Monday, December 29, 2014

The #1 Rule of Driving

Hi family!
It was so much fun to see you on Christmas. It looks like you are all happy and enjoying yourselves back on the mother ship. I am very happy where I am at. There are a lot of fun things happening in the mission right now and I am very happy to be part of it. This past week was a little hectic due to the Christmas festivities happening all around. It was a fun week though. The big thing that we are focusing on in our area is finding more people to teach. Finding has always been something that hasn't been that hard to me throughout my mission, but it’s a little bit more tricky here in Almaden. I am sure we will find more people though. It’s only up from here!

Spiritual: I have the chance and wonderful opportunity to live with three other terrific missionaries in my apartment. One of them is younger, about 6 months out and the others have been out about the same time as I have. It’s very interesting to me to see this younger missionary go through some of the same struggles as I went through at the first part of my mission. It was an even better feeling to realize that Heavenly Father had prepared me to be able to help out in these situations. It was really rewarding to recognize the hand of Heavenly Father in placing us together. Missionaries and all people who are trying to follow God go through cycles in their desire to worship and come closer to Deity. Sometimes missionaries will become overly energetic in the service and work hard while not necessarily working smart. When that happens saints tend to get a little frustrated and focus in on some of the smaller points of the gospel and miss the mark at little bit. They become confused and feel like they have these confusing problems that are seemingly too impossible to answer. The answer to this situation is simple. It focuses on some of the more pure principles of the gospel. It’s so important to realize that Heavenly Father works in small and simple things. He asks us to do small simple acts of obedience and line upon line he builds our faith. This building line upon line is another term for diligence. When we are diligently obedient we feel the spirit build within us and we are more able to be guided by it. The other principal to realize in this circumstance is that Heavenly Father works in small and simple things. The adversary works in ways that are confusing and seem bigger than anything else. If you feel confused or like there is some uncontrollable problem surrounding you, remember to be diligently obedient and remember that God provides peace and not confusion. I am so grateful for a Savior that made this life possible and that provides that pristine peace into our lives. I know that His Atonement is real and has the power to change our desires and our hearts. It is of him that I bear testimony. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Funny: This past week we were driving to an appointment and there was a car right in front of us that was going super slow. There was a red light ahead of us so I switched into the other lane and we pulled up next to them. I looked over and by golly they were breaking rule number one of driving. No canoodling in the car. It was definitely a horrific event for us to behold. I looked straight at Elder Fisher and yelled! Look at my eyes! Don't look! Don't you do it! We were scarred missionaries. So remember, don't break rule number one of driving. Kissing and Cars don't mix!

Where I am at: This week we get to work in our area all week long! Yay! I am so excited! I love doing missionary work! I feel comfortable now where I am at. I am excited for what this week will bring. The Lord is in charge of this work and it is so nice to know that all I have to be is a tool in his hand. It’s so AWESOME!! Christmas time and the Christmas season is an incredible time of year. It was so special to be in the Christmas devotional for the mission and just have tears stream down my face. I wasn't sure if it was from the lack of protein, lack of sleep or the spirit that was causing this but it felt so incredible. Boom. I love this gospel. I love Jesus Christ. I love this, my mission! I love you all!


For his mission Christmas talent show Ammon and his companion sang their version of Voice Male's "Tractin' in a Winter Wonderland" (but since there is no tracting in his mission they called it "Finding in a Winter Wonderland" and changed the words a little). He had a great time with this.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Christmas Joy

This week was a good week. Unfortunately I do not have a ton to report on. It was transfers this week so we were really busy and we didn’t really get a ton of time to do prosalization. It’s kinda lame, but it’s okay. It’s where I need to be. I am really excited to talk to you all on Christmas! That is going to be so much fun. You better come with a list of questions to ask and be prepared! haha we are gearing up for the new year by brainstorming next year’s goals and what part we are going to bring to the table in Almaden and in the Mission. We are getting really excited. 

Spiritual: We had the coolest gospel principals class this past week. We had just come from the Christmas program that the ward put on and it was remarkably spiritual. The lesson this week was on the final judgment. As we got talking there seemed to be an increase of emotion on the final judgment. People were getting a little hot under the collar just thinking about standing before God and being judged for every idle word, thought and deed. It’s a little bit of a frightening thought! It was so fun being the teacher. Elder Fisher and I paused the class. We were bringing in a little bit of the "Hell fire" side of things but we turned the tables in the class by relating that the reason for our Christmas celebration is not just a birth. It was the birth of a King. Someone who through perfect obedience and infinite love was able to come into the world and preform the Atonement so that judgment day would not be a day of awful regret, but could be a day of pristine joy. What an incredible thought! Jesus Christ came into the world so that we can be redeemed and enabled to live with Him again someday. What an amazing thought! I know that this supreme plan of mercy and love is true. It’s real! This isn’t just an ideology that man made up to make us feel better, but this is a real, true eternal principal. I know by the power of the Holy Ghost that these things are true. I am eternally grateful for this wonderful gift. If you don’t know that these things are true, I would encourage you to hit your knees and find out. I promise that if you ask if these things are true, he will answer you. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Funny: 
 Best time yet!


Where I am at: I love love love Christmas on the mission! I love it because I get to talk about Christ all day long. I love the music, I love the warm weather, and I love the personality of Christmas. I am so happy to be where I am today. I am so humbled to be where I am. I am absolutely happy here. It’s fantastic. Things are great! I am so thankful for the Savior and for His gift to us. I love this time of year. Embrace it. :) I love you all! 



Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Engineering Merit Badge

This week was a great week. It was the most exhausting week of my life. I felt like I could have run a marathon but the problem was that it was so mentally draining. It’s felt so good to be focused on one thing for a long time. I really learned how inspired president is and how stressful his job really is. Wow. Yikes it’s a tough one. Many many special things happened this week though. It was a really rewarding yet tough week. I had a great time.

Spiritual: Jackie, who was just baptized in the Almaden ward, came up to us the day of her baptism and told us how the night before she couldn’t sleep a wink. She told us how the night before she had all of the sudden remembered all of the terrible things she had done and they plagued her that entire night. She said that every little evil thing that she had done had come back to her and she said that she felt like garbage. Think of what that would feel like to all of the sudden have the painful guilt come back to you and be all around you that strongly. She said that it was the most horrible thing she had experienced. After she was baptized and she came up out of the water she turned to the people watching and with a huge smile on her face she waved. It was a miracle to witness her change of countenance. I am so proud to say that I am a witness the Atonement in action. I have talked a lot about how the Atonement enables us to become better than we are. The Atonement is so all encompassing that it cannot only give us the ability through the Holy Ghost to see things as they really are and to not be deceived by the reflections that look like happiness, but through the Atonement we can be clean to experience the full power of the Holy Ghost. We can stand firm knowing that because we are clean Heavenly Father will bless us with strength and give us guidance when we need it. I wish that you all could have seen the change that happened to Jackie. She is a changed woman. It made my heart just burst to think of the path that she has just entered on. It made me feel an increase of gratitude for our Savior Jesus Christ and for His Atonement. It is real. The power that is contained is strong enough to overcome all. Even the worst of the worst. I know it because I have felt it and seen it in action. My invitation to you would be to ACT. Repent. Whatever that means to you, do it. If the Spirit pricks your heart enough to talk to your Father in Heaven and recommit to give up a particular favorite sin, or if that pricks your heart enough to go talk to your bishop, do it. The results are real. I bear this testimony in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.


