You will never fall with a Spiritual Knowledge! (Alma 36:4)

Dear Family and Friends, 

What an amazing week I was able to have!! 

I hope that ya'll also had a great week and I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support in this great calling! I feel like time is definitely not on my side anymore, and it scares me a lot, but God doesn't expect me to stay here forever, and I understand that!

So here is how my week went!

Week October 3rd-9th 2016

Monday:

Today I more fully learned just how powerful God is by seeing how powerful his fallen son is. All in all today was a great day, but after a full day of emailing and sports we went out and about trying to contact a few referrals that we have received, and he actually got in contact with one of them and visited with him for a bit! He was super nice, said he had his beliefs and that right now he was just too busy. That to me was okay! God has people ready for us and we just have to find them! As we were driving to the next person to contact, Elder Lopez received a text from an Hna. Whole we have been working with to get her and her family active again. In her text it read, "Do you have a bible that you can give us? It's happening again!" Right at that moment Elder Lopez looked over at me and said, "Elder, do you feel worthy? Are you worthy? We need to go!" Right then the thought smacked me across the face. "Am I worthy? Do I have the power to command? So the past few weeks they have been having very weird things happening in their house, and so we went over, taught them some of the things that need to change in their house to have the spirit with them even more. We had already blessed the home once and the family was super anxious and nervous, and then when we realize that we had to leave, my companion said a prayer and commanded the thing to leave the family alone and leave the house, and it was the weirdest and strangest feeling I have ever felt... but that feeling left as he finished the prayer. The whole drive home as I thought all I could think about was the question, "Are you Worthy, are you ready??" The war is real between gods children and Satan. Satan is real, and knows your better than you know yourself, but what Satan doesn't know is Gods thoughts and actions! So always stay on the Lords side and your will be blessed, even if it takes every fiber of your being and all your energy to do it!(JSH 15)

Tuesday:

First time serving for a day in The city of Arlington! It was a blast and Elder Broadhead, a new missionary who was my companion today was amazing! He has been out for 2 weeks and lead our exchange today and did a wonderful job and we had some really good lessons and had a good Mission Prep class! So I was very amazed by how much I learned by Elder Broadhead. He is from Boise Idaho and is very smart on the Gospel! He was teaching me things I have never even heard of, and we just hit it off well together! Also all day I was very impressed with his Spanish! He was teaching the lessons and talking to the members with no problem, and it just shocked me! He will go very far in his mission and help many people find the truth! So today was a very special day for the both of us, because not only did we have wonderful success, but today Elder Broadhead had his first ever Pop tart! Haha

So today we were able to go and give service at a place called Nu2 you! It is a second hand store and we hung clothes and did a lot of other stuff, and guess who was there, My son, Elder Wardle! I have really missed him a lot and was so happy to see him and see how happy he was! We had a lot to talk about and I can not wait until we can just hang out after the mission. We have a lot in common, and the whole service we were just going off visiting! He is a huge example to me! I think my favorite part of the day was being able to be invited to teach the Mission Prep class where we taught about how to teach a lesson, and it was just a lot of fun to see that I was able to teach the whole class in Spanish and that it was really helping the members understand how they could better themselves to be missionaries! I love Arlington and hope to return one day to serve!

Wednesday:

It is amazing how just sitting can make you so tired! So today we finished our exchange with Elder Angilau and Broadhead super early, because we had to return home and get picked up by the Assistants and began our long journey to first Waco for the Assistants to exchange back, and then an even longer drive to Killeen where the both of us had our exchanges! It was a wonderful time though, and by the time we got back it was 5 pm and we had literally been in the car from 9:30 to around 5! But I love my rides with the assistants and Elder Lopez! They are so funny and make me just laugh! So today we were able to go on exchanges with Elder Lakey and his greenie, Elder Holmstrom! I had the opportunity to go with Elder Holmstrom back to Haltom and we had a wonderful time! He is a very obedient missionary that wants to do the right things, and it makes me super happy to see him want to follow the rules with exactness! Today we had a wonderful lesson with our members the Staffords, who are wonderful members who love to feed us and we teach their grandma how to be stronger in he church! It was really cool, because she actually just got her patriarcal blessing! Then we had a lesson with a returning less active family, and ended the night teaching a husband of a member who will have a baptismal date in a few weeks named Manuel Valdez! He knows so much of the gospel and just doesn't quite have the faith to set a date yet, but said we could set one in the next 3 visits with him! I just love how recently we haven't had to ask many to be baptized, they just want too! I love my mission, and today I learned that I need to read more in Preach My Gospel and teach using better questions!

Thursday:

I don't even know where today went! However, most of our time today was found driving to finish exchanges in Killeen, and it was way to much driving for me! I drove in that truck both days, and it was very rough! I believe it was a total of 14 or more hours because of a little traffic! However, I love Elder Baker and Elder Bird and they have become close friends because we always get to see them! So today I dropped off elder Holmstrom, and Elder Lopez was so happy to see me! Then when we finally got home we were able to go and teach Rey Castillo, and come to find out he has got everything ready for his baptism, and he wouldn't stop telling us thank you for all we have done! As we taught him this evening we focused on the fact that he can go to the temple after his baptism and we could help him find a ride to go, and he was like, "I can take a train that is inconvenient if it means I can go in their and be closer to God!"

