Dear Family and Friends,
I have had a lot of thoughts this week about my family and how much they mean to me as I was able to teach 2 different families about eternal families. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have that families are forever as proper priesthood binds them together. I am so have learned how strong members are in the missionary work! I know that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church and I wouldn't want it any other way! I hope y'all had a wonderful week and can find something that will help you in how my week went!
Week July 4-10 2016
Monday:
¡Feliz 4 Del Julio!
So many crazy things have happened today that it is just overwhelming, but in a way very good!! Today I was informed of the passing of Pierce Adamson in a very sad accident while hiking and I was in shock receiving that email because it was so out of the blue that something like that would happen! I pray for that family hope that as they go through this week and have this trial that they will always remember who is in charge and that their son is teaching the Gospel to those that went before us.
So today was a wonderful day where it rained hard all morning with thunder and lighting and was a perfect day where it felt so good!! And all pday we had a blast going to the Peña's house to celebrate with Hamburgers and treats and it was just a lot of fun with the Hnas that serve in the ward with us. Then we went to the church and played basketball and just relieved some stress to press onward in the upcoming week!! It was super wonderful! And I think to end the evening off on point was getting to know the Beltran family better and understand their story and what is holding them back from coming to church!! Right now they feel Satan is trying to hold them back from everything through work, and so we taught a simple lesson just using the spirit to really help them know what they needed to do!! Then as we were done there we were knocking doors when we went by a ladies house named Antonieta, and she let us come in with another guy she was with and we taught a simple lesson on the first vision and that our church is the Church that Christ established and she understood, but was struggling with it! As she says, she has Teflon in her head!! Haha but she is learning and we taught her how to pray!! By far I wish that I could just teach everyday and leave the knocking to the members! And now as I get ready for bed all I can hear is explosions just like I was in Mexico City again for 6 weeks because of the parties going on outside for the 4th!!
Tuesday:
Today was such a crazy but wonderful day! So today we had the chance to go and learn from President Whitney in MLC and it was a very different experience! I think I learned that many are called and few are chosen! Also I feel that I learned that no one should be or is the same and president Whitney holds the keys for this mission and is able to receive revelation for us and he teaches us, just differently than we are used too! So there was a lot of thoughts passing through my head in our meeting, but someone with what he said just hit me! He said, "It is okay to ask questions. That is what Joseph Smith Learned!" I learned that nothing happens in he learning process until a question is asked! So the thought came to me in this meeting, how do I draw a question out of someone who is willing to listen? Because if hey are willing to question, then they are willing to think and learn for themselves! And so tomorrow I will be studying this! Also he said another funny quotes that really brought clarity to my mind! He said, "I put the monkey on your back now!" Meaning, I told you and now I am not responsible for if you don't do it, but you are. Really referring to delegation and follow ups! If you never tell anyone then they never have that monkey clinging to them!
I could talk all day about this first MLC with president Whitney, but I think it would be better to show you the love he has for us! So he ended by baring his testimony and telling us it was hard to leave home, his family and so much more by coming to serve here! And the thing that made me just swell was the last words he said as he was chocked up. ""I love my work elders and sisters, but it doesn't hold a candle from being in this room with you!" He and his wife are already so dedicated to the work and more so with one another! He compliments her hourly! And that is what I am learning! I love this Gospel!
Wednesday:
Today was such a wonderful day and full of so much laughing and love! So today I was able to do so many wonderful things with my companion! We started off the day going to District meeting and really learning a lot with Elder Adams, one of the English Missionaries that came out with me, and I really look up to him for everything that he teaches me as my District leader and for just being the example he is! I have had on my mind since yesterday the question, "how do I draw a question from my investigators?" And I think I was able to find a good chunk of my answer in what he taught me today! He taught me about listening to my investigators and then going from there and really asking questions to their needs, and that is when it hit me that that is the way to draw real questions out of people, when they feel loved and understood! Then after District meeting we went and gave service to a sweet 90 year old lady named Amalia Vasquez who will be having her birthday on the 10th of this month! She let us clean her yard and the funny thing was is she was showing us how to do it and not letting us do it! She reminded me a lot of going and visiting the widows in maths old 3rd Ward and me being able to go and visit Sister Shirley Blackmore that was always out in her giant yard cleaning and when we asked if we could help she would always say she was okay! I really am grateful for those wonderful experiences of getting to know her and the mother of Debbie Gulber. They were so sweet!
