Lots of Miracles this week

Hey there! How goes it?

 

Over here in good ol' Searcy things are rockin and rollin! This last week was all really good except for saturday. Saturday was not fun. But ill tell ya more about that later.

 

Last tuesday after specialized training we went on exchanges with the Batesville elders. Elder Hoggan stayed in Searcy with me. It was pretty sweet. At the beginning of the exchange we were going to visit some investigators when I had a very subtle prompting to go to this former investigators house across town. So we did, his name is Justin, he is a baptist music minister and a hard core steelers fan. Despite that he is pretty cool! He took us back into his studio for the lesson and before we could get started he hopped on his keyboard and started singing some  "soul power" tunes to us. It was kind of awkward but funny at the same time. We had a throw down lesson with him about the BOM. He was not keeping his commitments to read. So we got a little bold with him and helped him understand the importance of it. He committed to read the Book of Mormon in 30 days! It was sweet. The exchange was great.  I love being able to work with missionaries in my zone.

 

So we were planning on having a baptism this Saturday. President Petersen drove down sat. morning to interview them. The interview went well and they both passed! We just need to get them married first So we ended up having to cancel the baptism. It was depressing stuff. They are getting married this next week though so we resheduled the baptism for next friday.

 

We are also having a baptism for our investigator Cassie for next sunday. Cassie is legit! So one of my favorite things about missionary life is the whole setting goals deal. In a mission we set daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals. Its fun getting competitive with it! Elder Soelberg and I set a zone baptismal goal this month that we have been working like crazy to achieve. Things were looking rough at first but some crazy miracles have happened that have helped this past week in our zone! I will tell you one. A guy named John just moved into an area in our zone. He had already been to church once and wants to be baptized! He is very elect and prepared! He moved from Arizona and he was introduced to the Gospel by Monty Sherwood! I dont know who that is but thats pretty awesome! The Sherwoods were an answer to my prayers once again!

 

Other crazy miracles have been happening in the areas of the zone and things are looking great! One last story: Last night Elder Soelberg and I had an hour left on the day and we had no idea what to do. We tried everything in our planner and we were out of ideas. So we decided to do that whole praying thing thats such a fad in missionary work. After we said a prayer I opened the planner and looked at our weekly goals. We were one short of reaching our member present lesson goal for the week! So we tried to think of a part member family we could see. One came to my mind that we have tried to contact before but it never worked. So we went over there at 8 30 pm and they let us in! Its one of the nicest families I have ever met. The mom is a member is is the ward mission leaders daughter and she has not been to church in years. The dad is not a member. We talked and taught and had a great lesson! We told them that we were prompted by the spirit of the Lord to come to their house. The spirit was so evident! We are now going to teach them again next tuesday night! Prayer works! I have learned and can testify that in my experience its always the smallest most subtle promptings that bring mighty miracles.

 

 Anyways I love you family. Thanks for all your support. Thanks trevor and truse for the jerky and letters and the sexy pen. Thanks grandma and grandpa for your awesome letters. They meant a lot! Let me know how Kylie is doing! 



The gospel of Jesus Christ is comforting during trying times.

Hey family! Sorry I am so late to email today. Elder Soelberg and I went up to North Little Rock and played basketball with President Petersen and 10 other missionaries. It was sweet!

So I don't have that much time to write. If I was going to talk about all the tender mercies Elder Soelberg and i have experienced this letter would be to long anyway. I have seen miracles this week.

On tuesday we had zone meeting and it went well. We have 40 missionaries in our zone! Its twice as big as the last zone I was over. It goes from Searcy all the way up to the Missouri line! So we had some traveling to do this week.

On tuesday we went on exchanges with the Assistants on tuesday and it was awesome. Elder Armstrong stayed in Searcy with me and we had some fun! We had a lesson with a girl where we read 2 Nephi 31 and invited her to be baptized. She said she has been waiting to for a long time and she was ready! The only problem was she was living with her boyfriend who is a member but they are getting marrried by Bishop this thursday now and getting baptized on the 25th!!

