Helaman 12:23

I feel pretty awkward right now because there is a sister standing right behind me waiting to use the computer and I'm still just typing away. It's hard when your family and friends are nicer than everyone else and send you emails. Just kidding it is the best though. Since I have no time I will do a quick recap of the week. 

Monday: Our Dad and son recommitted to be baptized on October 11. Apparently the dad was nervous about the interview with the District Leader and so the District Leader told him all that he would ask him and he was then super excited to be baptized. 

Tuesday: I got my new companion! I was really nervous but she is so cool. Her name is Sister Coltrin. She's from Michigan and she's been out almost as long as me. Our first day together we taught 4 lessons, committed a person to baptized and found two new investigators. Needless to say we are really excited to be companions. 

Wednesday: It was my 17 month mark! It was also a great day! We saw the Dad and son again and taught the Plan of Salvation. I just love teaching the Plan of Salvation. It always answers so many questions. It's also the whole point of being here so people really like it. 

Thursday: We had a very busy day! We saw so many people and were able to meet some people that we've been trying to meet with. We taught our 11 year old the plan of Salvation and she thought it was great. She also told me that I sometimes laugh like a goat and that it's weird I'm Canadian. 

Friday: We had a lesson with this lady the Elders taught a year ago. We were kind of nervous but it turns out the lady we brought from the ward and her are friends! We had no idea we just thought we were inviting a random member. This investigator committed to come to church and read from the Book of Mormon all because her friend was there. When we came out of the lesson our bumper was on the ground. Turns out that someone had hit our car when we were in our lesson. So we've been driving around without a bumper all weekend. 

Saturday: Saturday is always great because there is lots of time to work. We talked to lots of people. At the beginning of my mission I hated street contacting but now it's what a live for. We set up tons of return appointments with people as well. 

Sunday: Sunday always consists of church at two wards, meetings, studies and eating. With all that we never have much time for work. We did a fireside with our 11 year old investigator. She is so cute! She was begging us to know our first names and wouldn't settle for the old "It's sister" trick. She guessed my name was Carmel, so I might be going by that when I get back. Ha ha. 

Life is so great! I am so excited to just work, work, work this transfer." 

Alma 60:36

" Do you ever feel like Captain Moroni when he writes that letter to Pahoran and is all jumping to conclusions and telling him how he is wrong. Then it turns out that Pahoran was having a hard time too? I feel like that a lot. Sometimes it's so frustrating how we only see things through our eyes. No matter what we only see what we see and we only know what we know. We aren't going to know exactly what is going on with someone else unless they tell us but even then it's hard. I've definitely been known to get on my soap box and accuse because I only see how I am doing and what I need to be doing. I think that someone else isn't helping me when I fall short but really I need to take a step down and first ask how I can help someone else. I don't know if any of this makes sense but it does in my mind. That's why Christ is our Savior and is perfect because He understand. 

Well, the good news of it all is we found some more youth to teach this week. Let me give you a rundown of things. 

Monday: We played lazer tag as a District. It was funny and awkward because everything as a missionary is funny and awkward. My team won! I think it's because we were whipping out great BofM analogies about how we were Captain Moroni's army. I also saw a girl that I love from my second area there so that made my heart happy. 

Tuesday: We taught the Restoration to this guy who has been taught it 4 times in the past 6 months but at the end he said he learned more that time then ever before. High five for the spirit! An African refuge told me I was beautiful and another man told me he hopes that one day I'll learn that my church is a cult. All things in moderation, eh. 

Wednesday: We taught a 15 year old boy! We told him right at the beginning of the lesson that we help people to get baptized so he said he would get baptized! Yahoo! He also said the closing prayer and it was so tender. A man on the street told me that  I'm only 15 because the first 5 years of my life don't count so I'm only 15. I asked him if wouldn't that mean I'm 17 but he didn't think so. Then he tried to give me a hug to make me feel better. He then told me that he is no mood to listen to a teenager try to tell him about religion. 

