Trio Gone, 4-man On

A little shorter of a week this week, but it was a fun one!!

Thursday: Preperation day, because of the transfers. We played some firsbee golf at a park and I had a lot of fun! Then we said goodbye to everyone in the district. Both my companions packed for most of the day. Then we had a great member visit with Brother Akina, and we talked about uplifting and serving others!! And finished off the night with a great phone call visit with our friend Juan!!

Friday: Transfer day was crazy. We got to the Newbury Park building and got to see a lot of familiar faces! It was fun to be around so many missionaries! Then I said goodbye to my 2 companions. Then while we were waiting for the other missionaries coming down we played cornhole, basketabll and pool. Me and Elder Jackson killed it in cornhole and are undefeated together(dating back to July 2022). Then I got back to my area with E. Cosentino and we had a great lesson with Brighton and Brizieda! Then we got to help Elder Merrill and his trainee Elder Richardson move in to our apartment!

Saturday: There was a stake wide service clearing a field of weeds that we were able to help with! However an hour into helping me and Elder Cosentino got bit/stung by a couple of hornets, so we came home early to take care of those stings. But then we were able to get back to work after lunch! We went and had a lesson with our friend Grant, that went pretty good!

Sunday: Our sacrement meeting was very focused on sharing the light that we all have! We had a missionary farewell, and they are going to be a great missionary! We had an awesome dinner with the Phillips who are fantastic and made us some really good tacos! We were able to get in contact with Mo and Tim and figured out how we can best help them!

Monday: District Council was really good! We talked about why the spirit is so important to have in our lives, as well as the best ways to receive and keep the spirit in our missionary work! We had a lot of planning and studying that we got done.

Tuesday: Yesterday was a big day of service. We helped our friend Joe out and we also helped the community with help at Foodshare. Sister Rollo from our ward made us a good dinner, and we had a lesson fall through...

I love this scripture:
Ether 6:9 "And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord."
The Jaradites are making their way across the sea while winds and waves are beating down upon them. I liken those waves to our trials that are leading us to where we need to go. Just as the wind and waves were guding the Jaradites to the promised land. I hope you all are doing great and praise the Lord for all He has given you, even when life may not be going great!

There's my crazy week, I hope you all have a great one and enjoy General Conference!!!!

Pics:
1. The district
2. Facebook work
3. Family dinner
4. Shopping
5. Missionaries

 

Zone Conference and One More Transfer

Hello friends and family! Another week has passed, and it was a good one!

Wednesday(not yesteray): Played some kickball with the Thousand Oaks district! It was a good time, and my team won! Then we ate some lunch with the other district and just hungout and had a good time! Then we taught English class which was good and I got to practice the little bit of Spanish that I know! 

Thursday: Exchange day!! I was with Elder Kosmicki for the day, here in Moorpark and it was really good! We met a Tim who has  a lot of good questions, Noah who likes the Plan of Salvation, and Rafael, who is looking for a youth program to have her daughter be a part of! I'm excited to see it all play out!!! Then we got to go to sportsnight in Thousand Oaks, played some soccer and then ended the exchange! 

Friday: Zone Conferece!!! It was so good to hear messages from President and Sister Rodriguez! They talked about the covenants that we make in the temple and the blessings that come as we are obedient to them. As well as the commandments and standards that we have been given as missionaries and the blessings that come as we obey them! Me and Elder Starkey and Sister Caswell led a discussion about studying the scriptures and how that allows us to "Put on the armor of God".

Saturday: Had an amazing day! We baked some cookies and dropped them off at members that need a little bit of upliftment, they really appreciated it. Then we made a bunch of calls, a lady said she would make it to church and she didn't. But we had a good conversation with a kid named Angel that we stopped by on Sunday! 

Sunday: Stake Conference was really good! The stake president stood up at the end and called the whole to stake to gather scattered Israel, be member missionaries and to share their light. The other talks were focused on how we can best grow our relationship with God and keep our faith strong!! Then we had a great dinner with the Seguine family, and watched the departing testimony zoom. 

Monday: Had an awesome district council where everyone gave a short discussion on a different subject, so it was pretty cool. Then we had a lot of studies and planning today to prepare or the end of the transfer. Contacted a couple people who just aren't ready to receive the gospel yet. 

Tuesday: Had our foodshare, which is service in the comminity we do every week, and that was pretty fun! Then we contacted a lot of the new people we started teaching last week. And set up a visit for this weekend!!! 

Wednesday: Not a preparation day, which felt a little weird. But it was still a great day! We went boothig and met a cute family, but they live in the Santa Fernando Valley, so we wont't get to teach them. We also met Joseph who is super down to learn about our church and dive into the Book of Mormon! We got to stumble thorugh English class on our own for a while, somehow made it work. Then did some Facebook and said goodbye to an Elder that took off this morning!! 

