Dear Family and Friends!
It has been such a wonderful week, and I am so grateful for the blessing of the gospel in my life! I can not and never will be able to deny this gospel with the way I understand it now!
I hope y'all had a wonderful week and here is how my week went!
Week June 6-12 2016
Monday:
Wow today was a wonderful day to just have some time to prepare for the week!
So today we had the privilege to go and shop and even to get our car cleaned that hasn't been cleaned for a while! It was definitely time for it! Then we headed to the Stake Center and met up with the Hnas from our ward and we painted some Rocks for a way of helping members to do the work or inviting their friends to learn more! I will explain it more on another day! But we painted ours all black and then had Gold paint and painted the Angel Moroni on it like the Gospel Library App looks!! It looks really nice! And the we had a wonderful time finishing our pday!! This evening was so wonderful being able to go and visit with Hno. Delgado to talk about people we can work with, and it was super wonderful!! We got a lot figured out! Then we were knocking on the door of a lady and her family when a Black guy, not being mean, but for the story it is necessary to know, came up to drop off a black trashbag full of clothes for the family. So we, being thoughtful, tried to ask if we could help him and he flipped out thinking we were racist and all sorts of stuff, and then didn't even know who we were thinking we were some sort of rich people. Then he realized who we were and flipped even more! He was all up in our faces, but all I could do was laugh, because I know what I teach is the truth, and what he was saying was so out of place! It really was a testimony builder, and I loved it! Then this evening we had a wonderful lesson with a man named, Juventino.
We had a wonderful lesson on the Book of Mormon and it was just so good!! I love the lessons and the people I meet!
Tuesday:
Today was probably the most powerful day I have had in my mission being able to be in Zone Conference! Wow was I both instructed and Edified! I was so amazed by the things I was learning and being able to sit right next to President was so wonderful!! I want to share all the notes I took with everyone, but sadly they are super long and very personal, so I hope to be able to share really what is in my heart from the things I learned today!! Today I learned so much about the true invitation to come back or even come too the fold. But they way we learned it was a little different! We learned it by Revelation!! The spirit is what helps us understand what our investigators need and everything I learned was so inspired! Here are a few small parts from what I learned!!
Revelation:
D&C 42:14
How do we teach by the Spirit:
C: P: R:
How do I know it is Gods thoughts and not my thoughts?
D&C 6:
How do you teach someone what the spirit feels like?
Teaching is only good when you invite to act!!
Ask again.
Have faith to follow your thoughts and impressions and God will bless you!
D&C 121
People usually don't read because they don't understand the WHY!!!
Jesus is the son of MAN. and the spirit will help us know that! That is the message!
First thing in my mind: Joseph Smith seeing God the Father
The restoration is the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being restored.
Title page of the Book of Mormon, 2nd paragraph.
-we talk more about the vehicles of the restoration, but we must talk about the message. The message is that Jesus Christ lives and through him we must repent.
How can we get the investigators to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon?
What should we say?
I have read this book and know it is true.
Starts in Jerusalem in 600 bcc and a man was told to leave and go to the Americas and be saved.
Before Christ died he said he would go and gather his sheep, and then he went to the Americas.
Two nails holds stronger than one.
And stronger relationship with God!
I know God loves me so much and he is a personal God!! I can not deny it and I will not!! What a wonderful day!! Also I learned that Callings do not define me, but my covenants do!
Wednesday:
Today was a really good day for us being able to go and give service at the food bank where we were able to help prepare over 200 meals for people by sorting food that was good and bad!! I love being there so much because it just makes me so happy and is a really good way of getting to know so many people! It seems like every working that walks in comes and says hi to me and asks how I have been and I always can ask them how they have been, because we are friends and I am able to talk freely about what I believe!! So today we were able to go on an exchange from 4 into the evening with Roberto because he was open to and he just submitted his papers and is super excited to go on a mission!! So while we were with him we were able to go and have dinner at the Hna. Alonzo's house where we had Gorditas!! They are home made thick corn tortillas cut open and then stuffed with meat and lettuce and tomatoes!! They we so tasty and we had a wonderful time visiting with Hna. Alonzo that served her mission in Mexico and baptized over 600 people! So this evening we stopped and taught a lady named Carla Rivera, who was an investigator of ours and who we taught a wonderful lesson too, but she just was saying she didn't feel it was the truth, and wasn't keeping commitments, so we had to drop her this evening and try other means of helping her know he truth! It was super sad and I hope and pray she will know for herself!
