Power and Responsibility

"With great power, comes great responsibility" 

-Uncle Ben

Many of you know who this great man is. How much of an example he gave to others. And how much he truly changed the lives of whole cities. This man is the Uncle and Father figure to Peter Parker. Better known as Spider-Man.

I'd like to rearrange that original statement. 

"The source of great power is found through great responsibility."

-Elder J.T.Yates

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there is so much access to the powers of heaven. But, we are gifted with power through our righteous actions.

This week we had Zone Conference. The main theme was consecration, or giving all we have to God, and not holding back. As a mission, we are privileged to participate in a 40 day Social Media fast. We have deleted Facebook and Messenger from off of our phones to focus more on the people we are teaching, and how to have the Spirit in our teaching more.

I have already felt my relationship with my Savior grow as I have put more time in the work, and less in the phone.

For all who are reading this, I hope that you can review your week or weeks, and honestly say to yourself if you've spent too much time in your phones rather than spending time in your scriptures.

This is a humbling experience. One that I participated in this last week. I know that as you do this with an open heart and mind, you will feel th Spirit guide you in the direction that you need to be going.

-Elder J.T.Yates

The squad went went up into downtown Houston today. 

I was their tour guide.

This cute little girl went to the length of drawing me this photo. 

Her name is Ezra. :)

 I was wearing my glasses and sneezed. After my sneeze, I kept my face and looked up into our wall mirror. This is the result.

Our favorite Nigerian in our ward. Sanni(pronounced Sunny). 

Service with a smile :)

This week was really awesome! But, let me first tell you about something the Spirit helped me to learn in the scriptures. I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week, and came across this verse that really stood out to me. It was Moroni 10:21. Placed into the Book of Mormon just before it ends. It says, "And except ye have charity ye can in nowise be saved in the kingdom of God; neither can ye be saved in the kingdom of God if ye have not faith; neither can ye if ye have no hope."

I have been studying Charity a lot this last week, and found this verse. Charity truly is the pure love of Christ. Without it, we cannot enter the kingdom of God. But, I also love how faith, hope, and charity are so interconnected. Having these 3 Christlike attributes helps us to become the disciple that God, Christ, and we desire to be.

Throughout this week, we have been striving to find as much service as we can. We know that as we serve people, we are really serving God (Mosiah 2:17). We helped somebody move this week, we helped organize folders, and then we went and helped at the Hermann Park Gardens. It was so much fun to be able to go and help make someone's day. Member or non-member alike.

When we were helping the member move, it wasn't far at all, it was in the same building in their complex, we didn't have to go outside, and it was just up one floor. Just as we were about to be done with moving everything, we had to move this absolute unit of a couch. Sadly, it didn't fit in the elevator, so the stairs were our only option. Elder Hanchett and I were brave enough to take on this task alone, and so we did. Let me tell y'all something, all those years of playing video games,mainly tetris, and building good grips because of rock climbing, we successfully made it! It was scary, but rewarding. We got Papa John's afterwards! Plus, on top of that, I got to pet their super nice dog named Coco! She was so cute!

If I did not have faith, hope, and charity while moving that couch, I probably would've dropped it and not cared. But, I love to follow the example of my Savior, and so I did my best to be like Him. :)

I invite each of you this week to go out into the community and do some service for someone. :) This could be a family member, friend, coworker, neighbor, etc. Give someone service, and do it with a smile! I can promise that as you do so, the Spirit of Christ will fill the air, and everyone will be able to feel closer to Him.

I love all y'all, and hope that you have a great week, because I know that I will!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Elder Hanchett and I at the gardens.

Coco

The Maplehood boizzz saucing around

One of our good friends, Bernard. He is from the Virgin Islands, 

and is LOVING the Book of Mormon! :)

Jim Deegan, one of my dear friends from 

MacGregor took us to Five Guys!

Someone else we are teaching has been taking these amazing 

notes on what she has been reading in the Book of Mormon! :) 

The Return to Mac Geezy

Well this is it folks! This is going to be last my area in the mission. It's a very odd feeling. I have only experienced 1 week here, and I already love it! We are teaching so many great people, and they have been being prepared for a long time. 