David got baptized this last saturday. It was so awesome. He even shaved his scruffly beard for the baptism! This is the guy I was telling you about that has a house full of guns and explosives. He is awesome though.

Thursday was a challenge but the Lord saw fit to bless us with a miracle. There has been a lot of challenges with getting some of our investigators baptized. We have been working with some them for a couple months now and obstacles/satan keeps rearing its ugly head. Thursday night though we went over for dinner and they told us they were going to get baptized on the 18th!! No matter what! The spirit confirmed their decision that night and they both looked so happy. she had tears in her eyes when she looked at me and asked if I would baptize her. Its unbelievable how involved the Lord is in our lives.

Wednesday night I was on exchanges with an Elder that was struggling and it was great. We talked for a long time that night about the power of the atonement. I know its infinite and all-encompassing. I know that the grace and mercy of our Savior is over all his children. I know that through it the plan of salvation is able to work its course. I have found so much comfort in the Book of Mormon this week as a I have studied the Plan of Salvation. I am so grateful for this gospel. I am grateful for the comfort it provides during trying time. I know and can testify of the Power of the Holy Ghost. It is the comforter (John 14:26) and is there to ease the pains of our soul when we call out to our father in humble prayer. I love Uncle Bobby and Aunt Marcie.  I am writing a letter to them today.  I am grateful for the family unit! Especially mine! I love you all. I pray for you by name daily. Thank you for everything you do.

Missionary life is so rewarding!



BUENOS DIAS MI FAMILIA!!

So little Behi is in the MTC eh? Thats crazy!! Let me know how she is doing!

Is Christie really having a boy?!! Awesome! Man I can't wait to be his favorite uncle. I can't believe Macy is coming down South. She is going to love it!

So anyways we had transfers this last week. Chris Cooksey came with us to the transfer meeting! He loved meeting all the new missionaries. Well Elder Spencer is off in Morrilton now. He is a good missionary. So I picked up Elder Soelberg!! He is the man. He is from Farmington Utah. He went to Snow college for a year. We are already pretty good friends. I know why too. He has the same personality as Shawn Lindsey! So ya he is hilarious. Speaking of which how is Shawn. I miss that guy so much. So ya Elder Soelberg was here for 7 months at the beginning of his mission. He trained my trainer. Now we are both here and I am really excited to see what happens this next transfer meeting.

So on thursday, the day after transfers, we had to go back to North Little Rock to go to Mission Council which is just like a leadership meeting. There we set our mission baptismal goal for the month and year.Those are always the best meetings. I could listen to President Petersen talk all day on the atonement. He is a boss!

But ya this week has been good. We set a date for David Carmichael to get baptized this saturday. The only thing that would keep him from doing this is his poor health. But we gave him a blessing and i'm confident that things will work out. We also are trying to get Brando and Sierra baptized this weekend! O ya! So we taught that family I was telling you about the Gomez's. I love those people. We taught them the restoration last night and it went well! i am excited to see how they progress.

Yesterday was probably the best fast and testimony meeting I have ever been too. It was awesome! Chris got up and bore his testimony!! It completely took me off guard. He bore such a powerful testimony of the power of the book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong.

So Bishop just barely told me how, since we have some general authorities coming to stake conference. So Chris He already has a calling as the guy who is in charge of cleaning the building, he has his own set of keys to the church, and we are already giving him families to hometeach! So he is pretty much a member. And Jessica is doing great too! She got a calling as a secretary in the Young womens! She loves it but she is really nervous about it all. Man things are going so good.

We have zone meeting this tuesday and then we are going to exchanges with the AP's. The next day we are doing exchanges with the Pocahontas elders. (yes that is the name of one of our areas) So ya I am excited! Anyways family I just want to let you know I love and miss ya! I pray for you by name daily and I know you do the same because I can feel it. Thank you for your prayers, patience, and packages!

Happy New Year!!! Good Luck Kylie! I love You!!!

Hey family!!

