Father and son reunite

This week was awesome! First off, last Monday... I bought a flip flappin' Cowboy Hat!! It was totally worth it. That was basically all we did on P-day last week. We were able to have 2 exchanges last week! One with the APs and one with the Memorial Park 1st Elders. On Tuesday, I went up into the AP areas, and we were able to speak a little Chinese, Burmese, Spanish, and Quiche. The gift of tongues!! Throughout the week, we saw many mini miracles! One of my favorites was when we had Rob's baptism. During the baptism our recent convert, Tommy Jammer, who was just baptized last week, gave one of the best talks on baptism that I have ever heard!

On Friday, we got a call from my trainer, Elder Smedley! He was in town and wanted to go out to lunch with me! So, we went to Ray's BBQ. I freaking love that place! It was so good being able to see him after 9 months! There were many inside jokes that were shared. Most of them, I couldn't remember until I was sitting right next to him. Man, it was so good!

Now, concerning the Prodigal Son... I absolutely love this story! This is such a great story and parable of our lives. I have spoken many times in the past about becoming better to return to live with God. I love this story! How often do we feel like we aren't good enough to return to God? For me, I feel this a lot. Especially now as a missionary. I always feel like I am not measuring up to my potential, and in some cases this is true. But, I know that I will never be able to make it. Not as just myself. I need Christ and His Atonement. Without it, I can't do anything.

In the last part of the story, that Prodigal Son realizes where he is living, what he has done with his life, and where he could be. So, he just settles with being a servant for his father. When he returns, his fathers sees him from a far way off, and runs to him. Kissing him on his cheek, and giving him sandals, the best rings, and a robe made of the finest material. Quoting 3 Nephi 14:11... " If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?"

Like is says, if we being the evil humans that we are, know how to give those good gifts. How much more will our Heavenly Father, who is perfect, give those perfect gifts. I can't wait to return to my Heavenly Father and receive those things. Just as the Prodigal Son, we can ALL return to live with our Father! I love this Gospel and the blessings that come from it! I am so grateful for the wonderful love that is shown to us every day! 

-Elder J.T.Yates

Me with my Cowboy Hat

 Elder Smedley with the crew 

The waterfall structure in the Galaria

Our first tri-panionship picture! (With my new haircut that I did this morning)

The Master Plan

Well howdy y'all! This week was AMAZING!!! Last Monday, as y'all know, we went to the Houston Zoo. That was super cool to see the animals in all their varieties, shapes, sizes, and colors. Honestly, it's a lot cooler than the Zoo in Utah... 

On Wednesday, we had our interviews with President Hall. We as well had our District Council at the Beechnut Building instead of the Bering, like we normally have. Interviews went great! There will always be things I need to improve on in my missionary work, and I am so grateful for it. Especially for President Hall and his kindly correction. That is definitely something I am really trying to work on as a leader. 

Thursday was basically P-day pt. 2. We went with the YSA Elders to Herman Park to help move some trees around. They were having a fundraiser, and needed some more oomph to it. And let me tell you, we sure have it to them. Haha, after we helped out, we got a tour of the Japanese Gardens that were right next to it. That was super cool! I highly reccomend if you haven't been. 

Friday was another awesome day of service at the Beacon. We were the only 2 Elders yet again. But, it was so much fun! We literally got to chop up meat for a solid 2.5 hours. I love it now! We then biked to our boy Rob who will be getting baptized soon! He is so ready to get dunked, it's ridiculous!

As you all know, Saturday we had Tommy's baptism!! Man, that was such a spiritual experience! When Tommy came out of the water, his face was priceless! He was grinning ear to ear. When we were talking with him after the matter, he said "I wouldn't miss the confirmation for the world. I would break down door to get there!" That was really cool to hear come out of the mouth of an investigator. 

Yesterday, or Sunday was also a really spiritual experience. We confirmed him a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. When he sat back down with Elder Gilleland, he asked "...so when can we go to the temple?" Like... WHAT?!? AWESOME SAUCE!!! Now we are planning on working with him to get some family names to take.

Now that I have blown the length of this email up, let's keep going shall we? :)

I want to talk to all those who have returned from their missions, wishes they would've gone on missions, or are preparing to serve. I will help you increase your missionary efforts where you are today. Work, school, etc.