On Wednesday, we had some service in downtown which was where I used to go work as a missionary. Oh how I missed downtown. While another set of Elders were doing their "shift" with this service, I took Elder Hanchett around downtown and we took a lot of photos!

Coming back to the Houston area and seeing all these familiar places, it brings back so many memories. The cool part about it was thinking about where I was as a missionary with my testimony, knowledge, and desire. I can see so much change in myself, and it is so amazing to see how the Lord will truly bless all of us as we turn ourselves to Him and obey His will.

I challenge each of you to think about one thing that you have improved on within the past 3 months. After you have thought about it, I want you to then pray and thank our loving Heavenly Father for what He and His Son have blessed you with! :) I can promise that as you do this, you will continue to build the relationship that you desire to have with Heavenly Father.

-Elder J.T.Yates

Elder Hanchett and I with our friends from Nigeria.

We went to Ray's BBQ!!!

President Guthrie came out with to teach, and let me tell you...

 That was awesome!!

Our best photo we took while walking around downtown.

Our goofy companionship.

The Trifecta is complete!

Well that's it folks! It's official... I am transferring out of Baybrook. I am actually currently sitting in my new area with my new companion. I have been transferred to the Maplewood 2nd Ward with Elder Hanchett. He came into the mission with Elder Smith and Elder Gillies(My 2nd and 3rd companions). I will be biking around town again! It is really cool to be back in the city, or at least around it. I will really miss the Baybrook Ward.

Alright, so to explain my email title. Out of the 3 Elders that stayed here in Texas from my MTC group(Elder Johnson, Elder Whetzel, and myself), we all trained right out of being in training and here is how it went...

Elder Whetzel -- trained Elder Hanchett

Elder Johnson -- trained Elder Gillies

Elder Yates -- trained Elder Smith

So, I have been companions with Elder Smith and Elder Gillies. Elder Hanchett has been companions with Elder Whetzel and Elder Johnson. That only left Elder Hanchett and I to be companions. And BOOM! Here we are! Again, the Trifecta is complete!

Anyways, let's get down to business. This week was so good! I had the inkling notion that I was leaving for a few weeks, but I wanted to work my hardest in Baybrook. I can say that I didn't work as hard as I had wanted to, but what I can say is that there was a 1% improvement! :)

I was reading in the Book of Mormon this week, and this scripture stuck out to me. It is 2 Nephi 28:30 "For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom..." 

I love this verse and it's simple teachings! As we do things line upon line and precept upon precept, the Lord truly does bless us. This week might have been just one thing that I improved on, but it is an improvement nonetheless! :) 

As we are now starting our 3rd week in January, I invite you to think about what you can do this week to improve. Now after you have thought about it, I invite you to tell someone else to help keep yourself accountable.

Love all y'all! :)

My last District Council in the Alvin Elder's Quorum

 I forgot to send this last week, but this is Elder Bell and I

 chilling in a storm overflow drain.

 Elder Bell and I in our last photos of being the 

original Baybrook Biking Babes

A Happy Reunion

This week was so good! You want to know why? Because I made it that way! Having a smile and a posotive attitude makes the days, weeks, and at times the months totally worth it! :)

There were a few times that it was challenging, and we just pushed through it. The best day this week had to be Thursday. We had a meeting for Elder Bell since he will be finishing up being in training soon. We got the privilage to go to the mission office and see a lot of my other dear friends. Out of that whole visit, being able to see and talk to Elder Heider, Elder Adams, Elder Gilleland, Elder Fisher, and Elder Whetzel was amazing! It is a pretty good chance that I won't see them for the remainder of our missions.

After this meeting, I was thinking about one of my favorite scriptures. Alma 17:2-3. It says...

"2 Now these sons of Mosiah were with Alma at the time the angel first appeared unto him; therefore Alma did rejoice exceedingly to see his brethren; and what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord; yea, and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God.

