come back, she would have it full of notes and markings and questions! They first met her smoking outside her apartment.

Another set is a family that we knocked into. The father's cousin is a member, and is living with them to learn English at college. The wife of the husband has a large speech impediment, and the father is super great, except that he won't keep commitments. We almost got him to commit to baptism, and there was silence for a moment, and the sister just interrupted it with some question about something.

Juan is also an investigator that we have, and he is great during lessons, except that he won't keep commitments.

We also have Jorge, Juan's brother, and also another investigator who lives with his girlfriend and they have a one year old child. The girl does not like him, but he doesn't have a job and cries any time she threatens to kick him out. She became a member in August, and is super awesome. He though, is great whenever she is around, and then doesn't acknowledge us any other time. He's taking lessons to try to win her heart. It's super sad. His name is also Juan.

Then we have a lady who we taught with the sweet old ladies. Those are our investigators now.

By the way, we can order things from amazon here, not that I need anything, but it's cool. Something cool that happened this week was that I anointed someone's head with oil and later I gave a blessing to Wesley. I don't have time, but I love you, thanks for all you do for me, and I am so grateful for you guys!!!

Week 10 - Oildale

I am sleeping well, but my companion is not because it turns out that I developed snoring as loud as dad. He took a video of him trying to wake me up, and he can whistle like you. He did that many times, and nothing happened, and clapped, turned on the lights, and shook me, set alarms, and so forth many times in many days, and I haven't stopped snoring. However, I do wake up at 6:30 to my own alarm without a problem for what ever reason. The weather is very dry, and something interesting to know is that Bakersfield has the worst air in the US, and it smells like gas exhaust a lot. It rained last night, though, for the first time in forever.

We only ever cook spaghetti in our apartment. My companion is awesome, though, and is very chill.

Our ward is so awesome. The members help so much, and they continually have referrals for us. It is great. They really see the importance of missionary work, and the Hispanic families love us.

  
Something challenging that happened this week was walking around a very ghetto downtown area. No kidding, it was not very good, but that area is fun to tract in. 

  
Something successful this week was that we found a few more Hispanic investigators in white areas. It was great. 

  
Something random that happened this week was that our other Spanish companions had a shooting right outside their apartment. Elder Jacobson woke up and saw elder Rocha on the floor, and Rocha said, "Get down, they're shooting". Just after that bullet shot sounds came out, and he jumped off his bed. There was a shooting a small distance from their apartment that night. 

 
I have not yet been chased by a dog, hahaha.

  
I'm good right now, but the weather is cold in the mornings. For exercise, we try to go running. For fun on P-Day we play volleyball. It is tons of fun.

This week on Monday we visited Sonya and her family. They are great, especially the dad, Eddie, except that they're not reading.

On Tuesday we did Windows of heaven, and went to Kimberly, a recent convert who has severe anxiety. We had dinner with Brother Welsh, and we went to an arabic restaurant. It was really good. We then tracked Oildale.

On Wednesday we went to Brian, and he did not sound interested at all anymore, but he is 15. We went tracting, and went to Cris, Kimberley's brother. He has strong faith in God, but thinks he doesn't want to join any church.

On Thursday we went to Juan, but he wasn't home. We then tried Brian, who wasn't home, and we tried Sonya, who wasn't home, and Kimberley, who wasn't home, all this with a member following.

On Friday we had Zone Conference, where Elder Cook (of the 70) came. He was really cool, and he said that we should think of Christ as our senior companion, so we always ask for Him to be there when we do things. We went to Juan, and had dinner with Hermana Gomez. They are awesome, and they brought a nonmember friend with them, who at first was cold toward us, but opened up a ton. We're teaching her again. We taught Sonya and her family, and they are still not reading.

On Saturday we went to a small part of downtown and got a few referrals from people who knew of Hispanics in the area. We got one contacted as an investigator, and the other wasn't answering the door. We tried to find Chris, but he wasn't home, so we tracted.

