A picture is worth a thousand PLUS words

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has truly been an amazing one!

I want to thank all of my family and friends who sent me an email for Valentine's Day! Or just to check up on me! It means so much!!!

So here is my week in a huge area!

Week February 8-14 2016

Monday:

Today was such a fun pday for the other of us!!

So we started out our day by going to the library and doing some quick emails so that we could go an get our groceries all bought fast and head over to do a few more emails. So many would say that we waste our time emailing all morning or all day, but the thing is that pday should really be called p-hours, because there is not enough time for emailing, cleaning, and everything else we have to get done, and then we need to get some energy our to be able to go on with the rest of the week!

So today we were invited to go bowling with the English elders and a member, and as we went the member surprised 10 of us missionaries and paid for all of our bowling and food! Over 80 dollars, because he bought us all 3 games and food too! He was a really nice guy who just was easy to get along with and it was really nice to see that he wanted to get to know us personally. So as we were playing I was trying for my first time to bowl and spin the ball, and the first game was a little rough, but by my third game I was getting strikes from the back door and even able to aim my shots! By the end of my there game I had a 3 game score of 441 and a last game score of 171! It was the highest score I have ever gotten and it made me feel so good! So as we finish and we got done we also got to go to the church again and finish a few more emails while we sat up for our family home evening that was really good, but a little more mellow, because we were missing some families and we also watched a movie about the restoration. The best part about he whole thing was that our investigator who is 8 saw the movie and then gave the closing prayer and thanked God for a prophet Joseph Smith to see God and Jesus Christ. It was really cute and we hope he keeps learning! So something really quick before I go to bed that most people don't know is that for us at this time or the transfer in the mission, we are all stressed or nervous, because today or the next two days president will call to ask us to train or be leaders, and it is something people really don't like to wait for! So all this week the missionaries are always worrying about getting a phone call or making sure they have their phone. So we had a scare tonight when President Called Elder O just to check on him and that was it! Both our hearts were jumping out of our chests and confused at the beginning of the call, but it is all good now!!

Tuesday:

Wow! Today was quite an amazing day for us! So we had the great chance of going to the service Our Daily Bread with pretty much our whole zone and helping to make food for about 200 homeless or less fortunate people,who don't have the means to provide for themselves. Every time I got there I learn so much for about cooking and I also learn so much more about what service really means. As we were just finishing up eating so that we could go back and finish serving a man walked up to us and thanked us for serving him and just told us that we will never really understand the appreciation he has for us. It really helped me realize that they are super kind people who are very glad that so,some wants to help them. Sometimes they come in grumpy, or don't say nice things, but I look at what they go through, and I think to myself and ask myself, how would I react to this!? So today as I was helping cook I felt the phone vibrating in my pocket, so I went to a quiet hall and answered the phone to hear the AP to the president say hello to me and begin to ask me how I was in Spanish. He kept just visiting and then just popped the question I was nervous about. He said, "Elder Spendlove, we have thought and prayed about this and we have felt that you would do a really good job training this Transfer or two. Would you accept the opportunity to train a new missionary?" I knew I couldn't say no and I didn't want too, so with a little anxiety I said yes and he gave me the information for some trainings we were having this week. So all day I have been nervous thinking about how I would train my greeny to understand the mission and the language and what he would be like. However, I realize that the lord will help me with everything!! So this evening we had the opportunity to go to the house of a less active member and her non member husband, for the first time, and they were so awesome! They gave us some of their dinner and we taught a great lesson on the baptism of Jesus Christ and why it was important and then taught about the authority of God. It was understood very well, and I was super surprised with how excited they were to learn and to come back to church! I love excited people who want God! Today was a great day, but sadly Elder 'Otuafi is spitting up blood and sick, because they think he burned his stomach lining from Eating a Burger called the Hell Burger that had hot ghost peppers in it, so hopefully he gets feeling better!

Wednesday:

So today was quite the day! And today is my 8 month Mark!!

So today we had the opportunity to have a zone council for the last time together as our zone before the transfers, and it went so well! One of our main purposes for the whole thing was Becoming a Master Teacher and how we can do that. As we talked and counseled about it we came up wit a list of things that if applied to our teaching can not only make us powerful, but also successful in finding those who are ready and have them keep their commitments! So those points were as followed,

