August 29, 2016

To answer your question about my feelings about coming home, yeah honestly it is kind of sad but then again it is pretty exciting to think that I get to start a new chapter of my life too so that is pretty exciting too.

August 24, 2016

It is crazy how fast time is flying by!!! Also no I don't have any plans and also I was wondering when could I start at WLF could it be that Monday when I get home??

Yes that would be awesome to have Tyson and Caylee over with the kids. Everything else is going great. The way this week works out it is going to go by so fast because we have exchanges for the next 3 days basically so that is going to be crazy! Also I am going to send a package home today hopefully and then everything else I will send home with Sister Palfreyman.  Also I was wondering if I could use some of the money on my home card to pay for a dry cleaned suit( it is the one I am wearing home)! 

We put someone else on date last week. Her name is Cindy and she is awesome. The only thing is that her husband doesn't want her to get baptized. He is okay with her taking lessons but not being baptized so we will see how things will go this next little bit!

Thank you and I will talk to you soon! Love you and have a great day!

August 15, 2016

Everything is going pretty good. The weeks seem to still be flying by. This past week was good.  We had some success but not too much. Our investigators didn't come to church this week so that was a bummer. They are still on date though so we are still hoping for the best with them. We went to Chaco Canyon so here are some pictures from that. 

Elder Oakley is getting married in North Carolina now, so he is having an open house in Utah on the 9 of September I am pretty sure. 

Elder Shinney and me 

August 12, 2016

Bloomfield Area Interviews

August 8, 2016

Everything is going really great we had a pretty good week and we put someone else on date Saturday. His name is Rodrigo and I briefly mentioned him last week, but he is on date for September 24th. He is a pretty elect guy, His desire to learn is great and when we went over there this past week we asked him to pray and after he asked us why is it every time that he prays with us there we make him cry. It was so good to see him recognizing the spirit so strong and I cant wait to see where things go with him. Also we had Vanessa and Luis on date again for September 17th and they also came to church yesterday too, so another awesome miracle. 

On Sunday I was able to teach the Gospel Doctrines class on Alma 32-34 it went pretty good, i think, but it has gotten a lot easier to teach in Spanish that is for sure! Also I am going to send a package home and if you could just put it in my room unopened that would be great and it just has all my letters in there and also I am going to send one home my winter stuff in another and Sister Palfreyman is coming up on the weekend of the 9th and said she will bring up the rest for me. 

August 1, 2016

This past week was pretty good. We went on an exchange with the Dulce Elders so that was good. I was with Elder Greenland and we had a pretty good day. Our people that were on date fell off because they didn't come to church yesterday, but on the bright side of it all they did accept a date which is more than what they have done before. So you always have to have a optomistic out look on things because if you don't then the mission would really suck haha! 

But we had an amazing lesson with one of our investigators on Saturday, Rodrigo.  He is a super funny guy and as we were teaching about the Book of Mormon and a little about the plan of salvation. During the lesson he was asking quite a few questions and when we showed him what happens after we die he got super excited and when he prayed at the end it was a super short, simple prayer but WOW was it powerful. It even brought tears to his eyes. It was for sure one of the best lessons that I have had on my mission.

July 25, 2016

Hey, 

So not too much happened this past week. Wee put someone else on date for the 27th of August. Her name is Maria Chacon. She is a super sweet lady and she knows that the Book of Mormon is true and the only thing that will really be keeping her back is coming to church. So we are looking forward to her. Vanessa and Luis, they didn't come to church this past week, but we have a lesson with them tonight so we will see how why they didn't. It was a miracle that we were able to see them everyday this week besides Friday. It was really cool to be able to see them that often and most of the days it was just but accident. 

July 18, 2016

I am staying here and I am pretty excited for that and the branch is as well so that is good.  I am still with Elder Mabry for these next 6 weeks. I also got called as the district leader for the next 6 weeks, I thought that was kind of weird to get called for my last transfer but I am excited for it too because in my district are all Elders and so that means I get to go on a lot of exchanges to make the time go by a lot faster so that will be nice. 