On Sunday we had dinner with Bishop Butler at 3, and they are a great family. He has a lot of good ideas. We went to many places, and again found no one, and we finished my first 12 weeks study. Today we went to Elder Rocha and Jacobson's apartment, and they told the gunshot story. That was my fantastic week! I am learning here to trust the Lord and that He knows what he's doing. It is hard, and blind, but that is where the miracles are. That's why they are miracles.

 

  

Week 9 - Oildale

This week has been really great. We have a challenge that we have to read the book of Mormon in 64 days, the amount of time it took Joseph Smith to translate it! 

   On Monday we played volleyball. We went to a sweet family who always want to know if they can feed us. They feed us salad and tacos. On Tuesday we went to Jorge's house, and Juan, his brother answered. We taught him the first lesson, and he was interested, asking a ton of questions. When we'd give an answer, he would be so surprised and say "You guys know that? Cool." He didn't know the words atonement or repentance, or the apostles. He was Catholic, but I am still shocked to find how little of the gospel people know. He loves the word repentance though. We went by Brian again, and from his face he was like "Wow, these guys won't leave me alone!" We taught him the importance of reading the book of Mormon, and I told him that this wasn't just something that we say, but that he really needed to read the book, and that that was why we were out there, because we know the blessings. We went to Sonya's home, and she says that she has been keeping up on our commitments. On Wednesday we went referral hunting, and that night we made spaghetti for dinner. It was really good. We went back to that family who always asks if they can feed us. To be specific, they are two old Hispanic ladies who are super kind in a small apartment. They are so happy, and they are trying to get their friend nearby to take our lessons with them. They are awesome. We went to teach Sonya, but she wasn't there. Her husband came, and we taught him! He is accepting the lessons so well! We invited him to read the Book of Mormon, and he said in español, "I will read this." As in, the book! I am excited for him. On Thursday we went back to their home, and Sonya was sleeping, and her husband Felix works about 4 jobs. They are living with their cousin, who is a member, which is cool. We had a senior couple missionaries come and help, but Sonya didn't want to wake up. We brought a white board with the plan of salvation, and asked the member, Berinese, to teach it to the family. She didn't, we found, which was okay because I would like to help teach it. We went to Juan, but he was at a meeting, so we left a card inviting him to church. We had volleyball night, too, which was really fun! On Friday we had exchanges, and I went with Elder Jacobson, who is a legend. He was really cool. We tried a few referrals, who weren't home, and went to Juan's  house, and he cut us off saying he had to go to the mall, and we brought a member missionary by too, so we tracted a referral we found from a kid selling candy bars. We had dinner at Monica's house. That family is awesome. So, Monica and Kimberly are sisters, and Cris is their cousin, and they have another person who helps pay rent. We had pizza. Monica and Kimberly are members, and Cris is the guy who drinks a lot. We went to two less actives, and the first one wasn't home, so we left a card, and the other, we saw at the window so we knocked on the door, and they wouldn't answer, as though they weren't there. On Saturday we tried a few places to find people (converts and referrals). We then stopped by Juan, and the weirdest thing happened. Juan and Jorge are brothers, and their mom, we thought, was single. It was originally the mom, Luz, whom we taught, but she tried to act like it wasn't her. Anyway, we went there and this man came to the door. We asked for Juan and Jorge, and he said "They moved out." I doubt that, so we're going to try again this week. That night, we had dinner at the Worthins, who is such a cool family. Their 12 year-old daughter died while the mom was at girls camp, and one of the sons, now on a mission, was at scout camp. In that same year, their father got brain cancer and had to go through multiple strenuous surgeries. They are still extremely active in the ward, and very happy. We had pizza, and we went to a baptism, taught by Elders Rocha and Jacobson. He had permission to get baptized a week earlier, but he burned his leg in oil. His daughter also got married, and his wife was already a member. The Spirit was so strong there, and so many people came. His name is Rigoberto. On Sunday we tried super hard to do anything, but we went through our whole list of things to do, but none of it worked out. We did, however, go to a member's home, the Burdicks, who are so cool. Their son turned in his mission papers, and they have one autistic son. They are the happiest family though, and the mom is super funny. That was my fantastic week! I am loving this mission and all the support you guys give me. I love you, and I hope you all have a good week. 