1. Extend a Clear Invitation

2. Ask Clarifying Questions

3. Identify Concerns

4. Use the Scriptures to Resolve Concerns

5. Promise Specific Blessings

6. Re-invite to do

7. Follow up as much as possible

The one thing I learned from this was to never be afraid to let the scriptures teach! A lot of times I just want to talk and talk, but when people have concerns with something the best thing to do is just to focus on scriptures to help solve those concerns the fastest. So during all of this my companion became really sick and was throwing up in the bathroom and so afterwards we called the mission Doctor, because he was not feeling well and he was getting hives around his face from some sort of allergic reaction to something he ate. So after the doctor recommended him medicine and we got it we just went home and I sat planning for my new companion while Elder 'Otuafi slept. Slowly the nervousness goes away from training and excitement takes his place, but I just don't know what to think about having a new companion that knows little Spanish! So this evening we were able to plan really well and then after that my companion just hit the pillow hard again to try and overcome his sickness! So come to find out he has an ulcer or some sorts in his stomach and also has an allergic reaction to he will be watching what he eats for the next few weeks! So today was a really fast day just very much focused on how I can be the best trainer for my new companions! Only one week left!! It is so fast!

Thursday:

So today was quite the day for the both of us! So we just realized that today was the last time we would have a weekly planning together, and it was actually a really amazing weekly planning where he really helped me plan for my new companion and what we could do to have success and get to know the area better together. I am starting to get really nervous thinking hat I will be the senior companion from now on out and have to be in charge of every little detail, and as I think deeply on that it makes me a little bit scared because it really does entail a lot. Also the whole rest of the missionaries mission depends on how I train him! However I have confidence in how I have been trained and how God has prepared me so I am going on with all the faith that I have! So today after weekly planning we went over to the English elders house. Elder Taylor that served around me in Fort Worth is now here in Denton and so we had dinner with him and his companion elder Corrington and it was a great crockpot meal with Lehi Roller Mills brownies that were just to die for!! After dinner we headed out to the other side of Denton to an area called Cement City because it is just apartments and parking lots with little grass. As we knocked a few doors with success we decided to go to a less to never knocked part and started there, and we actually found some people who had some good interest and we even set return appointments for tomorrow and then as we were knocking we ran into a huge issue. 

We knocked a door and an English guy answered the door and was a huge bible guy. As we talked to him for a second he said he would not listen to us, because he reads the bible and hasn't found anything that talks about another book called the Book of Mormon. So as we started asking him questions about the Bible like, do you believe God is the same yesterday, today and forever!? He answered yes and we proved that if so, it would be very necessary to have prophets today. He tried proving us wrong and so we asked him how he knows which rules to follow in the bible and he said he just found the ones that seemed right, and that is when we proved him wrong again. We proved to him that with Prophets in olden times we had revelation to know which law was right, and then we testified that today it is the same. We have a prophet to help us know what we need to do to return to live with God. As we walked away it was really sad thinking how lost the guy was, but also thinking that we spent the whole contact time trying to prove him wrong. Something I learned is that proving people wrong doesn't always change their heart, but testifying of divine truths does through the spirit.

Friday:

So today was kind of an even crazier day for me! So today was the training day for new leaders and trainers and man was it hectic! So we got going and had all of our exercising done and I was able to get all cleaned up and ready just in time to have our awesome member Hno. Saldaña pick me up to head 1 hour to the Hurst Stake Center. My complain stayed with some other elders in the zone and did service and had a blast! So as I arrived at the Hurst Stake Center I received some further insight that made me a little more nervous than before! As I got out of the car I looked over and saw the AP's getting out of their car with a new in training AP, my Zone Leader, Elder Peterson. As they came and gave me a huge Elder Brown looked at me and said, "I am sorry I failed to mention, but would you also accept the position to be the District Leader along with Training!?" Right then my heart rate went out of control and I was just thinking, "man God is picking the wrong man for the job!" However as I got in the meeting and calmed down I figured I could do it and that I would be learning so much from it! So my new calling is not only to train a new missionary, but to also take on the best district in the whole mission while training! As I am sitting here thinking, I will be so stressed and crazy with things to do that sadly my journal entries and emails will be a bit smaller, because I won't have lots of time. So after the meeting I came back and told my companion and he was very happy for me! So this evening we had our Ward Valentine activity and it was a little bit weird! It was a couples activity and the kids were tended in the other rooms! They played the marriage game and us missionaries just served food and cleaned dishes. I am not sure how that fulfilled our missionary purpose, but it did however make us closer with the members and that is what we really need! So as I sit here ready to pass out on my bed it is just weird to me to think that God wants me to not only train a new missionary but to take charge of a district and keep them spiritually strong. I know I can do it with the help of the lord, but I also keep thinking about something my brother and brother in laws said to me before I left. "Leadership only means you have something to improve on, not that you are the best." I can definitely say that I have a lot to improve on and I am glad that God trusts me with this part of his vineyard! What a crazy day! Let's see how well I sleep with all the new information going through my head!

