Week #93 - This week has been LOCO!!! + Meet Elder Taylor :)

I don't really know what to write right now this week has been loco!!! I use Loco because estoy en la obra español otra vez! Wow es un poco divertido por decir lo menos  (I am in spanish work again! Wow, it's a little fun to say the least) It has been a wild week though, got my boy Elder Taylor, training that greenie til he's ripe and ready and til I'm dead....mission term for leaving the mish :( it's gonna be a sad day and it's been weird in this area because I've had to think about it a lot. Also, with my companion being straight from home we talk about it and it's mind boggling.

But we haven't had to much time for that this week we were hustlin' to get this area rockin! We literally both got into this area and started from scratch, there wasn't a ton going on and we didn't know the area. So, we ran and got a ton of ward lists, like part member families and directories and just organized the crap out of everything! We had a stellar week though, we found 16 new peeps to teach, put someone on date and had 4 @sacrament which we hope to increase all those but for now it'll do.

It's been cool though, we worked super hard and Elder Taylor is a beast, he is smart a tech guy and from West Jordan. He is a great teacher and now we just need to work on his Spanish. What's been cool though is helping train him made me realize I know a lot more than I thought and I've had to be patient.

It was cool though we got a call to get Elder Taylor certified for driving and Elder Creamer the car guy said that president Clark said I was his best trainer and then I was able to talk to president Clark a little on the phone and he said that I did a fantastic job as a zone leader and that I need to make Elder Taylor even better than I am, so that's my goal!! I'm dumping everything I know into him haha it's weird I'm so close to home. 

But I love you guys the church is real and Jesus lives amen :)

New Address: 

2550 citrus tower boulevard apt.5102 

Week #87 - Meet Elder Jensen :)

Heyyyy Family :)

Well I got my new comp and he's awesome! His name is Elder Jensen and he actually knew me back home from soccer and he knew Leo. He is a beast at soccer!! Super good ball control and passing. We got to play a little today. Well guys I don't know what to say today, it's gonna be a pretty short email but my pictures will explain a lot. Well also this has been the weirdest transfer haha we've literally passed off 50+ people in the last month and 3 people we've had on solid dates have moved, it's been kinda sucky but I know they will be blessed wherever they are #sameteam. 

Well I love you all and pray for my mom :) 

Tyson Stiggins came for a visit 

Saw my favorite boys from Deltona!!!! 

Initiation for Elder Jensen involved a lizard :) Shout out to my trainer

Funny pictures of Elder Jensen and I 

Teresa just moved but she will be baptized soon

Interview with Jackie for her baptism, so spiritual

Week #81 - Baptizing Tiger Woods?

Hey!

Well I got transferred and I'm in Orlando south right now, my area over here is Windermere. It's a very wealthy area so I'm just preparing to baptize Tiger Woods and Shaq, don't know if they have a jumpsuit big enough for my boy o'neal but we can make it work bahaha ;)

Anyways my comp is Elder Acevedo he is great, he has a real drive to get the work done. He's almost been out a year so he's at that point in the mission where you just want to do so much haha It's a much different kind of work over here than it was in Viera so it's kinda weird, instead of a lot of old people and gated communities we have just a huge assortment of people down here. We have A LOT of Portuguese work down here so that's dope, but what's even cooler is all the Polynesians that are down here! This Ward has a ton of Polynesians, mostly Tongans but there are some Samoans scattered about #manycalledbutfewareCHOSEN ;) it's been a lot of fun though!

