Gators and Investigators

This week was awesome! We went to Brasso's Bend State Park (Alligator Park), invited like a million people to come to church, and sweat more than I thought humanly possible... 

 

I know that Heavenly Father has been helping out because, there is NO way I could survive this heat and humidity without his help!

 

Something that we taught an investigator this week, was about Peter and the boat. His name is Domingo, he had been progressing really well, and then out of no where just texted and dropped us! He said that he was perfectly fine with his Catholic faith... So, we went over and had a rescue lesson. The Lord just schwacked him with the spirit and told him to follow Jesus instead of going back to the "boat" of comfort with his Catholic faith. We know that the Lord was with us, because he agreed to come to church, and he actually showed up!

 

When we went to the Alligator park, we didn't see any for the first mile of our walk, then about halfway through it, there were like 4 ON THE PATHS!! It was so cool!! The members that took us had brought their dog, and I thought that it was going to be eaten like 3 times. 

 

One thing I miss about home is the cold... The heat here is just ALL the time. Even when it rains, it is just hot rain. This little Utah boy was not ready for the Houston weather, that's for sure!

Elder Yates

A bit of a Texas-Monsoon-kind-of-week (apologies from Elder Yates)

As the subject has just stated, this week has been so hectic! On Tuesday, we went swimming on the street. A HUGE rainstorm came through and lasted like literally 10 minutes, but was a monsoon of a rainstorm! The rain knocked down half of the trees on this one street we passed. The craziest thing was that we were biking through the whole thing!! 

A small miracle... We were out biking ALL day on Wednesday, and ran out of water halfway through the day, and almost every other house we knocked at offered us water and to come inside to cool off!

The Lord works in mysterious ways! I just wish he would help with the sweating sometimes! Haha, but I know that the Lord loves us sooo much individually! We are all sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father! 

1) Us having just swam through the air.

Mosiah 28:3 & The Infinite Atonement

"Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble."

Being out here for almost 1 month has been crazy to think! I can't believe how fast it has already gone by! This scripture has really meant something to me this week. Every time that I talk to someone, and they don't want to listen, it makes me want to cry! People don't understand the importance of our message that we share. 

People are so funny here, they automatically believe that they are going to be with their families forever, but they never just sit and think about the wedding vows... "til death do you part". We told that to this guy we met, and he just looked puzzled, and then said that it just meant our physical bodies. Now I really want to cry.

This message is the greatest message on the face of the Earth! This message blesses both your family here, and your posterity to come! We receive soooooo many blessings! All the Lord asks of us in return is to sacrifice something here, give up a habit there, and start living His commandments. 

Our brother and Savior, Jesus Christ, bled from every poor, and died on the cross so that we all could live again! Think about how much He sacrificed, and then think about what we can sacrifice to give even just .000001% back to him. I LOVE THIS GOSPEL, and so should you! Don't be afraid to bear your testimony, don't be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, and don't EVER forget the saving power of Christ's Infinite Atonement.

For everyone reading this; go back through your day, think about how much you have in your life, and just remember that Jesus Christ died so we could LIVE.

This is my testimony of both this work, and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I Know that what we are teaching is the greatest message on the earth. And, I KNOW that without Christ, we wouldn't be able to return to live with Him and with our Father in heaven. Don't ever question the Gospel of Jesus Christ or YOUR faith in Him. Don't let your testimony be shaken. Remain as a Disciple of Christ.

1) Teaching Elder Smedley the Rubik's cube

2 & 3) A very small lizard Elder Yates found

4) A Calzone that I ate, FREAKING HUGE! (those are Elder Yates' words)

Skype-ing is FUN!

There's not really a letter to share this time, because we had the awesome pleasure of Skyping Elder Yates on Mother's Day! It was so good to hear his voice and see his face. We are so grateful to Sister Stone in the ward he's in for hosting the call. 

Elder Yates is doing well. He finally got his bike and has been able to ride it around his area with the other elders. The weather is constantly warm and humid (and much warmer weather is to come). We asked about the ward and how it is. He said that there were about 180 people in Sacrament meeting on Sunday and that they don't have a choir. Hopefully, that will change soon. 