3 But this is not all; they had given themselves to much prayer, and fasting; therefore they had the spirit of prophecy, and the spirit of revelation, and when they taught, they taught with power and authority of God."

This is how I felt. Speaking to them and knowing that they have changed, and I have changed brings a great feeling to my soul. I know that it will be the same as I return home and see all of you the same way. 

"The light of Christ burns bright within each of us. The only power to diminish it is our own choosing to do so." -Elder J.T.Yates

I love this Gospel. I love our Prophet, President Russell M. Nelson. He truly is God's chosen servant to lead each of us back to live with God. Brothers and sisters, the world is going farther and farther away from God and His teachings. We cannot do so! Please remember to always say your prayers! Please remember to always read your scriptures! Please remember to always forgive! I love each of you, and cannot wait to return to see each of your smiling faces burning bright with the fire of the Gospel!

-Elder J.T.Yates

God rays. 

Elder Whetzel and I, yet again! :)

Elder Heider. My favorite Vietnamese Elder! 

Elder Fisher and I. I am going to miss this guy.

An upside down crosswalk signal.

Now Entering 2019

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone... Time has been speeding up so much more lately. I just can't believe it! Before y'all know it, I will be back in Lehi!

This last week was really good! We obviously had Christmas, and that was AMAZING!!! My day went as follows... We woke up at the same time as always, 6:25. Cleaned our apartment, did our laundry, and started emailing home. At lunch time, we went to a member's home and had lunch with them and some of the family who had come from out of town. We then went to the church building, and ate some snacks with the other missionaries in our surrounding area. After eating, we had a white elephant gift exchange, and that was a whole heap of fun!!! After leaving the church building, we went to visit some members, and have some desert with them. They gave us Pumpkin Pie, a garbage ton of candy, and we got to roast marshmellows with them! Let me just say that this Christmas was a lot warmer than any other Christmas I have experienced.

To top off my Christmas, I got to speak with my family. I can't explain how much I love my family. They mean the world to me! Being able to see their faces, hear their voices, and laugh at their somewhat lame jokes, made all the waiting worth it! :) My family is such a strength to me, and hopefully is a strength to everyone reading this. Knowing that I have an eternal family provides so much peace and comfort in my life. Rather than "till death do us part", I get to know that I am eternally, and forever sealed to my family! I love this gospel! 

As I thought about what to say in my email this week, I simply thought of goals. I know that I have talked about them in the past, but they are so important! :) Without goals, we can't really progress. We stay somewhat stagnate, I mean we can't stay exactly stagnate, we either progress or digress 1% everyday. But, I love the principle of goal-setting! As many of you know, I am not a super organized person, but goals really help me achieve what I want in life, and have gained a testimony of them. My wonderful Mission President, President Guthrie, had asked all of us missionaries to answer the questions below, and I feel that all these can totally apply to all y'all! ;) 

1. Ask yourself and record what happened this year that you are grateful for.

2. Recognize and record what hard things you overcame this year.

3. What did you learn in 2018?

4. Who positively impacted your life this year?

5. How are you different from how you were in January of 2018?

6. Who do you want to become in 2019?

7. What do you need to stop doing?

8. What do you need to start doing?

9. What should you keep doing?

My invitation is to answer these questions. take 30-60 minutes of quiet time, and answer these. Write them down in a journal that you have, and if you feel that you need to be accountable to someone, tell them and ask them for help. :)

I love all of you, and hope that your Christmas went amazing! Happy New Years Y'all!!!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Elder Bell and I with our du rags

Elder Bell on a super janky bike. Hahaha

A member's super adorable dog named Bella,

 who fell asleep on my lap while we were eating. 

We placed this post-it not on the sink for others to see. ;)

Merry Christmas Y'all!

I don't want this to be a very long email, because I want all of you to be spending most of your time with your family or friends.

This week was a really good one! We had our annual THSM Christmas Conference. And, that was definitely one for the books! Oh how I love the Christmas season! Elder Bell and I got to participate in the chior, we were fed like kings, we got to hear from President Guthrie's Mission President and his wife, and to top it all off, we were able to be a part the nativity. I got to read the Christmas story found in Luke chapter 2.