Thursday: We are now teaching another 9 year old little boy! I was clearly called to serve in Las Vegas for the 9 year old boys. We just relate so well. He was so cute! He asked us five times how to pray. At then at the end he prayed but didn't say in the name of Jesus Christ Amen so he had us all kneel and he said it over again. I love someone who is eager about the gospel. 

Friday: We took our 15 year old to the youth meeting for Stake Conference. After he told me he was bored but that he cried when a man sang "If the Savior stood beside me." Ahhhhh. 

Saturday: We found out about transfers! I am staying in the area but my companion is leaving. So sad but I am excited about my new companion. Everyone thinks she is so great so I am sure I will as well. We had adult session of stake conference. All of stake conference was centered on joy but let me tell you I cried like a new born baby. It was such a great meeting! 

Sunday: We had to go to two sessions of stake conference so we were at the church for at least 6 hours. We even packed lunches to eat in between sessions. This stake is amazing! They have a stake choir that is amazing! It's very intense! It's a stake calling and you practice for two hours every week but it's worth it because they sound like MoTab. 

So in other news I hit my 17 month mark this week on the 17th. It's my golden mark. That is so mind blowing to me but it's great. I don't have to worry. I can just focus on the work and just loving people so much. Life is the best, eh." 

Alma 44:10

" Captain Moroni is just the coolest. Can I just say how cool he is again. Is it bad that sometimes when we are talking to someone and they tell us that they aren't interested I just want to have them read about Captain Moroni. I don't really know if that will convert them but I know it'll be a good read. Can you imagine Captain Moroni today? He would be going all sorts of crazy about liberty, freedom and his wife. What the world needs now is more Captain Moroni s. 

I have no idea what to write about because I feel like so many good things happened everyday so it's hard to pick what I want to say so I will just go through the week. 

Monday: We got a new investigator! We stopped by a members because we had heard their neighbor met with missionaries and they were like "Let's go over there right now!" So off we went and he wants to learn more. So exciting! 

Tuesday: We talked to a part member family and on the wall was the picture of the dad with Chuck Norris. We were like alright so when do you want to be active again and invite your friend Brother Norris to learn more about the restored gospel? We'd be willing to teach him and have a nice red head bond. A member fed us and invited her nonmember neighbor! That is what dreams are made of. Why can't we all just invite nonmembers to dinner appointments with the missionaries? 

Wednesday: Everyone we talked to let us in their house! It was amazing! We talked to this recent convert who won't come to church anymore because he says there is one verse in the Doctrine and Covenants that contradicts a scripture in the Book of Mormon. He has had it explained to him multiple times but he is just set on it. It's sad. We talked for a good hour about food though. It almost sounded like he joined the church for the food which no one in Utah could blame him for. I'm grateful that Heavenly Father urges us to get a testimony of the eternal principles of the gospel through the Book of Mormon because that will never change. 

Thursday: We get to visit a nice, nice member every week who is home bound and vacuum her house. It's become one of the highlights of my week. She is so nice! We get to do something and then have a good visit about the gospel. What could be better! The longer I am on a mission the more I am realizing the importance of  families. Nothing can fix the problems of this world but families centered on Jesus Christ. Everyone I meet would be a completely different person if they were raised in a Christ centered home. The world changes through examples of good families. 

Friday: We had Zone Training Meeting. It was a good time! We talked a lot about charity and what our vision is. We helped a family move and my companion is about the size of a Polly Pocket so it ended up being just the Dad and me moving all sorts of things. We were carrying dressers and mattresses. I felt a little bit like a boy because of how we were just moving things. 

Saturday: Everyone let us in today as well! Blessings! Thanks for all the prayers on my behalf because they are working really well. A member invited us over and a part member family so we are adding a cute little 9 year old boy into our teaching pool. Give me a 9 year old boy and I will baptize him. Apparently that is my calling in life. I think it is because I am so intense that Heavenly Father knows I won't leave their side until they are returned missionaries who are married in the temple. 