Saturday:

So today was a bit of a longer day for the both of us, but it was a day full of success and lots of joy! So to start out the morning we went to the home of a family that speaks English to help them paint and clean their yards, because the wife is pregnant with twins! So we helped them paint a room and as we were visiting I found out that the husband served his mission in Mexico and still loves Spanish so we talked a little bit and even discussed the loves of our missions and it was just a great time! They reminded me a lot of my family and made me appreciate that the gospel makes family happy and eternal! After they fed us lunch we headed to another service project over at an olde couples house in our ward, the Perry family! To our surprise they had food waiting for us there as well and it was kind of fun to take English elders with us, because we got to translate for them so that they could understand our conversations. It was a good meal and then we began cleaning up his grow boxes and I was just amazed at how amazing he is at gardening being so old and not really taking care of his garden. So we had a great time serving the people of Denton today and then we went to work by studying and heading over to Cement City to teach a few lessons, but like normal for a missionary life, our appointments canceled and so we went contacting and we knocked into a really really drunk Mexican that let us in his house and almost tipped over a few times. We just said a prayer with him because he could barely have a conversation. However, as I was in the house I saw the wife come out and always their little girl about 7 who looked very lonely. I felt so bad for he little girl and the wife whose husband and father gets drunk all the time and is not really the same guy when drunk. So I talked with the little girl and gave her a picture of Jesus and told her how much he loved her and she just smiled and said thanks! I feel like whether I was able to have a lesson or not, I had success and it was a very love feeling success!

Sunday:

Wow today was quite the crazy day for me! So I thought that I already had enough on my plate today realizing that I was going to be training this next week and becoming the district leader, but as we got to church today the zone leaders really hit me with a crazy swing that just added to my stress a little more and really made my head hurt. So as we were visiting they told me that I better get my bags packed as well as my companion, and I was really confused, knowing I was staying here, and that is when they hit me with a lot of new information! Not only am I raining and being District leader, but they are taking out a full set of missionaries, but they are giving me a car and having the sister move to a different apartment and we are moving into their apartment. They are switching out areas all up and it is going to be so crazy, but an amazing change! So I will be training a new missionary while being a District Leader, with a car and in a new area! I wonder what else they can do to make my next two transfers crazy! However, I am super excited to get a car, train and have a new area!!

So you can imagine that today throughout all of church all I could think about was what was going to happen. And then I couldn't focus on the lessons! So this evening we went to the Tryon's house for dinner and I just love them so much! After dinner Hno. Saldaña came and picked us up and we had a great chance to go and teach Emanuel Guillen and his wife about the importance of church! They took it really well and we can really see the lord working in their lives! They really do want to change, so we will see which missionaries will keep visiting them! What a crazy crazy day!!

I hope that every one has a great week and knows that I love them! I pray for you always!!!

And know that my week will be great!!

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

"A picture is worth a thousand PLUS words!"

Quote for the Picture! ("President, are you sure you talked with God about this one!?")

Well if that pictures doesn't explain my week I can not wait until you read how my week went so you can see how much has happened between only 7 days!  Within that amount of time my whole mission has changed!!

I am an instrument in His hands

Dear Family and Friends, 

It is crazy just how fast the time begins to fly as I am trying to focus in a little more on my mission! Everything has been going so well, and my area is slowly beginning to pick up in activity! 

Before I tell about my week I want to start with a big congratulations to Skyler and Melissa on having a cute baby Charlee!!! I think you need to send her to me!!!!

Week February 1-7 2015

Monday:

Today was one of the weirdest Pdays I have had in the mission, but for me I still enjoyed it fully! So as Pday came around we received a zone text from our Zone Leaders telling us to avoid meeting in big groups to have Zone Activities at the church, and it confused all of us so much on why. The Zone leaders didn't really explain the why behind it, and that is what was so weird. So today as we played all these games at the church, there was only about 8 missionaries there playing when we usually have around 30. It just didn't feel like a real Pday with out everyone, and the mood was really a different mood. However, to start off PDay we went and I got a really good haircut and we did some really good shopping then we decided to go to the Institute building for a bit to play ping pong before we went to the church with the few missionaries that we did have. While at the institute building Sister Bond and Elder Bond made us pop corn and came and visited with us! I really just love them so much!

We made the best of it and spent a lot of time playing a new game called Nerf Tag where if you get shot by the nerf gun you are it and have to hit someone else! It was way fun and I was able to get all of my stress out! A lot of times I feel as a missionary the only way to get your stress out is to run around and play like you are a kid again.

This evening we taught a lesson in Family Home Evening about the Apostasy and the Restoration, but man it was hard with all the kids talking and not listening. They somehow all learned something new, but what surprised me was a non member kid who had some amazing answers to the things that he learned telling us it was necessary to have the apostasy before having a restoration. Today was just a different day, but everything was better as I was able to just email my family and think about them for a bit!