Some might of heard of a Family Mission Plan, and some might not. But, a FMP(for short) is our way we can contribute to the full time missionaries as well to the Lord. It is really simple and can even be performed with just one person. Here are the steps to creating a FMP.

Step 1: Recognize the blessings! Here are some of the blessings...

1. Stronger families centered more firmly on Christ (greater peace in the home).

2. An increase of joy as we invite others and lead by example.

3. A greater understanding of Christ, and His mission for us.

4. In the words of President Thomas S. Monson: "When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates."

Step 2: Realize that the "Three-Fold Mission of the Church" is...

1. Preach the Gospel (our future families)

2. Perfect the Saints (our current fanilies)

3. Redeem the Dead (our former families)

What a blessing it is to know how simple missionary work really is! As a fulltime and set apart missionary, I only need to worry about "Preaching the Gospel", and for the rest of you... There lies a little more weight. But, have no fear!!

Step 3: Pray and seek for inspiration.

- Ask the Lord specifically for guidance in helping your family to bring others unto Christ (especially ourselves)

Step 4: Review progress.

- Where are we in our discipleship? If we haven't made goals, what progress have we made? Why have we? Or why haven't we? What changes must we make to accomplish these goals?

Step 5: Set goals.

- Make year goals, monthly, weekly, and daily goals to accomplish the Lord's purpose for you and your families.

- Set goals that make you stretch, but also set goals that are within your power to accomplish, such as inviting several friends to receive the Gospel as opposed to baptizing three friends. And have family scripture study and prayer as opposed to "making sure all of my children serve missions". We must always respect the agency of others. 

Step 6: Make plans.

- Make plans to accomplish these goals; If we've set a goal to share online messages, how, what, when? Etc...

Step 7: Pray again.

- Seek confirmation from the Lord, and ask Him for His blessing and aid in accomplishing the righteous goals you have set. :) 3 Nephi 27:28

Step 8: Go out and do it!!

I am excited to see how this is applied to our homes and families. I promise in the name of Jesus Christ that as you apply this planning to your daily, weekly, monthly, or even yearly life, that you will come closer to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I love all of you and hope to hear feedback on how this went for you. :)

-Elder J.T.Yates

 The Memorial District posted up after District Council.

 The Japanese Garden in Herman Park ↕

 Elder Gilleland and I in front of one of the coolest murals in Houston

Just your average homie in Downton Houston

Captain Panda-Head Man!!

"Dwight" Transmission on "Dumble" Street!

  My favorite picture I have taken my entire mission!

 The view from one of our investigators apartments

The Busy Life Continues......

This week was pretty solid. I had a ton of fun this week! The highlight would be going to the zoo. Which is where I am writing this from. If any of you have been to a zoo, then you know how much time it takes...

Something I love from what President Nelson challenged us to do was to have a firm testimony of and a relationship with the Holy Ghost. I know how important that can truly be, and what can and does happen if you stray away from it.

In 2 Nephi 32:3 it says... "Angel's speak by the power of the Holy Ghost..." I love this! As a little kid I had always wondered what it would be like to hear an angel speak. After I had truly understood what this verse meant, I now know that I have had angels speaking to me my whole life! 

I can testify that as we seek to have to holy Ghost with us always, that angels WILL speak to us! I love you all!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Flamingos!!!

The Memorial District crew at the Twiga Cafe

Those Longhorn tho

Hump Day!

This past week... was an experience for sure. We had the blessed opportunity to serve so many people! We were able to go downtown and help at a homeless shelter. We cut some meat for about 2 hours. So you could say that I am a professional butcher now... ;) We were also able to go the Herman Park and help out at their gardens section. I have loved being able to learn how to garden! Haha

This last week, we found 8 new investigators! We found 8 more souls to help bring unto Christ! Elder Gilleland and I worked our hardest this week, and there were definitely fruits to show our effort. I am so glad and happy that I am able to be here serving the people of Houston!

My life has became so much better and closer to my Lord and Savior through this last year of service towards the people. I am a little sad looking at this past year and realizing what I could've done better. BUT, I know what I can do to improve, so that's what I'll do!

This week I'm not going to include the experiences for a couple reasons.

1) I have only heard from 4 people concerning them.