Today was a very wonderful day!
Thursday:
It is so amazing how much can be done in one day if you just put your mind and heart to it!! I would say that God blessed us with what we needed and we just had to follow the spirit! So today we had our first Zone Council together with our zone, and it was so wonderful! Elder Lewis and I didn't have to train other that just keep the meeting going, and I would say it was one of the most powerful Zone Councils I have been apart of!
So I had a really good experience in our council today with the Holy Ghost! We were doing a role play of coming to church, and I was being the missionary. I began to teach when I had the feeling to open the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 11 and read about the voice from heaven, and as I read it, i could not make sense of it in my head. However, I followed the prompting and read it to her, and it was an eye opener! It made perfect sense and she was so interested! I felt the power of the scriptures in that moment and committed myself to following promptings! So today after our amazing Zone Council we took some fun pictures and then headed out for the day!!
So today we were able to visit with a lot of people, some investigators and others less active members, but every person we met with we had a lesson with, and it was wonderful! Our dinner was with the Viera family and we challenged them with the Book of Mormon rock that we made and had them commit to sharing a BoM with a friend before they give he rock to another member!! So this evening I had another wonderful thing happen to us! We were walking to the car in a very Hispanic neighborhood at about 8:50 when we're heading home, when we saw a man at his truck on the other side of the street. Well as a companionship and zone we are committed to give one Book of Mormon a day for a month, and we hadn't given one away yet, so with this man we did, and he had interest!! It was wonderful to see that God will always put people in our paths, but it is up to us to align our paths to his instructions! What a wonderful day!
Friday: Happy Hump Day to me!!!
So today was a little bit slower of a day for me, but it was also a very amazing day! So today we were able to go to the shop of Hno. Carias and help him paint some cars and wash cars along with a lot of other little things, and it was a lot of fun getting to know them more and even get to know an employee that isn't a member, named Daniel! So we went out to lunch with Hno. Carias and his employee and then we headed straight home to begin our planning for the week that is coming up, and the planning went super well, except for we didn't have time to finish our planning because of our dinner appointment with the Martinez! While there we had a great time getting to know them, and we were laughing so hard while we were there, that I was seriously crying and trying to stay in my chair!! They are so funny and so sweet and just everyone together was such a happy time! The wonderful thing is that Hno. Martinez wasn't coming to church for around 2 years, but is finally coming back and he is finally opening up with us! So after this, we went out and got ahold of one person and set a return appointment before we went to a baptism of a 8 year old girl in our ward, and we were met there by Daniel, the employee of Hno. Carias! It was wonderful to see him there, and really that is where we ended the night by attending the baptism and getting to know Daniel! What a wonderful day! And to end it we went to the apartment and planned so we could enjoy the final hour of Hump Day!!
Saturday:
Today was a day of Texas Talkers! I think that sentence says it all!! So today we had the chance to have our correlation meeting with Hno. Garcia, our ward mission leader, and we had a lot of things to talk about and take care of, and it was wonderful! After the which we went and had a wonderful time visiting with Sonny Moreno, the good friend I made before I left the first time, and we were able to hang pictures and mirrors in his house for him and listen to him talk for an hour and a half, while trying to teach him more about he priesthood, and it was just really good to see him again, and I think that motivated him to coming to church again finally! What he needs is just more fellowshipping and serious home teachers that don't miss a week! After him we were planning on going and visiting a family who had a birthday party today, and as I got out of the car I saw a lady getting her mail, and began to talk to her! We became instant friends and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon. Her name was Joyce and we found out she was open to learn and read, but wasn't interested yet in having missionaries in her house, but man she talked our ears off about every little thing, and we finally had to tell her we had to leave about an hour and a half later!! So we showed up to the party 2'and half hours late! But we were still able to visit and see the members and talk to them about friends that they have for us!! All I know is the day went so fast! And on the way home we went by a house and talked with a lady to set up an appointment, and found her dog that looked deadly to be just the cutest and most friendly dog in all the world!! Was even scared of us, once we got on his side of the fence!