Hopefully we can figure out this new rule so we can still have some enjoyable stress relieving time together as a district and zone!

Tuesday:

Today was a really good day!

We had the great opportunity to again go to the community garden and to work there for about 3 hours on making the paths look nice and pretty! As the main worker drives his tractor down the rows dropping mulch, we would walk behind it and spread it thick down all the rows to prevent weeds, and it really changed the look of the garden to look a lot nicer! Also while we were working we got to know young boy about or age by the name of Jonathan that had begun his missionary work for bible study and have began to dedicate his whole life to the service of being a minister. I admire people for their dedication to stuff like that, but as he was asking us questions you could tell he was very interested in how we could go back and get married after our missions to complete the will of the lord and be able to return to live with God in the highest degree of glory. We had a really good conversation with him and it was just lots of fun! 

We had a great dinner with the Strasser Family and shared a great message about the importance of never feeling like you have not done something worth while in the day. After sharing a short video we found a scripture in Mosiah 23:10 that states,

"10 Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth."

This really has helped me see that even the simplest things make a difference to others, and the fact that I am an instrument in the hands of God.

This evening we did some contacting in some apartments and it was amazing! The people we have tried to talk to before who always just rejected us finally agreed to us passing by another day and we finally got back into a families house that we thought was trying to ditch us. The Selalla home was the one who finally opened and the son answered the door. As we looked in we saw that the mom was holding a small new born baby that was only 20 days old and was named Emily. The son and the mom really wanted us to go in and then we had to explain the respect rule for not having a husband in the house because he was working and it worked out perfectly. We were so happy that they were not ignoring us the past few weeks, but just taking care of some necessary things so that we could come back! And now we feel like they will be more open to hearing our message, so we will be returning back this Sunday!!!

What a great blessing it was to see their happy faces as they opened with this cute little baby that was glowing. I think we have definitely found our way into teaching this family about the Plan of Salvation!! What a great day!

Also we found this cool sketch while knocking doors! These kinds of things are all over the place!

Wednesday:

Wow today was a fast fast day!

So today we had the opportunity to have a district meeting and I really liked the way that my District leader put it together! So he asked us to all study that morning about a characteristic of Christ that we felt we needed to work on and then he had us share a 3 minute talk on what we learned with our testimony. I feel that I learned more from the spirit in this meeting than I have in a lot of meetings because everyone was very involved in the meeting and it was just very spiritual. Sometimes I forget we are talking  Spanish when we have our meetings, until after the meetings when we go back to the English districts and have to switch back so that they don't get mad that they can't understand us. So one of the main things I learned is how to teach someone. We use what is called PCD or purpose driven learning! First we teach someone using the D for doctrine and then we leave a commitment for C which after them doing their commitments leads them to our purpose of baptism as P. 

It was a really good things to learn for me as a newer missionary!

So this evening we kind of had a full evening of just a big meeting when we sat with the relief society president, Hna. Saldaña and discussed how we could be like a 3 counselor for her and help he have less of a load. It went really well and we have a lot of really good things that we will begin to work on so that we can help her and have lots of things to do. My dream would be to be so busy we have to tell people we will put them on our schedule for the next week. But right now we hardly have enough for every day. I have the faith however that if I keep putting in all I have to find and work hard with the ward that this area will catch fire with people to teach and that we will be super busy! My quote for the day was from our District meeting from Hna. Sperry who said, "There is a huge difference between being still and doing nothing." Always have hope for the future and make sure you aren't doing nothing, but work your heart out and you will receive as much as you put in, maybe even more!

Thursday:

What an amazingly fast day it was today! So today was a special day for Elder 'Otuafi, he hit his year mark today and so of course we had to celebrate and stay busy at the same time! So today we had the opportunity to go to the library and have our weekly planning to prepare for the last week that is coming together and how we can really make it the best full week by working hard and getting as many lessons in as possible. We were also able to think of a lot of ways of finding more people and are noticing that we are being blessed with people to teach as we keep working super hard and as we don't give up. So after we had a really good planning session we went out to contact and just explore a few new areas that we have never really looked around, and it was awesome, we had about 15 minutes to contact and we found a guy who was interested and we taught him a small lesson and set a return appointment as well. For dinner the District Leader, Elder Parkin, and his companion, Elder Escobar, met us at a really good hamburger joint called Roosters where we celebrated Elder 'Otuafi and Elder Parkin's year mark. It was a really fun time to just get to relax and get to know each other more. It is crazy to think that these missionaries are my best friends, but I have only known them now for 12 weeks. As we finished dinner we were able to get straight to work and we taught Modesta, an investigator, but she told us she just doesn't want to change religions. So,whose as I was watching her tell me this I could see a sadness or and trapped look in her face like she just didn't want to change because of her culture. But we can't force, so we bore testimony and left her to think, read and pray. So we also had an appointment with Emanuel who had a baptismal date, but it fell. As we got to his house he text and said he wouldn't be home to later, because he had a small project he had to finish at work and would be there for a while, so we went to his neighbors house who let us in a few days back. As we knocked just to see if he would have a little time, he came out and we had a great lesson that started out being about going to church and then lead into a lesson 1 without even trying. As we asked him questions he told us that he felt there had to be prophets today and so we showed him that there was and that we have them and a Book of Mormon to help us. He was super into learning more and it was just a blessing that he was put in our path just by following our feeling to knock his door! I always say this, but I know God is real because of these experiences that I have had on my mission. He does love me and you and wants the best for us, and that is why he sent his son to show us the way and give us a chance. As we use our agency let us choose to follow God because we love him, and our burdens will become lighter with his help. I testify that the Book of Mormon is the most correct boom and that Joseph Smith is a true prophet and I stand by him and will always stand by him through whatever trial that comes my way. 

Friday:

So today was really an awesome day for us! We were able to do a lot of really good service and we actually moved two guys from an apartment to a full house! So today we started off the day by waking up at 6 am and going to work out in a giant fitness gym and then after that we had a great opportunity to give service. So for our service we stayed with the English missionaries and went and helped a member move her inactive dad and non member brother into a house that she and her husband bought and then fixed up so they lived close. It was a very nasty house that really smelled horrible and musty. We were so glad to get everything out of there and put together and ready to be used in the other house in a short amount of time. Within the time limit of 8:30 to 12 we had both houses cleaned and put together! It was a really good opportunity to get to know the members who are English and see that they are really nice and love the missionary program and it was awesome to see how both the inactive dad and brother changed their thoughts on missionaries and possibly wants them to go back and teach. So this evening after our studies, Hna. Farfal took us out to dinner again at a different restaurant on the square and it was a lot of fun, but after for desert we went to an old fashion ice cream joint and it was so good! She needs a lot of attention and it is fun to be able to hear all about her stories and life and now we are just glad that we are on the same page again! So this evening we were not as lucky when we were knocking doors. As we knocked, no one really answered the doors or was willing to listen, but it was okay so we just decided it would be best to go home and to plan good for a long day tomorrow. So as we were planning we got word that one of the English missionaries had a baptism tomorrow so we invited all of our investigators to attend it and we are so excited! One of the numbers I called tonight was an investigator, or so we thought and as I began talking a different man said I had the wrong number, so being a missionary I asked how he was doing in Spanish and where he lived and he said he lived in Argyle and was interested in going to church on Sunday to learn more. So it was a really cool experience to have a random guy ask what time church started instead of me telling him that we have church. I hope and pray that all goes as planned for the next few days, but if not no worries, because that is the joy of missionary life!!

Saturday:

Well today started out really good where we had a wonderful service and then ended in a little bit of a struggle for us! So today we had the opportunity to go to,the community garden and to help plant over 10,000 onions with the help of about 30 helpers in the field! As we finished planting we were also able to help them lay down lots of water dripping systems to be able to water the onions for the summer and it was a lot of fun to be able to learn more about gardening and tips so that when I get home I can use that knowledge to have a really nice garden. So we worked there all morning and then we were able to do our studies until dinner where we were picked up by the other missionaries who had a baptism that we invited investigators to come to. Well as the baptism started none of our investigators showed up, so we decided not to waist time, but to go contacting. After about a half an hour of hardcore rejections we were getting down and we decided we would go back and finish writing our weekly email in a warm church building. As I was sitting there thinking about how no one showed up and how we didn't have a lot of success, this quote popped into my mind. 

“If only you could see the vision as I have, I wish I had your bodies to do the mission work, I would run to every house to teach the gospel and when I could no longer run then I would walk, and when I could no longer walk, I would crawl on my knees, and after my knees were so bloody that I could not use them, I would use my arms to drag myself, and once every muscle in my body was gone I would begin to yell! Oh that you could see the vision that I have."

I kept thinking, "how can I have that kind of passion strong for the work so that no one can get me down?" I came up with the answers, first have a testimony firm and unshakable and secondly, have the attitude that everything is alright and that the gospel is right for everyone. I have learned tonight that Attitude is everything.

All I can hope is that tomorrow is better and that I learned from today!