Funny: When we went to the outgoing fireside we got to the building and we found that the pulpit was broken. It was stuck at the highest point and wouldn't come down. That was pretty bad news for us because some of the lovely, talented and delightful sisters in this mission are a little bit vertically challenged. It took some good old fashioned American ingenuity to fix this problem.



Where I am at: Almaden is awesome! Great ward! We are so excited for the work to explode right now. We have a lot of things to do right now as far as transfers are concerned but things are coming together. If you are a missionary and are reading this, or if you are a member a little frustrated with the current mission president, please know that that man is inspired of God. He has been called and set apart by real divine power and called to preside over the mission. No matter what you might think. It’s real. It’s Super Cool. I am doing great! Getting excited for Christmas! I love you all!



This is their Christmas tree photo of numbers night. (I think they get a little punchy on these late evenings.)

He actually emailed us last night late so I think this may be a theme.
From Ammon "So, our ward Christmas party had a theme of dressing up like a character from the nativity and a member of the ward had a few things that she let us borrow. as a joke she gave us an extra for president. I don't know what in the world made him put it on, but it was awesome."

Personally I call this one "Wise guy driving"

Monday, December 8, 2014

Wait upon the Lord

This week was a good week here in the wealthy land of Almaden. Things have really started to pick up here in the ward. There is starting to be a bigger focus on doing missionary work. It’s starting to be really a strong missionary ward. By the time I leave I want this area to be a place where Missionary work is second nature. I am really trying to put my whole heart into this ward. We did get quite a few referrals and we saw a lot of miracles happen. 

Spiritual: We had received a list from the Relief Society President of who she didn't know and who we could possibly contact. There was the name of a family that they said had lived in the area for several years. Both were on the police force and were the recipients of some hard scheduling. It was a miracle when we knocked on the door and they both were home and let us in. They let us in and we sat and talked to them for a good half hour. In that time they told us how they saw how good the church was for their family and how important it was for them to get their family involved. It was honestly nothing that we said to them that made any difference whatsoever. It was amazing. At the end of the visit they both committed to come to church this Sunday. Wow. I have really learned what being prepared by the spirit implies. Preparation takes time and patience. It’s not something that happens overnight. They told us how we were the 15th set of missionaries to come to their door and invite them to come to church. Only now were they willing to let us in and actually consider coming to church. There was nothing special about us other than the fact that we were the missionaries serving at the right time and being in the right place. It’s amazing. My message today is centered on those that are trying to share the gospel with a friend or maybe have that one home teaching family that they are working with that will not open their door. My message today is to not give up. When we Wait Upon the Lord we exercise our faith and be patient with them, we are in a better place to show pure Christlike Love to the people we are serving. It’s my personal testimony that Heavenly Father looks at the actions we do in this life and on the Desire of our hearts. He knows when we are doing all we can to help others. He will not punish us or diminish us in any way for other people’s choices to accept or reject the gospel. Keep praying and keep having faith because you just don’t know what will come. 

Funny: I want to give you a sense of what the Almaden Ward is like. We were in Gospel Principals yesterday and there a visitor with the last name of Murray. I said that I was from Murray and he laughed then the Gospel Principals teacher said that he had played golf with Bill Murray. No big deal. Those types of comments happen all the time. Almaden. 


Where I am at: Jackie is getting baptized next week!!! She is the tax lady he referenced a couple of weeks ago. As well as the Daddo family from the Blossom Valley ward!!! I am so excited! This week there are going to be quite a few people who will enter the waters of baptism and I am so excited! Ah! This ward is great. I am really liking it. I can tell that this will be really a good ward to serve in. I am so content with life. I love the Christmas Spirit and I am feeling so humbled to be in the service of Him. I love this season and I love this work. I love you all! 


Steve Young came to their MLC this week. Ammon said it was really fun and that his talk was cool. Ammon is the second elder in from the right with the blue tie. (Although Ammon did wish he had a little more sports trivia in his head. He can blame his parents for that.)

Monday, December 1, 2014

I Am Glad For Many Things

This week went well. Lots of things to work on and lots of preparation for things that are coming up. It’s been busy, but it’s fun as well. 

Spiritual: This week I was able to go on exchanges up in Fremont. Fremont is really interesting. There is a huge population of Indians there. They were trying for a while to change the name of the town to little India. It was really an interesting day. I want to talk about an attribute in our spiritual lives that is hard to learn but can be instrumental in changing our lives. This attribute is the immediate reaction to a prompting from the Holy Ghost. Developing the capacity to react instantly without knowing exactly what will happen or where we should go. That immediate action is Faith that builds our confidence in Heavenly Father. There were a few experiences this week that made me realize what an important component this knee-jerk reaction is to our spiritual lives. The first happened when I was on exchanges in Fremont. We were contacting at a huge lake and we weren’t having a ton of success. We ended the day with three or four phone numbers and one copy of the Book of Mormon left. It was a mediocre contacting session. It also while we were there got dark really fast. We decided that we were really quite scary so we decided to leave to go to dinner. As my companion was driving, I was backing the car out. As I was walking backwards I noticed a man who was about to get into his car. For some reason I felt compelled to go and talk to him. So I did. I happened to leave my poor companion sitting in the middle of the road just waiting to drive away. As I ran up to the man I thought that there would be no way in the world he would want to talk to me. Two cranky kids in the car, it was late at night and I was wearing a dark coat and looked a little imposing. I thought that he would turn and hop in the car as fast as he could. Instead he said "Oh! Mormons! Awesome! I would love a copy of the Book of Mormon! I have never had one before and I have always wanted one." My jaw hit the pavement. It was a true book is blue miracle. It was amazing. It testified to me of the importance that when a prompting comes, to just drop what you have and act. That action is faith. The faster you react even if you don’t know for sure if it is a prompting from the spirit is evidence of your love for God and willingness to follow his plan for you. Most of the time we will not know for sure if a prompting is actually a prompting. We just act in faith and know that if the action is good, is in harmony with the principals of the gospel and is intended to serve others then we can press forward and act in faith. This will bless your life so much! I would strongly urge you to pay careful attention to the little thoughts you have that will help others and then act on them.

Funny:
 They listed all of their weights before Thanksgiving dinner.
Then compared them to after dinner. Ammon got second place in weight gain. 