If you ask God for miracles, He will give them! I know that. Ask super specific questions. There are missionaries who ask super specific questions, and it happens exactly as planned! 

So, everything is okay with the landlord now, and elder Ball did take care of it. It is not time yet, actually, but when I do, I can do it. Thank you, though! 403 real road ap. 50 Bakersfield, CA is my real address. Again, I love you all, and it looks like a ton is happening at home.

Week 8 - Oildale

Hello friends and family!

   This week has been awesome, and blessed by the Lord. On Tuesday for studies we listened to the conversion of a Catholic priest. It was amazing. We knocked a lot of doors. We tried to go to a Deleon family, a less active we've tried daily to get to, who wasn't there. We then went to Brian, our first investigator, but he wasn't home either. We did knock doors at someone who will become a new investigator later in the week! She is Sonya, and has the thickest Salvadorian accent ever. I couldn't understand her very well. We then went to a referral who is moving out of our area, so we sent the referral to other elders. We went to the Nixon family, and they are cool. They gave a few referrals that live out of our area, though, but they helped.

   On Wednesday we went tracting for a few hours, and  had dinner with Hermano Alvarez. He is awesome, and really nice. He reminds me of dad in his disposition and the way he holds conversations. That night, during prayers, Elder Chamberlain asked God for a miracle, because we need help. We weren't finding anyone. 

   On Thursday, we tried to call the Deleons, and when we did, Elder Chamberlain said "Hello this is Elder Chamberlain and Elder Sant", and they hung up! We went to mcdonald's where there was a guy whose wife's family was Mormon, and before he left, he gave a $100 bill to us. We called him back and said that we literally could not take it, and he didn't care. He just left, and said "do what you will with that". We played our weekly volleyball game that night, and it was great. Wesley, a ward missionary, is awesome, and he said some amazing things that answered my prayers. 

   On Friday we had a district meeting, and we visited the Lindley's who gave us referrals, and then went to a guy named Cris, who's an alcoholic with little time, but loves us. We went to Brian with Wesley, and taught him about the importance of reading the book of Mormon. He hasn't been progressing, and we're going to give him two more lessons without him progressing or we'll drop him. We went to Jorge, another investigator, but he wasn't home. 

   On Saturday we listened to a tape on the atonement, and it was amazing. We went to Sonya, and she had a cousin who was a recent convert, which was perfect because she's living with them. She cried because her own church was so bad, and she cut us off a lot. She is progressing, and she will watch general conference tomorrow. On Saturday we had general conference, and we were asked to prepare questions that you needed answered, and I couldn't think of any. Going in, I received answers to things I really needed, but didn't consider. After conference, we went to Jorge's house, and he wasn't there, but his brother Juan answered. We gave him the restoration lesson, and he asked a ton of questions. He knew so little, not even who Peter, James, and John were, or what repent meant, and he loved that word. He loved that it was to have no more desire to do evil and try not to anymore. I am still surprised at how much of the gospel knowledge we take for granted. We invited him to general conference for Sunday, and he sounded so excited to come, but on Sunday, he didn't come. 

   We're going to find out what happened there, because we were sure he was coming. On Sunday, we had general conference, and we had dinner at a doctor's home. He had four large dogs, and they were super cool. One of them was only 7 months old, and came to my thigh. We had an awesome time with them, and elder Rocha and Jacobson came too. It was fun, and that night we went to the bishop of another ward, who provided a lot of referrals, and that was great! The work has been growing here, and I'm excited to be here helping it do so. I love you guys!

Week 7 - Oildale

Hello everyone! This has been my first week as a missionary here, and a lot has happened. I got off the plane on Wednesday
after getting the chance to call mom and dad, and I saw our mission president, el presidente Layton, and he is an awesome guy.

We went to a church building where we had an orientation, and we had separate appointments with el Presidente. He asked how I was feeling, and to be entirely honest, I was super stressed. I told him that on the way over, I felt super sick to the stomach, and he comforted me really well. I came in knowing he would, but I had no idea how.

