Heating up in L.A.!

Here is the story about change.  J. is the husband of R.; he used to throw away the notes and pamphlets we left for her.  Now he has gone 180 degrees.  He wants to quit drinking and lets us come by once or twice a week!  Cool, huh!

A young man in our ward just received his mission call to Ohio Columbus, speaking Spanish, so HEADS up to Sister B.! 

P. reads every single thing we leave for her and is learning in leaps and bounds.  When we followed up on the Word of Wisdom, she knew it all.  I began to explain that it was revelation given to Joseph Smith, and she added, "In 1833."  Now I will remember that fact forever!

The computer is about to kick me off.  Love you all!  Sorry it is so short!

Hijoles Frijoles!

Another excellent week and the success is building! Our mission has had the best 3 weeks it has had in a very long time!

We played volleyball with the youth the other night, which was a blast! I haven't played in For.Ev.er! It was a great ice breaker with all the youth, too!

Splits with Elder D. and R. was a blast! We played Star Wars trivia after planning (no board game involved, just our bwains!) and I loved it! We gave each other our hardest questions and realized just how nerdy we are! Elder D. has some great ones. Once again, thanks to Chris O. and the knowledge I gleaned from him!:)

It was J.'s birthday and we made a cake that took a lot of orchestration, as our oven is broken. Luckily our awesome neighbors, who are reading the Book of Mormon, let us use theirs for 30 minutes.

S. and her two daughters came to church, which makes two weeks in a row! We hadn't even got to the baptismal commitment somehow and that is the goal for this week. We are really looking forward to it!

We found many investigators outside our area this week, and sent them as referrals to Elders M. and W.  downtown. One we found yesterday, at church, and we called them up right away. They went over and he accepted a baptismal date! We are super excited for them even though it is not in our area or ward!

I also found out this week that my companion, Elder M., has a killer Smeagol/Gollum impersonation! It is crazy funny!!!

Well, the computer is about to kick me off, but I want to let you know that the Spirit changes hearts and minds. Sometimes the change comes faster than others, but it does indeed come. I will tell you next week the story relating to this. I love you!!!! Stay safe. Don't keep this Gospel a secret. "Scream it to the world!"

Sh-h-h! It might be full of chocolate, okay! [Muppets From Space]

Well, last week we had a record high for baptismal dates and investigators at church, which is really exciting! President was so excited that he was almost jumping up and down..:) So I cannot remember if I talked about A and M last time I wrote. We showed up at their house before church and they just came with us! A is the brother-in-law of D who was baptized in May. Yesterday we had five people at church which was so cool!

Our new investigator is S and she absolutely loved church! Her 12-year-old daughter K came and brought two friends as well! S told us that she had fun and the time went by fast; she couldn't believe it was over already!:) She said she will for sure see us at church next Sunday and that her older daughter would be coming, too! They walked from their house, which showed their desire to come. When they arrived, three or four members hurriedly invited them into their row and we split up so we could sit with all our investigators. It was a way cool experience.

We had a cool lesson with five 25-year-olds and it was great to see all of them pay attention and listen intently as we shared the First Vision with them. One is named N and he is pretty cool. We talked about the Great Apostasy and then his friend A had questions about it. We got to hear him re-teach it to A and then think about it more. He doesn't believe in Christ, but says he will start to pray! We taught the lesson in the back yard and the nature atmosphere really helped to have the Spirit with us.:)

 Last night we passed by a moving van on our way to visit L. We both had the impression to go back and help out. I knew that L would not be home because we needed to help out this family. He wasn't home. So, we helped out! We moved out a couch and moved in two sofas and a kitchen table to their second floor apartment! At one point we decided it was easier to just hoist it up to the second level. Guess who was on the bottom! You probably guessed the tall, gangly guy with the higher reach, right? Yeah. I am a bit sore, but it was so great to help them out. The parents are named G and B. We talked for a bit and the mother said she had been praying that someone would show up to help them with that impossible task. Poof! We were there. Coincidence? I Think NOT!!!! We now have an appointment with them on Saturday!:) I am really excited. We also found out that their daughter is a Harry Potter fanatic so that could be a fun discussion.

Whoo! I had to take a breath! It has been fun talking with the other Elders who are Star Wars fans here. I got a little embarrassed when we started playing a trivia game with Elder D. and I said something a little too geeky. I knew the names of some "no name" Jedi's in the movies! I'd like to thank C. Oberg for helping me out with that !:) Love you all! Hope you love my randomness and that you stay safe! You have a little more than a year left to enjoy life before I come back to terrorize the city in my Sasquatch-like manner!!!! ;) Love you all! Mischief Managed!