Where I am at: Thanksgiving was a great time. We ate at the Zamora home and it was absolutely delightful. There is always a sweet spirit that exists in the heart of men when they decide to be thankful for the blessings that they have. There are a lot of fun things coming up in the mission! I am excited for what the next few weeks will bring. The mission is doing a talent show for Christmas Eve and there will be a lot of fun events along with that. I love you all so much. I am so incredibly, eternally grateful for the blessing it is to have a family that is rooted in the gospel and is stable and loving. I love you all so much. 
Elder Black






Monday, November 24, 2014

Faith, the Final Frontier

Things are going well here in Almaden. This is the Land of the Beautiful people. It’s a good place though. Very wealthy but missionary work is still happening. I am loving my assistantship call and I am excited to teach and train more and more. It’s a different breed of missionary work here. It’s much less blunt contacting and more and more following the Spirit. It’s been a really good area so far. We have two baptismal dates and we are excited to get more. 
 Spiritual: Following the spirit is a tricky thing to do. Often times when you are following the spirit you don’t always know that when you are in action that the course that you are taking is the perfect course for you to take. For example, here in Almaden we get a lot of leaves falling down. This past Tuesday we saw that we did not have set plans. Just a lot of drop by visits. We decided to go and rake some leaves for service. This idea was definitely prompted by the Holy Ghost because the idea came out of nowhere and it immediately prompted us to action. We grabbed some rakes and went on our way. We just drove and occasionally yelled out turns. When we came to a house with a lot of leaves, we would stop and do a mad raking expedition. It was really fun. When we were doing that we really didn’t see any fruits of our efforts. So, how did we know that what we were doing was right and in harmony with what the lord wanted us to do? The only person we were able to talk to was a lady that came out of her house and told us not to worry about the lawn. She had gardeners who would come by and do it. It was a little disheartening. So why did we keep on doing it and how did we know that raking leaves was something the Lord wanted us to do? The real honest answer was that we didn’t know for sure but we had faith and believed that we were doing what the Lord wanted us to do. We were doing good and it felt right so we went forward even when we didn’t see any immediate fruit or results. We need to remember this principal. When we do good and we don’t think of ourselves then we can press forward with faith believing that the Lord wants us to do good and be good. Part of having faith is not knowing for sure that what you are doing is perfect, but knowing that it is good and that it is in harmony with all the principals that you have been taught. This applies to service, to blessings, to teaching the gospel and to any facet of life you can think of. The principal of believing based on correct principals is a hard skill to master but it results in miracles and greater spiritual power. Fortunately for us we did get the chance to see the fruits of our labors. It was amazing. We went to visit a less active member and his house happened to be one of the houses that we raked the leaves for! It was so cool! He was really flattered that some unknown entity loved him enough to rake leaves. He was very touched. We never told him it was us but it had definitely softened his heart. It was a special gift from God to let us know that we were doing His work.

Funny: 

Where I am at: I love this ward and I love the work. Things are going well. We are excited for Thanksgiving. I am happy healthy and well. Love you all!
Elder Black



Monday, November 17, 2014

Faith to Act

This past week has absolutely been the CRAZIEST WEEK OF MY MISSION. I have never had so many perks to the job but also so many responsibilities. Yikes! With great power comes great responsibility right? (It says that somewhere in the scriptures I am sure. ;) This week started with a surprise temple trip with the outgoing missionaries and ended with me holding the microphone for Elder Bednar. Holy Cow. It’s been a crazy little run! In between there have been solo car rides, lunch with president, driving  the transfer van, late nights and so much more. If it sounds like I am being an extremely disobedient missionary, I am sorry. I am not. Promise. It’s part of the job. It’s crazy. I love it though. There is always something going on. It’s been really fun. I love love love getting to know president and his family and I have loved being here and seeing a different side of the mission.
Spiritual: This week we were able to teach Jackie. She is an 80 year old tax lady who did taxes for a member and then the member invited her to come and watch Meet the Mormons with her and then invited her to take the missionary lesson. She agreed so we have been able to teach her and it has been fantastic. We taught her the plan of salvation this last week. After teaching her it was impressed upon my mind something that Elder Bednar taught us this past week. He taught us a lot about how to learn and a new style of teaching. The pattern went like this. He had us read three talks and prepare then he stood up and told us how the spirit is the real teacher and not to write anything down that was spoken. Only write down what the spirit whispers to you. I loved that idea. He then simply asked the question "What did you learn?" He then asked a few follow up questions about each statement and would expound on certain points from time to time. The spirit was so strong and we all came out learning new things from the spirit. It was incredible! One of the things that he talked about a lot and that sunk into my heart was the concept of faith being a principal of action. This is best reflected in Joseph Smith going to the grove and not asking what church was true but what church he should Join. The principal of faith being that you pray to act. Elder Bednar invited us to not anymore ask people to read and pray to know that the Book of Mormon is true, but to read and pray to know if they should join the church having the pure intention to act on the knowledge that they receive. Jackie really impressed me with her intent. When she prayed, she prayed with the intent to act. She was truly finding out if this was the path she needed to take and then she was completely willing to act on that answer. I fell in love with the pure example of faith that this 80 year old tax lady demonstrated. It’s been more and more of my focus to key into this concept of asking to act or in some cases acting and relying on the Lord. I would invite you to pray with the intent to act. If you want help on a test, pray then get up and work. He will help you! He lives. He has all power and the best part of it all is that he actually LOVES US. That means that He is willing to help us when we have faith in Him. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Funny: We had both the new missionaries and the old missionaries stay at our apartment this week. It was quite the experience. When we walked into the apartment with the outgoing missionaries they were jumping around and were being really loud. Someone was showing how to do Karate and there was a lot of yelling. The next day when the newbies came in, we walked in and they were all sitting there reading scriptures. It was so cute. I love it.

Where I am at: Almaden! This is a VERY affluent area. There are a lot of really solid members and a lot of good people here. It’s really been cool to serve here so far! The hard part is just juggling our time to make sure that we still do missionary work. We have made a goal to baptize here. It’s going to be amazing. I am really excited. There are a lot of really good things happening here. It’s strange to have your mission president in your ward, but it’s pretty cool as well. I love where I am at. Things are going so well. I am learning a lot. It’s a new experience for me for sure. I love you all!

With some Murray friends at the Elder Bednar training in Oakland. 