We then went to the president's home where we had pulled pork sandwiches. It was really good. I accidentally fell asleep on the president's couch, which wasn't a good idea, but he took a picture of it, and said I needed a bit of sleep. We then, after dinner, went to the mission home where I spent my first night. It was really fun to be there, and we talked and just had fun the first night.


The next day we had another orientation at the church, and we got assigned to our trainers and our areas. I am in North-West Bakersfield, opening an area! The first day, having opened an area, we had no idea what we were doing, and we just planned. The next day we went to an referral investigator, and taught him the first lesson. He speaks English, and his parents speak Spanish, so we can teach him. The Hispanic people are scattered all over the area, and are super hard to find. So, we taught him, named Brian, the first lesson, and gave him some scriptures to read.   

Anyway, we cover a few towns, and our goal is to build a Spanish branch, because right now we don't have one, and Hispanics just use headphones and a translator, so it's super hard for people to feel comfortable there, I feel. We are trying to find the less actives who left after the Spanish branch dissolved.

My companion is Elder Chamberlain, and he has been out for 20 months. He is pretty cool, and has inspiring things to say a lot. We have cars here, and I'm the driver. So, I was a goof and hit the rear-view mirror on a pole, and the mirror went flying. It's a little cracked, but we were able to put it back on and report it.

The language is difficult because the Hispanics in this area are super spread out and we can never find them.

Orchards are everywhere here. The weather is normally hot right now, having just missed the summer, and it is extremely dusty. There is almost no grass except in some yards, and it's a dessert everywhere.

I email from the church building. We live in an apartment that is not in our area, and so we go elsewhere to tract and such. I have one hour to email, and my daily schedule is waking up at 6:30, showering and eating, and then we have an hour of personal study, companionship study, and language study. We then have lunch, and leave at about noon.

Church was great, and to be honest, during sacrament meeting, I felt SO homesick. I just had a giant lump in my throat, and I missed you so much.

On Thursdays we have a volleyball game, and it's a lot of fun. I have honey bunches of oats every morning, and 2 eggs for lunch, and dinner depends every day. I get my groceries from Walmart, and our apartment is really small and simple, but nice and sufficient.

We do laundry at another Elder's apartment. His name is elder Rocha, and from what I've heard, he is an amazing missionary.

I like the small homes, and there are a lot of them. I love how much people have with so little. We've tracted a lot of homes, and not many people have listened, but we've gotten to know the members really well.  When tracting, our mission president says to do the following:

After knocking and saying who you are with a smile, you say "We've been trying to find someone who needs a message about peace, getting closer to your family, or getting closer to God, and we feel guided to be in this area. Do you know anyone who could benefit from this message? Would you benefit from it yourself?

The hardest thing is actually teaching because my companion doesn't prepare lessons, but just goes right into them from the few we've done.

I forgot my camera at the apartment this week so I'm sorry, no pictures.

It sounds like everyone is having a lot of fun. I love you guys!!!!

WEEK 5 - MTC

This was a great week at the MTC! On Wednesday, I got a package from grandma and grandpa Hathaway, and it turned out that Aunt Teilani got me an amazing leather sketchbook, and I love it!

Thursday was great. During our study time, I asked elder west if he wanted to study in the entrance building, where there are nice, comfy sofas. He said "Let's see how cold it is outside." It was burning hot, but we stayed outside. We then saw élderes Hanks, Perkins, Tauai, and Stevens standing near the rocks at the front. I started going there, but Elder west didn't want to from what I could tell (I can understand because we could possibly be distracted fairly easily). But we did, and sat with Elders Hanks and Perkins, Tauai and Stevens were a little further than we were. We were just reading the scriptures, and this Hispanic man passed by, and I waved and said "Hi, how are you?" He then turned and asked us where we were going, and after finding that we were going to speak Spanish in the US, he started talking to us about teaching Spanish people in America. He got such large tears in his eyes and was almost shaking. His tears filled the brims of his eyes, literally, I could see it, and they filled up into little bowls above his puffy cheeks. I'm being so descriptive because of how amazing this experience was. We gave him hugs twice during the conversation, and we no doubt all love him like a brother. Here are the notes I took from what he said. 