So you're in Utah right now? Crazy!! I want to talk to Kylie! How was the farewell?!! I am so excited for her. She is going to be such a great missionary.

So this week was really awesome. I cannot remember what I did and did not tell you on christmas but I will just tell you what I know. I went to the Millers for christmas eve! It was sweet because they have to family traditions that we have. 1. We ate mexican food for dinner. (very delicious) 2. They gave some pajama pants for a present. (very comfy) (I don't know if thats how you spell comfy) (I also am not sure if that's a word) But it was great. and Elder Spencer and I built a skyscraper of a gingerbread house.

So then christmas morning we woke up, opened some awesome presents (thanks for the sweater Kylie) and then went to the Souths for breakfast! Then we went to the Cookseys for lunch and then we went and worked until I got to talk to yall! It was great!

We have had some great lesson these past couple of days. My conviction that Heavenly Father has prepared specific people in every area of every mission grows stronger every day. Alma 13:24. I know there is people in Oregon waiting for Kylies sincere and unique testimony.

So as far as transfers go........I AM STAYING! Can you believe it? Elder Spencer is getting transferred. I am staying and Elder Soelberg is coming over here with me! He served in Searcy the first 7 months of his mission and trained Elder Tate. I'm excited because Elder Soelberg is awesome! So ya crazy stuff. Anyways I love you all and am so grateful for all your support. I am so grateful for everything that has been sent to me! Thank you Grandma Udall, Aunt Trisha, and badger for coming and skyping with me! I love you all. Have a safe drive to Utah and back. TEAR IT UP BEHI!! HOORAH FOR ISRAEL!!

NOTE TO KYLIE:

Kylie!!! How do you feel right now?  nervous much?

KYLIE!!!!!! Yes i am staying in Searcy! its crazy. i will probably be here for the next 2 1/2 years. How was the farewell? how are you feeling right now?!!

If I had to give you one tip it would be this.....dont drink the orange juice at the mtc. but if I had to give you 2 tips.....I would also tell you to be patient with yourself. One thing I know about me and you is that we are super competitive about stuff and we are hard on ourselves. Just remember who's work you are doing and the authority of your calling! You are going to feel overwhelmed at times but keep going! Your heart is like a ball of clay. if its soft and humble the lord is going to mold you into something great and you are going to bless so many lives. if you harden your heart or settle you will just be.....a ball of clay. ha ha I love you Kylie. You are going to do awesome!! Proverbs 3:5-7

Merry Christmas!

HEEEEEY!!!

How is it going family! Man what a week! I have a lot of stuff to tell yall about this week so I will just tell you when I call you on wednesday instead of typing it all out. This week has been something else though.

 First of all we had christmas zone conference on wednesday in North Little Rock. President Petersen is awesome. He is probably the next apostle. It was a good conference. And at the end we got to watch a movie. Ephraims Rescue. Ever seen it? Its quite the flik. I would recommend it! But enough small talk lets get down to the needy greedy. (Nacho voice)

 So when it rains out in Arkansas.....it rains hard. Friday night up until saturday night it rained non-stop. We had flash flood warnings right and left. The best part about this is Elder Spencer and I are on bike week. We promised ourselves that we were not going to let the whether stop us from working. Last week when it snowed we didn't skip a beat. So whats a little rain? Well let me tell ya  this was no walk in the park. It was more like a ride in a river. But we tried to have some sunshine on our cloudy day and make the best of it. So we rode to our appointments and it was pouring. We had 3 appointments and they were no where near each other. Well.....all of the appointments dropped! No one was there when we got there.  A good mixture of cold rain and frustration was working in its way in as it seemed like nothing was going on. It felt like we didn;t get anything done that day despite us being out the whole time. The promise in Ether 12:6 rang true though as we did not recieve a "witness until AFTER the trial of our faith."