I read this scripture this week and I love it: 

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." - Revelation 3:20

It's amazing how Jesus Christ is always there for us, he is just waiting for us to turn to him, open the door, and accept the blessings, strength, and love that he has to offer us!! 

Hope you all have a good week! I got transfer news and I will be staying in Moorpark and getting my trainer Elder Cosentino!!! 

Pics: 

1. Kickball

2-3. Zone Conference

4. Another sunset

I Love To See The Temple

Another Great week is in the books, and man it flew by! 

Wednesday: It was a great preparation day! We went down to Thousand Oaks and played some beach volleyball, had a really fun time, and per the usual, I won. After that we went out to lunch at Cafe Rio with the other distrcit. Then That night we went to English class, taught with a member who actually speaks Spanish so he taught and we helped them practice their English!!! 

Thursday: Started the day off bright ad early,  but it was worth it because I got to go to the Los Angeles Temple! It is such a beautiful building, and the spirit within is amazing!!! I got to see a lot familiar faces and it was really fun! After that amazing experience we returned to misssionary work! We went and knocked a couple doors before heading to the Lowry's house for dinner! We had the best Big Mac sliders and got to know a really awesome family! Then we went and had a great visit with the Clinton's, and enjoyed their company! 

Friday: Exchange day!!! I was able to be with Elder Packard here in Moorpark and we had a really good day!! We had a lesson with Gary and he is thinking about moving up his baptismal date, so please pray that he does!!! We also met with some recent converts that are awesome! Then we met Julie. She is a young mother who has just started her journey to find God, we left her with a Book of Mormon and she couldn't wait to read 3 Nephi 11(Jesus comes to the Americas), and watch the video!!! I loved being with Elder Packard, and enjoyed the day! 

Saturday: Exchange Day again!!!!! Had a really rough day. It seemed that no door was opening at all, but we were able to catch a couple people out and about to talk to, but thier ward was having a going away party and we met a really nice lady(Can't remember her name), and then a lady in their ward gave us a referral of a 102 year old man that would like the lessons, so we'll see where that goes!! Elder Thatcher works hard, today was just one of those days...

Sunday: Sunny Sunday in California was amazing! Church was great, our speakers talked about how reading the Book of Mormon changed their lives, and a return missionary spoke on how the Book of Mormon changed those that he taught on his mission. Then we had a great dinner with the Hymas family who fed us really good street tacos!! 

Monday: Had a busy day. Went out for ice cream with our friend Roxanne, talked about out common beliefs as well as a lot of the differences and had a good time!! Then Elder Starkey had a really good lesson over Facebook messenger with a guy from Kentucky!! Then we went and saw Brother Sanchez who so cool and I enjoyed chatting with him! Then we went to the Bolton's house. Their kids are so smart and full of jokes, magic tricks, and cool talents. I had a really fun time getting to know them and sharing a message with them!! 

Tuesday: Got out early and went to a park for our companionship study. Talked to a couple nice people there. We studied the "Topics and Questions" section of the Gospel library app which is an amazing tool!! Went to a service handing out food. Then we went tracting and gave out 2 Book of Mormons to Erick and Shawn who seem super cool and down to at least study it with us!! 

"Your Heavenly Father has given you two powerful gifts that will help you: moral agency and the gift of the Holy Ghost. You have the power to choose to follow the guidance of the Holy Ghost" 

I love this quote and the amazing gift that the Holy Ghost truly is! I hope you all strive to recognize the promptings from the Holy Ghost and recognize the good that comes when we do!!!! 

That's all for this week, hope yours was amazing! Have another great week and I'll send another email here shortly. 

Pics: 

1-8. Temple and friends!!!!

9. Sunset and companions!!!

My Week

What a quick week, feels like just yesterday I was writing an email to you all!!!

Wednesday: We drove to Thousand Oaks and went golfing. There's a nice little driving range we went to and we had a good time! Then we went back to Moorpark and went fishing! Unfortunately there were no fish caught.... Then we stopped by a couple finds that didn't answer and worked on getting information for MLC!

Thursday: Exchange day! I was with Elder Coverly for the day and it went pretty good! We found a man named Sergio, that wanted a Spanish Book of Mormon, he lives in Simi Valley, so he'll get taught by the Hermanas over there! Then we had an awesome lesson with our first Sujey, she's gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon and enjoying it! Please pray that she'll continue to love it!!!!

Friday: We did some fun service out on a ranch. Moved a couple of coops, got to carry a Turkey(sad I didn't get a picture). But it was really fun! Then we had a really good lesson with our friend Diane, who expressed interest in being baptized!!! She's also seen a difference in her life since she has been meeting with us. Please pray she'll get a job here so she can stay!!!!! Then we got the opportunity to play soccer with Johnathan. Someone I found about 2 weeks ago in Thousand Oaks on exchanges. We had a good time with them and they should be going to sportsnight with the Spanish branch this week!!!