There's just a lot of work here to be done and I just want to share some cool stories on how I know that each one of us is so needed. So I usually don't say how certain people are found because of myself or others because the glory truly is to God, but he does have his instruments and what I saw this week was really cool to realize, again, the personal need for us as individuals. So, it's the first couple days in the area and I do missionary very differently than the missionaries that were previously in this area. They liked tracting and all that and I love using the tools I've been giving and following the spirit on certain people to drop by and teach. So it's like my 4th day here and I was organized the area book and studied all the records by now and I saw a family I wanted to go visit. So, i was following elder Acevedo for a bit because I'm still so fresh to the area but since I had just read all the records I knew the formers. So, I said elder Acevedo I have somewhere I would like to go and he said ok, so we went to this family. As we were pulling up I said well this is it and even if their not here I know God leads us to who we need to meet, like that family right there. (Family sitting on a bench in front of the apartments). We got out and immediately went to talk with them and the the guy said are you guys Mormon? And we said yes, then he said (in some rougher English) I want to go to that church! Then we talked about it and he said but you have to promise me that if I go I can talk to the bishop. So he came to church and talked to the bishop and after his meeting I asked how he liked church and he said I liked it, with a huge smile and then said, I'm going to be a member soon! Wow don't say that to a missionary ;) so we sat down and talked with him and put him on date to be baptized on July 16th!! It was so awesome!!! I just wanted to share though how cool is the way the Lord uses us, I know that we wouldn't have found this man without me, because the missionaries were doing work a different way to find. So I knew I was needed, and there were 3 people baptized in this area before I came that I knew wouldn't have been found with me.....because they were found through tracting. The Lord needs everyone's different talents and abilities at the right times and it's amazing to see how he truly needs us. He knows us and he knows what choices we are likely to make with who we are and he LOVES helping his children through guiding his other children.

More pictures to come next week, I just couldn't connect to wifi to send them from my camera. They will be pictures of more families from Viera and my new comp!!! :)

Some more families

Exchanges with Elder Baxter

Week #69 - Conference Weekend/Meet Elder Bigler :)

So this week is been really awesome, I love General conference! It Gives such a great spiritual vibe and it made me truly remember the importance of having a living prophet and apostles and leaders that can guide us in a world of commotion.

I got my new companion his name is Elder Bigler, he has been out for 7 1/2 months and he's really awesome I've been able to have a lot of good laughs and down-to-earth and chill. I love being able to learn from all my new companions and shout out to Elder Peay or Austin Peay as he is home now and just having a good ole time.

One thing really wonderful miracle about General conference is that one of our investigators watched it and just received so much personal revelation, I think it was something so essential for her to realize that this is truly the church for her and Christ's church on earth. She is amazing and I've learned so much Charity while teaching her, she knows it is true but she's waiting on an answer from the Lord. We've talked to her and she's already received answers. Whether she knows it or not but we are just doing all we can to encourage her she is amazing. 

It's been weird to think about, after this transfer I only have a half a year left. This general conference was my second to last one in the mission and I only have one call left before I'm home. I've been so grateful to hear from you guys and be blessed by your emails and your love and support. I am keeping this email short because today I'm going to try to send off some personal emails to some people so I hope to hear back from you I love you and let me try to get some pictures for you!

Jeeping pic... Wow, so beautiful & I LOVE Jeeps

Elder Peay & the Vickery Family 

Final goodbye with Peay & Ammon Delap

 Elder Bigler & I, excuse the sweat! #gohard

Week #63 - He left the 99 for 1

Well hello, hello :)

Well first of i just wanted to start off with a wonderful humbling experience i had this week. We were to go on exchanges with a companionship in Ellsworth, Ellsworth is where the church ranch is our here. So this is a massive area, the only problem is there is more cows out there than there is humans. :) The population of this area I would say doesnt exceed over 10,000 and not only that it is very spread out. So we are driving through what seems to be a desert, absolute no mans land when we get to a little humble town, if you can even call it that. Not only in the town of Holappa is there hardly any people but they are spread out and hidden in some trees. So we start biking around in this little city and through my mind the thoughts going through my head are dang there is literally no one in this area. I wondered in my mind, why is this even an area? There is really nothing here for the missionaries to do, they could be put somewhere more effective. Then as we were going to teach some people we went over to a recent converts home to grab some supplies for some service. His name was Scotty and he was so awesome. As we talked with him i was just like wow this guy is amazing, i could feel the spirit of christ from him and the love heavenly father had for him. As we sat laughing and conversing with him, i just sat there and thought wow this is why. Scotty was just baptized!!! in this tiny tiny town one of heavenly fathers children was brought to the truth and blessings of the gospel. I couldnt help but fill my heart swell with joy and just a have a huge internal grin, i even get so happy thinking of it now :D Heavenly father loves ALL of his children so so so so so so very much, in every single way and even if we dont see the point in things, he does. He sent missionaries to this tiny place with hardly a population to make a school and found his children that were ready. He truly loves and is mindful of all his children, as Jesus Christ left the apostles in in the new testament he proclaimed he had sheep not of that fold and needed him so he left to bless them. Then in the book of mormon it states the same thing. He left the 99 to find the 1 and he definitely knows all things that he does. I have utter faith in my heavenly father and the savior of the world. They truly know us and are mindful, go to them, pour out your soul and I can promise you will receive the comfort and the answers you need. Just be prepared to change. ;) 

I love you all so MUCH!!

