Good bye!

Elisa will be going to the YSA ward now and so the missionaries there will start to teach her. We
wont be teaching her anymore. We have several other investigators and referrals from members so this week will be a full week. Things are finally starting to pick up here in this ward.

It was a fast week and I'm sure this one will be just as fast if not faster. We have service a couple days this week and I will be going to the temple for the first time on my mission this Wednesday because my companion has a convert that is going through for the first time. I am excited to go back to the temple after two years.

The work is picking up!

What a great week it was. On tuesday we drove an hour to Junction a small town in the ward. We went with the High Priest Group Leader and visited with several less actives in the area. It took up the whole day. We had a fun time. We were also able to give the sacrament to an elderly lady there which was a neat experience.

On Thursday we had Zone Conference in San Antonio. Elder Cornish of the 70 came and spoke with us on how we can work differently with the active members of the ward. We are excited to apply the different things that he talked about. These were five things that he had a focused on.



1. Earn the Trust of the members/Know them
2. Set goals together/train together/find together
3. Teach with members
4. Cottage meetings
5. “Friends Sunday”

After conference we visited with an active family the Adams and they told us of a family that they want to share the gospel with. This non member family has the perfect questions that an investigator should have. They asked the Adams "why God doesn't speak with us anymore" and they also mentioned how there are many churches that seem to teach some truth but they want to find a church that teaches all the truth. We have a family home evening set up for next Monday evening with a
BBQ and a message. We are excited to teach this family next week. We had several investigators come to church yesterday. One of are investigators Sindy wants to be baptized but before she does she wants to learn more. There is also a part member family that came to church and want us to start to teach them. The work is really starting to pick up in this area. there should be several baptisms in the near future.

"When we turn our lives over to the Lord the power is behind us is always greater than the obstacles before us."

Super good hamburger place

Mary's Taco (The mucho macho taco)

Donuts on exchanges in San Antonio

Trying to teach of Jesus Christ!

This was a fast week and a busy one. We were able to teach two people this week who don't know who Jesus Christ is. One of them is Elisa and this was are second time teaching her. She has now come to church for almost 4 months and is trying to understand and learn as much as possible. This week we helped her understand what repentance is and how we can repent. She had many questions but said that she really enjoyed learning more about the importance of repentance. We also taught her what Jesus Christ did when he was on the earth and why that is so important to us now today. She didn't come to church this Sunday but we will be meeting again with her on Wednesday. We will be seeing if she wants to go to the singles ward the only challenge is that it is almost an hour drive to the YSA ward.

The other lady we taught who didn't know who Jesus Christ is from Malaysia and is married to a less active member. This young family came to church on Sunday because they are visiting here for about a week. We taught her also about who Christ is and she had many questions such as why are there so many Christian churches and what is the difference between them all. She was born Muslim and decided for herself that she didn't want to believe that. She has a great desire to learn more about the church and we will be contacting the missionaries in Lubbock Texas where they are living.

Earlier this week we went out with are bishop on visits. We were able to contact several of the members that he felt would benefit from a visit with the missionaries and himself. We have a great bishop who is actively participating and encouraging others to participate in missionary work. It is amazing how much the topic of missionary work is discussed in this ward because it is a focus of the bishops. Still trying to find a lot of people to find and teach. Looking forward to another week.

Rainy week!

After about three months of coming to church Elisa a friend of a
member started taking the lessons. On Wednesday we were able to teach
the first lesson "The Message of the Restoration". She really enjoyed
it and said that she felt the spirit during the lessons. towards the
end of the lesson we invited her to be baptized. She said that she
doesn't want to be baptized yet but was willing to read the Book of
Mormon which she has already done a little bit of and then also pray
to God asking if the Book of Mormon is true. A few days later she came
to a baptism that happened in another ward. This was her first time
ever seeing a baptism so she had a lot of questions such as why they
wore white jump suits, and who are the two men that stood on the side
of the font. She enjoyed the baptism a lot and we are looking forward
to going over again and teaching her this week. She is very shy and
quite which makes the teaching a little more difficult.

As this was a very rainy week and we were out of miles by the end of
the month we had to bike in the rain. It was fun and we had a pretty
neat experience doing it. As we were biking in the rain we saw a man
that was sitting outside under his porch. We went up and talked with
him about the Book of Mormon and gave him a copy. After we spoke with
a few of his neighbors about 20 minuted later we biked passed him
again and he was still reading from the Book of Mormon. We had several
other great contacts during the time on are bikes. It is amazing to
see the Lord bless us as we are diligent and doing all we can to find
people to teach and bring to church.