I just want to share with you the love I have for my Savior! I love Him so much! He is everything to me! He has given everything to me, and He wants to give even more. There is nothing that we can give to Him that He doesn't already have. Accept one thing... Choosing to give Him our will. 

Will all of you please choose to as I have done give your heart, might, mind, and strength to the Lord? I promise that as you do, that the Lord will be there to bear you up. He will be there to give you guidance and strength. I know this to be true, because I have experienced it myself.

I love y'all!

-Elder J.T.Yates

 I have even more posterity now! 

From Left to Right: Elder Nilsson(3rd Grandson-being trained by Elder Smith), Elder Smith(1st son), Elder Fleming(2nd son), Me, Elder Bell(3rd son), Elder Robinson(1st Grandson-trained by Elder Smith), Elder Borden(1st Great Grandson-being trained by Elder Robinson)....... not in the photo - Elder Halverson(2nd Grandson-trained by Elder Smith, and is now in the Philipines)

What Christmas Conference looked like. 

A really cool looking black and yellow lady-bug.

This Husky climbed on top of a Grill... 

You could say that the owners were less that excited about it.

Sing praises to His name

Well hey there friends and fam! I can't believe that Christmas is only 8 days away... This week was pretty good. There were definitely days that felt like they lasted about the entirety of my mission, but we got through them! The work in the Baybrook Ward is going well, we just had a baptism yesterday night for a 9 year old! He is super awesome! He is the son of a returning less-active member, and loves the gospel! More good things to come! 

During the week, I was thinking about why I am on a mission. My answer came to me, as it always does, "Because I love Jesus Christ." I truly do! I love my Savior, Jesus Christ!

With the Christmas season being upon us, and the day we remember our Savior's birth being a little over a week away, I want to talk about why I am grateful for Him. Being grateful has been one of my week points throughout my life. I have been able to develop that a lot more since being on the mission, and being so close to the Spirit all the time!

~ He gave me the option to return to live with Him and our Heavenly Father again

~ I can be forgiven of all my sins

~ His grace is sufficient for everything that I do

These are a few of the things that I am grateful for that my Savior, Jesus Christ gave me! I know this is a very short email in comparison to others that I have sent, but I wanted to give you more time for my invitation! ;)

Will all of you reading this, write down a list of things that you are grateful for? In particular, things your are grateful that your Savior has given you? I can promise in the name of Jesus Christ that as you do this, your love for Him will increase far more than you would think.

I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and I love all of you!

-Elder J.T.Yates

Elder Smith, Nilsson, and I biking around Baybrook.

A freaky little bug outside our apartment.

 Elder Nilsson crashed, so you know I had to get photos of it.

Elder Bell and I with our boi Kenny before his baptism!!

PCI

Well everyone! This week has been a week for sure! It has felt like 7 days to be exact! ;)

Okay, to start let's talk about some miracles that I saw this week!

~ I felt the Spirit lead and guide me as I helped people come closer to Jesus Christ.

~ I learned more about what the scriptures meant when they said that Jesus Christ descended below all things.

~ We finished preparing for our friend Kenny's baptism by filling out his baptismal program, and the miracle in that was that we got it done with no fuss.

~ Elder Yates successfully purchased healthy food this week, and the last. :)

Oh how I love this G

ospel! I really do! How much do you love it? Enough to share it with others? Well that's good, because that's what we all should be doing! Why? Because you love your Savior, Jesus Christ, that's why! :)

In our Stake down here, the Friendswood Texas Stake, our Stake Presidency has set a goal for the year of 2019. Here is the goal...

"Every member intentionally invites 1 person every week to do something that will bring them closer to Jesus Christ."

So, to help with that, they formed an acronym for it. PCI. What does that stand for you may ask? I will tell you! :)

P - Pray

C - Connect

I - Invite

As you begin each day, you pray specifically for an opportunity to share the Gospel with someone.