Sunday:

Wow, today was the best day for me to fast!! I felt like the fast I did was well worth it. For my fast I was really focused on my investigators and also my ward and area. This past week got me to thinking and praying a lot for them. The reason behind it was that we had a really rough week and didn't have a lot of super amazing success and our area is just burning out and we just need this help from God right now. So as I fasted and prayed really hard yesterday and today everything seemed to go as needed. We found and taught some new investigators tonight and we got to go out with the bishop tonight to talk to some and teach 2 less active families and it was really amazing! So after church today all 8 missionaries in our ward got to go to the bishops house and eat with him and his family and wow his wife knows how to cook really well. We had a great meeting on how to build as a ward and mission and how we can connect together, and we got lots of really good ideas on how to get better. I learned something very basic tonight that really got me to thinking. I learned that we are all brothers and sisters of Gods family and God our father knows us perfectly. All we have to do is use his Holy Ghost to also receive revelation on how you can help your friends to know more about the church or God. If we truly love God we will focus on our neighbors. I know that God will bless you in this work of life. So this evening we called a young priest in our ward named, Solomon, who was having some struggles with life and church and didn't want to go on a mission. He finally opened up to us the other day and we invited him to fast with us, and tonight we got some amazing answers and how we can help him and he is finally opening up more to us and he is also seeing what we do as missionaries and he is getting more interested! I love helping the youth of our ward to become stronger and I hope one day I have the chance too do more! God gives you life just as he gives you choice. So how will you use choose to live your life?

I hope that you all have an amazing week, and know that I love you!

Thank you for always keeping me in your prayers! They are very much felt!!!! Have a great week!

And Skyler and Melissa, I need more pictures!!!!

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

Weeks just Flying by! Hello February!

Dear Family and Friends, 

What a week I have had this week with my companion full of adventures and somewhat crazy days! Also everyone keeps asking if I will be transferred this week or next and the transfer day will the 17 of this month, so by the end of next week I should know whether or not I am leaving or not. It is so crazy how time just flies as a missionary! I hope that you all had a great week and here is how my week went!

Week January 25-31 2016

Monday:

So today was quite the crazy day for us! We started off our day by a little bit of studying and then we headed to the post office to mail my packages home, and it was really nice to get those out of the house! Also as the day went on it became more tiring and more tiring, but in the best way possible! So we were able to play a lot of really fun games as a zone and we even got to set up the Volleyball nets and play volleyball, and it brought back a lot of good memories of my time before the mission playing volleyball!

So as we finished the day off and got ready for our Family home evening, our zone leaders came in an freaked out at us for no being outside working and contacting and we were just running behind by like 15 minutes. They told us not to do it again, and it was just a little stressful and hard to understand what was going on. I was not put down or mad, but now I just think about what a leader is and what it means, and I wonder how they lead and what they need to do different!? Not to judge, but I don't even know my zone leaders well and they don't understand what Spanish missionaries go through!? But so is life, apparently we don't do stuff completely right !? However our Family Home Evening was amazing and we were able to learn a lot about the Atonement! I am amazed every week by the things we hear from the kids in family home evening. Tonight we asked some questions about the atonement to the kids and I was thinking that I didn't even know those things when I was their age and I wish I would have! The main focus was how sinning gives you scares and scares don't go away, but as we use Jesus Christ our scars begin to disappear! It is a great program, but good to get over because those kids really are so crazy! The kids run and run and scream and you can't calm them down! Kids are the best!

Tuesday:

Today was a very cold, but very fun and successful day! So today we had the opportunity to go and give service at the Denton Community Garden for about 3 hours and our job was to dig weeds around the blackberry bushes so that they could spread a thick layer of bark over it all! It was not an easy process, and to add to it all we have over 7 rows to weed and it was very cold! However, for me it was very relaxing and enjoyable! I just really miss working in a garden and this is about the closest thing I have gotten so far, and it was fun! As we were leaving the service today a guy by the name of Dean said something that really caught my attention. He said, " I just love seeing you guys! Every time that I see you I can just see such a bright and positive vibe around you and I love it!" It really made me feel good. And I think it is just that we are always on the Lords errand and trying to be happy that he is able to see us as more than just the normal person, but a servant of the Lord!

So today after the service we got the chance to study and I focused my studies on a topic I will be teaching in District meeting tomorrow, "Developing Faith to Find". I think the biggest thing I learned was having an attitude of success that ever person you talk to will listen and want more! As I had that in mind we had the opportunity to go and try it out by doing some finding! As we tried it we found a family of 6 all together and the mom and the dad were very open to learn! They are the Rodriguez family and the couple are what you would call in love! Everything they do is for one another to help each other out! We got to know them really well and we taught them the first part of the restoration of the Gospel! They we very talkative and even set a return appointment! We had a blast getting to know them and for me it was a great way to spend the evening! Something that I heard from the bus driver on the way home as we were talking was, "in a gym you see lots of buff guys working out and it intimidates you, but once you realize that they go for themselves and you go for yourself then everything is solved and you are able to become stronger!" That I kind of twisted around in my head to say, "In the Gospel you see a lot of Spiritually buff people sharing their beliefs and it intimidates you, but once you realize that they go to church to strengthen themselves and you are going to strengthen yourself then everything is solved and you are able to become focused and stronger!" Never forget that salvation is a personal thing, but you will always have a personal trainer, Jesus Christ to get,you thought the hardest parts and make you stronger!