So this evening we were able to go with Jairo Tapia to teach some lessons and while out and about we found 3 people interested in a Book of Mormon and one that wants us to for sure come back! It was wonderful and I hope that we can have success with her! Something really amazing is seeing the difference in Jairo by him coming with us and seeing how to love the people! I love working with the youth! Today really was such a blessing and I am so grateful for what God gives me every day!
Thursday:
What a marvelous day we had today! So today we had the blessing of planning and yes it was very tiring, but it was so worth it! We can already see that our next week is going to be so busy and we are so excited for it! And to add to that we had some district leaders in our zone calling to see when we could do baptismal interviews, because they have their investigators getting super close to baptism! So we are super excited for the week that is coming up! So something we have been working on is an issue in our apartment where we have found a little bit of mold and we are going to get it taken care of, but no on in the office is ever there or answers their phone, so we are constantly on the look out for the maintenance people so we can catch them to come look at it! So this evening we were able to go and have a wonderful dinner with the Hna. Viera and then have her, after we taught her family, come with us to teach Claudia, Ray, Boozaziel and Valentin De La Rosa about the importance of the Book of Mormon. As we taught we know that they knew the book was true and we knew that they wanted to come to church, because they are just so hungry to have us teach everything that we can! So we warned them this lesson and told them, next week we will be inviting y'all to be baptized, so be thinking about it, and they all agreed to it! And even the dad, who doesn't talk much, just listens was very interested in what we had to say! So after their wonderful lesson we went back to North side to teach Luis Vargas, a less active member, and his two sons Luis and Christopher. And in our lesson we focused on Baptism and the Holy Ghost, and it was amazing, because she finally agreed that his sons needed to be baptized on the 6th of August, and he wanted to Baptize them, so we are going to get them to that point and really make sure they understand what they are doing! The wonderful thing is that they want to be baptized and they are so smart! So really tonight was the best setting two Baptismal Dates!! God will never deny the righteous the blessings they deserve, and we must always be willing to invite them to have these blessings that they deserve!
Friday:
It is amazing how even a day where all your plans fall through can be one of the most successful! As a wise friend once wrote me, "Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling together!" This is the truest statement, especially after today! So today we had the blessing of going and giving service at the Food Bank and we had a lot of fun! We were able to help out a lot there and we were even able to do the dishes there, so we got the double duty service by not only putting food in he right place, but also cleaning out nasty food from bins! It was a party! So after service we had the opportunity to go and teach a simple lesson to a lady we rep an into about 2 weeks ago named Abby who was kind of unsure about what we were teaching. And even today she was a little unsure, until we began to testify, and she even pointed out that she loved how passionate we are about what we teach, and we told her it is because we know it is true! She decided she would dive even deeper into the book and prayer, and she asked if we would come back in a weeks time! It was a wonderful testimony from a Promise that Elder Christofferson had given us when he came to our mission. He promised, "your witness will be so strong they will not be able to disbelieve it, but weather or not they accept it is their choice." That is a promise we have been working on living up too, and it is all starting with Obedience!
Also today we had a lot of finding time, and we were able to find a lot of people outside that we were able to talk to and give Books of Mormons too.