Family mission plan!

Another great week in the Texas San Antonio Mission. This week we were
able to have interviews with President Polley. He had us come prepare
with a Christ-like Attribute that we want to develop over the next six
weeks. He is a powerful man and it is always a blessing to sit down
and talk with him. Also on Saturday evening I was able to drive to
Boerne and give a baptismal interview to a 12 year old boy named
James. James was introduced to the church by his friend at school who
happened to be one of the bishops sons. James shared how he was
invited to the church and had to go home and pray to God asking him if
he should come to the Mormon church or go to church with his mother.
He felt that he should come to the Mormon church and when he came he
really enjoyed it and felt the spirit very powerfully. For a young 12
year old boy who will soon be the only member of his family he has a
powerful testimony and will be a great example to his younger siblings
and even his parents. Hopefully the rest of the family will soon come
and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Being able
to conduct baptismal interviews have been some of the most spiritual
experiences that I have had while serving on my mission.
On Sunday Elder Wallace and I were able to give talks during sacrament
meeting. My talk was focused on the importance of a family mission
plan. We are going to start to visit all the active members in the
ward over the next couple weeks and ask about what there family
mission plan is and if they need help putting one together. On the way
to dinner Sunday evening we stopped by a less active brother John
Boutte who had a non-member friend over. They were recently talking
about church and the friend wants to start to come to church with John
and us. They committed to come next week and he also accepted a Book
of Mormon and was excited to read it. His name is Shawn and hopefully
he will soon start to be progressing.
In the middle of the week we did a lot of service for our ward mission
leader who moved to Utah on Saturday. We helped him load up his truck
with the stuff that is in his barn and take it into the garage so that
it was ready to be packed up on Friday. We also mowed two lawns this
week of of our recent converts neighbors. They are older and couldn't
get out in the hot humid heat that we had this week. Looking forward
to another week and hoping that the humidity and heat doesn't get to
bad.

Leave nothing behind!

What a crazy week it was. Wednesday evening shortly before we went to bed we received a text message from a member of the ward. The text mentioned that her daughter who is in high school has a friend Cameron
that wants to take the lessons. Cameron wanted to learn more about the church and take the lessons because he thought it was cool that we meet every Wednesday night for mutual and also every Sunday for church
with other activities that we sometimes have through the week. This was an answer to many prayers as we have been doing all we can to work closely with the members. We are going to hopefully be meeting Cameron this week and start helping him draw closer to Christ.

The following day on Thursday we had transfers. We had to wake up a little before 5 to get up and drive to San Antonio to where transfers were at. I said my goodbye to Elder Tiongson who I love and will miss and was able to then receive my new companion Elder Wallace. Elder Wallace is a great missionary and we are excited to give it are all as we both end are missions in about two months. It will be a fun transfer and hopefully a successful one also. We are ready to leave nothing behind and work harder than we have ever done before. Elder Wallace is from around Sacramento California. He played college football at a Jr. College in California. He loves to cook and is a really funny and energetic missionary. I have never really served  around Elder Wallace so I didn't know him to well. This will be my  third companion that I have had who has come out with me. 

To start off the transfer we spent many hours outside visiting with people and finding new investigators. We also stopped by and taught Brother Edmondson. He is a less active who hasn't been to church in about two years and came back for the first time yesterday. Hopefully he continues to come to help support and strengthen are small Elders Quorum. We had one investigator come to church named Elisa. She is a friend of a returned missionary and she has been coming to church faithfully for over three months now. She said that she doesn't want to start taking the discussions yet but we will be eating lunch with her on Saturday and we are looking forward to seeing if she is ready now. She is really shy and nice and has a lot of potential.

On the Sabbath Day we were going to be giving talks on missionary work and a family mission plan but the bishop forgot that a high councilor was going to come and speak to us. Because of this we are now going to be speaking next week with a priest or two.

Break it down!

Elder Tiongosn and I will be together for only a couple more days. On Thursday we have transfers and I will be staying here in Kerrville and receiving Elder Wallace as my new companion. Elder Wallace came out with me so we will both finish our missions together here in Kerrville as this is our last transfer. I will miss serving next to Elder Tiongson my Filipino companion from Houston but am looking forward to ending my mission with Elder Wallace. This week we had the last district meeting of the transfer. We discussed the importance of keeping lesson short and under 45 minutes. We practiced teaching each of the lessons using one sentence to cover each principle. It is hard but very powerful when we can take a principle that is so complex and break it down so that a child can understand it. The next day we went to a small town called Medina. They say that Medina is the apple capital of Texas. This small town doesn't really have anything in it besides a few houses, a BBQ place, and a bunch of apple trees. We stopped by and talked with an old bishop brother Bonnet. He is a great member who is trying his best to find people for us to teach. He is always helping and serving his neighbors and is being a great example to each of them as he strives to be Christlike. There are many members like him in this great area.