Wednesday:

I just love when the days are full of things to keep us busy and the day flies by faster than expected! Today was such a wonderful day that started out with a really good District Meeting where I taught about Having Faith to Find people to teach and my main focus what what I called the Cycle of Faith to Find. It starts with Trusting in Jesus Christ and God and the goes to Pray, after which comes the Action and then the hope! As I taught this Principle I used the video of Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water and teaching how first he trusted Jesus, and then probably prayed in his heart, after which he took the step of faith and hoped for the best! As I taught this I helped them to understand that this cycle is way amazing as you repeat it over and over, but it is possible to even jump this cycle to a bigger one as we have the Spirit to direct us to the people to talk too!

So today we had the opportunity to go and do a little bit of family history work and learn how to best teach our investigators and recent converts, and I was able to find over 15 names to take to the temple in just 1 hour! It was a great experience! After family history we went to another room and taught an 8 year old boy named Jordan with a member, Hno. Hildreth. It was a great lesson about prophets and Jesus Christ and we pray he can remember what we teach so he can be baptized! As we went by an investigator Emanuel's house to teach him, we found he was stressing getting medicine for his daughter, so we set a time to give her a blessing in the morning and set a new date for a lesson and we went to the house of Daniel Rodriguez and his family and had a great lesson on temples and going to the temple often! That family is so amazing and his kids know so much it always surprises me! Today was such a spirit filled and wonderful day that just seemed to have gone way to fast!

Thursday:

Today we had the amazing time to be able to plan for the week that is coming and as we were planning we kept thinking about just how fast the transfer has really gone and how much fun we have been able to have as we preached the gospel to God's children here in Denton. It is crazy to think we most likely will be changing our companionship in only roughly two more weeks!

So today we had the chance to have our weekly planning and then go to dinner at an investigators house! We ate dinner with Modesta Martinez and her husband Jose and the food was amazing, after which we taught them about the Book of Mormon and she just seemed to take it like anything else, we don't know how to get to her to where she will open up!? So we have to praying to do to know what we need to teach her to help her progress! So this evening we went on a double exchange and it was actually really fun! I went with Hno. Saldaña and we went and knocked on some doors and got so,e return appointments set out while Elder Otuafi and Sam Strasser went to some newer apartments and got 2 other lessons and even found a lady who was super interested in learning more! We felt like it was a huge success! As we got home tonight Elder 'Otuafi had a breakdown, because he said he saw the prettiest girl that wanted to learn more, but he was so distracted by her he wrote down her number wrong, so hopefully we can get back and find her again! He flipped out so much I have never seen anyone of this age act so baby like! Haha good times in the mission!

Friday:

Today was a really fun day for me! We had the opportunity to go to give some more service today at Our Daily Bread, and all day while we were their I was either organizing a freezer that is about -20 degrees Fahrenheit, or I was washing dishes! It really was fun, because I was something different and just a different atmosphere in each thing! For instance it was just a calm thinking process in a freezing cold room as we cleaned and organized hundreds of pounds of meat and then washing dishes was just a wet mess where it was always going like crazy without any kind of break! As we were washing dishes I met a kid that is attending The University of Northern Texas in our area and come to find out her is from Nicaragua and his first language is Spanish and he has been here for 3 years for his studies! He was a very nice guy and just had a similar personality to me! We really got along and as I was talking to him I invited him to come to church and to learn more and he thanked me for inviting him. Sometimes I wonder how many people are just waiting for that simple invite to change their lives!? I can think of multiple times in my life when I should have just invited so that when I stand before the Lord I can say that I did my best! One of the things that the missionaries always say when knocking doors here in Texas is, the first knock is for your own salvation and the second knock is for their salvation, and they don't answer then you knock once more for their damnation! It is just a jock, but it really makes you think about taking the knocking more serious!

So this evening we got tired of knocking the same doors for the same responses, so we went to once last area we haven't really knocked in and we found a sweet older lady who let us in with her husband and her to teach a small message. We taught about how Jesus Died for us so we could become like him and she asked the Question, "How can we become like him?" What a question that really is! It is simple, except the gospel and then live it! You may not be perfect, but if you are perfect at trying then God makes up for the rest! We found out one of her biggest issues was her health, so we told her we would love to come back and just explain the blessings that Come from the gospel! It really was a fun night! 