It was really cool! Also we were able to eat with a younger couple named the Picketts, and they are super amazing! They love to be with missionaries and again the husband is white but served in Mexico and it was just the coolest in to me! They haven't been in a English ward for about 5 years and they love it even though they can be different! Really today I realized how much we as missionaries make an impact in the lives of those around us even with a simple smile or visit! They never forget those moments! I would also say that I learned what a blessing it is to get good sleep even when it doesn't feel like enough, because we went to help the office elders set up for MLC tomorrow morning, and because of the run out of Tape and other supplies we were there forever and didn't get home until 11:15 pm! However, we got everything done and saved them from being there all night working at it! Today was a very busy day, and now off to bed, because tomorrow is an early morning workout with all the zone leaders who traveled in tonight!

Friday:

Today was so amazing and full of training and insight that I am just so tired! So today we were blessed with the opportunity to wake up at 5:45 to go to the TonganChurch building by the office and play MLC volleyball with all the Zone Leaders that travel from down south! And it rained super hard on the way there and back, and was just super crazy! Also we were able to make it back and get to the MLC training and meeting that started at 9 and went until 3, and I was just so enlightened! Here are a few things I learned from president! I have learned that his teaching comes through quotes!

Enthusiasm breeds enthusiasm!

"Tell me how your obedience is and I will tell you how your mission will be!" - Elder Holland

"At 6:30am every morning is when you decide whether or not to be Obedient!"

"It takes less time to plan!"

Then for the rest of the day we had a crazy quick unknown exchange to go on to see if we could get an interview with one of our investigators Karla. Sadly she had to work and won't be ready for this next week, and we are super sad about that! So as I spent the evening with Elder Hanks, Elder Lopez was with Elder Williams and went and visited with Sergio and got his mom to sign the baptismal form!! That made me super excited, but what his nephew, Angel, said next really made me happy! He said, "so when do I get to start taking the classes!? I am ready and want to learn!" That is what I love to hear, and the prayers of Victor Hernandez, a recent convert are coming true! His family can feel the spirit and are beginning to change! So today was a wonderful day and we had Elder Williams and Hanks stay the night with Us for a early service project in the morning! 

Saturday:

I am a huge fan of Saturday's lately because they have been so busy, but today I loved even more, because we were able to help one of Gods children make it a step closer to him! So today we were picked up by Hno. Giles, a member, and taken to help give service at a members home, that I like a smaller farm, and it was lots of fun! As we finished there we went to the church and had a wonderful language study with Hno. Giles and he District, where I was able to understand a lot more about Honduras and hear some super crazy stories! As we finished there we had the chance to hurry home and change and head back to the church where I felt a little stressed because we were lacking a few things for baptism, and Elder Lopez wasn't even worried! So we got it all figured out and Sergio Hernandez was able to be baptized by his Brother Victor! I think there was two amazing things about today. Sergio was baptized on his father birthday, and his father passed away a while back, so it was a special day, and then he also was able to just smile as he was in the font and just after he got baptized! Come to find out, Victor was brought to a knowledge of the church by Victors sister in law giving him a Book of Mormon, and now Victor was able to bring his brother from that testimony on! It is a special story and made us feel very good to help him get to that point! I know that God loves us and helps us as we strive to keep his commandments! Also I know that Loving the people by serving is what truly touches their hearts!

Sunday:

Today was such a wonderful day!! I just love Sundays in my mission! They seem to be so spiritual and so powerful as I visit with all the members and listen to all the testimonies! So today a few amazing things happened. First off, Sergio received the gift of the Holy Ghost where he was so happy, and after church he was already telling us how next week he can pass the sacrament! Then the second thing that was just so amazing to me by the feelings I felt was seeing our bishop, Bishop Delgado, get released, and having the Stake presidency there to call the new bishopric. I felt so much love and also I felt the spirit strong as everyone rose their hands in support! Something I learned today is that while other congregations and denominations fight for a leader and break off, we know that a leader must be called of God by prophecy and then Latter by the laying on of hands by proper priesthood authority. Knowing that, not a soul can go against us without knowing they are wrong! That is what helps me know this church is true, because it is not ran by any human, but by Jesus Christ, our brother and Savior and King! Today I was able to go to a Presidents Fireside where we were supposed to translate. As we got there we realized that no one really needed translation, so we had the sister practice translating, and it was a good experience, and then I was privileged to translate the talk and testimony of President Whitney. I felt the spirit and love of him as I translated, and I am starting to realize how people begin to show emotion while translating! However, what made my evening was getting an email from my parents where I was able to hear great stories about my grandpa Spendlove and also where I was able to hear something that touched me tremendously about how my parents pray for my investigators and for us as a companionship. Also how my dad expresses his feelings! He is the greatest father for me and I thank my Heavenly Father every single day for both him, my mom, and my brothers and sisters! This gospel is real! If you don't know it's time to learn!

This is Sister Wynne, and she is so wonderful and was a sister in the office for a while, but got released, but that doesn't stop her from being at every fireside and she is making breakfast every transfer for the new missionaries. She Is so wonderful!

Also a few Sister I knew from some other areas!

Thank you all for all you are doing for me! 

Please remember that Jesus Christ truly is at the head of this church and that his atonement is for you! Not just for sins, but every sickness or pain you feel as well!

Have a great week and know I love you!

Con Amor,

Elder Spendlove

De la Misión de Texas Fort Worth