Hunger to learn!

We started off the week great with a lesson Monday night in the Cooks (Young family we met several weeks ago that have been looking for a church) home with a members family present. We were able to teach the Cooks the Restoration and they said that they would be baptized once they come to know the Book of Mormon is true through reading and prayer. They were super interested in what we had to share with them and they asked great questions as we taught them. The members also did a great job of bearing testimony and sharing personal experiences. This was a lesson we were able to walk away from knowing the spirit had touched their hearts. Sadly a few days later they texted us and said they do not want to continue to learn and that they found another church that they like. Hopefully they will have another chance in the near future to hear and accept the message. Later Monday night we drove down with a part member couple Jolie (Investigator) and Daniel (Member) to San Antonio to spend the night with are zone leaders. They were able to drop us off. During the drive to San Antonio we were able to get to know them both a little bit more since they have recently moved in to Kerrville. There are many concerns and things that we will have to help Jolie with but she has a great desire to learn and one day be baptized. This will be a longer process but hopefully she will continue to have this hunger to learn and change through repentance.

Towards the end of the week we finally were able to contact the Parkers in the ward that have shown interest in coming back to church. The father also wants to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood so that he can bless his family and others. We had a short lesson with only the father on Saturday night. He is a recent convert of about 3 years now and it seems as though he has been less active most of that time. We shared the Restoration and focused on the first vision. He remembered it a little bit from when the first missionaries shared it with him. The next day being Sunday he showed up to church for the first hour. It was great to see him attend church for the first time in a while.

We have been working very closely with the ward council. We visited different members that they wanted us to go by and also we had the opportunity to go on visits with the first and second councilor in the Bishopric to those that have been on their minds. It has been great supporting and helping as much as possible the members in the ward. President Polley has mentioned several different times that as we work more than ever with the members and help them in their callings that people will show up to church and will come to us asking if they can be baptized. I believe that miracles still happen today and I hope if it is the will of the Lord that we might be able to experience one like it soon as we continue to do all we can to find, teach, work with members, and baptize.

We have been lucky here in Texas as it hasn't been super hot yet. We have been in the low 90's a couple times this week but the weather has been pretty nice. I am sure that it will soon get hotter and hotter as June and the summer months come. This week we did serve a few times for a non-member lady. She is super nice but seems to be pretty set in her catholic ways. It was still fun and enjoyable helping her pour and spread mulch over her new garden. On Tuesday when we had the San Antonio Conference I spoke with several of my past companions and members from the "The Austin Zone". It has been fun creating great friendships not only with members and investigators but especially other missionaries.

"We do not have to be perfect, but we need to be good and getting better."

Change!

More and more change! Over the last couple months are mission has changed completely. The way that President Polley has been doing leadership is totally different. We have some really young District Leaders and Zone Leaders in the mission and many of those that have been Zone Leaders are now District Leaders or Jr. Companions. It has been great to see and experience how leadership works in the mission and also the church.

Also another change that has been made is the importance of working with members. President Polley wants us to work with members differently than we have in the past. He mentioned that we need to stop doing the things that don't work and find things that do work. He shared how we can work with the ward council, the ward mission leader, and all other active member. He wants us to become one with the ward members in finding and teaching. He has taken to heart and has wanted each of us missionaries to also take to heart what the prophet said a few years back “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together … to bring souls unto Him. … He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work". As missionaries we need to always be finding but especially we need to help the members in finding there friends, family, and neighbors that are ready and prepared to hear the message of the restored gospel.

This last week we were able to visit with several active members in the ward. We shared a brief message and helped them find ways that they could share the gospel. Along with these visits we spent some time serving a recent convert in the ward named Kathy Sangster. On Wednesday after District Meeting we drive to a town called Junction. It is about an hour away from Kerrville and this was are first time making it out there just because of how far it is and we are limited on miles each month. Junction has several less active members and the ward has been trying to get a worthy priesthood holder in that small town. We visited with a few of the members but most of them don't want to drive an hour or so to church every Sunday.

I am excited for another week full of finding and teaching.

Be BOLD!

