A True American Answer

The land of the sun is wonderful. Monterey is terrific. I love it here. The weather has been cool and beautiful. This is the best place in the mission by far. 

Spiritual: Being as it is Memorial Day weekend I thought I would take a second and share an experience that happened while we were driving back from a fireside last night with an incredible member who is part of the armed services. Take a second to appreciate what we have here and where it came from. This dear brother as part of his duty being in the National Guard was privileged to stand in a ceremony that the army put on surrounding the fallen warriors. It was incredible to hear him describe a man who had been hit by an IED (bomb) and while he was dying had the courage and faith to keep translating to save more lives. This brother got very emotional while he described the ceremony and how touching it was to realize that one of his comrades in arms did not make it home. He left behind a small girl and a wife. This brother was telling me about how he has to trust in Heavenly Father to bring him back alive. For those who do not make it back it’s a sad and noble sacrifice. There are people watching out for us even when we do not realize it. It made me think and appreciate so much more what a sacrifice it is to these people who do serve our country. The Lord lives and loves us. His plan is the best plan even if it is not the easiest plan. This brother also said that the reason it was so touching was not so much the pomp and circumstance surrounding the memorial, but it was the knowledge that someday that man will once again see his daughter again. That this life is not the end and that there is a higher power. I know that the plan of happiness is just what it says it is. Heavenly Fathers plan for us to be happy and that no matter how hard life may seem at the moment, this is His plan for our happiness. 

Funny: Dylan, our 17 year old investigator, accepted a baptismal date for June 21 this past week. We asked him to pray about the date this week and come back and tell us what he felt. He prayed that night and felt nothing. When he got up in the morning he said he ran into a wall and fell down and cut his arm. At this point things were not looking too well for the 21st. He then said he went into the shower and started washing up. He likes to take really cold showers but for some reason that day his shower was super warm. He told us that even the little knob showed it was supposed to be cold but it was warm. Weird. He was really surprised and a little freaked out. He said that when he got out of the shower he just felt all this power come into him and he just felt like he was on top of the world. He just said "Yep. The 21st is the day!" and that was that. Sometimes answers to prayers come in ways that we really don't expect, but they come. It was perfect. We are so happy for him. 

Where I am at: The outgoing devotional was amazing last night. It was President Watkins last outgoing devotional and so it was quite profound. It was incredible. We had Dhani our other 17 year old investigator come with us and it was perfect for him! There were two recent converts, one a younger man who lives in Santa Cruz and another one who was a self-proclaimed narcissist who bore testimonies that struck him right where it counts. It was wonderful. We are so excited for him. I am going to miss President a lot, but am excited for a new adventure with President Mella. Elder Fisher is getting transferred and it seems like the world is going to end. I am not happy with him leaving. I love that missionary! All is well and I am happy and loving the Lord and His work. 

You can run, and unfortunately you can hide too

This week was a good week here in Monterey. I am so in love with this missionary work. I love this ward and the work. These people are a little hardened and a little rough around the edges, but I am completely utterly in love with them. It was just overwhelming last night to lie in bed and just be so completely immersed in the Spirit. I love it here. 

Spiritual: Our friend Dhani who we met on the street has been progressing really well. He is starting to understand the point of the Gospel. He was wondering about why the church is needed. Why we can’t just believe in Christ and call it good? This question one that we all have to overcome if we want to remain converted and true. The whole point of the gospel is to make bad men good and good men better. The whole point is about progression. Learning every day how to become more and more like our Father in Heaven who is perfect and who wants us to be as well. Dhani was really touched by this thought. In the lesson he was really thinking quite deeply about this concept and we are not entirely sure what he thinks about it now. We sent him home to pray about it and to come back and tell us what he felt. It was definitely a revelation moment for me though to realize that by each and every choice we make, we are choosing however minutely to become like our Heavenly Father. Think about the small choices you are making and about how they will change you.  

Funny: We tried to meet with Mckay on Saturday this week. He is an 18 year old less active who is hanging out with some not so great influences. We drove over to his house and we saw him in his driveway smoking. Not good. That was exactly what he was trying to overcome. BUSTED. We parked really quick and got out just in time to see him pull a ninja move and jump over two fences and scramble into a friend’s house. He was gone. We went over on Sunday and there he was. Like nothing had happened. haha oh funny. Trying to run away from the missionaries is one of the first steps to falling away, but it can make ordinary people jump tall fences in a single bound. 

Where I am at: Oh Monterey is the best place ever! Good heavens! This ward is amazing! There are so many things happening and so many miracles taking place. I love this area and I love my companion. Unfortunately transfers are this next week. Oh No! I am not happy but I am trusting in the Lord that things will be okay. I love you all and am praying for you!