&

2) ‎I don't know how many experiences I have this week that are worth writing down... lol

I am so glad to have received some responses from my last weeks challenge, I continue challenging you to study out your favorite talks from General Conference and highlighting them. 

I love you all!!

-Elder J.T.Yates

A beautiful sunset

An artistic photo

Elder Gilleland in the city!

A FULL container of weed!

Glory!

Well a fine howdy do to all of y'all!! Wasn't General Conference just amazing?? I am still basking in the heavenly glory that was given to us! I am so grateful for the messages that were provided for each of us. I hope and pray that every one of you received guidance and direction for your lives. 

This week was yet another experience of a lifetime! The Mac G area does not disappoint. Heavenly Father knew that I needed to be here, and that I would be able to benefit from these people. Now that I have spent 2 weeks in the area, it is weird to now see a white person working anywhere. Haha

Anyways... This week was a little rough. My physical muscles have finally caught up to my spiritual muscles. My legs are feeling like jello. Oh well... The members in this ward are amazing! 80% of the ward are young college students. The chapel is right across the street from the U of H. It is really fun being able to walk/bike around the ghetto streets of H-town! It has humbled me and helped me understand the people more.

Now for more of the experiences! I think I will do something like this for the remainder of my mission, that way you can get a feel for how my week is going.

Amazing experiences...

• We went to Mid-town to this bike shop that is incredible! It's called Daniel Boone's Cycles. I love it!
• I found the "Jack Yates High School". So close to my name, but just barely missed the mark on being as cool... Haha
• We had some of our investigators this week! We have been helping them get closer to baptism.
• After church, the senior missionary couple in our ward, the Stakers, asked if we had a dinner appointment, when we said no, they invited us over and we had delicious Salmon, Jello w/ fruit, and to top it off, a peach drink!
• We went to the 50th anniversary of MLK's death. We literally signed up for civil unrest. Like, there were probably 200 people that were there! Half were screaming! Hahaha

Wanky experiences...

• We went into a lesson with an investigator named Clarence. First off, let me say... If you have ever watched a scary movie that was based in a house. Then you now know what his house looks like. When we walked in, he told us that his family had gone to the store, and we were the only people there. But, when we were talking with him about baptism, he didn't understand that his baptism was invalid because the Priesthood wasn't involved. But, when I was speaking about Christ and how important His baptism was for us, literally the climax of the lesson, in the other room around the corner, there was something that fell... Freaking scary!
• The next day after that lesson, we were walking back from the U of H, and a former investigator called after us and caught up to us as we were walking back to the church. He was insane. He wouldn't let us talk and kept talking over us. He was talking about how God's church shouldn't be locked. (Because he wanted to go inside and sleep there during the week) He also was screaming "GLORY!!!" At random intervals during our one sided conversation. He got within 2 feet of Elder Gilleland and me. Both of us were about to drop him, it's a good thing we didn't though.

That's a wrap on my week and the experiences that we have had. I love being in the Lord's vineyard and helping His children come closer to Him and His Son. I want all of you to ponder upon one talk that touched your heart the most. Re-read it, and then do something that most of you probably aren't used to doing this.. But, print that talk, and then mark it up! Underline, highlight, etc... Make it look colorful and amazing!

I then ask you to send me a picture of your most marked up page! I love you all! I can't wait to see how creative y'all are with your marking! 

-Elder J.T.Yates

MLK's 50th anniversary of his death. This guy was a civil unrest expert.

A super cool looking church building in Mid-town

 The Jack yates High School! Hahaha

 

 I had a photoshoot with my bike and made it look all decked out!

 

 

Cracks in our life that can be mended

Man! This week was amazing!! I never thought how much I would actually love a biking area. The Lord really has blessed me with the ability to bike all day every day and not get too sore. We had some pretty amazing experiences as well as some wanky ones! We passed by the smell of weed so many times! It truly is the smell of bad decisions.

Amazing experiences...