You then go throughout your day looking for that opportunity that will come your way. When that opportunity comes, you then connect with that person. In some way, build a relationship with them so that when you invite them, it's not going to be as "weird". But, many of you know, one of my life mottos is, "It's only weird, if you make it weird." :)

Finally, you invite them! This doesn't have to be an invitation to baptism, that's the missionaries' jobs. Invite them to come closer to the Savior. Invite them to a party, to listen to a Christmas program. Invite them to do something. And, this can be to a member of the church, or not. It can be an invitation to someone in your family, or someone outside your family. As long as you invite someone to do something that will bring them closer to Jesus Christ.

This has truly helped me as a missionary! I have been more conscious about how I can help my fellow Brothers and Sisters come unto Jesus Christ. I know that this will work for all of you as well! I know this because this isn't new! ;) This is found in Chapter 9 of Preach My Gospel, it is found in Conference talks, and it is found in the teachings of Jesus Christ during His Earthly ministry.

And now, I invite all of you to come closer to Jesus Christ by being more like Him! Will you Pray, Connect, and Invite this week? I know you will! I know that our loving Father in heaven will bless you immensely as you strive to become more like Jesus Christ. I will follow up next week, so I am excited to hear those missionary experiences! :)

Love all y'all!

-Elder J.T.Yates

For those of you that don't know what these are, this is a poisonous caterpillar. 

It's called an Asp. They will put you in the ER if you aren't careful, 

so you bet your bottom dollar that we were!

This is our boy, Arnold the cat. He has decided to make this chair and blanket his throne. We think that the Elders in the past fed him, so he loves us. 

We went to Taco Bell on Wednesday, and look who we saw! The old 2nd Counsellor in the Bishopric from Sienna Plantation 1st Ward! He was all they way down in Friendswood! It was so cool to see him!

Elder Bell all lit up from one of our members' laser lights. 

#LazyWayToPutUpLights ;)

The Prince of Peace

Welcome to December ladies and gents! Wherever you are, I hope that it feels more like December than it does here! Haha, the leaves are really falling now down here, and it is like 65 degrees outside. It feels like the early fall season. Kinda messed up, but one learns to live with it.

I also hope that everyone has had a great week! I know that I did! I learned a lot this week. I learned things that had to do with...

~ Being a missionary.

~ The Nephites and Lamanites, and what happens to them when they choose to be a bunch of bums.

~ The nature of Jesus Christ

This last bullet point, is the greatest knowledge that I could've ever gained this week! You wanna know why? Okay, I'll tell you!

As I was reading in the Book of Alma, Helaman, and 3 Nephi, I kept coming across this simple truth. The Lord gives help to those who obey Him. Throughout the later half of the Book of Alma, and through the Book of 3 Nephi, there are so many refrences to bloodshed and violence. But, we know that God does not delight in this. Along with God not delighting in this, neither does His obedient followers.

One of my favorite names for our Savior is "The Prince of Peace". I love this name because it shows the character of Christ. He, being the greatest of all, having all power, and knowing all things, uses that power to incite peace upon His children.

Throughout our lives, we experience violence, fear, anger, contention, distrust, and everything else that does not bring the Spirit of God. But, guess what!? There is hope! Jesus Christ is our Redeemer! He is our Advocate! He is the Good Shepherd! He knows us. He suffered for each and every one of us. There is never not hope!

A good friend of mine once told me, "Don’t ever give up. On yourself or the gospel. It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’ve done, there’s always hope. With Him there is always hope." The Prince of Peace can and will bring peace to our lives, as we obey what He says.

No matter what trial we are going through, Jesus Christ can and will heal us! I can promise that as a representative of Jesus Christ. He never said it would be easy. He only said that it would be worth it.

I love you all! Thank you for all you do!

-Elder J.T.Yates

 A super schweeeet sunset over some super gross bayou water.

A "Y" stick. Gotta rep the Yates clan!

We put up Chrsitmas lights in this ladie's tree. 

Tbh, they looked terrible.

Call me Tron.

We got attacked by the Laurels in our Ward!

This massive storm drain tunnel that is taller than I am.