The next day was sunday and it was impossible for our hopes to be too high for our investigators to get to church since we didn't get to meet with any of them on saturday. Well sunday morning we prayed for them all by name and then got a ride to go get all of them. We were able to reach our weekly goal and get 6 investigators to church! What a blessing. Also Jessica (our new convert) gave her first talk in sacrament meeting. She sounded like she had been a member her whole life as she spoke about the Book of Mormon. It was amazing!! The spirit was so strong. I was thinking about the growth she has had as I watched and listened to her testify in front of the whole congregation that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. The real miracles happened last night though.

On the way to one of our appointments I noticed I got a little ahead of Elder Spencer. So I stopped and waited right in front of this house. Now Elder Spencer and I have tried to do things other than knock doors at night because either people don't answer or they get mad. But I felt so strongly impressed to knock on this door that I really had no other choice it felt like! So when Elder Spencer caught up we went and knocked and were immediately let in! When we got in there were 2 mexican families of good size all sitting in the living room. We stated our purpose as representatives of the Jesus Christ and asked if we could say a prayer with them. We then asked what they would ask the Savior for if he was there with us. They said jobs and physical health. We prayed and asked for those things for them and we blessed the home. I noticed after the prayer one of the fathers had tears in his eyes. We briefly taught them about the restoration and set up return appointments with both families. They were so humble and loving. I know and can testify they have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to accept the message of the restoration because it was nothing other than the spirit of the lord and led us to them. We probably pass by that house 3 or 4 times a day and last night they were ready for us.

Every obstacle we faced this week as a companionship and the riding the the rain and wind and having appointment and appointment fall through was all worth these miracles we saw yesterday! And they truly were miracles. I know just as Joseph Smith said that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven." I love you family. Thank you for everything you do for me. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we all take the time to think about what the best gift would be to get Christ for his birthday. See ya in a couple of days!



Merry Christmas!

HEEEEEY!!!

How is it going family! Man what a week! I have a lot of stuff to tell yall about this week so I will just tell you when I call you on wednesday instead of typing it all out. This week has been something else though.

 First of all we had christmas zone conference on wednesday in North Little Rock. President Petersen is awesome. He is probably the next apostle. It was a good conference. And at the end we got to watch a movie. Ephraims Rescue. Ever seen it? Its quite the flik. I would recommend it! But enough small talk lets get down to the needy greedy. (Nacho voice)

 So when it rains out in Arkansas.....it rains hard. Friday night up until saturday night it rained non-stop. We had flash flood warnings right and left. The best part about this is Elder Spencer and I are on bike week. We promised ourselves that we were not going to let the whether stop us from working. Last week when it snowed we didn't skip a beat. So whats a little rain? Well let me tell ya  this was no walk in the park. It was more like a ride in a river. But we tried to have some sunshine on our cloudy day and make the best of it. So we rode to our appointments and it was pouring. We had 3 appointments and they were no where near each other. Well.....all of the appointments dropped! No one was there when we got there.  A good mixture of cold rain and frustration was working in its way in as it seemed like nothing was going on. It felt like we didn;t get anything done that day despite us being out the whole time. The promise in Ether 12:6 rang true though as we did not recieve a "witness until AFTER the trial of our faith."

The next day was sunday and it was impossible for our hopes to be too high for our investigators to get to church since we didn't get to meet with any of them on saturday. Well sunday morning we prayed for them all by name and then got a ride to go get all of them. We were able to reach our weekly goal and get 6 investigators to church! What a blessing. Also Jessica (our new convert) gave her first talk in sacrament meeting. She sounded like she had been a member her whole life as she spoke about the Book of Mormon. It was amazing!! The spirit was so strong. I was thinking about the growth she has had as I watched and listened to her testify in front of the whole congregation that she knows the Book of Mormon is true. The real miracles happened last night though.