• We were biking along, and about 15 feet before our investigator's home, this 17 year-old kid named Chris stopped us and asked for a pamphlet or a book. We talked to him about the Plan of Salvation. We also found out that he has a child on the way and is still in 8th grade. We can't wait to continue teaching him the Gospel!
• The Stakers, the senior missionary couple in the area, took us to District Council on Wednesday. Afterwards, I found out that they take the whole District out to MOD Pizza EVERY STINKIN' WEEK!! MOD Pizza is like Subway, but the Pizza version. It's amazing
• Elder Gilliland had the most graceful crash I have ever witnessed. We were riding along the sidewalk, when we were coming up on a garbage can. he thought he could squeeze past, but he was sorely mistaken. He literally hit just the edge of it with his handlebar, and then fell straight onto the ground, didn't try to resist the fall, just fell right there.
• One of our investigators, Terry,  came to General Conference for the Priesthood Session. Halfway through, both Elder Gilleland and I thought "What a session to come to". But, afterwards he came up to us and told us that he wants to become an Elder! What a miracle!

Wanky experiences...

• While speaking with an investigator who had one eye (awesome), we heard car tires squeal and then looked just in time to see a car ram into a different parked car. They then backed up and drove off. We later came to find out that they were all juiced up on some drugs and alcohol.
• We were biking in the "sketchiest part of our area" and were trying to find a new investigator, when we also looked over just in time to watch a drug deal go down. The dude just walked up to the car, dropped a wad of cash in the passenger seat, and then took this small bag from the driver and the car drove off.

Well, that's a rap for your weekly update on experiences! Now time for the spiritual stuff! I absolutely loved General Conference! The Lord truly has a chosen Prophet on the Earth today! President Russell M. Nelson is God's chosen mouthpiece. Through him, we learned the changes of how quorums are to be organized, how we will not be just "Home or Visiting Teaching" but ministering to those who we share Heavenly Parents with, and we have 7 new temples on the way! We truly do "Thank Thee O God For A Prophet". 

During Conference, there were many things that spoke to my heart and mind as something that I can either do to change or to improve upon. But, the talk which left the greatest impression was by Elder Claudio D. Zivic. He spoke on having a firm testimony in the Gospel and how we cannot spiritually survive without it. In particular he said, "Even the strongest can fall if they do not 'Endure to the End'". As well, he told us to say "I will not fall away!" So many times I have had a "crack" in my testimony, and too many times I have let it grow bigger. I love our Lord, Savior, and Redeemer, Jesus the Christ. 

Success in the Lord's way has a price. The only way to achieve that success is to pay that price. Now for your invitation, does your testimony have any "cracks"? How can you fix that? Will you pray about and find those cracks? Then, will you pray about how to fix them? I promise you in the name of Jesus Christ that when you do this, your testimony will strengthen and will grow stronger. You will develop the love and faith needed to go through these perilous times that we live in.

I love all of you!!

-Elder J.T.Yates

 Elder Gilleland and I in our first companionship picture.

Elder Gilleland and I biking hard on our sauce machines.

A small piece of weed that we found on the porch of an investigator.

 My favorite street name... Swank.

The beautiful downtown of H-Town! It reminds me of NYC, I LOVE IT!

Transfers... The busy life

Well folks! The eagle has left NASA. It is a sad day to leave the Seabrook area, but I am excited to see new things and talk to new people! My new area is the MacGregor Ward. In this new area, we have downtown Houston, 3rd Ward, and Sunnyside. For you Houstonians out there, you will know what that entails. For the general population, I am in the Ghetto.

This week I don't have much time to email. Like, at all, again... But, I want everyone to know that I am doing great! The work must go on! If you want to send packages and/or letters, send them to my new address. It's... 

Elder Jacek Travis Yates

3560 Dixie Dr. Apt. 820

Houston, TX 77021

I challenge all of you to read the Book of Mormon everyday! I challenge you to pray about what questions you want or need answered, and then write them down for this upcoming General Conference.

I am so excited to hear from living day Prophets and Apostles! I know this work and Gospel to be true! I have a firm testimony in our Savior Jesus Christ, and that He lives! I love all of you!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Super schweeet sunset pic.

 Elder Whetzel and I. Our last picture together for quiet some time.

 

 Before and after of my study table.

 Exchange pic with Elder Akin!

The Second Great Commandment...

Hello friends and family!!