We were only available to speak withhim for about 40 minutes (and that time went by really fast), and we know he's blessed for his obedience. When his sister asked what she can do to get more scriptures read, Elder Yates said "get up earlier and read while you are eating breakfast." He made it sound so easy!

More to come in the next letter!

1) A beautiful sunset
 

 2) Biking with Elders McKell and Sa'au

3) Elder Yates' picture of us

Houston, we have a problem....(or many challenges ahead)

So as a district, we are doing a challenge of sorts. It's called the purification challenge. So, definitely a challenge. Haha, it's where you pick 10 things in your day-to-day life that you could take away to improve your missionary service. We take these things and "fast" from them for 40 days. It has been so hard for me! 2 of the things I chose are to "fast" from super-hero talk, and no singing ANY songs that are not approved by my mission president....

I actually promise to send y'all photos this time! I forgot my card reader last week, and then didn't get another chance to get on a computer.

So far, I have made it a personal goal to re-read the entire Book of Mormon and mark every page with detail and thoughts I have, along with other scriptures I can think of. So far, I have only gotten into 1 Nephi 16, and I have sooooo many markings and references that talk about how it applies to my life, and what I have learned from the MTC and the field.

This week has been a lot better than last week in terms of now I know what I am doing! Not even.... Who am I kidding? There is so much to learn! I love it! Keep sending me emails, I love to hear from all of you! 

Also, sorry I wasn't able to email all of you personally, I was a little stressed on time this week, and was trying to catch up on my journal.

 

1) Elder Johnson, Elder Whetzel, and me at the new missionary meeting last week.

2) A ghetto street called Coen St. in Fresno.

3) Last P-Day at the stake center

4) Me with my first Whataburger!

5) A real Mexican grilling competition we have had for the last two weeks.

TEXAS!!! (and Mighty Prayers)

A short email from Elder Yates (no pictures this week):

 

"Well, I made it to Houston! I can't believe this cold weather here! upper 80's! Freezing! Haha, anyways it has definitely been a challenge here. The schedule has been the hardest thing so far for me. The people here are all super nice! Even when they slam doors! Haha, 50% of the people we knock doors for, are Spanish. Luckily, my companion was Spanish speaking his whole mission until now, so he can speak to them.

 

In the past week of being here, I have learned the true way to have "Mighty Prayers". I have said the longest/hardest/thoughtful prayers ever! I have been relying on the Lord for everything in my life. Both at night and in the morning, has been the best prayers of the day. I have also learned that the less repetitive your prayers are, the more meaningful they are. I still need to work on this aspect.

 

Our ward that we are in is super nice! We have been fed twice already, and it was baked chicken and pizza. Not very Texan, but any of you that know me, understands my love for pizza! The ward split less than a month ago, lost half of their members, and still sits just under 100 members. About half of those are converts within the last 5 years. So it's quite the interesting mix of members.

 

I forgot my card reader. Oops. Sorry for the short email, but just remember to keep having those mighty prayers in your life, and you will be blessed!

 

Oh! and if you want to send packages, send them to the mission office. and letters come to my apartment:

 

6303 Sienna Ranch Rd. Apt. 1120

Missouri City, TX 77459-4884

 

(His companion is Elder Smedley who is leaving to go home in 3 months, which should be a FUN 3 months! Haha!)

He's leavin' on a jet plane...

Some sweet, observant strangers at the airports this morning sent us these separate messages and photos. It made my heart so happy! This was after we had a great conversation with Elder Yates. So grateful for the service he is going to perform and we know that the Houston area will be so blessed to have him. 

That's all for this week - tender mercies all around!!

Being Disciples of Christ

Howdy Ya'll!

First off, thank you so much for all the love and support towards me and my mission! I have definitely felt the prayers in my life! It was definitely hard leaving home. But, I did it! I made it on a mission! It has already been really hard, but through the love of Jesus Christ, and feeling his spirit, we are all able to do hard things.