 Ammon and Elder Giles at Super Missionaries for Halloween.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Testimony and Accepting Changes

Hi family!
Yep. Unexpected transfer. NOOOO!!!! I am not too happy about leaving Blossom Valley but I am excited for the next adventure that the Lord has in store for me now. The work here is absolutely EXPLODING. There are so many amazing things happening here. It’s so cool how the work has really picked up. It’s amazing to also feel the love and support of the members as they realize that the Lord is hastening his work here and they want to get on board.
Spiritual: This week was actually really powerfully spiritual. I was able to go down to Monterey and see the baptism of Alex Horner. It was amazing. He asked me to confirm him a member of the church. What an incredible experience. I felt so loved. It was incredible to see how the Lord has really touched his life. He has been through a long search and it was so fulfilling to see him embrace the gospel and change his life. I want to talk about testimony today. At the outgoing fireside last night, there were a lot of missionaries who bore powerful testimonies about the divinity of the Savior and the power of his infinite atonement. It is absolutely enriching to be overwhelmed by so many heartfelt expressions of belief and trust. A testimony is a declaration of a belief in a certain principal of the gospel. You have a testimony of keeping the word of wisdom for example. You can have a testimony of the reality of the Book of Mormon being the word of God, but how much do we really trust that testimony? Did all of those miracles really happen? Did all those prophets really live? I know that the Book of Mormon is all the way true. One of the fruits of this gospel is the power that members of the church have. From priesthood power to the enabling power of the atonement. It’s all true, real and very powerful. I am a firm believer in miracles. Unexplainable events that happen throughout the course of our existence. Those events happen so frequently in this gospel. They happen due to the witness that we all receive from the Holy Ghost confirming to our hearts that the Book of Mormon is true and that President Thomas S. Monson is Gods prophet on the earth today. The witness is real and the miracles and fruits that come with it are real as well. I want to bear this testimony and testify that these have happened in my life. The witness and the miracles. This is real. It’s all true.
Funny: I got bitten by a cat. Twice. I do not like them.


Where I am at: This is an exciting time here in the mission. Elder Bednar is coming next week and the rumor is that Ipads are coming soon. There is a sense of change in the air. I am very sad to be leaving Blossom Valley. It’s cool to know that the Lord needs me somewhere else though. I love being in this work. I feel like I have learned more about myself and what my personal purpose is in life and how I can work to accomplish that work. It sounds really vague, but I really have learned a lot. I love the Blossom Valley ward and it holds a special place in my heart now. I love you all! 

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

I Am That Man

Blossom Valley ward is so great. The roads are not so great. Combination of four flat tires this week between Elder Giles and me. Bike repairs and more bike repairs. I am learning a lot about how to fix bikes. :) It must needs be that the evil one doesn’t want us out doing the Lords work because it is going so gosh darn well. It’s really going great. We had 7 investigators at church this past Sunday. Three with a baptismal date and more to come for sure. Things have really picked up in this part of the work and I am very happy to be here. I have been learning a lot about myself and what I am like.
Spiritual: Let me tell you a little bit about the California mindset. There is a very common mentality that happens in Cali when it comes to religion. There is an idea or a mindset that revolves on the premise that you just be "good" to people because that is what God wants us to do. The philosophy is that it really doesn't matter your flavor of following Jesus, what matters is that you are a good person be it you are Buddhist or Confucius or anything else. While being good is important there is more power and more potential that comes from knowing for certain what is right and what is wrong. It gives you identity and self-worth to know what team you are on and what power you support. Everyone has the light of Christ in them. Everyone has this little spark where they know the difference for the most part between Good and Evil. For example, murder is wrong in any country or any civilization today. The world knows the difference or at least has a head start to knowing the difference between good and evil. The gospel gives us not only the clarification or what is right and wrong, but through having faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we can have power to overcome the wrong and choose the right. We were visiting a less active member and we met her friend there. He expressed his confusion about religion and how there were so many different paths and ways to live life. He told us about the religions that he had studied and how through it all he had just decided to let life take its course. He saw that the main point of all the religions that he had studied was to be a good person. While that was true I wanted to take him and shake him. Being a good person is good, but the way with the most power and potential is the way through Christ. It is only through Jesus Christ and His atonement that we are saved. Because He did that we can take hold of the knowledge of good and evil and through that we can choose to have Christ help us through our hard times and our pains. It is through Christ that we obtain power to change. It is through Christ that we obtain forgiveness from our sins. It is through Jesus Christ that we become even as He is. He lives. He has the power to change us. Through faith in him, we can do all things.
Funny: We were biking down the street one day and a man on the side of the road starts yelling at us and telling us something. I pulled the bike over and walked up to him and started to chat. He obviously wasn't all the way there. We sat there and talked to him a bit then he told us some rather unnerving news. He said "Did you hear that there was a naked man at the mall?" We replied "No! Really?" "Yes. There were all these women looking at him. It was kinda strange. All these people looking at this one naked man. Do you know who this naked man was?" "No sir. We don’t know who that naked man was." He paused. Looked us dead in the eyes and replied with a confident grin "I. AM. THAT. NAKED. MAN." "It’s been lovely talking with you sir, we need to be going now but have a great day!" End of conversation.

Where I am at: Halloween was awesome. The Odell family made sergeant peppers sandwiches and cherry chocolate cake. Oh it was so good. We even got to answer the door for the trick or treaters and hand out pass along cards. It was so wonderful. I love this area and all the members. Things are going great! I love you all! 

Monday, October 27, 2014

Your Serve

This week was full of miracles and lots of amazing events. We were able to pick up 8 new investigators this week. The Lord is really pouring out blessings to us. It’s truly amazing to see! I love being a part of this work. I think it is fantastic. I feel like we are getting to be better friends with the ward and they are trusting us with a lot more now. We were able to speak in church and we received a few referrals after the meeting from it. The signs are good. Things are going to be getting crazy here.
Spiritual: One of the more unusual parts of the California San Jose mission is the fact that we do a lot of service. Oh it is so much fun to be a missionary and ride up on your bike to someone who you know is not looking forward to talking to you and bracing himself for the religious confrontation that is about to occur and then ask him if we can serve him and see the reaction on his face go from being hostile to confused. I love it. We do a lot of service here. Roughly ten hours a week. A lot of this service can come from planned regular service but around here there are not too many places for us to go and give service in our area. To achieve our goal we often times will go pick up trash on the streets or we will help active members with service projects. I really didn’t have a super strong love for service before I came here but doing so much service has really helped change my mentality about it. I love service! You just feel good. This week we got a call from a member to help him move some wood chips out of his back yard and onto the curb. There were a lot of wood chips. We went in with an open mind and a willing heart and low and behold miracles started to happen. The neighbor across the street started to venture out and he wanted some chips for mulch so we were able to go spread them for him and strike up a religious conversation with him. It didn’t produce much fruit other than the fact that we are now his friends and he knows that we are approachable. Then his next door neighbor poked his head over the fence and started to talk to us. He asked if we could come over the next day and help him with some stuff. OH YEAH!!! We went over and helped him go through some old WW2 relics and look for a few special pieces. He really just wanted someone to talk to and we were there to be a friend. We are going to invite him to an emergency preparedness fireside tomorrow night. We are so excited about it! That is missionary work right there. Even though we were not wearing ties and we were sweating like pigs while hauling wood chips, the Lord was with us and He gave us an opportunity to not just talk about what we believe, but to show it. One of the sayings that I use in the mission is "Just because you sit in a garage and drink gasoline, doesn’t make you a Cadillac." The same applies to church goers. You need to get out of your seat and do something good. That is what true Christianity is all about. This church is built on the premise that we help each other out. We are Disciples of Christlike Action. This blesses us and the people we serve. If you want to see if I am right, try it! Results speak for themselves.
Funny: The funny contacts we have in this area are really choice. The highlight of the week was the man with the huge beard and who was a little portly who saw us coming on bikes and just took off running. He was sprinting away from us as fast as he could. Unfortunately we were on bikes so it was a pretty easy catch. He was not interested.
Where I am at: Things in this area are awesome. I am loving the work and miracles are flowing like butter on my toast. Things are going great and I really can’t complain. We are teaching a lot of people and finding more every day. I love you all! You are in my thoughts and prayers.




