Elder Yates: General Conference Prep!

Happy Monday everyone!! I realized this week that missionaries are probably the only people who look forward to Monday as much as we do. Haha, I LOVE MONDAYS!!! Why do I love Mondays you ask?

Here is a small list:

- I get to email my friends and family.

- I get to buy more food for the week.

- I get to play sports with my other missionary homies.

- I get to play board games with those same homies.

- I get to wear basketball shorts and a regular t-shirt for at least 4 hours. Trust me, after wearing a white shirt and slacks every other day of the week, you want to rip them off asap to put on comfortable clothes.

This week was SO GOOD! We had an awesome Tuesday and Thursday this week!

Tuesday: We had an exchange with the Vietnamese Bike Elders. Elder Baker came here to me, and Elder Loveridge went to Elder Phan. At around 10:30 in the morning, we were at an apartment complex that has been worked A LOT in the past by other missionaries. But, we were led there by the spirit, so that's where we needed to be! When we were walking, I remember verbally saying to Elder Baker... "Ya know, I don't actually know why we are walking this way, but I know that there is something that needs to happen." About 5 minutes later, we knocked on a door, and a young Father opened the door. He tells us that he has recently moved to this apartment 2 weeks ago from SIENNA PLANTATION! We connected very well from there! ;) We asked if we could come inside and talk about our message with him. He agreed, and soaked up everything we talked about! He then told us that he has been praying to find a church to join!

Thursday: Thursday was Zone Conference for us and the Houston South Zones. It was soooo good!!! President Guthrie is truly called of God, and is here to help me increase in my personal testimony. While we were there, I felt the Spirit so strongly! President Guthrie spoke to all of us about setting goals. In particular, was setting daily goals. This has helped me so much more. As I have written down my daily goals, I have seen the difference in my missionary work and feel much more accomplished.

Now for the good stuff! General Conference is coming up in 6 days! Who is excited!? I AM!!! I am soooooo excited! I haven't been this excited to hear what the Prophet has to say than today! I know that President Russell M. Nelson is the Lord's Prophet on the Earth today.

The question for all of you is... What are you going to do to prepare yourself for Conference??

Some ideas I have for you are as follows. :)

- Listen to Mormon Tabernacle Choir for this whole week to invite the Spirit more into your life.

- Listen to the past General Conference talks in preparation for this weekend.

- Get good sleep the night before the sessions.

- Prepare beforehand your food/treats so you don't have to stress about it during Conference.

- Fast & Pray before for knowledge.

I invite all of you to try at least ONE of these this week! This will help all of you increase in faith, knowledge, and all the other Christlike attributes!

-Elder J.T.Yates