In the scriptures, Christ said "I never said that this work would be easy, but I did say it'd be worth it." This work that we are all doing by being those missionaries in people's lives, is bringing those people closer to the savior. Missions are the hardest, and the most rewarding thing anyone could ever do!

in Ether 12: 26-27, it talks about how God made us weak to humble us, but through Him, and ONLY through Him can we be made strong! This scripture has put a whole new outlook on why we suffer with trials and hardships, because it MAKES US STRONGER! And who doesn't want to be better than they already are?

SO, if you are reading this thinking, man I need to be reading more scriptures to be closer to God, then you are feeling normal! No one knows everything, everyone is constantly learning, and all of us as children of God are striving to become better! Just remember that through constant Book Of Mormon study, not just reading, but study, Heavenly Father will bless you more than you know!

I know that this e-mail is semi short, but if there is one piece of missionary wisdom that I could share, it is that Christ's infinite Atonement is preformed out of pure love! He loved us all individually so much that He would go into that Garden of Gethsemane and suffer that atonement for EACH of us! He literally died for EACH of us! And, He rose from the tomb so EACH of us could return to live with Him again.

Remember to always show that love to those around you, and to always be that Christ-like example!

Never get angry or upset! And always forgive!

-Elder Yates, over and out

 Provo temple in the Spring

The elders going to the Houston Texas South Mission next week

Laundry day!

The Wait is OVER! (P-day finally came)

Hello everybody from the MTC! Today is my first P-Day, (Thursday) which kinda sucked, because we almost ran out of clean clothes. Haha, I love the MTC so much! All of the lessons that we have been taught so far have been such a good learning experience for me and all of us here! We have been focusing on teaching the gospel in plainness so that when we teach our investigators, we aren't speaking Mormonese the whole time and they can understand complex subjects. Teaching this way has also helped me understand the entirety of the gospel in its most simple form.

I love this gospel and the message that it brings! If you ever have a question about this gospel and what it holds, always turn to the Lord, and to the Book of Mormon in Prayer. The Holy Ghost speaks to us all very differently, but to me he speaks in a very calming and soothing wave of peace.

As a MTC missionary, we have the opportunity to teach investigators, the first one we teach is a literal brick wall. He is a very hard man to get through to, but I think my comp and I are getting him to open up more! Our second investigator is an awesome dude! He isn't a member, but has a girlfriend who is a member, soooooo while in our second lesson, I felt the spirit telling me to ask him to be baptized, SO I DID!!! I felt the spirit so strong in that lesson, and Heavenly Father's love for all of us!

I am very excited for this upcoming Easter Sunday! We have learned so much about the Atonement here! So, we have watched almost every Easter video on gospel library. My favorite is still the video called "Because of Him". Go watch it, think about what the video said, and then try and think how you can better your life because of what he did for us. The MTC President, Pres. Martino, has told us that we are going to have the opportunity to hear one of the 12 apostles one Sunday, so you can only imagine the excitement that all of us are having here!

Anyways, I know that all of you are loved so very much by our Heavenly Father, never forget what He has planned for us, and never forget to pray in times of need.

-Elder Yates

1) Elder Whetzel and I standing in the MTC halls

2) our ver organized and decorated desk

3) Our zone in front of the Provo Temple on Sunday.

      (I would tell y'all their names, but that'd take too long, haha)

Just love, love, love this boy and we are so happy for him!

Who he has become

A slideshow of Jacek's friends (just press play, then touch ea. photo): 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1-1B8ztmxTGmhqDEMUUR8vlzdNiOYwEIv_Uzj4FaA3sA

Last blog post before Jacek enters the MTC. I feel like something needs to said about Jacek's friends. (not all pictured, but definitely remembered)

The many friends along the way have been, and will continue to be, wonderful examples to Jacek. We are so grateful to them all. From the "older sister" that used to "babysit" our kids, to the classmates, SkillsUSA state officers, and ward members, and the cousin who spent some quality time with. Whether being a missionary themselves, or just being someone to look up to personally, they all have contributed to the kind of person Jacek is.

Also, I blinked and this 2 year old grew up. It's true what they say: hug your littles as much as you can. They will make messes and make you mad. They will still tell you they love you on your worst days. Then one day, they are gone, growing up and trying their hardest to show the Pure Love of Christ. I'm really going to miss this boy. I look forward to meeting the man he will become.