Another great week in the mission. Last week for preparation day we went to the empty cross of Kerrville. It is on top of a hill and is a huge cross and has statues all around it. It was an interesting place to visit I'm not to sure what church the cross was affiliated with but they were quick to come and talk with us and try and teach us a thing or two. They were very nice people and it helped me appreciate the pure and true doctrine that we have in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It is amazing to see what others think about baptism and about how we can be saved. What a blessing the Restoration was in the early 1800 and that we are able to live in a time were the gospel is on the earth.

This week we also had exchanges with our Zone Leaders. They are such great missionaries and it was an exchange were I was able to learn a lot of how I can continue to improve and also help my district do the same. I was able to go into their area which is the Spanish Branch that covers the whole stake. We picked up dinner from the Orellenas who is a family that lives in the parkwood ward (my second area) and I ate dinner with them on Christmas eve two Christmases ago. It was so great to see them and we were able to talk briefly about the fun times we had in there home eating all of there tasty Chilean food. It is fun seeing old members and investigators that you work with at one point or another.

We are still doing a lot of finding. We have been walking around, knocking doors, working with members, and we also tried contacting people to see if they would be interested in learning more about there ancestors by coming to the family history center that we have at our church. Im sure that we will be able to find someone this week that will be ready to change when they hear the glad message of the restored gospel. Last night we had a dinner and a family home evening with the bishop and his family, the first councilor and his family, and they invited a non member family to come as well. It was great to get to know this family the Pates and hopefully bishop and the first councilors family will be able to stay in touch with them and that they will have a great desire to come to church next Sunday and we will be able to soon start to teach them. The Pate's were taught once by missionaries in the past but the missionaries were very pushy so we had to be careful to not come off that way yesterday. There seems to be great things going on in the area and I am looking forward to the many miracles that we have ahead of us.

"Be Bold, Be strong for the Lord your God is with you."

Just don't leave!

Easter turned out to be a great one! We were able to have a great dinner with two families in the ward the Fishers and the Hopkins. They made a delicious dinner with Ham, Bread, Potatoes, Asparagus, Fruit, Salad, and some carrot cake for dessert. They also gave us small Easter baskets which was sweet. After dinner we were able to go and visit a 90 year old man named John Swope who lives in an assistant living place. We stopped by and were able to speak with him for a little less than an hour. He was waiting for his daughter to call him all day but she didn't. He was very grateful that we were able to come and visit him. He shared some stories with us from when he served in World War 2 and several other memories he has in life. Before we left we asked if there was anything we could do for him and he said "just don't leave". He said that we made his Easter a great one but it was also a great blessing for me to have that visit Easter night. Although he couldn't put his words together to well he was able to share his testimony and the spirit was very powerful. I am grateful for moments like this were I am able to feel so strongly the Love that God has for his children and also how real the resurrection is as he and all of us will be able to live with are families and loved ones forever. This was an Easter to remember.

Prince of Peace

It was a great week as we are getting closer and closer to Easter! We are helping the members participate in missionary work during the Easter season by sharing "Prince of Peace" with their friends and family over Facebook. We have also been able to share it during our street contacts and transition over to the restored gospel that is on the earth today. What a wonderful time it is to share the glad message of the restored church and how because of it we know more than ever who Christ really is. I am grateful to be a full time missionary during this joyful season of the year.

We had district meeting this week on Friday and we were able to talk about ways we can help our investigator pray when we are with them and also when they are on there own. We also each shared briefly a talk that we really enjoyed during General Conference. We have a great district with a set of sisters and my companion and I.

Last night we had dinner with our bishop who lives in a small town about 30 minutes away from Kerrville called Bandera. Him and his family talked about several friends that they are talking with and they made plans to give them Book of Mormons. It has been neat to see bishops family have missionary work on the front of there minds and it seems that the reset of the ward is and will continue to follow the example that they are setting. We have many members working with friends and neighbors we just hope that soon we will be able to start to teach them and help them one day receive the fullness of the everlasting gospel.

We had another lesson with an older man of the age 84. He can hardly hear so we have to yell the whole lesson. He mentioned that he is getting old and could use some saving. He wants to be baptized but is struggling to keep any commitment that we extend and his knowledge of the gospel needs to be increased. We first were able to teach him about who Christ truly is and then we taught very briefly and shortly the restoration. We hope that he understood what we talked about and that he will come to church on Easter Sunday.

We also met another younger family as we were out walking around with visiting Less Active members and potentials. This young family the Cooks were outside fixing and adding onto there driveway. They wont be able to come to church on Easter but said that they have been going to many different churches around the Kerrville area and haven't found one that they want to join yet. They recently moved in about a year ago and said that if we are in the area we can stop by and they would let us in. Hopefully we can get to them this week and teach them a spirit lead lesson.

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with 

what you CAN DO."