On the way to one of our appointments I noticed I got a little ahead of Elder Spencer. So I stopped and waited right in front of this house. Now Elder Spencer and I have tried to do things other than knock doors at night because either people don't answer or they get mad. But I felt so strongly impressed to knock on this door that I really had no other choice it felt like! So when Elder Spencer caught up we went and knocked and were immediately let in! When we got in there were 2 mexican families of good size all sitting in the living room. We stated our purpose as representatives of the Jesus Christ and asked if we could say a prayer with them. We then asked what they would ask the Savior for if he was there with us. They said jobs and physical health. We prayed and asked for those things for them and we blessed the home. I noticed after the prayer one of the fathers had tears in his eyes. We briefly taught them about the restoration and set up return appointments with both families. They were so humble and loving. I know and can testify they have been prepared by the hand of the Lord to accept the message of the restoration because it was nothing other than the spirit of the lord and led us to them. We probably pass by that house 3 or 4 times a day and last night they were ready for us.

Every obstacle we faced this week as a companionship and the riding the the rain and wind and having appointment and appointment fall through was all worth these miracles we saw yesterday! And they truly were miracles. I know just as Joseph Smith said that "Sacrifice brings forth the blessing of heaven." I love you family. Thank you for everything you do for me. Merry Christmas to everyone! I hope we all take the time to think about what the best gift would be to get Christ for his birthday. See ya in a couple of days!



Happy Birthday to Kylie!!!

Happy Birthday Kylie!! I can't believe you are 19.......that is a little weird. You seem to short for such an age. Well I hope it was a good one.

 Man I wish I could remember all that goes on during the week. My record-keeping has been pretty sub-par lately. I haven't cracked open my journal in a good minute. Things have just gotten so busy! This week we had Zone meeting which I was thankful for because I didn't have to be in charge of it. President and Sister Petersen came to it also! In the meeting we were being instructed on teaching and the ZL's called Elder Spencer and I up to role play teaching in an investigator about prophets as a demonstration. It went well too! Elder Spencer is really coming along as a teacher! All we do in companionship study is role play over and over and it has really helped! My son is making me proud!

Anyways we have had some miracles happen this week. On wednesday morning right before we left the apartment for the day we had a companionship prayer where we asked specifically for the Lord the lead us to someone who is prepared and to help us recognize them. Well 5 minutes after that prayer we went over to a potential investigators house and she opened the door and it looked like she had been crying. Well...she had. She said that right before she heard us knock on the door she was like talking to herself/praying and asking for something to change her. She explained to us how she always went to church growing up with her family and how everything was going great and then she made a couple of wrong choices. She got with some bad influences and things started spiraling down. She said she really felt like was at the point of no return. She couldn't forgive herself for what she had done so she felt like she couldn't be forgiven. We taught her about the atonement and the how it is able to take any burdens, guilt, and sin away from us. I really did feel the love Heavenly Father had for her as we taught her on her porch. She truly had what Christ requires of us in order to use the atonement, and that is a broken heart and contrite spirit. The lesson was awesome and she is reading the Book of Mormon right now. Heavenly Father is preparing his children for us every minute of every day! That experience estalished that truth for me.

One more awesome experience: Elder Spencer and I taught a woman and her two children the restoration last saturday night. In that lesson the spirit really helped us know what to say. I think it was the best lesson we have taught together up to this point. But anyways at the end we talked about baptism and she actaully asked us if she could get baptized!! It was insane! That never happens to us. It was awesome though and it is only because the spirit spoke to her.

Ok last cool story and then I am done. So we are teaching this guy that is going to Harding and he is majoring in bible ministry and in his senior year. So ya he knows his stuff about the bible. Anyways we were teaching him about how Heavenly Father has a body of flesh and bone. He quickly referred us to John 4:26 where it says "God is a spirit." Well we went to that and then saw the JST that says that its actually saying "God promised his spirit." Well naturally he did not believe the JST so he went to his back room and got his Greek translation bible which is older and more accurate and in that version it said the same thing that the JST said! The guy was so taken back by it! It was awesome! Its crazy how the changes in the bible have had that much of an effect. Where we can't even be sure of the true nature of our father in heaven. This is why the Book of Mormon is so important. It establishes the TRUTH in the Bible and expands on it. 1 Nephi 13:40-41.

Anyways thank you Grandma Udall and Nelson family for the letters! It means a lot! I love you all!