Jerome and the Flood

Spiritual: This past week we have seen an abundance of miracles. It’s been really heartwarming to see the miracles take place. Jerome got baptized on Saturday. It was a very moving experience to witness. His wife is a Jehovah’s witness and came into the church almost in an outrage. In her mind she thought that just going into a different church was a sin and she was not happy. She was angry, annoyed and fuming to the point that she wouldn’t shake any of the missionary’s hands let alone look them in the eye. She said that she was only there for Jerome and she wanted nothing to do with the Mormon Church. She came in and sat down still bristling with anger. I watched her throughout the service as it went on. During the closing song I could tell that something was different. She was reading the words to the closing song and I saw tears in her eyes. The spirit was witnessing to her that this was a good thing that Jerome was doing. It is not time yet for us to introduce the nuts and bolts of the gospel to her yet, but she knew that there was something good in that room. After the service she was singing a different song. Her countenance was cheery and she was all smiles and laughter. It was amazing. The fruits of the Spirit are good feelings and good attitudes. Once felt they stick with us. The Holy Ghost witnesses to us that things are true and we can feel the Spirit by focusing on the feelings. "In spiritual matters feelings are facts.” (President Packer said that.) The Church of Jesus Christ is the Lord’s church on the earth today. He lives and leads it. 

Funny: When we were filling the font I guess we filled it a little too much. After the baptism we went back to change and this pool of water was seeping through the door into the room. Oh boy. This was not planned! I grabbed some towels and started mopping. It felt like theater because all of the craziness was going on back stage but the audience had no clue. 

Where I am at: The good thing is that we had a baptism. The bad thing is that we have none coming up. It’s okay though because we have a solid amount of investigators. We just need people to take the next step. I love this work and I love this ward. I am so happy to be here serving the Lord. 

One Fat Pig and Two Fighting Kids

What a fun week it has been here in Seaside. Turns out that I am slowly losing weight! (about 5 lbs so far.) Amazing what a full bike area and a ton of hills can do to you. My new skinny suit pants have turned into my new "Spandex wanabe" pants. Tan, toned and loving this area. I am really enjoying the Fort Ord Ward. It’s really neat to talk to so many different people from so many different places and with so many different stories. The military does an interesting job of breaking people down and humbling them to take orders. It’s very different from my normal state of affairs. It was a week with a lot of miracles. 

Spiritual: I am absolutely nothing. This week we met a family outside of their house just hanging out. We gave them a copy of the Book of Mormon and prayed with them and invited them to read it and asked if we could come back. We do this about 5-10 times a day so there was nothing new in it and it felt like normal. We came back two days later on a whim and it was unbelievable what had transpired in the hearts of this family. It turns out that before we had come, they were diligent seekers of truth. They were looking for a place to raise their family in learning about Jesus Christ and seeking a way to bring their family closer together. When we were praying, they apparently looked at each other and nodded, confirming to each other that this was something new and different. Oh how wonderful it felt to go back and talk to her about how she had been reading the book and loved it. She was praying about it and felt it was true. We did absolutely nothing except give her the tools to start her journey to come closer to Christ. We are nothing but tools in the Lords hand. It’s up to us to be as sharp as we can be in our mastering of technical skills, but the Lord is the one who does the work. He lives and He cares about us. The Lord will only use us if we let Him. Please know that I am not a perfect missionary. Please know that I want to be. Please know that I love this work and I know that as long as I am working as hard as I can and following the rules and putting my whole heart into the work, Heavenly Father will use me. He will use you as well and it feels fantastic to be used by the Almighty. 

Funny: Elder Fisher and I have decided that we need a pig. What a fantastic contacting tool! We met a lady who had a pet pig outside and we ended up talking to her and giving her a Book of Mormon. Pigs and the Gospel. It really works! I felt really strange petting a pig and talking about sacred beliefs and testimony's.  

Where I am at: Cool/funny story, awhile back we talked to two friends outside of their house and gave them the Book of Mormon. We came back last night to find them having it out on the front lawn. They were going at it! Tooth and nail. They saw us and bounced up and ran over to us. They are both around 16 and super funny. They told us they needed to blow off some steam and so they were fighting. They then told us all of their girl problems and other problems and mid-sentence one of the boys paused and said "I read half your book." What?? Okay! "Did you like it?' "Yeah! It’s made me believe in God." Okay then. He is so going to be baptized. It was quite the miracle. I love this place. These are not even all the miracles that are happening around here. It’s amazing. 

I love you all and miss you! If any of you are considering going on a mission, DO IT. It’s the best best thing you can do with your life. No question. Lose your life and you will find it. I love you all!