So today while eating dinner in San Luis, a member Mario Santiesteban, whose dad owns the restaurant, came up to us and we had a wonderful visit. He however warned us to be careful, and began to share with us about the sad shooting in Dallas and told us to be very cautious and go home when it is dark. Then as he left we saw it on the news in Spanish in the restaurant, and it seemed so sad! However, we are safe here!However, as were were coming to the close of our night we went by an investigators house named Fidencio where we found a man named Jose Davila, and he was really interested in our message, but lived in Lewisville, so we taught him a small lesson and then he asked if here were missionaries there in Lewisville, so he gave us his number and address and we sent the information to the elders there to bless his life! The really cool part was when Fidencio used his faith to ask us to pray for his family in Mexico going through so many trials right now! So we did and he was so grateful for us going over!!
Saturday:
It is so crazy to me how fast the week went and just how crazy it was to be part of the area and zone that I am in! Today we were able to go straight to work and go to the Alta Mesa Stake Center for some Meetings, and it was so wonderful to be there and teach the District Leaders about the vision that President Whitney had put into us! We know that by doing the things he taught that we can be the best missionaries! So we are going to keep working hard! So after our DLC we were able to practice a song that we are going to sing tomorrow! The song is, I'll go where you want me to go, and it is super pretty! So today we were able to study for a good portion of time at the church, and then we had a really cool experience. So the church has been advertising for free bibles on phone apps and web adds, and as people who are interested put they want one, we as missionaries receive these referrals and also we find out which ones are interested in studying and learning more about God. So the other day we received one of these referrals and so today before dinner we went and were able to contact her and tell her about not only the bible, but the Book of Mormon, and as we were talks she said, "wow, I just don't understand the bible when I read it." So we told her our purpose and missionaries and right away she invited us back for Tuesday evening to talk about he Bible, and we were more than happy for that! So we were glad that she was willing to let us come back! For diner we ate with the Martinez family, who are really just amazing, and I just love both Hno. And Hna. Martinez and just their attitudes! They make me feel at home and it is just super fun to be around them! My desire is to find investigators that they match up with perfectly to be their fellow-shippers! So to end the evening we were able to work on a project for Sonny Moreno, where we are doing his family history so that he can take his family through the temple one day! I am so excited for him and I am so grateful that I can see and do the simple work I know how to do for him! This Gospel really is so simple! And if you become confused, just go back to the Basics. In Preach My Gospel we learn, “It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it.” As we do that, God will bless us! I love this Gospel!
Sunday:
What a wonderful Sunday! Today was such a successful day for us! So as we got to church we had meeting after meeting and it was really a good thing! As we were sitting in church and our investigators said they would come we got a little upset as we realized that they didn't come, but as I paused with translating I looked back and there were two of our investigators sitting on the back row that showed up a little late, but just in time to hear us sing our song for our missionary Sunday! They were very excited and nervous To be there, and right when we saw them we went back and sat by them! So by the end we of church they were very welcomed by everyone and even invited to camps coming up! So the two that came were Boozaziel and Valentin De La Rosa, and next time their mom will be there, sadly this time their mom was sick! So we will get her there the next time! So another amazing thing that happened today was the fact that Guadalupe Gonzalez came back to church with her husband Juan and after she gave me a giant huge we went to Gospel Principles where they both participated and I was in shock! They both are shy and it was wonderful to see how they opened up and how they received answers to their prayers so fast! So the sisters were telling me that they just love me so much because how much I helped them, and it made me feel so good that I was able to be such a strength to them! God helped me impact them and I hope I have that formate rest of my life with them! So for the rest of the day we had very little lessons because we were running between giving blessings to the sick and meetings we had as missionaries in the ward! And then even a Baptismal interview! I am really loving my mission so much and the thing I learned most today is that when you feel tired and you feel you have no energy left, give yourself to the lord and his love and spirit will recharge you! And in the process the spirit will recharge those that have fallen around you as well!
God is real, he knows us personally, and we can be his hands and feet if we let him!
I have had a lot of thoughts this week about my family and how much they mean to me as I was able to teach 2 different families about eternal families. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have that families are forever as proper priesthood binds them together. I am so have learned how strong members are in the missionary work! I know that Jesus Christ is at the head of this church and I wouldn't want it any other way! I hope y'all had a wonderful week and can find something that will help you in how my week went!
