Dear Family and Friends!
I am so grateful this week for the opportunity and blessing I have to serve a mission speaking Spanish is Texas Fort Worth! Time is flying by and I am staying very busy!! I just want to thank y'all for the support and love that you show to me and hope that y'all have a wonderful week!! Know that I love y'all as well!!
So this week I got put with Elder Lewis from Grantsville, Utah! He is a wonderful missionary and works so hard!! He is not afraid of talking to everyone and he goes home at Christmas time of this year!! We are getting along very well and come to find out, He worked as a Wildland Firefighter before his mission and loves it!! So why wouldn't we get along!?
Week 16-22 2015
Monday:
So today was one crazy day for us!! Not only did we have to go shopping, but we had to clean, pack and get some things sent home that were not needed out here!! It was a wonderful day however to be able to email home and see how the family is, and everyone seems to be doing so amazing! So today as our last zone activity before separations, we played soccer and football at a park and had so much fun! Everyone really enjoyed it and then I was able to write in a few peoples transfer journals. Transfer journals are like yearbooks for the transfer where you just write the things you learned from someone or how the have helped you!! It was wonderful!! And this evening we were able to go to the Parrys house to eat dinner and then not only share a few scriptures, but also share a few songs and sing hymns with them!! They are so sweet and they will definitely be people I will miss!! They were like grandparents to me out here and hope that hey are both there when I return!!!
And the rest of the evening was a last minute packing so that tomorrow we can get a lot of work done!! We hope a tomorrow will work out well and that we can get the things done for the following crazy day to come!!
Tuesday:
First off, what a hard day it has been!! My least favorite days are the days I have to leave all my friends I have made after the past 6 months!! However, it is that time and I am super nervous!! Not sure what to expect in Fort Worth as a Zone Leader or even what that means. I missed the training, so President Ames said I would be good and just go to the following training pretty much once my first transfer as a Zone Leader is over! Okay, so today we were able to wake up and go to help Hno. Hildreth put up a nice wooden fence and gate for the Hna. Guerrero who is a single older lady who is letting her kids and 6 other people live with her and she is the only one bringing a big income! So she is super giving herself and needed a nice fence!! I am going to miss Hno. Hildreth and his funny jokes and things he says! He reminds me of my goofy Dad! So after our service we went to the church for a district meeting where we had a spiritual meeting and then had a going away party for Hna. Sperry, who goes home on Thursday!! We each wrote her a Eulogy and read it, and then she came up and bore her testimony of the mission and how much it changed her life!! She was and always will be such a wonderful disciple of Jesus Christ!! Then we made her a wonderful piñata hat to wear and took some pictures with her!! After our fun time together we headed to dinner at the Saldañas house where we had wonderful Fajitas!! Then went straight to work going to teach a small lesson to Janet Ibarra where I said my goodbye and bore her my testimony!! The best news I could hear from her was that she talked with her husband in Mexico and he agreed to the divorce and so she only has to get the Judge to say yes and she can be baptized!! I pray that everything falls into place for her and that it will actually happen!
The rest of the evening I packed and just thought how I didn't want to leave Elder Wardle yet, but we will see each other again!! I really love him and all he has taught me and will always be in debt to him!
Wednesday:
Well today ended up being a wonderful day even though it started out very rough!! So we woke up in just enough time to get dressed and leave to the house of the other elders to be picked up by our ward mission leader, Hno. Hildreth. Then I finally had to say goodbye to my son, Elder Wardle!! It was super hard and I didn't want to leave yet and I am nervous for him, but I know that everything will work out really well for him!! So we left and I was picked up by Hno. Beltran again and taken to Fort Worth with Elder Lewis and I am so excited to work with him!! He is from Grantsville, Utah and is a wonderful missionary who finishes his mission this Christmas! Also before his mission he was a wild land firefighter and loved it and will return to do the same most likely!! He is very focused on the work and loves the people so much!! And today we had the chance to go and give service at a school today full of Spanish people where we gave food away and I loved it so much!! I am so glad to be back and be with so much Spanish people again!! So today we taught one actual lesson and then we also had a lot of fun just together!! It is a short day, because we are getting busy, but it was a wonderful day!!