This past week was really good. We put Vanessa and Luis on date for August 27th. They were the investigators that came to church last Sunday, which they really enjoyed. They really liked how they were able to comment on the lessons and not just listen to a sermon. We found a new investigator, Rodrigo. He is a super cool guy. He was a referral from the Hammond Elders here and he has a huge desire to find more of that joy and peace in his life so we are excited to see where it goes with him. Besides that that was our week it was pretty good all around.

Also Rubio, Castro, and Sanchez came by on saturday to stop by and say hi! It was really good to see them again and I am pretty excited because they are all going to school in Utah!   Sanchez is living in Farmington, NM and Rubio and Castro are going to LDS Buisness college

July 11, 2016

This past week was full of miracles which made the week great! Last Sunday we got a referral from a member and the family was one that we just dropped about 3-4 weeks earlier. The reason why was because they would not keep appointments and were not progressing. So Elder Mabry and I were talking about what the best thing to do was and we came to the conclusion that if we plan for them and they are home then that means God wants us to see them, so we first had to do our part. On Tuesday we go over and their car was home and they were home. We were able to teach them and set better expectations with them. They then told us to come back that same Friday, so we came back and they were there again. Prior they wouldn’t really keep appointments at all, so we invited them to come to church, and they have never came to church in the past 2-3 years they have been taught on and off. We were sitting in church on Sunday and right after the opening prayer they came in and sat down by us and stayed ALL 3 hours of church it was really great experience and the branch did very well in fellow shipping them to the branch. We also had another investigator come to church and she is the sister in-law of our Branch Mission Leader and so it was probably one of the best days at church that I have had in a long time. We also had some members go out and see some less-active families and they aren’t even their home teacher so that was really cool as well.

This was a great week for us and thank you for everything and here is a picture from this past week!

It is crazy today i got an email about this program that they came out with to prepare you to go home haha

July 5, 2016

Everything is doing good. Nothing again happened this past week. It has been kind of slow but at least staying busy. Everything else is going good. Transfers are in 2 weeks so not that far off! It is crazy how fast time is flying out here. I cant believe it!

Also by the way on Sunday I was fasting about college and what I should do and I got the prompting to go to USU for the first little bit and then go to SUU so there was a little change to that and I don't know if it is too late or what? But thought that I would let you know! 

Also here are a few pictures

June 27, 2016

Hey, everything is going pretty good, still pushing through I guess you could say. It has been pretty tough this last week with him but it could be worse! the hole in my mouth is doing good and it is all healed up!

This past week was for sure better we were able to see a few more people than last and still most of our investigators are in Mexico or getting ready to leave for it. But really this past week there wasn't anything new. Well Monste Ortega our recent convert went with the youth to the temple and did baptisms. So that is really neat! Besides that there isn't anything new! Sorry for the short email but that is all there is. 

June 20, 2016

Things are going pretty good here. It was an interesting week last week lets just say that! Haha.  But thanks for the package and yes I got the glasses thank you so much because they really help out a lot!!! I really do appreciate it! 

The "hole" in my mouth is doing better! It is healing and not really any pain any more. Still every once in a while I feel something when I eat something and it gets pushed in there but that is really it! 

Thanks for the pictures it looks pretty cool up there!

We lost a few more investigators and so that has been pretty tough but still finding others. This past 2 weeks have been going by fast because we are working but at the same time it is kind of slow because no one is opening their doors and they are gone because of vacation so it is kind of tough really. But we are still pushing forward!

So on Friday we were at the Garcia's (the first counselor in the branch) but we were about to start to pray when their neighbor knocked on the door and said that there was a huge fire in their back yard. We ran outside and their back yard was up in flames. So we all ran outside and started grabbing the shovels and started to stop the spread of it while the fire department was on their way! A cool experience from it was the fact of the protection of the garments because my arms and my lower legs were very hot, but where the garments were I didn't feel a thing so I for sure have a testimony of them and how they really do protect us in everything and luckily we stopped the spread of the fire and then the fire department showed up and got everything squared away. Nothing of importance got destroyed and it destroyed the telephone post and they even got that replaced that night and that was also the cause of the fire. The transformer popped and started it. No one got hurt either so we were very blessed!

Thank you again for everything mom love ya 

June 13, 2016

So I got the tooth pulled on Tuesday. They got me in because it got swollen and also I don't know if they charged you for it or not. The lady said that it was all covered and I didn't have to worry about anything?? So I am not sure.