Week July 4-10 2016
Monday:
¡Feliz 4 Del Julio!
So many crazy things have happened today that it is just overwhelming, but in a way very good!! Today I was informed of the passing of Pierce Adamson in a very sad accident while hiking and I was in shock receiving that email because it was so out of the blue that something like that would happen! I pray for that family hope that as they go through this week and have this trial that they will always remember who is in charge and that their son is teaching the Gospel to those that went before us.
So today was a wonderful day where it rained hard all morning with thunder and lighting and was a perfect day where it felt so good!! And all pday we had a blast going to the Peña's house to celebrate with Hamburgers and treats and it was just a lot of fun with the Hnas that serve in the ward with us. Then we went to the church and played basketball and just relieved some stress to press onward in the upcoming week!! It was super wonderful! And I think to end the evening off on point was getting to know the Beltran family better and understand their story and what is holding them back from coming to church!! Right now they feel Satan is trying to hold them back from everything through work, and so we taught a simple lesson just using the spirit to really help them know what they needed to do!! Then as we were done there we were knocking doors when we went by a ladies house named Antonieta, and she let us come in with another guy she was with and we taught a simple lesson on the first vision and that our church is the Church that Christ established and she understood, but was struggling with it! As she says, she has Teflon in her head!! Haha but she is learning and we taught her how to pray!! By far I wish that I could just teach everyday and leave the knocking to the members! And now as I get ready for bed all I can hear is explosions just like I was in Mexico City again for 6 weeks because of the parties going on outside for the 4th!!
Tuesday:
Today was such a crazy but wonderful day! So today we had the chance to go and learn from President Whitney in MLC and it was a very different experience! I think I learned that many are called and few are chosen! Also I feel that I learned that no one should be or is the same and president Whitney holds the keys for this mission and is able to receive revelation for us and he teaches us, just differently than we are used too! So there was a lot of thoughts passing through my head in our meeting, but someone with what he said just hit me! He said, "It is okay to ask questions. That is what Joseph Smith Learned!" I learned that nothing happens in he learning process until a question is asked! So the thought came to me in this meeting, how do I draw a question out of someone who is willing to listen? Because if hey are willing to question, then they are willing to think and learn for themselves! And so tomorrow I will be studying this! Also he said another funny quotes that really brought clarity to my mind! He said, "I put the monkey on your back now!" Meaning, I told you and now I am not responsible for if you don't do it, but you are. Really referring to delegation and follow ups! If you never tell anyone then they never have that monkey clinging to them!
I could talk all day about this first MLC with president Whitney, but I think it would be better to show you the love he has for us! So he ended by baring his testimony and telling us it was hard to leave home, his family and so much more by coming to serve here! And the thing that made me just swell was the last words he said as he was chocked up. ""I love my work elders and sisters, but it doesn't hold a candle from being in this room with you!" He and his wife are already so dedicated to the work and more so with one another! He compliments her hourly! And that is what I am learning! I love this Gospel!
Wednesday:
Today was such a wonderful day and full of so much laughing and love! So today I was able to do so many wonderful things with my companion! We started off the day going to District meeting and really learning a lot with Elder Adams, one of the English Missionaries that came out with me, and I really look up to him for everything that he teaches me as my District leader and for just being the example he is! I have had on my mind since yesterday the question, "how do I draw a question from my investigators?" And I think I was able to find a good chunk of my answer in what he taught me today! He taught me about listening to my investigators and then going from there and really asking questions to their needs, and that is when it hit me that that is the way to draw real questions out of people, when they feel loved and understood! Then after District meeting we went and gave service to a sweet 90 year old lady named Amalia Vasquez who will be having her birthday on the 10th of this month! She let us clean her yard and the funny thing was is she was showing us how to do it and not letting us do it! She reminded me a lot of going and visiting the widows in maths old 3rd Ward and me being able to go and visit Sister Shirley Blackmore that was always out in her giant yard cleaning and when we asked if we could help she would always say she was okay! I really am grateful for those wonderful experiences of getting to know her and the mother of Debbie Gulber. They were so sweet!