Saturday: Exchanges in Oxnard! I was with Elder Starkey and Elder Lafferty. We went to a nice park for our comp study, and talked to a really nice lady, who unfortunately was, "Happy with her beliefs", Which we get that a lot lol. We helped a really nice lady named Pharah move some things from her storage shed, taught a nice guy named Marcelo, had a nice visit with one of their recent converts, then drove back home!

Sunday: We had a great fast and testimony meeting. It was awesome to hear so many focused on the savior and the love that He has for us! Then we were invited to go to a Jehovah Witness service. They had a special guest speaker that talked about how to truly find joy in this life. A little rough because you're in the same room for 2 hours with a 5 minute song break, but it was good!

Monday: District Council was really good! We focused on the promises we make at baptism and how they correlate and prepare us to enter the temple and make additional covenants with God! We also talked about helping our friends see that baptism is the first step not the last, and that there is so much more that we can learn and do to grow closer to God!! Then we planned a lot, had a couple good contacts in the park, started teaching Arnold who recently has been looking for a way to better grow his relationship with Jesus Christ!! Then we went to Woodranch, a really tasty steak house here in town. Had a nice dinner thanks to my family 🙂

Tuesday: We had our MLC(mission leadership council). It was really fun to see some past companions as well as missionaries that I have been able to serve around in the past! President Rodriguez focused on the light that we as members have and the responsibility that we have to share it to all those around us. We also talked about how that standards and rules that are set in place here in the mission aren't just for the mission, but we should prepare to live them for the rest of our lives! When we got back we had service, then went to a lesson with the Hermana's and their friend Erick!!!

"...there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead." - Alma 12:24

This life is a time to repent, become better, so that we are prepared to meet God, and so that we can experience an endless state of happiness! I hope you all continue to look for ways to draw closer to God each ans every day

This was such-and-such a fun week, went by pretty fast, hope  you all have an amazing week!

Pics:

1-2. Exchanges in Oxnard

3. District Council

4-5. Woodranch!

6. Cool sunset

Temple, Twenty & Ties!

What's up friends and family!!! I had an awesome week, I hope you did as well!!!

Wednesday: I had an amazing opportunity to go to the Los Angeles Temple and help clean out some old carpet, as well as lay the sod on a small portion of the temple. It was such a cool experience and I'm grateful I was able to do that! Then I was given a full preparation day to relax and talk to my family!

Thursday: Had a great service project out on a farm that was really fun, then an awesome lesson with 2 of our friends(Gary amd Diane). They have some doubts about baptism so please pray for them!!!! We were also able to put our friend Aubriana on date for baptism in September, so we're excited to see how she progresses!

Friday: I was able to be with Elder Cosentino, the man who taught me how to be a missionary. We had an awesome day in Thousand Oaks. We helped some non members move, packaged a bunch of meals for the homeless. Then to end off the day, we went to a park and there was a group of people playing soccer. I was a little hesitant to ask to play, but as we were walking over, one of the players left, I got to jump in and play. It was so fun and took me back to playing in high-school!!! Plus they all are going to the sports night on Thursday!!!!

Saturday: Walk day was amazing! We found a hand full of people by just walking, then as we were asking past McDonalds we saw Josiah. He's good friends with one of our members and has came to church twice. We were able to give him Book of Mormon, and he's excited to read it!! Then I was able to message a couple people on Facebook and start teaching them!!

Sunday: Started the day off by going to Life Spring church that an inactive member has started to attend. They have some good music, but not centered in Jesus Christ enough for me lol. Our ward was really good. There were some talks about seeing things with an eternal perspective and knowing that God has a plan for us!

Monday: We had an amazing District Council on the Christlike attributes and how when we develop them we become better teachers and are able to help our friends progress quicker. We knocked a couple doors, but nothing much came of it....

Tuesday: 20th birthday was a great one! Worked really hard talked to some nice people that just weren't interested, helped out at the good ole foodshare, then had an awesome member visit with the Morrissette family! Then I was visited by missionaries in my zone that gave me Tostinos pizzas, Reeses, and a nice pink crown! I also received a great package frome home(thanks Reynolds family)!!

1 Peter 1:7-9

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ"

I love how our trials help us grow closer to Jesus Christ and are worth more than anything we can obtain becuase of what we gain from going through them!! Hold onto Jesus Christ no matter what your going through!!!

Love you all have an amazing week! P.S. Thank you for all the birthday wishes you are amazing!!!

Pics:

1-4. Temple!!!!

5. Birthday

6. Matching ties(thanks mom)