Week #104 - FINAL THOUGHTS

I would love to see anyone and everyone that would like to be there when I arrive at the airport.
Here's my schedule and last thoughts. 

Well, the time has come. I can't believe it is here. I'm pretty much an RM now and I feel like an old man but really I'm still so young haha So today is the first day this has hit me, I woke up at 6:16 and just sat in bed thinking wow, I will be home two days from now. I don't even know what to write right now, I am pretty lost for words. 

This mission has been the greatest time of my life. I already know that I will owe all my future success to this mission and the person I have become. I have gained power, confidence, and wisdom in all things. I have come to realize who I am and what I can do, and I have gained that same knowledge of other people. I have been able to help hundreds to thousands of people out here with the message we share and through missionary experiences and personal experiences of my own I have an absolute knowledge that their is a higher power, and I have come to have faith and believe that that higher power is God. Elohim and his son is Jesus Christ. It seems like when you can come to know that knowledge you can come to achieve anything! Even in the small things, especially the ones I was weak at: I have become great at public speaking, I can speak Spanish, I know the scriptures probably better than the back of my hand (completely serious), I can whistle ;), I can solve a Rubix cube, I helped a lady understand all of her bachelors homework for psychology and sociology and she got As and Bs on those assignments, I know how to study and be organized, I know where north south east and west are now ;), I can teach the gospel with power and authority, I  have increased who I am as a person and am closer to Christ now than I have ever been, I KNOW my savior so much that I believe I could truly answer people questions for him, I have learned so much about the power that is as individuals have. 

From all of the little things and up to the bigs things, we are GREAT. Remember who you are, because when you remember that, no body has power to divert your course. No body can stop you from success and becoming who you were meant to be. When we learn to rely on God, we learn to have all power because that's what he has. We learn that if it is his will and we have the desire and diligence to achieve it we will accomplish and conquer. The scriptures say we can move mountains, and why? Obviously before such a thing happens it must be Gods will but what allows us to move that mountain is not only the priesthood power but that mountain or any element will obey us because it will know WHO WE ARE. We are children of an almighty God and heirs to his kingdom heirs to his personage. 

I love you guys and I'm excited to come home. I'm excited to leave but I love this mission and I love the people I have been able to meet, all the wonderful missionaries and my amazing companions. Elders and Sisters do work and always remember who's got your back, it's not just a nice thought, it's reality in the fullest. I'm excited to become a true "full life time missionary" my missions not over. :) it started in the pre existence when I chose to come down to earth and follow Heavenly Father and it will never end. After the eternities Moses 1:38 will be one of my verses to my children ;) See you guys soon....literally #2Days cray haha 

P.s. Don't hesitate going on a mission, you will make the biggest regret of your life not going. I can promise you that with ALL of my being. Nothing else will mean more to a faithful disciple of Christ than a mission. 

P.s.s missionaries add me to your emails lists godinetvn@gmail.com

Week #103 - 9 Days

Wow so like 9 days left guys, it's pretty crazy not going to lie. I'm gonna see all your beautiful faces in no time at all! I am ready to come home the Lord has been helping me a lot with the transition.

We had our departing temple trip this week and it was so awesome, I was able to receive a lot of spiritual information for myself on my mission and home life. I was also able to have my departing interview and President Clark starting off by saying that he KNEW I had a great mission. He said that sometimes as a mission president you worry if someone had a great mission or wasted time. Then he said, I don't worry about you. I KNOW you had a great and successful mission. I was happy to hear that haha :)

This week I have just felt content and pleased with what I have done and gained a great spiritual confirmation of that and have felt like that time has come. I had a conversation with my companion about some things this week on humility and the importance of having that attribute. We talked about how even when some things make perfect sense and are logical people won't accept if they themselves are not humble and ready to hear and learn. "The wicked take the truth to be hard" sometimes we try to push things on people because it makes so much sense to us and we know it can help them but if they are not ready they truly won't understand no matter who is teaching or what approach you take. Jesus Christ was the perfect teacher, the perfect being and even he couldn't help some people because they were not ready to hear what he had to say. Be patient with those that struggle, all they might need sometimes is time.