So this evening we were able to go with Jairo Tapia to teach some lessons and while out and about we found 3 people interested in a Book of Mormon and one that wants us to for sure come back! It was wonderful and I hope that we can have success with her! Something really amazing is seeing the difference in Jairo by him coming with us and seeing how to love the people! I love working with the youth! Today really was such a blessing and I am so grateful for what God gives me every day!
Thursday:
What a marvelous day we had today! So today we had the blessing of planning and yes it was very tiring, but it was so worth it! We can already see that our next week is going to be so busy and we are so excited for it! And to add to that we had some district leaders in our zone calling to see when we could do baptismal interviews, because they have their investigators getting super close to baptism! So we are super excited for the week that is coming up! So something we have been working on is an issue in our apartment where we have found a little bit of mold and we are going to get it taken care of, but no on in the office is ever there or answers their phone, so we are constantly on the look out for the maintenance people so we can catch them to come look at it! So this evening we were able to go and have a wonderful dinner with the Hna. Viera and then have her, after we taught her family, come with us to teach Claudia, Ray, Boozaziel and Valentin De La Rosa about the importance of the Book of Mormon. As we taught we know that they knew the book was true and we knew that they wanted to come to church, because they are just so hungry to have us teach everything that we can! So we warned them this lesson and told them, next week we will be inviting y'all to be baptized, so be thinking about it, and they all agreed to it! And even the dad, who doesn't talk much, just listens was very interested in what we had to say! So after their wonderful lesson we went back to North side to teach Luis Vargas, a less active member, and his two sons Luis and Christopher. And in our lesson we focused on Baptism and the Holy Ghost, and it was amazing, because she finally agreed that his sons needed to be baptized on the 6th of August, and he wanted to Baptize them, so we are going to get them to that point and really make sure they understand what they are doing! The wonderful thing is that they want to be baptized and they are so smart! So really tonight was the best setting two Baptismal Dates!! God will never deny the righteous the blessings they deserve, and we must always be willing to invite them to have these blessings that they deserve!
Friday:
It is amazing how even a day where all your plans fall through can be one of the most successful! As a wise friend once wrote me, "Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling together!" This is the truest statement, especially after today! So today we had the blessing of going and giving service at the Food Bank and we had a lot of fun! We were able to help out a lot there and we were even able to do the dishes there, so we got the double duty service by not only putting food in he right place, but also cleaning out nasty food from bins! It was a party! So after service we had the opportunity to go and teach a simple lesson to a lady we rep an into about 2 weeks ago named Abby who was kind of unsure about what we were teaching. And even today she was a little unsure, until we began to testify, and she even pointed out that she loved how passionate we are about what we teach, and we told her it is because we know it is true! She decided she would dive even deeper into the book and prayer, and she asked if we would come back in a weeks time! It was a wonderful testimony from a Promise that Elder Christofferson had given us when he came to our mission. He promised, "your witness will be so strong they will not be able to disbelieve it, but weather or not they accept it is their choice." That is a promise we have been working on living up too, and it is all starting with Obedience!
Also today we had a lot of finding time, and we were able to find a lot of people outside that we were able to talk to and give Books of Mormons too.
So today while eating dinner in San Luis, a member Mario Santiesteban, whose dad owns the restaurant, came up to us and we had a wonderful visit. He however warned us to be careful, and began to share with us about the sad shooting in Dallas and told us to be very cautious and go home when it is dark. Then as he left we saw it on the news in Spanish in the restaurant, and it seemed so sad! However, we are safe here!However, as were were coming to the close of our night we went by an investigators house named Fidencio where we found a man named Jose Davila, and he was really interested in our message, but lived in Lewisville, so we taught him a small lesson and then he asked if here were missionaries there in Lewisville, so he gave us his number and address and we sent the information to the elders there to bless his life! The really cool part was when Fidencio used his faith to ask us to pray for his family in Mexico going through so many trials right now! So we did and he was so grateful for us going over!!