" Most of the people you are going to teach will have lost many of their own things: Their culture, their family -for most of them- and their homes. They do not want to be here where they are. They do not want to be where they were. They have learned to read people very quickly, and they cannot or don't want to trust quickly because they get abused by bosses or just other people in general. They need to know that you love them so much. They need to hear the following: "Can we return/ come to your home again soon?" They need to be able to trust us before they'll trust the church. They will see us and think we have it made. Love, and then trust. They will think that we do not care, and are only there to take advantage of them. In order for them to open their hearts, they need to trust you. They feel like they've been promised things that haven't been upheld. They are looking for the truth. They are looking for happiness, and they have lost trust too often. They want to be somewhere other than where they've been and where they are. When you just teach your lessons, and they don't feel that you really care, will they want you to return? That sounds more like you want something from them. 

"I don't know anything personally about the Lord, and that shows me that it was never about Him. They need to know it's not about you."

They need to know why you're serving. What you have struggled with is so easy for them, but you've both suffered. You have to be their friend. Are they going to want to hear you again when you've made no friendship at all? Nope"

Those are my notes from that guy, brother Molena. 

That night we taught Esteban. What we've started doing is, when we hug at the end of class with hermano Kinghorn or Powell, we pat their back twice, their head once, and their back once more. 

We taught Patricia Moura again, and while studying outside, I thought the following "She needs to have the desire to have a relationship with God if she wants to learn anything from this gospel, and if your only desire in these lessons is to understand your friends, you won't understand them because their relationship is real with Him." I asked Elder West what he thought, and he said "I think we need to open her heart with scriptures first!" We shared Ether 12:6 with her, and she said it was very hard to believe in things unseen. She is very kind, but I thought she didn't really desire to know if God exists, or that He exists, but that He doesn't. I felt like that was what she looked for. We taught a little about the restoration, and we were running out of time. She asked what happened to those who died during the apostasy, and we explained that God would give an equal chance for everyone to accept it. She said, as we left "I feel something every time you say "I testify" or "I know". On Friday, we taught Patricia Moura again, and we didn't finish the restoration- again. I've noticed something a little sad, that she has worn the same clothes every day. She's from Uruguay, and we ended by giving her a Book of Mormon, and asked her to read Alma 32. It's that chapter that compares faith to a seed. 

On Saturday, I learned the following quote "If we knew who we truly were, we would have no desire to sin!" 

For our dorm room, we have a password to get in (Mis ojos ya perceben la gran gloria del Señor) and someone knocked on our door. Elder Tauai ran to it, and cracked it slightly ajar, said "Que es el passwor- Hey, President!" It was our branch president, hahahaha. Face palm. Also, on Saturday I got my flight plans too. 

On Sunday, Elder M. Russel Ballard spoke! It was awesome. He mentioned Louisiana, and he loves the people there. He has 45 grandchildren and 75 great grandchildren! He said "I wish I knew when I was your age what I know now. I'd be dynamite! He said "The Lord Jesus Christ comes to know you as you serve." That was the second apostle in a row! 

Last week D. Todd Christofferson taught on Tuesday. We studied for most of Monday, and on Tuesday we taught Patricia Moura again, and she did read chapter 32 of Alma! She wanted to know how it was that in order to have hope in life, faith was necessary. I told her that if you have faith in something, you'll have hope that it'll happen. I told her that Heavenly Father has faith and hope that she'll see Him again, and live with Him, just as I have the same hope for when I come back from my mission, that I'll see my family again. She explained that she missed her father, and she started crying. The Spirit was in the room! We took a skype lesson with a member from Argentina and she said we answered her prayers and started crying, and grabbed a roll of toilet paper as tissue. I'm sure miracles happen as a missionary! That was my miraculous week! 

Oh, also my flight plans say that I'm flying to Arizona first, and then a 3 hour delay at the airport, and then off to Bakersfield. I guess we'll have a lot of time to talk to people, then. 