Monday, October 20, 2014

Pants or No Pants

Things have been going well this week. The ward is starting to trust us and we are making family and friends while being here. It’s been really good to see how we can help the work progress here. It feels good. This area reminds me so much of home it’s crazy. It’s really quite a different area from anywhere else I have been. It’s really unusual to be so normal. It’s got its fair share of quirks and oddities but for the most part it’s actually very much like home. I think the Lord is preparing me for missionary work back home. I like it! Granted that missionary work at home is a little bit different than anywhere else. Missionary work thrives on the poor in spirit and in wealth. Because there is stability here, repentance or change is hard to come by. There is still hope though! We are teaching several people who want to change and we are really excited.
Spiritual: This morning we were studding to the sounds of the couple next door arguing. They were just going all out at each other. Yelling, screaming and making snide remarks about each other. There were several times where we wanted to lean out the window and tell them to grow up. When you are yelling about your Facebook page, something just isn't right in your relationship. It was very hard to study and we ended up reading the same page of scripture over and over getting nothing out of it. Finally the ex-husband left and it was just the woman and her roommate left. Then they started to argue and scream at each other. We were concerned about her safety at this point and we were having the dialogue of "should we go over and talk to them?" "No way man! It sounds like she just threw something!" "All right. Let’s wait awhile." We waited about half an hour then we decided to ask Heavenly Father if we should go over and visit her. This was a tense situation because we didn't know how she would react or if it was a hostile place we were going into. Yikes! So we went down on our knees and humbly asked if we needed to go visit our neighbor. The answer was a reassuring yes. So we hitched up our britches and headed over. She answered the door and the feeling was that she was a wreck. She was crying, and short of breath and just not having a good morning. We talked to her a little and offered her a blessing. She accepted and so we went in, shared a few scriptures and then were able to give her a blessing. We ended by giving her a Book of Mormon and telling her to read it and pray about it. She was super open and very interested in learning more. We set up times throughout the week that we could go and see her and she was very receptive. I wish you could have seen the change that happened in her. When we first came in she couldn't breathe because she had been yelling so much and crying so much. Even the first part of the lesson she was still making stabs at her ex and her room-mate. After the blessing though we asked her what she had felt as we had been talking to her. She described the spirit perfectly. We emphasized that she could have that same spirit to be with her always through the ordinance of baptism. She accepted! We are so excited to teach her and share more of what we know to be true with her. Now, it would have been so easy to ignore the arguing and just leave it as someone else’s problem. Forget that we had made covenants to comfort those that stand in need of comfort and move on with our day. It would have been so much less frightening to just leave and ignore that. I have noticed that God does not want us to walk in easy paths. It takes a great amount of courage to do the right thing. It takes a great amount of Faith to believe and follow the promptings that you are given but because you have been given the gift of constant revelation, the path that you covenanted to walk is not easy. It’s full of awkward situations and strange encounters and even some times when you are not sure. The path though is right. By following those promptings and honoring the covenants you make at baptism you are fulfilling your commission to be a disciple of Jesus Christ! It is the best way.
Funny: Visiting less active members is fun. We are going through the ward list and finding out who is active and who we can work with. We were finding new people to teach this week through the ward list and we went over to this one member’s house. I unfortunately got the address wrong and we went up to the door, knocked and waited. A man came walking up to the door with the biggest grin on his face. We were a little taken aback because that is a bit unusual for the city at 8:00 at night. All was well till we looked down and realized that he in fact did not have any pants on. "Oh! Well, we have to be going. DO you know where the _____ Family lives? Right next door! Thank you so much. Have a good night!" Yikes.
Where I am at: As you can tell from my long winded miracle this morning things are going well. We are teaching some interesting people. It’s always an adventure being in the city! I think that the ward trusts us and we are learning to love this place. There are great things happening here and we are excited to be a part of them. We are having a General Authority come tour the mission on Tuesday and we are pumped for that. Things are going well. I love you all!




Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Mr. and Mrs and Mrs and Mrs Yikes!

Spiritual: When we came into the area there was a note on the board that said to call a man named Matt. He had a baptismal date but there were no other records about him at all. We called and called and called and never got a response. We finally made contact and decided to meet up at the church one night. We had no background on this man other than at one point in time he had been taught by the missionaries and had agreed to be baptized. We grabbed one of the members that we had eaten with a few nights before and we headed out to teach him. No idea what was going to happen or who this man was. We arrived at the church and saw this guy standing outside. We met him and he introduced himself as Matt. We pulled him into the Relief Society room and began to talk. We talked about his background, about how he just got out of jail, about his family life and his two kids that have some behavioral issues. We talked about his spiritual health and what the missionaries had talked about. Finally we read out of the Book of Mormon with him about the Doctrine of Christ. We told him that most people and even members of the Church don’t understand the Doctrine of Christ. Most members don’t even realize what it is! Having an understanding of the Doctrine of Christ is critical for not only our salvation but for our personal peace and happiness here on planet earth. Faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end are the simple steps required in the Doctrine of Christ. We drew the steps on the board in a circle and told him how one thing leads to another. Faith leads to repentance, repentance leads to baptism, baptism leads to receiving the Holy Ghost. (I was thinking of doing my Yoda impression when I told him that but I decided against it.) This doctrine is not just a one time thing. It’s a continual process throughout our lives. Enduring to the end is not a step  but an action that needs to be taken continually throughout each of our lives. Having and utilizing faith, continually repenting, renewing our covenants by going to church and partaking the sacrament, feeling the presence of the spirit in our life and by courageously following the promptings that we receive from the Spirit we are then led to have more faith in Jesus Christ. When we told him this and expounded on it a little, he truly recognized that this gospel, this doctrine is not a one time thing. It’s a lifetime of change and improvement. It’s meant to be hard! I saw a quote on a members wall, "If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you." I would add, "If it doesn’t challenge you to do better, It doesn’t change you to be better." Our next lesson with this man will be to set a baptismal date. He is close. I know that without Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us, we would not be able to change. I am so eternally grateful for his unconditional love and sacrifice for us that makes it possible to change. If you are finding that maybe there are times when you are coasting, go back to the Doctrine of Christ. Find out what step you are on and then find a way to be challenged and change for good.