Things are a little better but still a challenge and it is about once a week we are butting heads now so not as bad as before just because there is less for him to pick at so besides that is is going good. This last week was really slow with work because my tooth got pulled and everything.

June 6, 2016

This past week was a good week. We were able to find 3 new investigators they look pretty promising. One of them for sure, Mateo, he is a very humble guy and wants to really learn so we are excited for him. Besides that, it was just a normal week. This past transfer flew by and I can't believe that it is already June. I am doing well, a little flustered and my patience is getting tested but for sure a learning experience. But what can you do? We are staying together and also I am the 2nd companion that he has had for more than one transfer so I think that describes him pretty well.

So Brenda kind of dropped us and doesn't want to meet with us for right now as she is going through this hard time in her life she said.  So we will probably try back in the next two months or so. But everything happens for a reason.  We were probably just that seed as of right now.

With the tooth, that seems fine with me so then I don't have to deal with it any more so if that is okay with you then it is okay with me!

Also I am running out of Gel. I can make it for the next couple of weeks but I thought that I would let you know! Also I don't know if it is possible to be able to get prescription sunglasses here since now  we are good to wear them because of the intense sun.  Just thought that I would ask.

Here are a couple of pictures

the horses on the rez are pretty racist

May 30, 2016

Hey, yeah sorry I wasn't able to email yesterday, but everything is going good and I can't complain too much. Nothing crazy has happened this past week just the usual I guess. Sorry and no pictures either. 

Brenda is doing good we saw her last week and she has improved a little so that was good to see and she is reading too so that is awesome! 

The denstist went good today. So I may have a fracture in that tooth so he will let me know this week and if so, I will need to get an implant when I get home so that sucks and I am praying for the best right now!

Yes I got it and thank you very much I appreciate it a lot.

Sorry this email was really boring there wasn't a whole lot to tell this week.

May 23, 2016

Good morning,

Things are going pretty well as of right now.  We have found a few new investigators this week so that has been pretty good. To add on to last weeks story of the lady and how we were put there in the right moment. On Thursday all of our lessons fell through and all of our back ups fell through too.  At one point our back up fell through even before we got there, that is how bad it was. We got the impression to go and see Brenda, the lady that went through that hard time last week. We stopped by and knocked on their door and no answer and knocked again and nothing and right as we were going to step down they pulled in again and she just got back from the Hospital and so it was a miracle to have been there right in the right time again. We taught part of the plan of salvation with the atonement and resurrection. It was a great lesson with her and her family.  

Things are going pretty good so far, still a lot of rough patches that we are getting through is all.

Remember that the "The Spirit can not play his role as comforter if are not out of our comfort zone". I can't remember who said that but I really like it.

This was our hike over in Dulce

May 16, 2016

Hey so everything is going okay I guess. 

This past week was pretty good besides the weekend where no one was home but really cool miracle for the week. We got a referral on Friday from the Farmington Spanish Eelders and they told us that they just went through a miscarriage and they were struggling. We went over that night and we got there and no one was there and we started to walk away and then 2 vehicles pulled up and they got out and it was the lady and her husband with their family. We started to talk to him and they just barely got back form the hospital and so they were pretty down and disheartened and then the mom asked if we could give her a blessing. 

We got in there and shared a scripture about the spirit world to give her a little bit of comfort, and then we gave her a blessing and after she was crying. At that point I had no idea of what to do because she was crying and I hate it when people cry, but luckily her mom was there to help and her friend. The spirit in that moment was so strong and it was a really neat experience to have. It really shows Gods' hand in things and how he can put us in the right place at the right time!

The Navajo Dam

May 9, 2016

It was really good to talk to you guys on Sunday and thank you for everything that you do for me I really do appreciate everything mom!

Easton's new companion.  Elder Maybry.

May 2, 2016

Good afternoon!!

So the work is going really great right now we were able to have 2 members come out with us this past week and it went really good! 

My comp is from South Carolina and he is 25 years old and thinks he know just about everything in life that there is too know because he is 5 years older than me haha so it is kind of interesting. (edited out the rest :))

This last Saturday we had Elder Cook come and speak to us so that was a really cool experience. The whole mission was there and it was good to see everyone and to know how they are doing! He really talked a lot  about mission calls and also obedience so it was really good and we were able to shake his hand too!

