Tuesday, February 26, 2013

February 25th, 2013

It has been a crazy week this one! We did not get done with as much as we would have wanted this week due to other responsibilities that we had to do. But it was still a good week!

 One of the weirdest things this week has been the weather! It snowed here.....twice!! Not once did it stick to the ground to be able to get some good pictures for you but it snowed! The second time was yesterday during church! It was crazy as it was definitely a blizzard. We were sitting in sacrament looking out the window or I would have gotten a pictures but it was snowing so hard that you couldn't see the cars in the parking lot about five feet on the other side of the window! So crazy! Yet still nothing stuck to the ground! Only in Arizona! Ha-ha But it has been so cold these last couple of days! Staying around 30 degrees for most of the time during the day and even less at night! That is quite the difference from the 120 degrees I got used to during the summer! And now I look back at myself and scratch my head because I sent my jacket home during the summer! But I think the cold will only last a week or so then it should start getting warm again!

 We were able to take 2 road trips this week! The first one was to "scenic" Duncan Arizona! It is about 45 minutes to an hour away from here. Tiny town that you can drive through in about a minute.....going 45. We went there to pick up a bag that was misplaced during transfers. One of our missionaries was without all of his white shirts and slacks for a few days while we tried to find it. But it was a fun little road trip! We drove down. Waited for the other missionaries to meet us there from Lordsburg.....and then drove back! Not a whole lot to report on that trip! The other road trip we did was to Tucson. We went down on Friday for a Young Single Adult Specialized Training! It was also a good road trip as we had Elder Hanni and Elder Auvia'a with us. They are both funny so we had a good trip down with them. We had a good meeting discussing working in YSA areas and I learned a lot. It is interesting to see that around 70 percent of people who join the church in this mission are people younger than the age of 30. This is the time that people are looking for structure, looking for a true foundation whereon to build and center their lives. This is why YSA work is so important and brings forth so much fruit! I love being in this area to help people find that solid foundation!

 It was a pretty good week as far as teaching goes as well! We didn't teach as much as we wanted but we had some really good lessons! We are continuing to meet with Tashena and it is so great to be able to meet with her! She is still so awesome and learns everything so well! It is almost as if we don't even have to teach her! She understands everything! We discussed Charity and the Enabling power of the Atonement with her this week and it was great! It is amazing that she is starting to teach her family and plant seeds! She is awesome!

 We were also able to meet with Larry again and had a really good lesson! He was able to get a job last week and also he was finally offered a scholarship at New Mexico State! It is not Tennessee that he had already signed for but it is D1 and he is super excited! Those things along with others have showed him that God is watching out for him! It is helping him a lot! He really opened up and discussed his childhood with us. He has had the roughest life of anyone that I have ever met! He has been through a lot! But he is still making progress! Slowly but surely!

We are still working with Tyler and have some really cool lessons with her! Her biggest problem right now are some of her influences. It is astounding to me what a powerful effect that your friends will have on you! I am so thankful for my friends and how good they were for me!

 We had another miracle this week that was really cool! Wednesday night we were doing our nightly planning and setting goals and we both had the feeling to put down one new investigator and one member present lesson. Now we had no idea where that would come from! Our Thursday was looking to be a slow day and we were wondering if it were possible to reach those goals. But we each had the feeling again and one thing that I have been learning is, when the spirit tells you something....you do it! No questions! Ha-ha so we put it down and then prayed that, according to our faith, we would be able to accomplish that goal! Thursday morning we did all that we were supposed to and had good studies and everything and then right as we were walking out of the door we received a text! It said, "Hey Elders, I have a friend that wants to learn about the Church and wants to meet with you before six today. Would that work?" We were so excited! Ha-ha What a miracle! God is in the workings! This is truly His work and I am blessed to be able to be involved and a tool in His almighty hands! We of course were able to do that and we were able to have a lesson with Nicole. Nicole is awesome as well. She is from the Phoenix area and is a cheerleader up here at EAC. She came up here, had some Mormon friends on the cheer squad, met some other Mormon people here, started to feel the spirit with these new friends, decided to check out the church and more importantly....decided it was time to grow up and find some stability. It was a really great lesson and it was cool to see the support group that she already has! We had seven people involved with that first lesson, five involved with the lesson we had on Saturday, and eight people involved with the lesson we had yesterday. Friends are amazing! If you choose your friends wisely in life then you will be set! Nicole has a baptism date she is working for, into 2 Nephi in her reading and really wants to know it this is all true! We are excited for the opportunity we have to be able to teach her and help her find what she is looking for in life! Funny side note- Nicole is the first all-white investigator that I have ever taught! Yep! Almost 15 months into the mission, five companions, three areas and she is the first! Now of course that doesn't make any difference to me but it is interesting because my Patriarchal blessing tells me that on my mission I will come to know and love people from all kinds of races, creeds, cultures, and lifestyles! When I was first called to Arizona I didn't think that would be able to happen. But the Lord knew! The Church is true!

 Also I just have to put a short comment about the 58 new missions announced...Holy crap! That is insane! The Lord is hastening His work! There has definitely been a different feel out here since Oct. We are getting near the end. We all need to think of what we can do to help Him in this work so that we can bring salvation to our souls!

 That will be it for this email! Good week! Till next time!

 Elder Banner

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