I love all of you, and thank you all for your love and support!

Love,

Elder Daniel J. Sant

Week 4 - MTC

Hola, mi familia y mis amigos amados!

This was a great week, an extremely difficult week, but great in all. On Wednesday, after having finished my hour of email time, my teacher, whom I love, hermano Powell, opened his heart to us. He explained that his whole life, his family was just a checklist family. They did everything just to do it because they'd be looked down upon otherwise. Then, just after his mission, his parents got divorced. He then said that his father explained, after telling their children of the horrid news, that if he followed this PRO symbol (meaning Pray, Read, Obey), their marriage would have been saved. He then said that he would do his best not to be a checklist family. He said that on his mission, he had a sheet of paper where, after finishing a day, he'd mark everything he followed from the white handbook. That's how it was for him. What he taught was very eyeopening. On Thursday our class gave each other goof names. Mine is Dilbert, my companion's is Reginald. My favorite is Kurble, Elder Wallace. At night, our teacher came and said that we'd be teaching someone immediately and to go follow him. We were terrified. But then it turned out that we were just teaching each other(our teacher got us). In the lessons, we could only ask questions, and only take turns with each other. It was fun. On Friday we got our information for our first real investigator, and her name is Patricia Moura. Everything about her was very unclear. She is an Odontologa, but I'm not sure what that is. I'll explain the lesson in a moment. We found out that if you put your scripture marking pen (the one you can pull the lead out super far with) really close to the camera lens with the flash on, and connect it with someone's hand, it becomes a lightsaber. We took a lot of lightsaber battle photos with it! We taught Diego, and took longer than we meant. I was in Alma 32 on that day. On Saturday we learned from Hermano Kinghorn, and he taught about keeping your lesson focused on the commitment. We asked him to be baptized today and he said yes(again, this is just a practice guy). He also said that Sunday is not a time to hang out with members, which is what I've always imagined, to be honest, because Sundays are usually when families are together. Hermana Ellison taught us, and we've started memorizing D&C 4. I have the first 2 verses in Español, and thank you mom and dad for helping me get it in English. We had a great conversation together about just spiritual things. It was cool. On Sunday Elder West and I fasted for Hermana Moura, our real investigator, for fast Sunday. We had a devotional where brother Chad Lewis came and taught. He played in the NFL. He is such an adult Jeaux! When he and his wife went on a date, he was on BYU's team but barely played. One of the first things he said to her was "I had a dream that I jumped over a guy in a football game. I want to do that so bad." While they went shopping he leaped over her shopping cart and said "YES! I've almost got it!" without any warning at all. He then jumped over her car perfectly and had the same reaction. He said some great things. "You are blessed with His Spirit which has no fear," and "The veil is so thin. I can hear His voice". He was an awesome guy. "This is the law of life: As you serve, you will love." He also said "Do we have faith in the one we're teaching about? "Don't let anything discourage you from thinking about and working for and loving those you see." "My superbowl is my family. Superbowls last three hours. Families last forever." After he spoke, we watched "Joseph Smith:The Prophet of the Restoration." It was really good. Here are some awesome quotes from that. "The trials I had passed through seemed but a small thing; we learned first to trust in God." It was great. On Monday we taught Diego about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. On Tuesday we taught Hma Moura, the real investigator. She said she didn't believe in God, and I tried to convince her to pray. She said she only took these lessons to make friends here. I'm trying my best with her though. She kept saying that Elder West and I were young and basically that believing in God was childlike and that I didn't know reality. That night Elder D. Todd Christofferson came and taught us. It was awesome. Some of the significant things he said were " Repentance is the testimony of Jesus Christ. When you teach repentance, you are testifying of Christ. The original Greek word for repentance is "A change of heart or a fresh view, or turning our hearts to God. It is greater to be trusted than loved. Can we be trusted? The Lord can look at you at any time and say "I can trust him and can send Him anywhere: That should be our goal. He then said something that really fortifies my faith from what Patricia Moura said about me being too young and not knowing reality. He said "It doesn't matter how young or inexperienced you are. It is still just as true." This has been a great week, and it sounds like everything is awesome at home. I love all of you guys, and I hope the best. Of all that you've read, remember that the Lord has a plan for all of us.