Here are a few pictures!

It is Elder Herrera. Goodell and Lake, he just went home

April 25, 2016

Hey! My birthday was really good! I was definitely looked out for! So I am staying here and I am getting Elder Maybry, He came out with me so I am kind of excited to see how it goes! The Ortegas are doing awesome they are reading from D&C and also The Pearl of Great Price too! so you can only imagine what kind of questions they have right now haha!!! The ties are awesome thank you so much!!! 

Also I am going to the dentist tomorrow at 12, because one of my molers is killing me this past week!

It has kind of hit me that I only have 3 more transfers left.  It is going by too fast.

April 18, 2016

Hey everything is going pretty good here last week we got a new investigator, Veronica, she has been taught in the past but we are now teaching her again so that is pretty exciting. The Ortegas are doing very good and we had dinner with them last night and then shared a message and so that was a lot of fun! We went on exchanges on Saturday and we were out knocking doors and the first 3 doors we knocked were Hispanics and they all 3 took a copy of the Book of Mormon so that was a pretty cool experience.

The watch is awesome. I am really loving it.  I have had it for the past 2 days and it has been really good! Thank you again!!

Things are a little better with him but still going through some rough patches here and there but all is good!

April 11, 2016

Hey! 

So everything is going pretty good!  It has been pretty good, Elder Corbridge was here for stake conference and the mission tour. He was basically here to check up on the mission and also reorganize our stake presidency. It was pretty cool experience. We learned a lot from him. He really likes to talk and goes off on a  lot of tangents but in the end he pulls it all together in a pretty cool place, but if you are not paying attention then it is just confusing ha! 

The Ortega's are doing very well and Adriana, sister Ortega, is a counselor in the primary so she is pretty excited for that. Brother Ortega is getting the Melchizedek priesthood within the next few weeks. Yesterday we were able to get a new investigator, Veronica, she was a former and she knows a lot of people in the branch so that is going to be awesome.  

For the FitBit watch there was a problem with the tracker and so I wasn't able to set it up so instead I called the customer service and they walked me through the steps and it still wasn't working so they sent me a Fedex ticket to send it back to them and it should be there today so as soon as they get it, they are sending me a new one. So hopefully I am able to use it by the end of this week.

Apparently Oakley purposed to his girldfriend and he told me that they are getting married either the 3rd or the 5th of September and that is during the time of the vacation and i would really like to go!!

Also can you tell the grandmas that I am sorry that I won't be able to write them because I need to get back to work! Thank you and they both asked what do I need for my birthday and honestly I don't really need anything because my time is winding down. The best thing is money honestly that way I can use it for mainly food because I am starting to eat really healthy now and it is kind of pricey haha but besides that, that is all. 

Hope that you all have a great week and tell eveyone hi 

Elder Richards

April 4, 2016

Hey! So first I did get the watch.  Thank you very much and I appreciate it! 

Conference was awesome and I really enjoyed it so much! I have to say that Elder Christofferson was my favorite talk though that is for sure! We just watched it at the church for all 5 sessions! 

This past week was a lot better than the one before. People were actually home and we weren't able to see as many people as we wanted, but it was still a lot better that is for sure! 

Honestly there isn't a whole lot that has been going on here so yeah haha. The Rrtegas are still doing great they are still super strong and helping out the branch a lot!

The transfer ends on the 25th of April.

Sorry that there wasnt a whole lot to say for this past week!

March 28, 2016

Hey so everything right now is going great! This past week was one of the slowest so far on the mission because no one was home and it really did suck haha! Everyone was either in mexico or have family from Mexico over so they said to come back this week haha but what can you do!! 

It feels that with this past week things are getting harder with him, it is really testing my patience though and it kind of sucks not going to lie! In the mornings for workouts I kind of just release everything to calm me down, so that is good haha

Easter was alright i guess. It was super slow and nothing happened. All of our lessons canceled so that was great! I am just really excited to be able to enjoy conference this week though! I am pretty stoked for it! 

Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt with the branch and then ate lunch it was a lot of fun and I think I know what I want to make you guys for when I get home! While we were eating it started to snow on us a little bit, but it wasn't too cold luckily. 

That was really the high light of the week ha 

Yes thank you for the package and and yes the shoes fit and they are pretty nice to walk in thank you very much! 

Also what i have been trying to do is service for him just like small things like the dishes and make his bed when he forgets or that!

March 21, 2016

Hey!!

Everything is going pretty good here.  Not too much is going on. Last week was pretty slow but still did a lot thank goodness.  Last night we were at the Ortegas forever haha they had a lot of questions, which is a good thing. Nothing too crazy happened this past week but funny story. So we were on exchanges and I was with Elder Lake, he is serving in Escrito. We were walking around and profiling houses looking for Spanish people and we decided to knock on this one door and this old lady comes out. Right when she opened the door she says, " We have a lot of sick people in here right now" so Elder Lake asked if we could come back another time and she just says, " did you not see the no trespassing sign?" Then Elder Lake goes no because I don't read English, so she said really? What do you speak then? Very sarcastically, Oh I am from the Reservation and I speak Navajo and she says oh sorry but just read the sign and there is also a beware of dog sign too so bye. We just walked away laughing pretty hard and we were looking for the No Trespassing sign and there wasn't one. The funniest part is that for some reason she believed that he didn't read English when he was clearly speaking it just fine.

March 14, 2016

Hey! 

Everything is going great right now! This past week was pretty slow. Nobody was home so it really kind of sucked! On the bright side we did service on Friday for about 6 hours! We dug holes to take out tree stumps. It was a lot of work but it was nice because we were able to get out of our proselyting clothes. I got a little red though but it is already gone so that is good! We are getting out to work a lot more so that is good and it seems like everyone else is doing great in the branch! The branch is now averaging about 50ish members so that is awesome!

March 7, 2016

Hey mom, 

 

So everything is going great with the work right now and the Ortegas did get baptized on friday!! It was awesome. On Thursday they got married and then on Friday they were baptized! I was able to baptize Montse, She is the 16 year old daughter, and their doctor, who is the bishop over in Aztec, baptized Angel and Adriana! This family is awesome and I am so glad that we were able to be here when they got baptized. They really are awesome people!  I will put a couple of pictures up! Castro was also there. It was really good to see him there. I miss all those guys a lot so it is always good to see them! 

I am staying here for at least another 7 weeks so that is good, Elder Herrera is also staying.  I have been more bold with him these past few days. It feels good to be doing more again though and actually working.

This past week we meet a lot of new people and also found 2 new investigators, Brenda and Cornelio. They just moved to Aztec and they are married and have one little girl! They are very Catholic but they are very receptive to the gospel though which is really good! Besides that everything else is going really well!

February 29, 2016

Hey! So first with the Instagram, no I haven't been on that since I have been out so it did probably get hacked then.

The Ortegas are still going to be baptized. Tonight we are going to get the program ready and get everything set up for the baptism on Friday. They still need to be interviewed to see if they can but as of right now they are still on track so it is going to be awesome!! I did get the envelope, thank you!  Everything is going good!

Everything else is going great! We got a new investigator, her name is America. We met her at one of our investigators homes and she said that she would like to learn more about the Mormon church. After we were done she told us to come by her house this next week and teach her family as well. As we were getting ready to leave, her aunt asked if we can come by her house this week and teach her as well and of course we said yes. That was probably the highlight of the week for us!

Sorry I don't have any pics this week! 

February 22, 2016

HEY! Everything is going great here.  The people are still doing good. The Ortegas are still on date for March 3rd. They are going to get baptized and married on the same day so that is going to be really cool to see that happen! 

Yes I got the package. Honestly in regards to Lake Powell, that would probably be the best to go right after so that I can just stay busy when I get home. When I get home I want to get a job as soon as possible  to stay busy, because I don't really want to get lazy honestly! 

The weathers is awesome here. It is perfect. Still could lose the suit jackets but only one more month and they are off thank goodness!! 

Old companions back to visit.

Easton, Elder Sanchez, Elder Castro & Elder Gonzalez

Lixander & Elder Sanchez.  Lixander was baptized right after Easton left Bloomfield the first time.