I am grateful!

Another Great week in Texas and also another great General Conference. The spirit has once again witnessed unto me that President Thomas S. Monson is a prophet of God and that the other leaders that we heard from have been called by revelation. What a blessing it is to be in such an inspired and divine church. I am grateful for all that I learned from the words that were shared and the topics that were discussed but most importantly I am grateful that I was able to learn from the spirit. I am looking forward to applying Elder M Russell Ballards talk and setting goals and making plans of how I can change from this conference.

There were three different topics that stood out to me.
1. The focus that they had on the Savior. Of course that is their purpose is to be special witnesses of Christ but I am looking forward to strengthening my own personal testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ. The power that came with their testimonies of Christ is something that I hope to continue to gain. I am grateful that since I have been on my mission the power and conviction of my testimony of Christ has grown and will continue to grow. "Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we usually wouldn't do."

2. The role that the Holy Ghost plays in my life. Elder Stevenson shared the inspired question from a 9 year old boy "How does the Holy Ghost help me?" also Elder Rasband also gave a powerful talk on the Holy Ghost and how important it is we listen to the first prompting from the spirit.

3. The role that Charity has in the Lords leaders. "Brotherly kindness is a hallmark of all disciples" Elder Hales. I enjoyed the testimony during priesthood session that the prophet gave on charity as well as many others. What a powerful Christlike attribute charity is.

With General Conference being the highlight of the week I also was able to go to San Antonio and participate in a meeting. At the meeting we had President and Sister Polley as well as a couple of people from Salt Lake. They came and discussed different ways we as missionaries can continue to improve. They helped us understand the importance and also how we can help those we teach keep the three big commitments of Church, read the Book of Mormon, and Pray. They also helped us understand how to have an effective weekly planning session. Last they shared how we need to help members use facebook to invite and share the gospel. We are now working with active members and within a short 15 minute visit have them send off at least a few messages over facebook of the new Easter video to friends and family. It will be interesting to do in our area since most of the people are old and probably don't have facebook.

This week we have transfers on Thursdsay. we find out on Wednesday if we are both staying or if one of us will be leaving. We are doing a lot of finding as our teaching pool is at a low right now. That is okay because this is when we get to put hard work and great faith to find the prepared. This is when the miracles and memories happen.

Very large Taco!

Hog time!

It was a week full of service. We started off the week by helping a family move into the Kerrville Ward. They had a big Uhaul and it was us and 1 other member. We enjoyed helping them move into the area. Then on Wednesday we pulled many weeds and mowed the grass of a recent convert Sister Kathy Sangster. I have never seen a yard with so many weeds but we helped the yard look half decent. On Thursday right before we started our weekly planning we received a call from a member asking if we could go and help him catch a hog. We had it trapped in a cage and needed to put it into a smaller cage and move it into a different gated area of his ranch. I never knew that Hogs were so big, mean and strong. We were going to mow another lawn on Friday of one of our investigators but because it rained for a little bit we moved it to Saturday. Her name is Pat and she has had many trails in her life. Because of a recent surgery she had she couldn't come to church but is going to do all she can to come next week. She texted us on Sunday after church and said that she was sorry she didn't come but to not give up on her.

Surprise visit!

What a great week it was. On Saturday after a very surprising and shocking visit from an aunt and uncle with a box full of  food we headed to San Antonio. After our drive and preparing spiritually in the chapel we were able to hear from our mission president and also his wife along with a special visit from Elder Craig C. Christensen who is in the Presidency of the Seventy. It was a very spiritual conference and it was amazing to learn of many ways

that I can continue to improve as a missionary. It was neat as Elder Christensen had President Polley be his companion and they were both able to teach us and both answer the questions that we asked throughout the meeting. First Elder Christensen spoke about our purpose of "Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts" and after he then discussed a quote from our beloved Prophet President Thomas S. Monson " “Now is the time for members and missionaries to come together, to work together, to labor in the Lord’s vineyard to bring souls unto Him. He has prepared the means for us to share the gospel in a multitude of ways, and He will assist us in our labors if we will act in faith to fulfill His work.”. After he helped us understand these two focuses of his we then had a question and answer.

I loved hearing President Polley and Elder Christensen share stories from there past experiences and also their missions that they have served. They were both full of love and it was amazing to be able to feel of Christ's love through them. The spirit was so strong and taught me and helped me find things that I need to change. Throughout the question and answer the topic of prayer was brought up several times. He shared how he prays and what important things he does before his morning and evening prayer to bring the spirit in such as singing a hymn, reading a scripture, or reflecting back on the last time you felt the influence of the spirit. He also taught us how Joseph Smith obeyed no matter what he was told to do and invited us to follow his example and obey with faith. I really enjoyed hearing his testimony of Christ and the Prophet Joseph Smith. He said that around 57 different heavenly angles appeared to Joseph and that Moroni appeared to him about 22 different times. When he shared his testimony I knew that he knew what he was saying is true. I hope that I can continue to increase my testimony and the power that comes with it.