Three baptisms in August!

Hey Family! We had a great week and I wanted to thank you for the support and prayers.

 Last week I couldn't remember the 3rd thing I learned in the Ensign article about covenants, so I referred back to my notes. When we are judged, we will not only be judged by our actions and the desires of our hearts. It will also be according to what we have become! Cool! I love trying to become the person I know Heavenly Father wants me to be. :) I have good news on my weight as well. I have lost 7 lbs! Woohoo! I now weigh 205 which makes me feel a lot better. I think it is from running/basketball. I have been sweating a lot which is good. I still feel really out of shape but I’m happy to have lost weight. :) 

We found several new investigators since transfers began and had some really good lessons. One man named T blew us away with his near-LDS beliefs and we were able to pick up a few investigators that had not progressed last transfer.  We also had a referral that seems promising. I will update you on those when we get to teach them again. We had a pretty crazy week.

We found this woman named P who is way cool! She and her mom G (95) were looking for a new church when we showed up looking for a former investigator nearby. We taught the Restoration and she was basically leading us to the baptismal question throughout the lesson. She kept talking about being "reborn". We left her a Book of Mormon and she started reading and even searching. Somehow she found out that we don't baptize kids until they are 8 years old, and she agreed. We had not even said the word baptism to her yet. When we finally challenged them to be baptized, they both accepted and set the date for the 5th of August!!! P does all her homework and loves it. The next trick is getting her to come to church! Our mission has been focusing on the fundamentals of PMG (ask Mom and Dad), and it has been working. Our companionship and the mission had an awesome week! 

L also accepted to be baptized on the 5th of August which was really cool! I was on splits with an other Elder and my companion, Elder M, committed him with his temporary companion! I also had great studies the last few days where I am led from one thing to the next. I have enjoyed looking for revelation in my patriarchal blessing and feel awesome every time I read it! If you have not read yours lately, I highly recommend it! Each time I gain new perspective and realize my blessings.

Well, I love you all and hope you see the Lord’s hand in your lives this week. Keep up YOUR hard work and love what you do. Keep smiling! Love you!

Transfer News

Well, this transfer cycle had a very unexpected result. Elder C got transferred and I received a new companion. His name is Elder M from St. Louis, Missouri. Elder C got transferred to one of the best areas in the mission... Fox Hills!!! I gave him a lot of info to take with him so he could get a good head start in the area. He is going to love it there! After the mission, Elder C, Elder D and I can go back together to visit! 

I had some new insights on covenants this week. The first is that the sacrament helps us to renew all of the covenants we have made with Heavenly Father, not just baptism. I was stuck in that mode and did not realize that for some reason. The second is that the New and Everlasting Covenant is not marriage. It’s the gospel!  It is every covenant that we have entered into with Heavenly Father. I used to think it was only marriage. I read it in the Ensign and looked for it in Principios del Evangelio (Gospel Principles). Cool huh? I learn something new every day!

Before Elder C left, we met a former investigator that dropped the missionaries a year back or so because they had laughed during the prayers and didn’t take the gospel seriously. It is sad that the bad example of someone a long time ago can make a difference now in the decisions we make. We missionaries are noticed and watched by everyone around us. We must always represent He who's name we have on our chest.

We also discovered that Katy Perry lived in our area a few months ago and that Ron Pearlman does now. We met him, although I have never seen the movie he was in. A member in our area has a daughter that is a HUGE Harry Potter, LOTR, and Star Wars fan! When I walked into their house, I thought I was walking into my room! She has so much Harry Potter memorabilia – it is nuts! I will have to take a picture the next time we are over.

We spent the week talking to lots of people and getting a few return appointments. During the week we met a member from Boston who gave us lemonade and talked to us for a few minutes (on the 4th of July). Turns out there is a missionary in her Boston ward from Utah, but she couldn't remember his name. I asked if it was Elder H, but she didn't know. I got her info and am going to ask him in the next letter I write to him. Two of the people we ran into this week were members in Guatemala, but are inactive out here.

 Last night we actually found this mom and son who are awesome! E, the mom, is very busy, but wants to make time to meet with us. She wants her son to meet with us, too, and she was honest and asked great questions. She used to run cross-country and is trying to get back into it. When I told her I had stopped track for two years to serve a mission, her eyes got big and she told me I should keep training. I chuckled at the thought of me training and serving a mission at the same time! We had a blast talking with them and she seemed really interested in learning. The trick will be working with her crazy schedule. The world moves too fast and we must all try to slow down a bit so we can focus on the things that matter most.

Well time is up, so I will talk again next week. Hope you had a great 4th of July and stayed safe! I love you!