Saturday:

Wow today was a very nice and very weird day for me! 

So today we started off the day and had all of our studies and they were so amazing. 

As we finished up our studies we got picked up by one of the sons of Hna. Strasser and he took us over to his grandparents house, the Perry's, to give service by cleaning out their garden plots and by planting a few new plants. As we were there and hard at work in the perfect 75 degree sunny weather the Hna. Perry invited us to stay long enough for a lunch with them. So we accepted and had a wonderful lunch with them eating a macaroni soup with home made salsa that was to die for! 

As we finished our lunch we went home and had just enough time to clean our floors that were super nasty before we had our dinner. As we were waiting for our ride to come we got a call and our ride told us they would be an hour late. So we decided to do a little bit of planning, because all of the Hispanics live a half an hour away from our house and it would have taken us an hour travel just to get there and back. As we got picked up by Hno. Huot, a white guy and his wife, we went to Applebee's for dinner. The food was amazing and they are both crazy loud and long winded talkers where by the time the dinner was over it was 8:30 and I had a major headache. However, we got a lesson in and it was a really good chance for them to think about the good things that have happened so far for them! Really today was a good day!

Sunday:

What an eventful day I have had today! So Sunday's are usually the days that I receive my dads emails and I just amaze at all the crazy calls he has had and wonder how he has energy to keep going, until today happened for me! So the day started off all normal and I had a great time in Sacrament Meeting and church where I learned so much and was just so happy with the new insights that I was receiving! Sadly no investigators made it this week to church, but life goes on and next week will be better. As we got to our third hour class all together with all the adults combined we found a great surprise. We found that the Lord truly directs his work through the Holy Ghost in these days! This week we emailed the ward in a ward email about the importance of the temples and going often, and then got to our bishopric conducted class in the third hour to find that they had been guided to talk about that same topic and the blessings that come from going to the temple and it just strengthened my testimony that God does guide his work today! As the class was coming to an end Elder 'Otuafi and I left to go and check on a sister outside when I told him I needed to go to the bathroom. I know I shouldn't tell you all this, but this was a huge part of something that happened next. I didn't have to go bad, but I decided to just take care of it and go. What happened next is what I found crazy! As I was using the restroom a member that was 28 years old walked in the door and leaned against the wall holding his chest and breathing hard, and I just thought, "wow he must have been running around and just a little out of breath", until I heard a thump and I looked over again to find him on the ground unconscious! My companion came in just as that happened and freaked out! So I finished and ran over to him to see if I could get his pulse and make sure he didn't hit his head and hurt himself badly. I got his head checked and got him comfortable as I found that he was breathing shallowly and so I told my companion to go get help! As I stayed with the member he came couscous and just began to hold his chest and arm in pain and was crying. He didn't know much English, so I began talking to him and just asking him questions to keep him awake and that is when a guy came in and began to call 911. As the medics showed up on scene I felt so much at home and I was just in heaven! They brought out the heart monitor and began asking all these questions and I told them everything that happened. As they took him away I was just running everything that happened again through my head and I was just thinking, I watched this guy pass out and I was not even nervous as I went to help him, but man I was full of so much adrenalin! As I thought about that I figured out the reason my dad can do it every day! What a hero my dad is and the best thing is that one of the greatest heroes behind scene is my mom for always praying that we are safe and having faith and courage that everything is in the Hands of God! 

So the member got home this evening and they couldn't find anything wrong, but I know something happened to him and it wasn't just low blood sugar or something simple with the pain he was in! 

So this evening we had the opportunity to also go to a Denton Stake Priesthood Meeting where we learned from some amazing men in the stake and man was it so uplifting to be there and hear from words of Great men. That is something I miss from home is the words of the Stake Presidency and the power I feel there! Also the organist was amazing! He is a college student majoring in the organ and man I was in heaven hearing the things he was making up! As we were taken home by a recent convert he thanked us for getting him to go and also for doing what we do. As we were leaving he asked us if we would pray for him and it really hit me, I haven't been praying as specifically as I should be doing! He is taking the residency test and also trying to got to the temple in the upcoming weeks and the test is just keeping his faith and knowing God will bless him. I am so grateful for recent converts and just every person that teaches me the simplest things that change me completely!!!! It was a energy draining day, but a day I have enjoyed completely!

I hope that all of you have a great week and know that I love you and pray for all of you! Also Melissa, best of luck with Charlee!! Please let me know ASAP what happens and know you will have to extra snuggle her for me!!:):)

Love you all so much!

Con Amor, 

Elder Spendlove