This week we also had the opportunity to take out one of the priest in the ward names Elijah. Most of his family does not come to church but he comes almost every Sunday. He is a great example for his family and he has a desire to serve a mission.

Yesterday our bishop came up to us before stake conference started and shared an experience of a non-LDS family who recently went a a funeral in another ward. This family was taught by the missionaries a while back but they didn't have the greatest desire to change and join the church. The bishop shared how at the funeral they talked with the bishop there and they feel that it is time to learn more about our believes including the Plan of Salvation. He said that this family is ready and that they will be setting up a family home evening and that we will be able to go and teach them at bishops home. This was another miracle that we have seen after working hard and talking with everyone. The Lord truly has blessed us in this area and this will hopefully be the family that we have been praying for. We are excited to see how things go with this family in the next couple of weeks.

"The course of our lives is not determined by great, awesome decisions, our direction is set by the little day to day choices which chart the track on which we run."

Going back!

What a busy and great week it was. We had exchanges, District meeting, interviews with President Polley, and we were able to receive council during a short zone meeting from President and Sister Polley. I am so grateful for their example and all that they have shared with me and helped me with. It is always amazing to understand President Polleys vision and apply it in my missionary work and also in my area. I know that we will have great success here in the small town of Kerrville.

On Wednesday I went on exchanges with one of my Zone Leaders into his area. They cover the Spanish ward in the stake and also an English ward. We met a few new families that seem to have a lot of potential. They sleep in the same apartment that I stayed in while serving in Parkwood which was my second area. It was fun going back to an apartment I was in over a year ago and being able to serve near one of my old areas.

As we were visiting less actives we knocked on a couple of the houses around them. One of the Less Actives neighbor that we knocked into seemed very interested. Her name is Pat and she is a mother with 4 kids and two of them have moved out of the home. Her 11 year old boy at the time was sick so she didn't let us in but we talked briefly about the church and the Restoration. She mentioned how she use to go to church and when she was going they gave everyone a small book about Mormons and it was full of anti. A few days later her kid started to feel better and she came to the baptism of the bishops daughter on Saturday. She seemed to have enjoyed it and said she would come to church but sadly she didn't show up. We will hopefully get to visit with her soon and teach her more about the restored gospel.

We were able to visit many people this week and go out with a few of the ward members. The members are feeding us very well and we enjoy being in their home and feeling the spirit. I am looking forward to another great week of finding and teaching.

I Believe!

What a great week it was. It is amazing how fast weeks go by on the mission. It feels like each week goes by faster and faster as I get father into my mission. This was a week full of finding and this
upcoming week will be the same as we are trying to find a family and individuals that will be willing to change through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that we will be able to find someone this week that will be willing to act on our invitations that we extend. This week we were also able to visit many of the leaders in the ward and talk to them about their view and goals for missionary work. We also had dinner with bishop last night who lives about 40+ minutes away in a smaller town called Bandera. Our bishop has a great desire to have the members do more work in finding and inviting people for us to teach. We have a great bishop who has a lot of humor. It has been neat seeing the difference in each bishop and how they want to work with the missionaries. We are going to try and work closely with the members of this ward and help them invite there friends and family members to come unto Christ through the restoration.

This week was also very rainy and cloudy. Thankfully it wasn't to cold even with the rain. Last p-day we went to one of the members ranch that he works on and he took us on a jeep ride. Kerrville is located in the hill country of Texas so it was fun being out in the middle of no where and seeing animals such as bobcats, deer, and hogs. There is not to much here in Kerrville besides people that have a bunch of land and use it for hunting. It is a beautiful area.

There wasn't to much else that happened this week besides finding, cancelled appointments, and rain. We are excited for this week and hope that we will be able to find people to teach. I was able to study this week about the doctrine of Faith. It was amazing how much I learned through diligent scripture study, prayer, and personal revelation. I was able to see many people in the scriptures that the Lord said had great faith and others that had a lack of faith. Faith is the principle of action and power and it is how miracles happen. I am looking forward to seeing miracles this week as my Companion and I exercise our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Ether 12:12).

"As we do our best, He will not let us fail."

Leaving Pflugerville!