Thursday:
I have never been so exhausted and tired in my whole life as I am right now!! Today was a wonderful day full of planning for the week that is coming up and when I say full of it, I mean it!! We combined areas with the others elders that left, and so we had to plan pretty much for two areas and I am so worn out!! And then we still went out until 930 knocking doors and calling people!! It was wonderful!! I think the other thing that make me so tired was receiving texts from the APS and having to relay the messages back and forth!! That took a lot of time, but I am really enjoying the time I have to counsel with those in the zone!! We have already had some wonderful chances for that!! Sorry I am falling asleep writing , so just know that tonight we were able to find a less active family and teach them and it was wonderful!! I was amazed with how run Down and humble of a home they lived in. It is super sad to see, but they are so happy with what they have!! My new thing is to be happy for what I have!!!
Friday:
Wow I feel like time is flying so fast being in this position, because I literally wake up and everything just gets thrown at me, and then it keeps going until about 10:30 at night and it is getting so harder to write in my journal because of the many things running through my head and also getting to bed a little late!! However, I love it so much and love my zone!! So today we had some shaky plans and were able to go and find a lot of people on our bikes today and it was so much fun!! We biked all day and found 4 people and had wonderful lessons with them!! I am finally to the point of just not being afraid to talk to anyone about the gospel!! The reason being is that if they are ready they will listen, if not, they will reject us how they please and we will still have our testimonies!! That is something I have learned with Elder Lewis and his testimony is wonderful!! We also had a chance to draw with chalk today and it was super fun!! A few people stopped and looked at it and it turned out so nice!! So as we got home tonight a neighbor wanted to know what we did, so we taught him fast and he wanted a Book of Mormon and bible to read, so we are working on getting him both with marked places to read!! And then we went inside and planned for tomorrow and had 3 emails from the APS to take care of and a few phone calls, so I would say the day has been so amazing and very eventful!! Now I pray I can remember to keep going strong on writing!!
Saturday:
What a day we have had today!! We were very blessed with the many things that happened and the chance we had to talk to President Ames. So today we started the day off by giving a little bit of service to the young women of our ward by going and helping them with the car wash they put on, and come to find out, they made more money than they ever had and we washed some monster trucks as well!! The rest of the day we had a few meeting that happened and also a few lessons that took place!! We were able to have a FaceTime video call with all of the Fort Worth mission Zone LEaders and the APS with PResident Ames! It was a wonderful meeting and we were able to be in the presence of President Ames in the comfort of our Church building!! We had a wonderful meeting focused on our up coming Zone Conference and then also had our missionary Coralaiton meeting that followed!! I can definitely say I am glad to be where I am and be doing what I am doing and now we are preparing for the Zone Council coming up!! So this evening we had a wonderful lesson with some recent converts and. They are ready to go to the temple!! So we are helping them!!
This eveing I sit on my bed writing this and feel like I am in Mexico with the people outside my window speaking in Spanish and me being able to understand them!! It is wonderful!! I love my life right now and love God for he chance he has given me!!
Sunday:
Today was such a wonderful day!! So today we woke up and were getting ready today when we got a phone call from Hno. Delgado asking us to teach the Elders quorum today because he was hurting in his back! So we had to plan a lesson and get to church fast with church starting at 9 and it was so wonderful to be albe to see Hna. Fuentes and so many members and also to see Hna. Peña today with Hno. Peña!! They are doing to good!! Also as I was walking around the church I saw Hna. Guadalupe Gonzalez who I helped get baptized and before I could say anything she gave me a hug and was just so happy thanking me for everything I had done for her!! She was doing wonderful and so was her husband Juan!! So after church today we went to teach a guy who wasn't home, so we were walking around an apartment complex when we had the most amazing experience! We came up on a guy who was smoking and kind of trying to hid his face from us like he was ashamed. So we stopped to talk to him. Come to find out he was a member of the English ward and was baptized a little under a year ago, and had gone and met President Ames and loves the ward he is in, but he has had a lot going on!! His mom is getting worse and is in the hospital and he lost his job and home. We talked to him about all of the feelings he had when he was baptized and how we wanted to see him at church again, so he said he would go. He was so sad at first until I think we highered his vision that we had for him!! It was such a blessing from God and we were meant to meet Hno. Norwood!! So today we went looking for some people after the Peña birthday party that we went to and we contacted into an older lady with her daughter and husband on their porch and she only spoke Spanish!! So as we spoke to her she told us how we were wrong and just bashed us and didn't even know what a Mormon was, so we became a little bolder and stood up for what we knew to be true!! We invited her to come and see what we believe before she just says what she wants and she said we had to go to her church first, and so she was yelling at us so we walked away and just said, "once you come and knock on our door and invite us to church we will go!" And we walked away!! It was super sad that the lady was so set in her ways, but it was such a testimony builder to me knowing that I stood up for what I believed and my Companion was right there with me!