February 8, 2016

HEY! So Elder Deere, he is from Dulce, we just got done playing raquetball with Carmen,  recent convert, so we are really tired.

For the Valentines thing, the V8 friut juice is the best and really anything else works for it.

Everything here is going good and The ortegas didn't come to church but they still are on date for march 5th. We might have to change it because it is the stake temple day. We are seeing some progress from other investigators but not really too much so hopefully we start seeing some in the others! This past week nothing really too exciting has happened.  Every Tuesday and Wednesday we do service at the old folks home by serving lunch. That is pretty fun! 

Yeah that is really all that has happened it was a really slow week sorry! 

Elder Adams and Timoteo

Elder Udy (companion from the Rez)

February 1, 2016

HEY! So everything is going great!! Elder Herrera is doing great and we are getting along very well! We are having a lot of fun and doing a lot of work as well! We actually put the Ortegas on date. They were the ones that we were teaching when I was with Elder Oakley. Now they are coming to church, which is the hardest part for people to do. So last night we decided to put them on date for March 5th and they said yes!! So we are super excited for them! It is kind of weird to be back in Spanish again and in Bloomfield, but I really enjoy it! It is a lot of fun and there is a lot of work to be done here now! This last week we picked up 3 new investigators and had 15 lessons. Also we met a few people who have a lot of potential this past week too! 

Elder Herrera is from El Paso, Texas and originally from Chihuahua and he has been out for almost 10 months. 

January 25, 2016

So this week was really good but also kind of sad for the fact of I am leaving and going to Bloomfield NM again haha!! I am pretty excited but then again it is pretty sad because I have to say bye to everyone and I will send some pics of that too you! This week was awesome we were able to see a lot of people and were able to teach 16 lessons so that was pretty cool. It kind of sucks to be leaving because the fact of everyone here is really starting to progress really well and we have a couple of investigators who are really close to being baptized but there is always a reason for everything though! I am pretty excited to go back Spanish speaking though so that is going to be great! Every Wednesday we have a flea market and it is one of the biggest on the Rez! This past Wednesday I was talking to one of the vendors and I have talked to him before and he is from Farmington, NM and he is Mexican. This time we were talking to him and I brought a Spanish Book of Mormon and gave it to him. He said that he will look into it and read it but now since I am leaving I guess that I can't really follow up on it any more  so hopefully Elder Udy can do that! 

Yes i got the package and thank you for that and also the talk!

Also here is my new mailing address 

416s 1st St. 

Bloomfield, NM

87413

In a text from Sister Palfreyman I found out that his companion's name is Elder Herrera.  Beyond that I don't know much else :).

January 18, 2016

Hey everything is going great. This past week was awesome yet exhausting. We were able to see a lot of people and know that they are all doing great! We were able to get 17 lessons so that was a blessing for sure. Some of our investigators are doing great. One of them accepted to be baptized on Feb 27th so we are excited for that. 

Sorry there isn't much to write about this week. Also transfers are next week so on Saturday. I will know if I am staying or not. I will let Sister P know so she can tell ya. 

January 11, 2016

Hey so this week was really good. It was super spiritual and a lot of fun from going to Zone Conference on Tuesday to seeing Elder Anderson for a devotional with the Tuba City stake and the Chinle stake. Zone Conference was really good. It had a lot to do with finding new people and making us as a mission more unified. We talked about our mission culture which is just what we do as a mission to all be on the same page, " In the New Mexico Farmington mission we represent Jesus Christ as we find, teach repentance and baptize converts!" and that is for us as missionaries to have a direction of what our goal is. 

At the Devotional with Elder Anderson we talked a lot about how we can help the Native people here go to the temple and get into more doors as missionaries. My favorite quote was from Elder Foster he was talking about being discouraged and this is what he said" look for the meaningful things in missionary work ( or life) and not just happiness" I really like that quote. 

The weather is not too bad here. Some days it gets pretty cold but not too often. We got a lot of snow this past week and we were lucky because since I have driven in snow before we were able to still work.

Pics from Zone Conference

Elder Craghead, Hudak, me and Bratt

They are some past missionaries that I have served around Elder Norton, Craghead, and Bratt all in Farmingotn and Hudak was Elder Rubio's trainee

Zone Conference