Sunday:
What a wonderful to be a missionary!! Wow so,today we had the opportunity to be apart of a full ward council where we had the full presidencies there to discuss some important items, and one of the things that really caught my attention was that we started at 7:30 and as I thought about Utah time I remembered that it was an hour behind, so while I am sitting in meetings my family is still sleeping and at kind of made me smile!! So at church today our district had 3 investigators in church and around 4 inactive families come back for the day!! We hope that they stay!! So something amazing was that after church we had a few lessons drop on us like normal and we were able to go and find people and give out two books of Mormons!! It was wonderful and I hope it keeps going that way!! So this evening we got picked up by Hno. Ashton and taken to Hurst where we listed to President and Sister Ames for the last time in their Fireside!! It was so powerful and I was able to see so many good missionaries and people that I haven't seen in forever!! I had a wonderful day and really just a wonderful week! And this week we had over 14 people in our zone Progressing, with a date or at church!!!
It has been such a wonderful week, and I am so grateful for the blessing of the gospel in my life! I can not and never will be able to deny this gospel with the way I understand it now!
I hope y'all had a wonderful week and here is how my week went!
Week June 6-12 2016
Monday:
Wow today was a wonderful day to just have some time to prepare for the week!
So today we had the privilege to go and shop and even to get our car cleaned that hasn't been cleaned for a while! It was definitely time for it! Then we headed to the Stake Center and met up with the Hnas from our ward and we painted some Rocks for a way of helping members to do the work or inviting their friends to learn more! I will explain it more on another day! But we painted ours all black and then had Gold paint and painted the Angel Moroni on it like the Gospel Library App looks!! It looks really nice! And the we had a wonderful time finishing our pday!! This evening was so wonderful being able to go and visit with Hno. Delgado to talk about people we can work with, and it was super wonderful!! We got a lot figured out! Then we were knocking on the door of a lady and her family when a Black guy, not being mean, but for the story it is necessary to know, came up to drop off a black trashbag full of clothes for the family. So we, being thoughtful, tried to ask if we could help him and he flipped out thinking we were racist and all sorts of stuff, and then didn't even know who we were thinking we were some sort of rich people. Then he realized who we were and flipped even more! He was all up in our faces, but all I could do was laugh, because I know what I teach is the truth, and what he was saying was so out of place! It really was a testimony builder, and I loved it! Then this evening we had a wonderful lesson with a man named, Juventino.
We had a wonderful lesson on the Book of Mormon and it was just so good!! I love the lessons and the people I meet!
Tuesday:
Today was probably the most powerful day I have had in my mission being able to be in Zone Conference! Wow was I both instructed and Edified! I was so amazed by the things I was learning and being able to sit right next to President was so wonderful!! I want to share all the notes I took with everyone, but sadly they are super long and very personal, so I hope to be able to share really what is in my heart from the things I learned today!! Today I learned so much about the true invitation to come back or even come too the fold. But they way we learned it was a little different! We learned it by Revelation!! The spirit is what helps us understand what our investigators need and everything I learned was so inspired! Here are a few small parts from what I learned!!
Revelation:
- Revelation is finding out what God wants us to do and what he wants the investigator to do. It is to help us see the vision that he has.
- Personal message from God, through the Holy Ghost.
- Unto what were ye ordained.
D&C 42:14
How do we teach by the Spirit:
C: P: R:
How do I know it is Gods thoughts and not my thoughts?
- All good things come from God.
- Thoughts and your feelings
- Prove me (act)
- Blessings come after the action 2 Nephi 2:14
D&C 6:
- A stupor of thought is not a dark cloud, but a unclear understanding. But it is very important to catch the right feeling before it leaves!
- Our investigators will most likely receive or feel the spirit little by little. It is like the rising of the sun. You will feel it and then after a lot of time you will feel it strong and you won't be able to deny it!
How do you teach someone what the spirit feels like?