I am so grateful this week for the opportunity and blessing I have to serve a mission speaking Spanish is Texas Fort Worth! Time is flying by and I am staying very busy!! I just want to thank y'all for the support and love that you show to me and hope that y'all have a wonderful week!! Know that I love y'all as well!!
So this week I got put with Elder Lewis from Grantsville, Utah! He is a wonderful missionary and works so hard!! He is not afraid of talking to everyone and he goes home at Christmas time of this year!! We are getting along very well and come to find out, He worked as a Wildland Firefighter before his mission and loves it!! So why wouldn't we get along!?
Week 16-22 2015
Monday:
So today was one crazy day for us!! Not only did we have to go shopping, but we had to clean, pack and get some things sent home that were not needed out here!! It was a wonderful day however to be able to email home and see how the family is, and everyone seems to be doing so amazing! So today as our last zone activity before separations, we played soccer and football at a park and had so much fun! Everyone really enjoyed it and then I was able to write in a few peoples transfer journals. Transfer journals are like yearbooks for the transfer where you just write the things you learned from someone or how the have helped you!! It was wonderful!! And this evening we were able to go to the Parrys house to eat dinner and then not only share a few scriptures, but also share a few songs and sing hymns with them!! They are so sweet and they will definitely be people I will miss!! They were like grandparents to me out here and hope that hey are both there when I return!!!
And the rest of the evening was a last minute packing so that tomorrow we can get a lot of work done!! We hope a tomorrow will work out well and that we can get the things done for the following crazy day to come!!
Tuesday:
First off, what a hard day it has been!! My least favorite days are the days I have to leave all my friends I have made after the past 6 months!! However, it is that time and I am super nervous!! Not sure what to expect in Fort Worth as a Zone Leader or even what that means. I missed the training, so President Ames said I would be good and just go to the following training pretty much once my first transfer as a Zone Leader is over! Okay, so today we were able to wake up and go to help Hno. Hildreth put up a nice wooden fence and gate for the Hna. Guerrero who is a single older lady who is letting her kids and 6 other people live with her and she is the only one bringing a big income! So she is super giving herself and needed a nice fence!! I am going to miss Hno. Hildreth and his funny jokes and things he says! He reminds me of my goofy Dad! So after our service we went to the church for a district meeting where we had a spiritual meeting and then had a going away party for Hna. Sperry, who goes home on Thursday!! We each wrote her a Eulogy and read it, and then she came up and bore her testimony of the mission and how much it changed her life!! She was and always will be such a wonderful disciple of Jesus Christ!! Then we made her a wonderful piñata hat to wear and took some pictures with her!! After our fun time together we headed to dinner at the Saldañas house where we had wonderful Fajitas!! Then went straight to work going to teach a small lesson to Janet Ibarra where I said my goodbye and bore her my testimony!! The best news I could hear from her was that she talked with her husband in Mexico and he agreed to the divorce and so she only has to get the Judge to say yes and she can be baptized!! I pray that everything falls into place for her and that it will actually happen!
The rest of the evening I packed and just thought how I didn't want to leave Elder Wardle yet, but we will see each other again!! I really love him and all he has taught me and will always be in debt to him!
Wednesday:
Well today ended up being a wonderful day even though it started out very rough!! So we woke up in just enough time to get dressed and leave to the house of the other elders to be picked up by our ward mission leader, Hno. Hildreth. Then I finally had to say goodbye to my son, Elder Wardle!! It was super hard and I didn't want to leave yet and I am nervous for him, but I know that everything will work out really well for him!! So we left and I was picked up by Hno. Beltran again and taken to Fort Worth with Elder Lewis and I am so excited to work with him!! He is from Grantsville, Utah and is a wonderful missionary who finishes his mission this Christmas! Also before his mission he was a wild land firefighter and loved it and will return to do the same most likely!! He is very focused on the work and loves the people so much!! And today we had the chance to go and give service at a school today full of Spanish people where we gave food away and I loved it so much!! I am so glad to be back and be with so much Spanish people again!! So today we taught one actual lesson and then we also had a lot of fun just together!! It is a short day, because we are getting busy, but it was a wonderful day!!
Thursday:
I have never been so exhausted and tired in my whole life as I am right now!! Today was a wonderful day full of planning for the week that is coming up and when I say full of it, I mean it!! We combined areas with the others elders that left, and so we had to plan pretty much for two areas and I am so worn out!! And then we still went out until 930 knocking doors and calling people!! It was wonderful!! I think the other thing that make me so tired was receiving texts from the APS and having to relay the messages back and forth!! That took a lot of time, but I am really enjoying the time I have to counsel with those in the zone!! We have already had some wonderful chances for that!! Sorry I am falling asleep writing , so just know that tonight we were able to find a less active family and teach them and it was wonderful!! I was amazed with how run Down and humble of a home they lived in. It is super sad to see, but they are so happy with what they have!! My new thing is to be happy for what I have!!!