I can't work my SD card so these are random copies from other missionaries.

Love, Elder Daniel Jacob Sant
Go and Do

 

 

Week 3 - MTC

Hola, mis familias! This has been a fantastic week. I have learned and grown a lot. On Thursday last week, we taught our investigator Esteban before entering, we said a prayer and I explained that we tried our best to prepare, and needed Him to cover what we miss. We went in, and we asked how he was doing, and he said "more or less". My companion elder West said "More or less? Why?"  Elder West then got up and started drawing the tree of life on the chalkboard.  I explained it to Esteban for him, and explained that when Lehi partook of the tree of life, he wanted his family to do the same, and connected it with him and his daughter. If he came closer and found the Love of God, he could help his daughter find it as well. Inspiration, I say. He wants us to teach his daughter, and I so wish that this were a real investigator ('tis but my teacher acting as one), because that would be stupendous. On Friday we taught Diego (our other teacher, Hermano Kinghorn) and he kept going to his priest for answers about our church, then coming to us to clarify. At one point Diego said "I don't need any more of the word of God or continuing revelation. He said "I have Jesus, the bible, and baptism. I don't need anything more than that. I asked him if he truly loved God. He said yes. I then said in essence, "Then why settle for the basics? The full truth is here as it was when Jesus was on the earth. On Saturday we thought it would be a good idea to use pamphlets to explain the restoration of the gospel, and it was much more animated than like a conversation. I got a package from my family, and thank you guys so much for that. I love anything I get in the mail. I shared with everyone, and we still have stuff left. On Sunday we had a great sacrament meeting. On Monday we practiced a lot, and for lessons, we're always supposed to leave with a challenge to the investigator, and use future tense Español, such as "Leerá...(will you read)" or "Orará...(will you pray)", and we've been doing that for a while. Hermano Powell, our teacher who plays Esteban, was talking to us and Elder Tuaui asked if he had seen Nacho Libre, and Hermano Powell admitted that he hadn't for 4 years, and élder tuaui was like "Mirará Nacho Libre está noche? (Will you watch nacho libre tonight?)" It was pretty funny. On Tuesday, after the devotional at night, we had a discussion about the gospel, and it was really good. Elder Jarvis said that anytime he bore his testimony of the Savior, he cried. And Elder Hadley explained that his brother died while on a mission, and that his other brother didn't go and he had to serve for him. It was sad, but very inspiring. Also on Tuesday we Alma 29:9 and 13 are my favorite scriptures now. We gave some members some real lessons, and one girl was from Guatemala, the other guy was old and talked really old and cool. I think Elder West and I did well. Today was good. I came to the temple today, as we do on every P-day, and I was really down, and I was like "Okay, temple, it's time to heal me." And towards the end I felt far better. I really am glad that Heavenly Father loves me so much. I am really excited to go out and serve real people and change there lives. Three weeks more! I'm super glad I'm a missionary now. At the Sunday night devotional the speaker, Richard J. Maynes, explained that you need to be "sweetly bold". Also, it's comforting to know that Heavenly Father, even now, is preparing people for when I teach them. In Joseph Smith's journal, he wrote, after misspelling words and starting over a lot, "Oh may God grant that I may be directed in all my thoughts oh bless my servant Amen". I wrote that at the front of my journal. Also, I learned that we don't have the authority to baptize people who are not  converts. Elder Holland said something I think is hilarious. He said 'If you leave your mission early unworthily you better not find me in a dark alleyway"! Hahaha. Also I learned that I need to be bold. If I ask my investigator to pray, and they say "no, how about you do it", and they never pray, then I'll look them in the eye and say "Diego, you need to pray. I'm only here to help you, and I will testify that this message is for you, because you're a child of God. Talk to Him." I'm so glad to serve a mission, and I hope to make the grandest effect I can, not wasting a moment! I love you all!