- Describe what it feels like. Then ask them if they have felt those feelings today!
Teaching is only good when you invite to act!!
Ask again.
- 3 Nephi 11:2-7
- Make sure that the investigators feel the spirit in the first lesson. How? By explaining things that they actually have felt, but they didn't know what it was.
Have faith to follow your thoughts and impressions and God will bless you!
D&C 121
People usually don't read because they don't understand the WHY!!!
- So you can truly know Christ lives.
Jesus is the son of MAN. and the spirit will help us know that! That is the message!
- I want to start from Page one and really read and study the Book of Mormon!!
First thing in my mind: Joseph Smith seeing God the Father
The restoration is the doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being restored.
Title page of the Book of Mormon, 2nd paragraph.
-we talk more about the vehicles of the restoration, but we must talk about the message. The message is that Jesus Christ lives and through him we must repent.
How can we get the investigators to have a testimony of the Book of Mormon?
- Why=
- Read with them
- you
- You+phone and iPad
- Your Fellowshipper+ their phone
What should we say?
I have read this book and know it is true.
Starts in Jerusalem in 600 bcc and a man was told to leave and go to the Americas and be saved.
Before Christ died he said he would go and gather his sheep, and then he went to the Americas.
Two nails holds stronger than one.
And stronger relationship with God!
- I love that Jeffery R. Holland said that he was not at the events in the bible, but because of the Book of Mormon and the Spirit he has a strong testimony as though he was there!!
I know God loves me so much and he is a personal God!! I can not deny it and I will not!! What a wonderful day!! Also I learned that Callings do not define me, but my covenants do!
Wednesday:
Today was a really good day for us being able to go and give service at the food bank where we were able to help prepare over 200 meals for people by sorting food that was good and bad!! I love being there so much because it just makes me so happy and is a really good way of getting to know so many people! It seems like every working that walks in comes and says hi to me and asks how I have been and I always can ask them how they have been, because we are friends and I am able to talk freely about what I believe!! So today we were able to go on an exchange from 4 into the evening with Roberto because he was open to and he just submitted his papers and is super excited to go on a mission!! So while we were with him we were able to go and have dinner at the Hna. Alonzo's house where we had Gorditas!! They are home made thick corn tortillas cut open and then stuffed with meat and lettuce and tomatoes!! They we so tasty and we had a wonderful time visiting with Hna. Alonzo that served her mission in Mexico and baptized over 600 people! So this evening we stopped and taught a lady named Carla Rivera, who was an investigator of ours and who we taught a wonderful lesson too, but she just was saying she didn't feel it was the truth, and wasn't keeping commitments, so we had to drop her this evening and try other means of helping her know he truth! It was super sad and I hope and pray she will know for herself!
Today was a very wonderful day!
Thursday:
It is so amazing how much can be done in one day if you just put your mind and heart to it!! I would say that God blessed us with what we needed and we just had to follow the spirit! So today we had our first Zone Council together with our zone, and it was so wonderful! Elder Lewis and I didn't have to train other that just keep the meeting going, and I would say it was one of the most powerful Zone Councils I have been apart of!
So I had a really good experience in our council today with the Holy Ghost! We were doing a role play of coming to church, and I was being the missionary. I began to teach when I had the feeling to open the Book of Mormon to 3 Nephi 11 and read about the voice from heaven, and as I read it, i could not make sense of it in my head. However, I followed the prompting and read it to her, and it was an eye opener! It made perfect sense and she was so interested! I felt the power of the scriptures in that moment and committed myself to following promptings! So today after our amazing Zone Council we took some fun pictures and then headed out for the day!!
So today we were able to visit with a lot of people, some investigators and others less active members, but every person we met with we had a lesson with, and it was wonderful! Our dinner was with the Viera family and we challenged them with the Book of Mormon rock that we made and had them commit to sharing a BoM with a friend before they give he rock to another member!! So this evening I had another wonderful thing happen to us! We were walking to the car in a very Hispanic neighborhood at about 8:50 when we're heading home, when we saw a man at his truck on the other side of the street. Well as a companionship and zone we are committed to give one Book of Mormon a day for a month, and we hadn't given one away yet, so with this man we did, and he had interest!! It was wonderful to see that God will always put people in our paths, but it is up to us to align our paths to his instructions! What a wonderful day!