Sunday: Alex Boye came to Vegas and had a great fireside. He sang a song and then told about his conversion. It was funny because he was being taught by some sisters when he was 16 years old and he dropped them. The one started crying and bore her testimony. She told him that nothing matters but the gospel of Jesus Christ. That really hit him. He kept learning and got baptized a couple weeks later. In my last area we were teaching a 16 year old little boy. He wasn't really progressing. Then we found out we were getting transferred so we went to say goodbye to him. I too started crying and saying how nothing matters but the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was at the Alex Boye fireside and before it started he told me that he is going to get baptized. So when in doubt just cry and bare your testimony. 

As you can see life is great. I just love being a missionary so much! It's almost a little unhealthy with how much I love being a missionary but that's okay because my parents are proud of me and that's all that really matters eh." 

Matthew 25:31-46

"Hello, hello, hello. It was another great week in North Town. I am really loving my area. It's a dream come true. We are teaching so many youth. We had a little 9 year old just get baptized on the weekend. We are teaching a funny 11 year old girl who told us "I am looking for a religion that makes me happy and I think Mormons are great." We are teaching another 9 year old boy who carries around a little pocket size Book of Mormon. Then we are teaching a 17 year old girl who has been meeting with missionaries on and off for about a year. I never thought I was a person who was into the rising generation but apparently that's what I am all about. We also ran into a priest(Young Man) in our ward on the streets and had quite the conversation. He told us that he doesn't want to go on a mission and that his life will be just fine without it. Well I just wasn't happy with that answer so I busted out everything I could possible think of to get him to at least think about going on a mission but he straight up refused. I was dying. I think my heart broke a little bit; that someone would just refuse to even think about going on a mission when it's the greatest thing that's ever happened to my life. 

The members in my wards are great! They are always so willing to come out with us and even if it's just to talk to people in the street. We were suppose to have a lesson with a lady in an apartment complex and a member said she'd come well the lesson fell through so the member was like "Well let me introduce you to my neighbors!" She walked with us all through her complex,and we talked to everyone. It helped that she had a solid testimony and would tell everyone that you have to look the doctrine. She said we all get distracted by music and the leaders of churches but what we have to look at is the doctrine. 

We had blessed Zone Conference. It was my very last one so that was weird but it was great. Our Mission President talked about spiritual power and all the different aspects of that. One of the biggest things I took away from Zone Conference is that we are in our own hands. It's up to us to read the scriptures  and to pray. People will notice if we don't go to church but what we do everyday is really up to us. It's kind of amazing how much trust Heavenly Father has put in us. As the Bible says "We work out our own salvation." Heavenly Father trusts us to do that. He also gives us lots of people to be support but it's on us. 

So back to the story of our little 9 year old who got baptized this weekend. It was the craziest thing. So when we got to the area we saw him in our area book so we just stopped by casually  They told us that he has been taught all the lessons 4 times and just needs to get baptized. We asked him all the baptismal questions and he knew the answers to them all. We set him to get baptized in three weeks and that's what happened. We have no idea why the Elders didn't get him baptized and no one in the ward seems to know either so there you have it. We just had a baptism put into our hands by Heavenly Father. 

The funniest/weirdest thing that happened this week is the story that follows. We have a man who lives in our complex who is OCD. I see him all the time out the window and never have a chance to talk to him because we are always studying when I see him. Well the other day we are studying and I see him out there trying to move a massive couch by himself. So I throw on my shoes and fly out there to help the poor chap. We run up to him, and say "Are you trying to move your couch? Can we help you out?" He says " I'm not trying to move my couch, I am moving my couch. You don't have any men in there? I don't work with women." We are standing there just stunned. He then says "I mean there is no point in working with women  it's just kind of a waste of time." He tells us he'll either move it himself or we can do it but we aren't working together. We were so shocked that we just turned around and walked back to our apartment.  

As you can see there is always something going on in North Las Vegas. It's a delight and a pleasure."