Week 2 - Provo MTC

HOLA! Como están? I cannot believe what has been going on since I left! I am so glad that you guys have had so many miracles in the Lord. This has been a great week. So, first, from last week, I was writing in my email as I watched my laundry get done in the same room, and I saw someone take their white clothes from a dryer right next to mine, so I checked to see if he was taking my stuff on accident. He wasn't and I was a little embarrassed, so I sat back down and kept typing. Another guy came and got his whites, and I was like "That must be my clothes", but I ignored it that time and kept typing. Then, when I was finished typing, I went to my dryer and couldn't find my clothes. All of my garments and white shirts were gone.  I checked all of the dryers- and washers in case- and couldn't find my whites. I had to go to class, and the next day I went back to the laundry area again. There was a sign that said that if you lost something, go to this room on this floor of this building. I did so, and no one was in there. I came back later and found a lady who refused to look at me, and just looked at the computer the whole time. She said that the sign may say that, but it wasn't actually correct??? She then asked if I had checked the lost and found, and I already did, and she said to go check every dryer. I realized she didn't really want to help, so I left and wore the same garments for 6 days, and I had two pairs of shirts. I ordered more garments and got five more, haha. Then, last night, I found that I had 4 pairs of shirts and 3 garment pairs in my suitcase the whole time! I fear I am as the Jaredites who were cursed to lose everything they lost. So, this was a good week. On that day I was so down on myself because I lost my garments, but that day was good nonetheless.

  
That Thursday we taught Lorenzo for the last time, and we taught persevering to the end, and that baptism isn't the destination, but the path to get on. On Friday I memorized the first vision in Español, along with James 1:5.  We got another teacher that night, named Brother Peery, who did awesome. He just brought the spirit. By the way, my district composes of Elders Hanks, Perkins, Tuau, West (my companion), Stevens, Bateman, and Wallace. They are awesome!  Elder Tuau is an enormous football player, but really the humblest person. And Elder Hanks brings such profound insight to everything he says. 

  
On Saturday, our district was talking, and someone said "When we get to the judgement, God will beg for us to stay." Apparently, and this is interesting, but when the Savior suffered the Atonement, God ran to the edge of Heaven. Even when He was dying on the cross, He asked that His mother be taken care of and promised the thieves next to Him paradise, and asked that the guards killing Him be forgiven. It was always about someone else in every instance. I need to do my best to make it about the investigator every time. Only then will I be successful at all. On Sunday we talked with the district president's wife, who was so kind. She brought to mind how we were prepared before birth to be missionaries, and it made me think about all the ninja missionary stories mom always gave me when I was little. I'm now that ninja missionary. She quoted Moses 7:62, where the "righteous" means the missionaries, and the truth means the Book of Mormon. She wants us to memorize D&C 121:34-46. That night we four roommates (Elders Tuau, Stevens, West, and I) locked ourselves out of our dorm. We had to get the security down with their keys to open it.

On Monday we got a lot done and felt the spirit. I learned to spend time with those who seek the truth. I really don't think I'm a very good missionary, but I know that the Lord will somehow make a mighty tool of me. I love Ammon, when he explained how great a missionary he was, and when chastised for it, he explained it was only of God's power. Elder Hanks said the following. "Testimonies are better than explanations", "Seeking the gift of tongues is seeking the Spirit, not your own wisdom (2 Nephi 9:28-29).  "Language is not a part of our purpose, but we are called to serve in that language to people who speak it." There was a scripture scratched into one of the bathroom stalls, Jeremiah 4:19-21, and at first I thought "Oh someone has a favorite scripture", but read it and take what you will.... or don't. It's potty humor.

 
On Tuesday I memorized 1 Nephi 3:7. We got a lot done and learned a lot. We taught another "investigator" (Hermano Kinghorn), and didn't do as well. We taught real members in Spanish, and they were patient with my imperfections. During exercise time, I've been getting pretty good at 4-square. I love being here on my mission, and I am working hard to be a good missionary.I really really just want to bring the joy that I know exists. Anyway, that was my fantastic and crazy and great week! I love you, family.  I love you guys.