What a hectic week it was. From finding out that I was leaving Pflugerville to know here in Kerrville which is on the outskirts of San Antonio it has been a big change. I knew almost everyone and created great friendships during my 7 months in Pflugerville. It has been one of my favorite areas and I loved both of my companions there Elder Biesinger and Elder Gardner. Change is hard but I am excited to know serve the people here in Kerrville with Elder Tiongson.

My last couple nights in Pflugerville we had several great lessons. Anna Seilbach said that she knows the Book of Mormon is true and that she will soon be baptized. She has had several experiences of how she has changed since she has been reading the Book of Mormon and meeting with us. Anna has a greater desire to do good and help those that are in need. It has been amazing to see her understand what repentance truly means and how she has been able to have greater happiness in her life because of repentance. I am excited to see her soon get baptized!

Also we had another lesson with Ava Shepard who is 9 years old. We gave her mother a blessing as she wants to change her life and draw closer to God. They were very excited to start coming to church and be apart of the ward family. Ava will soon be baptized and we were planning on setting a date once they came back to church for the first time. I also had the chance to say goodbye to some recent converts that were baptized right before I came to Pflugerville.

"Be Happy not because everything is good, but because you can see the good in everything."

Pflugerville memories!

It was another great week. We had several spiritual lessons throughout the week and also had a mini missionary out with us. On Friday and Saturday we had a senior from another stake spend all day and also sleep over with us. They are doing a missionary week and had all the graduating seniors spend a couple days with the missionaries. Our mini missionary is named Jack and he is planning to go to BYU for a year and then go on his mission. He is a very smart young man and we had a good time with each other. It was really fun being in a trio for a day and being able to show someone what a mission is like. He seemed to enjoy it even with most of our lessons canceling. 

During this time with Jack we had another lesson with Anna Seilbach. She has been reading the chapters from the Book of Mormon that we left her and also has shared several experiences where she has been able to serve and help others that are in need. She mentioned how she wouldn't have done this prior to our meetings that we have had. We had another one of her lessons in the members home and we hope that we can continue to do that. She came to church and stayed for all three hours and really enjoyed it. She isn't moving as fast as we hoped with wanting to be baptized. She said that she will be baptized but just not yet. It is a big promise we make with God and she just wants to take her time before she is baptized to make sure this is the best choice for her and her three year old daughter.

We also had a couple lessons with some nine year old girls and there families that haven't been to church in a while. One lesson was with the Shepards which is a mother and her two daughters. We shared the plan of salvation and since the two daughters love drawing we had them draw out the plan of salvation. It was a very fun lesson.  The Mom has several different challenges going on in her life and is starting to put more trust in God then she has previously done. We are excited to continue to teach and visit that family. Hopefully we can help them get active and have the 9 year old daughter be baptized. Along with the Shepards we taught the Salazars who came to church and want there 9 year old daughter to be baptized. We will probably be setting a date this Friday!

This morning I found out that I will be going to a new area and leaving Pflugerville. I have come to love the people here and the ward. I have created many memories in this area and also in the Austin Zone. It did not feel like I have spent the last 7+ months here in this area. My new area that I will be going to is Kerrville. It will probably be similar to my first area were there is a lot of farm land and the closest set of missionaries will be a good ways away. I am excited to go back out to the farm land and serve the people in the Kerrville area and the surrounding towns. My new address will be 1350 Bandera Hwy. #715 Kerrville, TX. 78028. I will arrive in my new area on Thursday. I know my companion a little bit and we will be having a great time so I am looking forward to it.

Local Pflugerville hamburger restaurant 

Week of exchanges!

This week was full of exchanges and learning from other missionaries that I was able to serve with. I had the opportunity to go to two different areas and serve with great missionaries. One of the areas I went to was the Spanish ward in our zone, Lake Austin. Since I don't know any Spanish I wasn't able to understand most of what was spoken that day but I was still able to feel of the spirit as my companion taught. The missionary I went with has only been on the mission for a short amount of time and he is still trying to learn Spanish.

Blessings from God!

It was a very busy and great week. We had interviews with President Polley, the Austin Zone Conference, and a couple exchanges with district leaders and the assistance. It was a week full of learning and finding ways that I can continue to improve. I am loving the mission!

This week we had a couple lessons with Anna Seilbach and a couple other investigators. Anna has been reading the chapters that we leave her with in the Book of Mormon. She also has been praying more and out loud and she came to church on Sunday. It has been amazing to see her interest continue to grow and she has a great desire to learn more and more. She hasn't accepted a baptismal date yet because she is still wanting to learn more before she changes was she has believed her whole life and from the teachings that she learned during her childhood in the Ukraine. We had a lesson in a members home Friday night. She shared several experiences over the past couple weeks that have been miracles and blessings from God. Our Heavenly Father has been giving her many signs that this is the true church. Also during gospel principles she said that this is her first time coming to a Mormon church because she wants to learn instead of coming to hang out and be with her Mormon friends.