Friday: Happy Hump Day to me!!!
So today was a little bit slower of a day for me, but it was also a very amazing day! So today we were able to go to the shop of Hno. Carias and help him paint some cars and wash cars along with a lot of other little things, and it was a lot of fun getting to know them more and even get to know an employee that isn't a member, named Daniel! So we went out to lunch with Hno. Carias and his employee and then we headed straight home to begin our planning for the week that is coming up, and the planning went super well, except for we didn't have time to finish our planning because of our dinner appointment with the Martinez! While there we had a great time getting to know them, and we were laughing so hard while we were there, that I was seriously crying and trying to stay in my chair!! They are so funny and so sweet and just everyone together was such a happy time! The wonderful thing is that Hno. Martinez wasn't coming to church for around 2 years, but is finally coming back and he is finally opening up with us! So after this, we went out and got ahold of one person and set a return appointment before we went to a baptism of a 8 year old girl in our ward, and we were met there by Daniel, the employee of Hno. Carias! It was wonderful to see him there, and really that is where we ended the night by attending the baptism and getting to know Daniel! What a wonderful day! And to end it we went to the apartment and planned so we could enjoy the final hour of Hump Day!!
Saturday:
Today was a day of Texas Talkers! I think that sentence says it all!! So today we had the chance to have our correlation meeting with Hno. Garcia, our ward mission leader, and we had a lot of things to talk about and take care of, and it was wonderful! After the which we went and had a wonderful time visiting with Sonny Moreno, the good friend I made before I left the first time, and we were able to hang pictures and mirrors in his house for him and listen to him talk for an hour and a half, while trying to teach him more about he priesthood, and it was just really good to see him again, and I think that motivated him to coming to church again finally! What he needs is just more fellowshipping and serious home teachers that don't miss a week! After him we were planning on going and visiting a family who had a birthday party today, and as I got out of the car I saw a lady getting her mail, and began to talk to her! We became instant friends and we were able to give her a Book of Mormon. Her name was Joyce and we found out she was open to learn and read, but wasn't interested yet in having missionaries in her house, but man she talked our ears off about every little thing, and we finally had to tell her we had to leave about an hour and a half later!! So we showed up to the party 2'and half hours late! But we were still able to visit and see the members and talk to them about friends that they have for us!! All I know is the day went so fast! And on the way home we went by a house and talked with a lady to set up an appointment, and found her dog that looked deadly to be just the cutest and most friendly dog in all the world!! Was even scared of us, once we got on his side of the fence!
Sunday:
What a wonderful to be a missionary!! Wow so,today we had the opportunity to be apart of a full ward council where we had the full presidencies there to discuss some important items, and one of the things that really caught my attention was that we started at 7:30 and as I thought about Utah time I remembered that it was an hour behind, so while I am sitting in meetings my family is still sleeping and at kind of made me smile!! So at church today our district had 3 investigators in church and around 4 inactive families come back for the day!! We hope that they stay!! So something amazing was that after church we had a few lessons drop on us like normal and we were able to go and find people and give out two books of Mormons!! It was wonderful and I hope it keeps going that way!! So this evening we got picked up by Hno. Ashton and taken to Hurst where we listed to President and Sister Ames for the last time in their Fireside!! It was so powerful and I was able to see so many good missionaries and people that I haven't seen in forever!! I had a wonderful day and really just a wonderful week! And this week we had over 14 people in our zone Progressing, with a date or at church!!!
Making some good lunch!! And some tasty purple potatoes!
Saying goodbye to president Ames!......
Our mission cultured geared towards life!!
Best zone in the World! They have taught me so much and I love them!
A giant dog that wouldn't even hurt a fly!? Never would have guessed from the other side of the fence!
Reuniting at the presidents fireside! He is doing wonderful!
I love y'all so much and have been so blessed here in the sacred land of Texas, in the celestial tongue!
Have a wonderful week and know I pray for all of you!
Con Amor,
Elder Spendlove
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