Week #56 - Zone Conference

  Waxed Elder Terry's legs bahaha 

Elder Tucker 

Elder Pututau

Elder Cotton

Week #44 - Meet Pututau :)

Arden and us after his interview. (Horne, Creer, and Pututau)

Elder Skidmore, I never got exchange pictures with him.

Pututau and I after ZTM with our scripture, 2 Nephi 10:21

Picture with a tortoise that will grow to be older than me! 

The owner is going to put it in his will :D

Elder Radigan

Week #38 - Meet Elder Radigan :)

I will send pictures next week :)

Week #26 - Elder Reeves, Again :) MTC Companion

Heyyyyyy everybody,

I'm in a new area right now and we are killing it!! Found 14 new people to teach this week and just gonna turn this are around. My new address:

ELDER GODINET

409 LONG DRIVE 
POINCIANA, FL

I can't wait to hear from you guys, keep sending me pics and I will keep getting to your letters, yes I know slowly but surely haha :) I'm back with my MTC companion again elder reeves haha but it's pretty much because the mission president wanted to let sherwin have a good last transfer ;)  so he put me here haha so I guess we'll see. It's been pretty fun and this new house has a lot of random new stuff. I miss you all a lot this change made me miss home again. I am going to be sending a bunch of pics later but email me anytime today and I am going to email a lot of you. I love you so much if you have any questions ask. :) Tell me some funny stories too, love you guys :) I CANT SAY IT ENOUGH I FREAKING LOVE YOU GUYS!!!!!!!

Oh today someone told us she is deathly afraid of gingers and midgets hahahaha and one day at work she opened the door and there was her boss who is a red head and she threw up all over the floor and peed her pants bahahah I was dying laughing, then she said that she got sent home early but it was so funny.

Scripture of the week: psalms 82:6 it doesn't get more obvious than that ;)

I also miss the people from my last area so much haha those people are straight up family now and it was so hard to leave. I cried and a lot of the youth cried and tormes did as well. But I connected with the youth there so much. they told me they connected with my more than any other missionary and really it is because we were like bros haha I love those kids. im already planning on visiting them after the mish which is awhile haha but if anyone wants to join start planning now for spring break 2017 bahahaha

LOVE YOU GUYS :)

Week #20 - Meet Elder Lindsay :)

So hey everybody this week has definitely been a different one haha. Its adjusting time out here, we had transfers and i guess its time to adjust to my new comp. I miss elder sherwin a lot but it is still so good out here. My spanish has increased so so so so much! I can speak like fluent right now i don't even really have to think about it that much i'm becoming a true hispanic haha I got my glasses today and wow they are so sick, i have one picture of me wearing them next to a 7 patty burger i ate today haha DANG!

Man i love you guys, i am so sorry i have not been writing everyone back as fast as i would like but i love you guys so much and i will write back!!! Hows everyone doing? i hope you know i pray for you everyday out here and just pray fro your well being and that you guys are as happy as possible. Please make good choices, i see to many people out here make dumb and irrational choice because its "fun" or every is doing it. DON'T BE FREAKING STUPID!! I don't care what it is its not worth it. I know without a shadow of a doubt in my heart that this is the true church and when we TRULY desire to become like christ we can change ourselves to whatever we want to be...as long as its on the path of the Lord and thats the path you will be happier on. Before you do something ask yourself, "is it worth eternity" 

P.S i bashed with a Jehovahs witness in spanish yesterday hahahah she was so shocked it was great. Oh and just truly think when you pick a religion because there's only one true church and that's the LDS church ;)

Love you guys!!!

A big storm!!!

Saying goodbye to Sherwin

A member had his shirt on backwards yesterday

The monster burger!!!!! 

Wow, it clogged my arteries but hey I can say I did it now bahaha 

My new glasses and the burger