This week was a doozy! As cousin Eddy would say. We went out serving like it was nobody's business. We probably have about 15 hours of service this week. (We are actually only allowed 10)... But! We loved every second of it! My favorite service that we do is at the local garden. It is at an Episcopal church just down the road from us. We go every Friday from around 9-11. Man, I love it! I have learned so much about gardening and about the Episcopalian ways there! (Don't worry, I won't convert)

But, I wanted to talk about a scripture a lot of you are familiar with. Mosiah 2:17. "... when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God." How great is that?

Last night,  I was thinking about this, and asked myself... "How often have I realized that I serve God when I serve others?" The answer is simple. Not as much as I should be. 

In the New testament, we read over and over Christ telling His followers, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Simple. Bold. Poetic.

Nothing more said, He teaches us time and time again that we need to follow His teachings and example by obeying God's word. Serving others being the second great commandment. 

I love how simple Christ teaches us. He tells us how it is. He doesn't beat around the bush, afraid that someone might get offended, He just tells us. Now it's my turn...

Friends and Family, I challenge each of you reading this to (1) Look at your week(s). (2) Ask yourself where COULD I have served? And where WILL I serve next week? And, (3) Act on those thoughts in your mind, and those feelings to your heart. 

I promise all of you in the name of Jesus Christ, that as you serve others around you, you will gain a stronger testimony of the love of Christ and feel His light building in your life. I promise you as an ordained and set apart representative of Jesus Christ, that your life will improve as you serve your fellow beings. 

I love all of you! Please continue praying for others. Serving others. And, doing your best to be disciples of Him who sent you.

-Elder J.T.Yates

 

Elder Whetzel and I with "Tater Man Bill" from the Methodist Church's Food-Truck service.

I saw Elder Smith again!! (We were grabbing each others butts in this photo, hence the funny face)

 Elder Robinson and I being Cowboys

One of those classic Tag Pics

 Shawn, one of the recent concerts before I got here, just got married on Friday!! Law of Chastity is now kot as much of a concern. Haha

NASA 2.0

Last week, I talked about faith and hope. This week, as I went about doing everything I could to become more Christlike. I preformed a lot of service, was kind to people I saw around the streets, and would study harder than ever!

We went to NASA again today, and as we were there, I realized how much is put into making NASA work. How many people, how much money, and how much preparation.

In our lives, there are a million things that go right and wrong almost everyday. But, how many people do we need to make it better? How much money? And, how much preparation does it take to survive those instances?

All we need is God, and ourselves. The only money we need to worry about is paying tithing. And, the preparation that we need to worry about is sacrament meeting every Sunday. 

As I have gone through this last week, I have been trying to apply more things to Gospel Principles.

This email is kind of everywhere, but I know that as we go to church EVERY Sunday and partake of the sacrament, we can and will prepare ourselves for our week and for anything that may come our way. 

Challenge for all of you this week!!! Read 3 Nephi 11, and then think to yourself what that chapter means to you. Then, I challenge and invite all of you to go and share your thoughts with someone. Member, or non-member.

Love all of you!!

- Elder J.T.Yates

Exercise after another sunrise run!

The sunrise!

The district at NASA!

Whetzel and I at the sunrise. 

Hope For Things

Many of you who have read my emails know that this previous week was a little difficult for me. Many things went wrong and bombarded me at once. 

In Alma 32:21 it says... "And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."

I have used this particular verse to explain how faith is for me. I don't have to know everything with a perfect knowledge. I just have to have a hope for things which are true. I know that what I am teaching is true. 

My favorite memory that I have had while on this mission was being stuck inside for 3 days during Harvey. I had a lot of time to think about my faith and where my knowledge lied in the Savior Jesus Christ. I loved being able to come closer to Him as I pondered upon the things that I knew would bring me closer to my own personal testimony.

I love this verse because of how much it clarifies to us of what faith really is. Faith for me is exactly what this verse says. I love not knowing when the second coming will happen. Because, I have the faith that when it does, I will be able to come out conqueror over the devil and his followers.

Through studying this verse, this week was a lot better than last! Just looking at the impact that one verse can have. Joseph Smith with James 1:5. Myself with Alma 32:21.

What will your verse be?

love all of you!! 

-Elder J.T.Yates

 Sister See and I. She gave me a cookbook and 2 fannypacks!  

Myself eating a humongous onion ring along with homemade frysauce. 

Elder Whetzel and I as trolls after some service.

 Elder Whetzel and I in front of one of the Mercury mission rockets. #Friendship7