Funny: There was a family we met this last week that was a little crazy. We went over with a member who had been in the area for a long time. When we went over we met the father of the family who was in his mid-60s who was not a member of the church. The house was decorated hoarder style with piles and piles of stuff round about. We talked to him for a while then asked him why he wasn’t a member of the church. He responded that he was upset that the government took away polygamy. We thought we had heard him incorrectly. Nope! He was upset that the church took polygamy away. Yikes! Obviously he had more concerns than that and after digging a bit we found out he hadn’t prayed about the Book of Mormon. Okay. Now we know where to start. We didn’t quite know how to respond to the polygamy issue. We are really good at addressing the fact that that it did exist at one time, but we had never had anyone who was upset that it was taken away. Welcome to California!


Where I am at: This ward is awesome. The ward council ran like butter on my yam. Smooth and well-polished. It was really neat to sit in and see how it’s supposed to run. That was really amazing. It’s been good being here. I really enjoy it. Darrell who watched conference came to church and liked it. He almost got offended, but due to some good damage control all was well. Things are good! I am figuring out the area and things are going well. We meet some really interesting people. I love you all! Thank you for your prayers and support!


Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Green is Growing

It happened. My wildest dream came true on my mission! I did “bear a man child in the wilderness!” (Just in case you were wanting the scriptural interpretation I am in fact whitewash training.) Yay!!!! This is so much fun to start out in an area and have it run just the way we want it to and do the things that we like. This is a stellar ward and there is so much potential here. Elder Giles is a STUD missionary and a hard worker. This whitewash thing has been a little tough during the first parts, but thanks goodness for personal revelation and following the Spirit! There have been miracles happening due to our faith and the Lord’s mercy. It’s been a spiritually transforming week so far. Due to the fact that I have really had to rely on the Lord for everything so far. It’s been amazing. I have really loved the work. It’s been hard. It’s been hot. It’s been full of crazies and I have loved it. 
Spiritual: Coming into this area was a whole crazy adventure. We came into the area and on the board was a list of names that the other elders had been working with, a pile of papers on the desk, and a whole lot of work to be done. We really didn’t have much to work with. With a brand new missionary at my side and the feeling that the Lord was with us we took off to give an accounting to the Lord for the ward. We are in the process of visiting every single member of the ward and seeing if they are active or not, angry or subdued. We went to go visit a less active that lives a fair ways away from our apartment. We visited the LA and she was definitely not very interested in talking to us. I handed Elder Giles the ward list and the map (his third day here) and told him to find someone to visit and that I was going to talk to a lady over yonder. I contacted the lady who said that she did not in fact need any help moving and that she was perfectly capable, but she did accept a copy of the Book of Mormon and make a commitment to read it and pray about it. Successful contact. I talked to Elder Giles and asked him where we were going. He told me and then we took off on the bikes. (Full bike area yay!) I unfortunately got the house number wrong and so when we went over there he pulled into the right driveway while I was in the wrong one. He told me to come over this was the right one so I was in the process of turning the bike around when out of nowhere a voice from the sky said "Hey! What are you doing?" It was slightly accusatory so I was a little freaked out. But being the friendly missionary that we need to be I told the voice that we were missionaries looking for a friend in our congregation. At that time I saw where the voice was coming from. The blinds of the house right in front of me. He told us that he had received a copy of the Book of Mormon in Santa Cruz and that He had lost his copy and would like another one. I had just given my last one away. NOOOOOO!!!!!!! So we set a return appointment with him to come back and give him the book. Awesome! What a miracle! But it gets better. That night we called him up and asked if we could come over and give him the book the next day. He said yes then proceeded to tell us how that same day (Saturday) he was channel surfing with his roommate and found the BYU channel. He told the roommate to go look it up what it was and by golly it was from the church! He then sat down with his roommate and WATCHED the Saturday session of GENERAL CONFERENCE. Boom. It doesn’t get much better than that. He called us and told us that the guy with the last name of Holland was really really passionate when he talks and he really liked his talk. Wow. What a miracle. We met with him yesterday and watched the last session of conference with him. He went through a lot as a kid and had a hard life. He is now trying to be an earnest seeker of truth. We know that if he reads and prays he will definitely find the truth here. It was such a mercy for the Lord to give us someone to teach. Many many miracles came from that small interaction. The ward has started to trust us because we found someone to teach, Elder Giles finally got some real teaching experience, and many many more tender mercies. The work of the Lord will go forth. It takes a lot of work, tears, and heartfelt prayer but the Lord blesses us for obedience. It’s been amazing.
Funny: We meet lots of crazies here. Lots of them. From the talking to herself roller-skate lady at 8:30 at night, to the crazy old people in the reflective vests. We met Jean the other night who was a referral from a guy working on his car in his yard. We asked if there was anyone who might need some help in their yard and he told us that Jean needed "lots of help." so we asked. She opened the door and she told us that we were absolutely Gorgeous. She asked if we were on TV. We said that we were not. She asked us this three times that visit. We just smiled and said thank you. We told her she was wonderful and shared a short message. She didn’t accept the message or the offer for service so we said that we had to go and made a hasty retreat. Oh, the city is a different animal.

Where I am at: Elder Giles is a stud! He is a good missionary and a good guy. It’s really amazing to be here in the mission and doing the work. I love this ward already and am having quite the adventure serving here. It’s really fun being here where most of the guys in our ward are working for LinkedIn, Apple, or IBM. Super cool guys! Conference was incredible. Some common themes I noticed were: Follow the Prophet, Take the Sacrament and make it meaningful, the Atonement, and what it entails have faith in Jesus Christ. I love this conference. We all need to take the challenge that the prophet gave to make Christ the center of our life. I love you all and you are in my thoughts and prayers.



Monday, September 29, 2014

Landmarks and Landmines

It was a great last week in Fort Ord Ward. It’s really sad to leave it behind, but bigger and better things are in store. It’s been a week full of strange false leads, skunks, fried Raccoon, and unexpected accomplishment. 

