Interviews and Exchanges Week

Another great week! Hope yours was amazing as well!! 

Wednesday: Watched Joseph Smith: The Prophet of the Restoration, love that movie, then went shopping and got all the little things done!! Then we met with Anthony, he's super cool, ready to learn, loves what repentance means, and we're meeting with him again! 

Thursday: I got to have Interviews with President Rodriguez, he is awesome! Got free lunch, then had a discussion as a group of missionaries with President Rodriguez and we talked a lot about the importance of finding the one. Having faith to find the one God had prepared in our area! Then we had a sports night here in Moorpark, had a few non-members come and had a good time! 

Friday: Exchange day!! I spent the day in Thousand Oaks! Found Andrew and Briana for them who are super nice and willing to learn! We also had a fun service package meals for the needy! I got to be on bikes, loved it, had a fun time crazing around! 

Saturday: Went garage sale contacting, met Fike. He's a Muslim who doesn't know a lot about the church, we taught him some things and he taught us some things. He's very nice, love talking to Him! Knocked a lot of doors, had our lesson fall through with Anthony, but we were able to hand out a couple pamphlets!! 

Sunday: Had a nice call with a friend from Nigeria about the Book of Mormon! Church was amazing, talked a lot about what it means to endure and the great pioneers who endured to get across the plains. The Hodges had us over for dinner and it was amazing, they are such a nice family!! We were able to get in contact with Isaiah and set up something for this weekend!! 

Monday: Another exchange! I was with Elder Wilber in my area. We met and talked to a lot of people that were very nice and said to come back, hopefully they all go through! We had dinner with the Lowry family, who have a couple people in mind for us to teach! Also had a great visit with the Satterwhite family, that Elder Wilber knew 2 years ago when her first came into the mission. 

Tuesday: Had a lot of studies to start out the morning, then we had a service passing out food. Then we had another great sit down with Fike, learned a lot about Muslims, he seems to be surprised and likes a lot of our beliefs, but probably won't go to far... Then we stopped by a lot of our dots and set up return appointments with Harrison, Pedro, and our friend Liz!! 

I love this quote from the new Preach My Gospel, "What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. And what we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become" This was a great reminder to keep in mind not only the missionary I want to become, but the person I want to become!! 

Hope you all have a fantastic week, love you all, keep enjoying a fun summer!! 

Pics: 

1.Interviews

2. Movie and treats 

3. Space X satellite 

4. Elder Thatcher

5. Cool sunset

6. Swarm of Bees

Faith, exchange & exchange

Wednesday: Super fun preparation day! With one district we played lava monster at a park, which was super fun! Then with the other district we played pickleball, I crushed some people in Spikeball as well, and then we played some indoor soccer that was really fun!! That night we did a lot of stop by's and just checked up everyone! 

Thursday: There was a great mission zoom about how to prepare our friends for baptism and the importance of bringing it up right away. Helping our friends see that baptism is the first step, on an amazing path back to our Heavenly Father! We went to a couple of parks, met Abaji, who was super cool and down to learn about the restoration! Then we met Michelle and talked to her about the Plan of Salvation, the blessings that it can bring to her and her family, and she just wanted pamphlet, but she was awesome! 

Friday: We were able to go on an exchange with Campus Canyon, I was with Elder Coverly for the day, and it was great! We did some service, gotta love yard work. Then we had an awesome lesson with our friend Gary on the Book of Mormon has power! We read the introduction with him and I learned so much, Gary learned a lot and it definitley helped him gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and it was awesome to see him jump into the testimonies and enjoy them as well! The rest of the exchange was great. We met the Hoffmans and had a lesson with Jaime that went well!! 

Saturday: Went on an exchange with Elder Larsen in Thousand Oaks, and it was really fun! Met a super nice lady named Maricela, she was so nice, and is looking forward to making small steps to come unto Christ! We stopped by a lot of their friends, and then we went to the Vicks home and had a dinner with a beach view! I learned a lot from Elder Larsen and enjoyed the day!!

Sunday: Went to another church, that was interesting, but our sacrament was awesome! We had great talks about trusting Jesus Christ and letting Him take take our burdens and trusting Him! One of my favorite quotes from the talk is:

"Let the lord be the author of our story, don't try to write out ourselves" Which I love!! 

Monday: Great district council on Christlike attributes, talked a lot about Faith and hope and how we can have those things in this life!! We also had a great dinner with the Akina's home! 

Tuesday: Exchange with the Arroyo Vista Elders! I was with Elder Pickrell, and we had a great day! Stopped by their friends, went to Foodshare(passing out food) and then had an amazing dinner with the Seagull's! Then we helped Camilla, Kevin, and Edwardo move! They invited us over in 2 weeks for dinner!!! 

Love this quote from Preach My Gospel:

"Through exercising faith in Christ, you can find peace and reassurance about your efforts. Faith will help you press forward and continue in righteous desires" I love how far faith can take us, and how powerful it is! Hope you all continue to have faith in Christ and trust Him always! 

Great week, went by really quick, hope you all have an awesome week!!! 

Pics: 

1. Elder Coverly

2. Elder Larsen 

3. District 

4. Moving people 

One Year & Fun Times!