Friday:
Wow I feel like time is flying so fast being in this position, because I literally wake up and everything just gets thrown at me, and then it keeps going until about 10:30 at night and it is getting so harder to write in my journal because of the many things running through my head and also getting to bed a little late!! However, I love it so much and love my zone!! So today we had some shaky plans and were able to go and find a lot of people on our bikes today and it was so much fun!! We biked all day and found 4 people and had wonderful lessons with them!! I am finally to the point of just not being afraid to talk to anyone about the gospel!! The reason being is that if they are ready they will listen, if not, they will reject us how they please and we will still have our testimonies!! That is something I have learned with Elder Lewis and his testimony is wonderful!! We also had a chance to draw with chalk today and it was super fun!! A few people stopped and looked at it and it turned out so nice!! So as we got home tonight a neighbor wanted to know what we did, so we taught him fast and he wanted a Book of Mormon and bible to read, so we are working on getting him both with marked places to read!! And then we went inside and planned for tomorrow and had 3 emails from the APS to take care of and a few phone calls, so I would say the day has been so amazing and very eventful!! Now I pray I can remember to keep going strong on writing!!
Saturday:
What a day we have had today!! We were very blessed with the many things that happened and the chance we had to talk to President Ames. So today we started the day off by giving a little bit of service to the young women of our ward by going and helping them with the car wash they put on, and come to find out, they made more money than they ever had and we washed some monster trucks as well!! The rest of the day we had a few meeting that happened and also a few lessons that took place!! We were able to have a FaceTime video call with all of the Fort Worth mission Zone LEaders and the APS with PResident Ames! It was a wonderful meeting and we were able to be in the presence of President Ames in the comfort of our Church building!! We had a wonderful meeting focused on our up coming Zone Conference and then also had our missionary Coralaiton meeting that followed!! I can definitely say I am glad to be where I am and be doing what I am doing and now we are preparing for the Zone Council coming up!! So this evening we had a wonderful lesson with some recent converts and. They are ready to go to the temple!! So we are helping them!!
This eveing I sit on my bed writing this and feel like I am in Mexico with the people outside my window speaking in Spanish and me being able to understand them!! It is wonderful!! I love my life right now and love God for he chance he has given me!!
Sunday:
Today was such a wonderful day!! So today we woke up and were getting ready today when we got a phone call from Hno. Delgado asking us to teach the Elders quorum today because he was hurting in his back! So we had to plan a lesson and get to church fast with church starting at 9 and it was so wonderful to be albe to see Hna. Fuentes and so many members and also to see Hna. Peña today with Hno. Peña!! They are doing to good!! Also as I was walking around the church I saw Hna. Guadalupe Gonzalez who I helped get baptized and before I could say anything she gave me a hug and was just so happy thanking me for everything I had done for her!! She was doing wonderful and so was her husband Juan!! So after church today we went to teach a guy who wasn't home, so we were walking around an apartment complex when we had the most amazing experience! We came up on a guy who was smoking and kind of trying to hid his face from us like he was ashamed. So we stopped to talk to him. Come to find out he was a member of the English ward and was baptized a little under a year ago, and had gone and met President Ames and loves the ward he is in, but he has had a lot going on!! His mom is getting worse and is in the hospital and he lost his job and home. We talked to him about all of the feelings he had when he was baptized and how we wanted to see him at church again, so he said he would go. He was so sad at first until I think we highered his vision that we had for him!! It was such a blessing from God and we were meant to meet Hno. Norwood!! So today we went looking for some people after the Peña birthday party that we went to and we contacted into an older lady with her daughter and husband on their porch and she only spoke Spanish!! So as we spoke to her she told us how we were wrong and just bashed us and didn't even know what a Mormon was, so we became a little bolder and stood up for what we knew to be true!! We invited her to come and see what we believe before she just says what she wants and she said we had to go to her church first, and so she was yelling at us so we walked away and just said, "once you come and knock on our door and invite us to church we will go!" And we walked away!! It was super sad that the lady was so set in her ways, but it was such a testimony builder to me knowing that I stood up for what I believed and my Companion was right there with me!
Con Amor,
Elder Spendlove
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