Spiritual: It’s interesting to be a missionary and be able to chart your progression in an area. Most of the learning and growing that takes place on a mission is a very spiritual change and is not able to see with the outward eye. Occasionally though you are able to find a landmark where you can judge your progress and see how far you have come and be able to see that you have grown. I have had a few landmarks come my way this week. The first was a very physical land mark. The first day in Fort Ord we biked from seaside to fort ord. to get to the housing you have to climb a really big hill. It might not be huge to other people but this was a big hill to me. When I first came here it was one of those throw the bike into 1-1 gear and start trucken. This past week I threw the bike into 3-5 and flew up that hill. Another landmark for me was standing up to bear my testimony to the ward for fast and testimony meeting. The first time I bore my testimony I remember looking into the congregation and not knowing anyone and being a little freaked out by the intense military faces that I saw there. Sunday I looked down and saw family and friends that I have grown to love sitting there. It was also really funny to walk down the row and get a fist bump from one of the members. Yeah! It has been a good time of spiritual development to interact with such amazing members and to hear their stories and their experiences. Another landmark that I observed was last night when I went to the outgoing fireside and saw my good friend Elder Fisher who was giving his final testimony before he went home. What an experience it was to remember the interaction that I had with him and how our relationship has grown. It was very special to me. In all of these landmarks of progress it’s very easy for me to say that I was the one who grew in strength, in social prowess, and in spiritual strength. It would be very simple for me to dismiss my growth as a result of circumstance or a product of environment, but I know better than that. True spiritual, physical, mental and social growth comes from the master gardener. The one who has the power to truly change our desires and our hearts. I know that the progress that I Have made is due to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He lives! He has the power to change us and to help us grow. He is my king and I am eternally grateful for His sacrifice and his everlasting Love. 

Funny: Our solid awesome investigator Beth went to the hospital this week due to a potassium deficiency. It gave the ward an excellent opportunity for service and it was really neat to go visit her and share a lot about what the gospel and the church provides. She had somehow smuggled her dog into the hospital with her and because she had not been able to leave the room the small little yorkie named peanuts was getting a little spot of cabin fever and a full bladder. She asked us to take the dog for a walk. We said yes and went out to walk the dog. We rounded the first two corners and then the dog does the dirty. That little ball of fluff runs over to a carpeted waiting room and sits down and does her business right there in the middle of the hospital. Thank goodness it was only urine. That little menace finished up while all sorts of people were walking by and chuckling to themselves. Awwww man! Seriously Little dog??? I was not a happy missionary. It was really funny though. We went to the bathroom and got some paper towels and cleaned it up. That little dog though knew that it had done the dirty deed and was scared for its life. It was shaking and was absolutely terrified. We ended up walking it around a little bit more and a few people actually requested to see the dog in their rooms so it turned into a missionary tool but it came with a price. 

Where I am at: I am leaving Fort Ord ward. It’s a sad day but I know that it’s on to bigger and better things. We avoided getting sprayed by skunks again this week and we are very excited to see the progress that our investigators are making. It’s absolutely killing me to leave these people that I love, but that is what is required. I will be sure and fill you in on the new adventures that await in the land of California. I love you all! 


Monday, September 22, 2014

Yo ho yo ho a missionary life for me

It was another good week here in Fort Ord. The fast is still going strong and the miracles are still flowing like dead whale juice on the beach. (True story!) Things are progressing really well here and we are pleased at the progress that our investigators are making. It’s amazing to be here at a time when the work is progressing so well. I am really happy here! I have fallen in love with the military culture and the pace of the military life. I really love Fort Ord Ward! 

Spiritual: There were so many spiritual experiences that happened this past week. It’s been really amazing to be a part of this great experience. When I was on exchanges with Elder Jackson, we met a man by the name of Terry. He was a super good guy and we found out later that his daughter had met with the sisters before. Terry is about 45 and a very humble man. He is African American and is very smart. He works at a hospital and is a God fearing man. He has read the bible 14 times. When we met him he told us that he wanted to take us out to lunch. After being on my mission for a while, I have gotten maybe a little judgmental about people who have read the bible 14 times taking us out to lunch. That sends off the "bible basher" alarm bells inside my head. We couldn't refuse him so a few days later he told us to meet at his house and we were going to go out to lunch. Elder Barney and I were a little apprehensive about this particular appointment. Beforehand we prayed that we would know what to say to help him and that this appointment would go according to Gods will. When we went to lunch it was a totally different experience than we had expected. He sat us down and asked what we believed in. I handed him an articles of faith card and held my breath. He read it. Thought about it. Then turned to us and told us that due to the first thing on the card, We believe in God the Eternal Father and in His Son Jesus Christ and in the Holy Ghost, that we were Christian brothers and then the meeting turned around. He is such a humble man! He felt like his life was good. He had nothing going wrong for him in his life yet he chose to turn to the bible because he knew he should be doing better. Ever since he has had so many blessings come into his life because of that. Terry is a good example of being humble before God and changing your life on your own accord rather than being humbled and being changed. The meeting ended with us bearing our testimony about how our faith in Jesus Christ has blessed our lives and him bearing his witness of the same. We did end up leaving him with a commitment to read the Book of Mormon and pray to know if it’s the word of God. It was a humbling experience. A happy experience to know that there are still educated men about the word of God who are still humble and willing to learn. There is still good in the world! 

Funny: Talk like a pirate day was this Friday and Elder Barney and I had a great time talking with each other in our pirate phraseology. It was really fun because we had a lesson with an investigator who was a part member family that we have been working with for the entire time I have been here. We finally committed him to baptism and he was expressing his concern that he had a really bad problem with swearing. What was our solution? Replace swear words with pirate words. Just as many consonants to make it sound angry, but nothing really serious. Teach according to their needs! I was a little sad that he was in the air force and not the navy though. That would have been much better. 

Where I am at: This particular area pulls at my heart like nothing I have ever experienced before. It’s a totally new experience to be a missionary dressed in a white shirt and tie and board shorts standing on the beach with the sound of waves in the distance watching as the group next to you lights off about thirty Japanese lanterns and lets them go Tangled style. Surrounded by the people you have seriously grown to love and just as happy as a clam. It’s truly spectacular. I Love this area! So in other words the beach bonfire went really well! The members are starting to catch the vision and brought a few nonmember families as well! Yay! The theme of this ward is fliers and activities. That’s the key to Fort Ord. It feels good to have been in an area where you have figured some of the bigger things out like that. I love this area. This is the last week of the transfer and there is a good possibility that I could be transferred. Oh just break my heart and my leg and throw me in a ditch. That’s kinda the feeling. I am doing really well and things are going great here. I love you all

Monday, September 15, 2014

Blessings on the HILL OF DEATH

Okay. Yalll need to listen up. Fasting works. It’s really powerful. Especially when you have a large group of people fast. It’s crazy! I never expected or could imagine so many miracles happening here in The Fort but due to this fast things are really picking up. Just a heads up this will probably be my last transfer in Fort Ord. I am up for a transfer in about two weeks. Its normally four transfers an area. Things could change, but that is the most likely route. Things are going really well here and I am excited that the work is picking up. It’s really cool. We are having another beach bonfire this Saturday and this time we are inviting everyone we know. We have 35 families on our list of people to contact and invite. It should be huge!