Cecilia got baptized and so did Teresa :) 

Elder Jensen and I

Week #101 - what does it mean to be valiant?

Hellooooooo guys I really don't know what to write today. I say that a lot but then I end up writing something. We have some people to be baptized and just continuing to work. One thing I will say, I HATE to hear anyone talk about having a testimony and then not doing anything about it. The Lord despises lip service. Remember that those who are not VALIANT in their testimonies do not inherit the kingdom where our Heavenly Father resides. What does it mean to be valiant? Well to put it simply, it means to act faithfully and diligently in what you believe. How could one say that they believe in the importance of church attendance and then not go to church?  

"For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart"? -Mosiah 5:13

And 

"¶Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven". -Matthew 7:21

Does one really think that they can say and not do and receive the same blessings of those who put forth the actions to SHOW their love. Please do not be that type of person. Look for things you need to do in order to improve and I know you will see greater happiness and success.

Love you :) 

Week #100 - Feeling Trunky

LOVE YOU GUYS    

Week #98 - ONLY 1 TRANSFER LEFT!

Heyyyy :) Wow, we had a great week. The baptism went so so well and it was just a great time. Also, Elder Taylor and I are staying together for my last one. Guys I really am running out of stuff to say, like I don't even know. I will say some things that have made me super happy lately is I have just been able to talk with people in Spanish and it's been so natural, obviously there are some things that still need to be worked on but it comes more naturally now to learn it. The 2nd thing is the weather here is absolutely perfect. Like I could cry with how amazing it has been haha :) It feels so much like Utah, the best way to describe it, is that it's 69-75 all day and just crispy, just crisp fresh dry air and man I could just stand outside all day in it.

I'm starting MyPlan right now which is weird, it just prepares me to come home and kill it, so that will be crazy. I do want to bear testimony on the atonement, it is real and it is powerful. Do not let it slip from your grasp because you feel like you're not worthy of being forgiven or because you think you can just skip over some steps and hide it. The savior knows and you know, so just make the steps and he will help you. It's hard, I know, but it's always worth it. If you ever, EVER, want to feel like a million bucks...then kneel down and talk with your Father in Heaven and ask for his love and forgiveness for the wrongs you've made and just become a better person. Someone once asked how long does it take for the atonement to take place in ones life? Elder Holland replied, "Repentance comes into our lives as soon as we say I'm going to change, and mean it." If you want to change, say it, mean it, and move forward. 

Love you guys :) 

Huge Moth

Departure List

Got contacts and this is what my eyes looked like after my first time trying to get them out 

Baptism of Reinalda

With who is running I would vote for Loki aka God of Mischief 

Week #97 - Preparing for home

Guys, I love you...I'm sending a voice recording next week with my comp. We have an awesome baptism this week. I have to start doing my plan to prepare for home so that is weird. Don't really know what to say, I love you guys so much and I'm excited to keep working hard til I see you!

Some weird pictures to supplement the lack of writing. :)

Week #96 - Hurricane Matthew

Wow it's been a crazy week!!! Guys, I experienced a hurricane!!!...kinda haha so this week has been super different because we pretty much sat in our apartment for two and a half days thanks to hurricane Matthew so that was great. So I planned a little and then we played a lot of board games and had the highest Jenga tower of all time haha like literally we were running out of moves and it was so tipsy with every touch! It was a good ol time :) I really would die if I had to stay in any longer haha stuck in an apartment for two and a half days with six guys and no electronics can get pretty boring, like we got really creative haha and it made me think of home and when I get home I cannot just sit around I will straight up go mad! I need to be busy haha I will even run some errands for people if needed because it's gonna be weird. 