Saturday:
It is so crazy to me how fast the week went and just how crazy it was to be part of the area and zone that I am in! Today we were able to go straight to work and go to the Alta Mesa Stake Center for some Meetings, and it was so wonderful to be there and teach the District Leaders about the vision that President Whitney had put into us! We know that by doing the things he taught that we can be the best missionaries! So we are going to keep working hard! So after our DLC we were able to practice a song that we are going to sing tomorrow! The song is, I'll go where you want me to go, and it is super pretty! So today we were able to study for a good portion of time at the church, and then we had a really cool experience. So the church has been advertising for free bibles on phone apps and web adds, and as people who are interested put they want one, we as missionaries receive these referrals and also we find out which ones are interested in studying and learning more about God. So the other day we received one of these referrals and so today before dinner we went and were able to contact her and tell her about not only the bible, but the Book of Mormon, and as we were talks she said, "wow, I just don't understand the bible when I read it." So we told her our purpose and missionaries and right away she invited us back for Tuesday evening to talk about he Bible, and we were more than happy for that! So we were glad that she was willing to let us come back! For diner we ate with the Martinez family, who are really just amazing, and I just love both Hno. And Hna. Martinez and just their attitudes! They make me feel at home and it is just super fun to be around them! My desire is to find investigators that they match up with perfectly to be their fellow-shippers! So to end the evening we were able to work on a project for Sonny Moreno, where we are doing his family history so that he can take his family through the temple one day! I am so excited for him and I am so grateful that I can see and do the simple work I know how to do for him! This Gospel really is so simple! And if you become confused, just go back to the Basics. In Preach My Gospel we learn, “It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject that is mysterious and great in itself, and to unfold and simplify it so that a child can understand it.” As we do that, God will bless us! I love this Gospel!
Sunday:
What a wonderful Sunday! Today was such a successful day for us! So as we got to church we had meeting after meeting and it was really a good thing! As we were sitting in church and our investigators said they would come we got a little upset as we realized that they didn't come, but as I paused with translating I looked back and there were two of our investigators sitting on the back row that showed up a little late, but just in time to hear us sing our song for our missionary Sunday! They were very excited and nervous To be there, and right when we saw them we went back and sat by them! So by the end we of church they were very welcomed by everyone and even invited to camps coming up! So the two that came were Boozaziel and Valentin De La Rosa, and next time their mom will be there, sadly this time their mom was sick! So we will get her there the next time! So another amazing thing that happened today was the fact that Guadalupe Gonzalez came back to church with her husband Juan and after she gave me a giant huge we went to Gospel Principles where they both participated and I was in shock! They both are shy and it was wonderful to see how they opened up and how they received answers to their prayers so fast! So the sisters were telling me that they just love me so much because how much I helped them, and it made me feel so good that I was able to be such a strength to them! God helped me impact them and I hope I have that formate rest of my life with them! So for the rest of the day we had very little lessons because we were running between giving blessings to the sick and meetings we had as missionaries in the ward! And then even a Baptismal interview! I am really loving my mission so much and the thing I learned most today is that when you feel tired and you feel you have no energy left, give yourself to the lord and his love and spirit will recharge you! And in the process the spirit will recharge those that have fallen around you as well!
God is real, he knows us personally, and we can be his hands and feet if we let him!
Hna. Odell, Hna. Farnes, Me, and Elder Langi at the Tarrant Area Food Bank!
Boozaziel and Valentin De La Rosa came to church for the first time!!
I love you all so much and hope y'all have a wonderful week and know that I am praying for you!
Con amor,
I love you all so much and hope y'all have a wonderful week and know that I am praying for you!
Con amor,
Elder Spendlove
Texas Fort Worth Mission
Texas Fort Worth Mission
What about Donald Trump as your president? meet and greet luton airport
ReplyDeleteThey are the people of honour without any doubt.
ReplyDeletesecure airport parking gatwick