We also have been able to continue to teach Jasmine Selman who is 20. When we first visited with her she was an atheist but now she believes in God. She knows if any church is true it is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. We are helping her realize and understand how God will answer her prayer. It has been fun teaching her and seeing her change.

During the Austin Zone Conference we focused on ways we can continue to improve our teaching by asking inspired questions, listening, and being guided by the spirit. We watched several different clips from the District and then were able to split up as a zone and do a lot of role plays. I learned a lot and once again realized the importance of not getting in the way of the spirit during lessons. I am grateful to have the spirit as the senior companion to help us know what to say and how to help our investigators progress.

Get on your knees and ask for the blessings of the Lord; then stand on your feet and do 

what you are asked to do."

New Schedules!

I am grateful for another great week here on the mission. It was a very busy week with a conference in San Antonio and also the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast. Tuesday is when we had the Worldwide Missionary Broadcast were we heard from several of the Brethren as they taught us missionaries of how we can better fulfill our purpose of Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts. Elder Dallin H. Oaks presided during this broadcast. It was amazing to see the vision that we have been given and how we can become successful missionaries. There was so much that I learned and have been applying and trying to change so that I can be who the Lord needs me to be as I serve his children and bring them the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As I'm sure y'all heard we have been given a new schedule that is more flexible and helps us exercise our agency. Some of the big changes that were made is to our Key Indicators and also to our daily schedule. We will now only have 4 of the 9 key indicators that we use to have being Baptism, Baptismal dates, Church, and New Investigators. This is a great change as it will help us stay focused on our purpose. We also will now have two more hours of preparation day from 8am to 6pm. We will also be daily planning in the morning instead of the evening which gives us an extra 30 minutes to relax and study or sleep depending on what you would rather do. These changes are great as it gives us more time to teach people and also gives us some more personal time.

Along with this meeting we had a great council on Thursday as we disused how we can exercise our agency righteously and what we can do to better our purpose of teaching repentance and baptizing converts. President Polley is very powerful and I am grateful that I can have him as my leader to help me become a greater missionary though repentance.

This week we taught Anna and she still has a great desire to learn but has a couple concerns that we will be trying to help her overcome. I had another very spiritual experience as I was able to interview Jessica Marquez that I taught when I was serving in Heatherwilde. When we first started to teach Jessica she said that she never would be baptized. After her family kept on coming to church an she continued to be taught by the missionaries she had a change of heart through repentance. It was a blessing to see first hand the happiness and joy that the gospel has brought to her and her family. In about a year they will be able to be sealed as a family in the temple.

"When we turn our lives over to the Lord the power behind us is always greater than the obstacles before us."

Yackman P-day (The Austin Zone)

Noticed a difference!

This week was full of miracles just like every week on the mission. To start off we found another part member family. It is a single mom named Anna who has a three year old daughter that was blessed in the church. The mom is from the Ukraine and has been to our church a couple times when she lived with some Mormons and was married to a Mormon. We had two lessons with her this week and they were both very spiritual. During the second lessons we invited her to pray to know if the Book of Mormon is true. The spirit was powerful and she was emotional during the prayer as the spirit testified to her that what we shared with her and also that the Book of Mormon is true. She has talked a lot about how she has noticed a difference in the members of our church and she was wondering what is different about us. We are excited to continue to teach her and we will be helping her try and get to church.

We had another great lesson with the Coutiño family. We shared the plan of salvation and they have a goal to soon go back to the temple and be sealed as a family. It has been so fun teaching them and helping them come back to church. They are very sincere and have powerful testimonies that will bless many people in the ward as they come back.

On Sunday during one of our sacrament meetings we were pulled out by a member of our church to talk with two ladies that randomly showed up. They recently moved into the area and found our church online. These two ladies both have families of 6 so there is a total of 12 and 10 that are baptismal age. They enjoyed the church a lot and were very excited to bring the rest of the family next week. The great part is during are breakfast that morning my companion and I talked about how
we hoped that a random family would show up to church. It is amazing to see how the lord will bring them to us. They don't live in our area but we were able to refer them off to another set of missionaries.

This week will be a busy one with a worldwide missionary broadcast and a couple other meetings. Hoping that we will be able to set someone with a date this week.