Oh, but what I meant by we kinda got hit is because the hurricane was expected to come to us so we had to stay inside but then it never really came. We got some rain and wind but nothing too exciting. So after the hurricane was over on Sunday we went and helped clean up the damage of the hurricane down in Daytona Beach and New Smyrna Beach, they got hit decently hard and it was crazy to see the aftermath of a hurricane (and it wasn't even full strength over here" and how much damage there was. It uprooted huge trees and branches and some of these fell on people's homes. It tore out billboards and signs, bent metal road signs, and ripped off some people roofs like tin cans. Like, we went to a mobile home community and we were helping people out, so we would go out and knock on their doors and ask if we could help and we knocked on one door and Elder Taylor says, "Why is it so bright in there? Oh! It doesn't have a roof!" It was hilarious yet super sad! Haha hopefully that makes sense and I don't sound evil :) but it was crazy so if you have questions, ask!

Also we taught a family this week and wow they are amazing and the spirit was sooooo strong!! They are awesome and we actually street contacted the husband on our second week here and he is moving to Saratoga springs Utah!!! It blew my mind and his when we talked about where I'm from. So he texted us to set up an appointment and we went over and it was amazing and they were so so so awesome! God knows when we need something and also when we need someone because to Paul (the husband) he took it as a miracle that he met me, since he is moving to Utah and the neighboring city of my home town. He is so excited for the gospel! :)

Week #95 - General Conference Weekend

Wow well it's been a very spiritually week. I mean seriously conference was fantastic and it just made me so happy to have this wonderful gospel! I got brought close to tears multiple times this week because of the spirit at conference and then just sharing the gospel has flooded my being with joy. It's pretty awesome :) 

So this email, what do I even write!! It's been awesome finding people this last 2 and a half weeks we have found 28 people. Now we are just working for those who are ready and those who need some time but I know in due time all will know of the love and tender mercies of the savior and redeemer of the world. 

What are some things you guys learned from conference for your lives? Did anyone do some awesome things this last week? I know it's getting trippy for me, I get reminded every day that I don't have much time left and it makes me sad I really love the mission and I know I'll love being home when it comes but I will miss this so much! So I'm trying to give it my all right now, we are really praying to find some awesome people that are ready to baptized.

Guys I don't even know what to say but that I love you with all of my heart :) 

Week #94 - Chastity & Commitment!

Guys it's just getting wild haha the days are dwindling away. We've had some awesome times this week. Reinalda is so ready for baptism, like she is just awesome, she participates a ton in class and told us when we talked about baptism she felt happiness that she didn't feel before. So she will be ready for her baptism and then really we are just looking for people right now. 

We have found 21 new people in the last week and a half but we are cycling through them quick. It's been amazing seeing my Spanish just sky rocket haha like it's improving super fast and I feel so good about it. It helps me feel accomplished because it was such a weakness at one point and now it's just increasing into a huge strength for me. My companion is improving a ton too and it's been awesome to see him grow and learn. We made our apartment super nice and somewhat live able so it's pretty sick. 

I wanted to share just a random thought about the importance of the law of chastity. It is so real, don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. We see so many people struggling with divorce and kids without fathers and people getting attached to someone who doesn't even care about them. To many hearts are broken because of some "fun" that can be had or because you feel like you "love someone. If you love someone you are going to give them eternity, you are not going to settle for anything less than the temple and if not that at least marriage where you can truly say you are together and COMMITTED to the trials and tribulations that come. The only true power of creation we have is procreation and it's sacred and beautiful, we need to have the love, care and self respect for ourselves and for others. This is an eternal truth, not just a religious idea or belief but truth. Look around at the people who just go around with whoever they please or who decide to have fun for a night, it is never worth it. I have seen way to many people on my mission that have made these type of bad decisions and needed the gospel because nothing of the world can help. It's devastating to say the least, be careful with what you decide to do. 

Pic with Teresa, she was baptized :) 

Brother Winkelkotter

The Vincent's

My boy Gio 

Cecilia Mufalo

Denham Family

My man Adam Netane 

Dinner with the Hays family and sister Hartlieb 

Temple with Brother Kirkland and Elder Jensen

Pulver Family

Brother Skjeersaw

Brother Svejda

Chi Chi

Wolfgramms 

Brother Groff

Martinez fam

Carson Fam

Sister Lowry aka GAGA :)

Kirkland Family and alex 

Dallin Galeai 

Tobon Family