Spiritual: One of the biggest miracles we saw this week while we were fasting was a man named Joseph. We had met him before and actually street contacted him. He lived in Marina so we gave him to them as a referral. We met him again this week on the street. He was pretty down about life. His really nice bike had just been stolen and he was pretty mad. We talked a little then asked if we could pray with him about it. We did and then had to leave. We were able to meet up with him this Thursday and while talking to him he told us about how after we had prayed a little later he had gotten a call from the Santa Cruz police informing him that a backpack that he had lost a little while ago had turned up. He was in tune enough to see that the Lord had given him a small little blessing letting him know that He was there. It was incredible. Joseph ended up coming to church and tonight we are going to have FHE with him and challenge him to baptism. Joseph is interesting. He is 23 and has been in all sorts of yucky situations. He is a military brat and has moved around a ton. He had been all over the country and had done a lot of drugs and had a lot of bad experiences. He told us that he was really seeking for the Spirit in his life. At church he made the comment that the things that we talked about (FHE, families, and service) were all things that made him happy just in a way that his natural self didn’t like. What an amazing man to recognize this. I honestly don’t think we know quite what we have. We can’t understand how powerful this gospel is to change us or how powerful the spirit is that permeates our meetings. I am seeing that more and more and my gratitude is growing for this chance to see how meaningful this is to us. I believe that the trick is to let this spirit permeate us and change us. It’s really hard to do, but the spirit is there and no matter who we are Heavenly Father wants us to change. 

Funny: This last Thursday we were doing a lot of service. Helping someone move, then building some planter boxes for an investigator. We went to dinner and changed into our proselyting clothes. We put our service clothes in our bags and headed off to our next appointment. This appointment was scheduled to begin at 8:00. There is the HILL OF DEATH that goes up to this appointment and we had already ridden it once that day. I thought it would be really smart to not go up the mongo hill and go through the golf course that had a much more gentle climb. We had never been through the golf course before and the only light we had was my dinky little light that you couldn’t see 5 feet in front of you. So we went for it. It was a good ride with lots of turns and fun stretches. we only went through a couple of sprinklers, and at the end of the ride we had a crazy part down this big sand hill and through the woods but finally when we came out we were at our investigators house on time and all was well. Until I looked in my bag and realized that I had two shoes when we started this ride and now I had but one little sad shoe. That was not good. We borrowed a flashlight from our investigators and took off again. I was riding a fair distance behind my companion looking for the shoe when up ahead I heard him scream stop short and then laugh. I thought it was strange but at that time I found my shoe and picked it up. Yay! I rode over to my companion and he had a strange look of disappointment and relief on his face. Yes. He had seen a skunk when he rode by with its tail up in the sky. He was not sprayed and neither was I so all was well. We decided to forgo another skunk run in and go up the hill this time. As we were rounding the corner by their house the skunk popped out of the bushes again and proceeded to prance across the road with its tail waving high. Again the protection of the Lord was upon us and we were saved. Yay! The Lord has a way of protecting his missionaries. From skunks and blessing them with lost shoes.  


Where I am at: I keep saying that miracles are happening! I am so happy to be here when the work is going forward. I think it’s so amazing! It’s so interesting to be here at this time in our countries history. I love this work. I thank God every day for this chance to be here doing this work. I am so eternally happy to see people come closer to Christ. It’s great. Thanks for all of your support and love. I love you all!

Monday, September 8, 2014

Pat a cat pat a cat

Hi! This marked another great week in the field. This ward fast is really moving the work forward. It’s amazing to see the miracles that happen with fasting. It gets me every time.

Spiritual: Why is the Gospel even important? Today shall I answer that grand question with a story. Yesterday we were with a member and were trying to go visit a potential investigator. This man had told us a little bit about himself and told us his situation. His name is Rene and he has a daughter that has cancer. He works two jobs and is stressed out of his mind. He is a hardworking man and has a desire to learn about God. We went over to go see him and he wasn’t home. Even though we had set an appointment. (this is not uncommon.) Oh well! His daughter answered the door and started to talk to us. This was Shaylee his daughter who has cancer. When we talked to her we found out more of her story and what had happened. Her life was going great. She placed high in the Jr. Olympics and was pursuing a path to go to the actual Olympics, she was the lead scorer on her high school soccer team and had high hopes for that and all of the sudden she developed brain cancer and it was gone in an instant. She is now confined to a wheelchair and is not very happy with life. She felt like it was God who took her dreams and hopes away and now she is really upset at the way her life has gone and the events that have led to her being where she is. When we talked to her it just broke my heart. She was so upset at where she was that there was no hope in her heart. I was really concerned about how to help her. I realized that what the gospel gives us and why it’s so important is because it gives us opportunity for a change in perception. When we have hope in the resurrection and we have faith that Jesus Christ really did what he said that He did, we can look forward and be happy. We can turn our trials into opportunities to help others. Living the Gospel does not entitle you to be completely free of opposition or pain, but it does entitle you to change your perception and your reaction to live a life of service and help to the people around you. This is not something we can really go over and say to Shalee right now, she has some other issues that we need to help her with before that time but we are going to work with her and help her on her path to knowing God. I love this gospel. I love the Savior. I am so happy that I have the ability and the hope to change my perception of tragedy into a mindset of service, humility and love for others. I know that Heavenly Father did not send us here to fail. He sent us here on earth to live so that we can grow. I love this and I know this. 

Funny: In missionary work it really is helpful to pay attention to the person you are talking to. This will help you know their needs and learn how to help them. It is also crucial for you to pay attention to their surroundings. Both are essential for good missionary work. We were street contacting and we met a lady who was holding a cat. I stopped and asked if I could pet the cat. She was a really sweet lady and that was a really fluffy cat. I walked over and gave the cat the old scratch behind the ears. The cat was a little freaked out but I didn’t think anything of it. I thought it was normal. I am a scary tall guy with a bike helmet on and a machine of death with two wheels next to me. I kept talking to the lady and for some reason she kept backing away from me while holding the cat. I would come closer and she would go farther away. Eventually she said that she really had to go because the cat was done. I tried to talk to her but she just started to walk away. That was really strange because for the most part people that will talk to us and we get that far with will stay and listen to the whole thing. It was odd. I asked Elder Barney what his thoughts were about it and he said "Didn’t you see the cat?" Silly Elder Barney. I saw the cat and I even played Pat the Cat. He told me that when I had patted  said cat that the cat didn’t like Elder Black. It had its claws out and was clinging to this lady very tightly. Whenever I got closer it would get more and more freaked out and would scratch the lady even more vigorously than before. I was probably not very good that every time she would back away I would take a step closer. Oh dear. I felt bad about that. I did learn a very important lesson about observing the situation that people are it. 


Where I am at: This ward fast is awesome. We have met someone every day that we think has some solid potential. It’s super cool! Strangely though every time we meet someone it’s after we have a huge long bike ride to the top of our area and are completely out of breath. Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven! We have Zone Training Meeting on Friday and we are really excited about it. Our theme is going to be based on Ether 2 and how the Lord answers prayers. I am doing great and loving this work! I love love love the Fort Ord Ward! This is awesome. I love the stories and the strength of the members. Things are going well! I love you all!