Heyyo,it was such an awesome week, I learned so much and had so much fun!!

Tuesday: 4th of July was great! Had a BBQ with one district and then hung out and played some basketball with the other district! After those activities I got to talk to my family, while my companion was fishing, which was awesome!! Then there was Facebook challenge from 6-8 to see how many people we could introduce the gospel to!! Then the mission held a zoom about the 4th of July from 8-9. President Rodriguez talked about how God prepared this country for the restored gospel and what a blessing it is! Then I stepped just outside my apartment and saw some fireworks...

Wednesday: I got to go to my first MLC (Mission Leadership Council) where all the zone leaders got together with President and Sister Rodriguez and talked about how the mission can improve. The main focus was finding the one. The one person in each area that is ready to receive the restored gospel, the one person that God has prepared for us to teach! A bonus to MLC was I got to see my MTC companion (shout out to Elder Jackson)!!

Thursday: Started the day off with some service, then cleaned our apartment for inspections, then we went on a half day exchange. I got to be with Elder Swallow on bikes for the day and it was so fun!!! We met a lady named Shal who believed in a God, but that's about it, and it was cool to help her realize that God is a loving Father who wants us all to know He’s there. And how He let's us know in our own personal ways!

Then we met Nelia who we promised would find a lot of peace in reading the Book of Mormon. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon and the power that it truly holds!

Friday: I was able to go on an exchange with Elder Hill who came to the mission at the same time as me! It was fun to catch up and work together! Had a lot of rejection, but we stayed positive through it all and met some really nice people!

Saturday: Walk Day!! Such a fun day, walked all over our area, not a whole lot of people were out, but we met nice people, just weren't up for a visit. It felt like missionary work though and it was a great day!

Sunday: Sacrament was awesome with the main message of seeing others the way Christ sees them! Then we went to a Apostolic Christian church, very different, but had a grand old time!

Monday: Full day of meetings, First we had a baptismal interview in Thousand Oaks, then we had District Council, then we had personal study, companionship study, weekly planning, and that was over 3/4 of the day. Then we went tracting and found 4 people!

Tuesday: Exchange with the Thousand Oaks Elders and it was way fun! Me and Elder Crockett were in Thousand Oaks! We helped out with Foodshare(feeding those in need), then had a great member dinner with the Doerflers and got to see some amazing swords!

It was a really fun week, got to experience a lot, found some success, and seeing the Lord's hand in my life everyday! I love this quote in the new Preach My Gospel,

"Faith is a principle of power. As you exercise faith in Jesus Christ, you will be blessed with His power suited to your circumstance. You will be able to experience miracles according to the Lord’s will" I have felt and seen the power of faith, and the amazing things that happen when we act!!

Love and miss you all! Shout out to my Sister who's engaged!!!!!!!!!!

Pics:

1. Picnic

2. Fishing

3. MLC friends that have been out a year!

4. Package from home!!

5. Elder Swallow

6. Sunset

7. Elder Crockett and cool swords!

 

Happy 4th of July!!!

HAPLY 4TH OF JULY!!! Just remember all the fireworks are celebrating my year mark as a missionary 😉 jkjk I love this county, I'm grateful for the men and women who have risked and many who lost there lives to defend it!!! Hope you all have an amazing 4th of July! 

Wednesday: It was a really fun preparation day! We went to one district activity and played volleyball, four on the couch, and a little bit of soccer! Then we went to our district activity and played some basketball!! Then we had an awesome visit with the Seguine family and had a great discussion with them about sharing the gospel with everyone! 

Thursday: Did some service on a ladies farm, got to pet some goats and see an alpaca which was pretty cool! Knocked a lot of doors and talked to a lot of nice people, but none willing were to listen 

Friday: Had an awesome lesson with our friend Gary, put him on date for baptism, he's super ready and I'm excited to keep teaching him more!! We met Oz, who's super into cars, gave him a pamphlet and we are stopping by this week! 

Saturday: I had an amazing time meeting President and Sister Rodriguez, they are amazing! They talked a lot about God's timing and how we are all here, at this time, in our specific areas, for a reason! They've had some cool experiences while preparing to become mission presidents and I know I will continue to have them as a missionary! While we were tracting, we found 2 Spanish people, I loved struggling through those contacts, talked to some fun people, just don't want us to come back... 

Sunday: Our fast and testimony meeting was great! We had the opportunity to teach the 11-16 year old Sunday school class, that was really fun, we made resurrection rolls to help them remember the Come Follow Me lesson on the resurrection! Then we stopped by a lot of previously taught records, not much came from that, but we had a good time!

Monday: District Council was amazing! We talked about the importance of listening and how that can impact those we teach! It was all centered around listening to the Holy Ghost and listening to those we are teaching! The Moorpark fireworks were last night, so a lot of people were getting ready to leave and didn't want to talk to us...

I love this quote from David A. Bednar from Oct 2016 Cenference, "Believing Him—accepting as true His power and promises—invites perspective, peace, and joy into our lives" I love peace and joy that I have felt this last year as a missionary and the love I have for the people here in California!! Love you all, have a great week!!! 

Pics: 

1. Cool sky 

2. Caught last Wednesday(Elder McKenzies fish)

3. California 

4. Paragliders in the sky!